Page 52 of Make Your Move

“Come take a quick walk with me, Dane,” I suggest, my voice tense as I motion toward the door that leads out back to their patio.

Dane looks like he could throw up, but instead he nods and follows me outside. We step out into the evening air, and I feel the cold wrapping itself around me. No one is currently sitting outside because of the temperature. “Who are you?”

I turn around to face Dane, my eyes slicing to his as I ignore his question. “What brings you back to Aston, Dane? Your daughter was born two years ago, and from what I’ve beentold, this is the first sighting of you since.” I pause, clicking my tongue. “And we both know you aren’t here to see her.”

“My wife has some family here,” he admits, his voice low and cautious.

“Ah,” I say, the venom building on my tongue. “I’m going to be honest with you—I don’t give a fuck why you are back. I don’t give a fuck what you are doing with your life and who you are doing it with.”

“Okay, so what is this about then?”

I take a step closer to him, the anger running rampant in my veins as I roll my hands into fists by my side. “This is about Nova. This is about you showing up out of nowhere and making her uncomfortable.” I inhale deeply, attempting to remain calm. “You have no business being in Aston. So, you’re going to have ice cream with your little ready-made family, and then you’re going to leave here, and you are never going to come back, do you understand me?”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t get to tell me where I can and?—”

“Let me stop you right there,” I tell him, my voice dropping lower into a warning. “This is my home, where I live. This is Nova’s home and where your daughter is growing up without knowing who you are. Unless you want there to be problems, you will not come back here.”

He narrows his eyes on me for a second. “I know who you are. You play for the Archers.”

“So you know I have an entire hockey team who will go to bat for me. An entire line of men who will do whatever they have to do to protect Nova and her daughter.”

I watch the color drain from Dane’s face, and his throat bobs as he swallows hard. Given Nash’s relationship with the other guys, I’m sure they know enough about why Nova is a single mom. Even if they didn’t know, it comes with the territory. A found family extends to everyone’s real family.

Not a single man on our team would hesitate to throw down for Nova and Poe.

“I’m not asking you to make room in your life for either of them. I’m not asking you for anything, Dane. I’m telling you to do yourself and Nova a favor and stay the fuck away.”

Dane runs his tongue across his top teeth, the muscle in his jaw tightening as his nostrils flare. I don’t know Dane, and I don’t know enough about him to know how he will respond to this, but I’m not afraid of him. I’ve gotten into my fair share of fights on the ice over the years. It won’t take much to lay this motherfucker out flat.

“None of you will see me again.”

I stare at Dane, my eyes running over his face. “I sincerely hope we don’t.” Instead of wasting more time or energy on this sack of shit, I leave him standing out on the patio and exit through the gate that leads to the sidewalk. He doesn’t call after me, and I leave him there with a warning and a promise before making my way to my car.

Nova is silent, and she glances at me when I get into the car. She doesn’t say anything, but I can see the curiosity in her bloodshot eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about him again.”

She swallows as she nods. “Thank you,” she tells me, her voice barely audible as she directs her attention back to the windshield. I glance in the back seat at Posey who is playing with a small figurine in her hands. I turn back around, start the car and slide my hand over to Nova, my fingers pushing in between hers.

She doesn’t push me away and even as she continues to stare out the window, her fingers curl around my hand, squeezing gently. Her eyelids flutter shut as she tilts her head against the headrest and a soft sigh escapes her.

I don’t like seeing Nova like this. It’s a stark contrast to her typical carefree manner. A darkening to the usual bright smile that lights up her face. And I make a silent promise to her, a promise that I’ll spend the rest of my days making sure that smile never leaves her lips.

My bedroom door hangs open, and I’m sprawled out across my bed, absentmindedly tossing a puck into the air and catching it. Nova has been quiet since we got back to the house. She disappeared into the bathroom to bathe Posey and has been in her room for what feels like an eternity.

I saw Nash earlier, but he retired to the basement for the night. Since the basement was converted into a full apartment, Nash has his own living room space. He still shares the common areas in the house with Nova and I and he’s been using the bathroom upstairs since he’s remodeling the one in his apartment. When he goes down there for the night, he usually doesn’t resurface until the morning.

The soft clicking of the child gate pulls my attention to the hall, and I slowly sit up, my head turning as I look out through my open door. Nova’s footsteps are light as she pads across the floor. She comes into my field of vision as she stops just outside of my doorway and turns to look at me.

Her hair is pulled back in a braid, and she’s wearing an old worn sweatshirt with our junior team’s name on it. I can’t tell if she’s wearing anything underneath because it covers the tops of her thighs.

“Hey,” she says softly, her voice tender and gentle as she watches me for a moment. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” I tell her, motioning for her to come sit beside me. Nova steps over the threshold and pulls the door shut behind her. I resist the urge to raise an eyebrow and revel in the moment of her locking the two of us in here together.

She walks to the bed, the mattress barely dipping beneath her weight as she sits down beside me. She’s silent for a moment and the smell of her shampoo invades my senses, storing itself inside my memory. Her head turns slowly to look at me, and she catches me staring. “I’m sorry for this evening,” she starts, her voice quiet. “Seeing Dane threw off my entire mood and brought out some feelings I try not to let consume me.”

I swallow roughly over the emotion stuck inside my throat and nod. “You never have to apologize for feeling, Nova.”

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