Page 83 of Rowdy Hearts

She blinked. “I don’t honestly know.”

“Then maybe this is exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Tressy

I didn’t havea response to Rowdy’s statement, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

When Krista and I had left the city Thursday night, I didn’t have a specific place in mind. I just wanted to get away. Anywhere. Didn’t matter. So why was I complaining about being here?

I looked at Rowdy, my brain working overtime. Maybe he was right. Maybe I had ended up exactly where I was meant to be.

I didn’t believe in fate or any of that other woo-woo stuff. Your choices determined what happened. Except I hadn’t made a conscious choice to end up in St. David. My car had broken down, and I’d done what I needed to do to make sure my child didn’t freeze. And then I’d fallen into Rowdy’s arms.

I chewed over that while I ate my pasta with Rowdy’s amazing sauce. Honestly, it was the best red sauce I’d ever had, and I’d eaten at some pretty damn-good restaurants.

“Rowdy?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re where you’re supposed to be?”

His lips quirked into one of those half smiles that looked so good on him.

“Most days, yeah. Some days…” He shrugged. “My friend who wants me to coach with him, he was here for a few months, years ago, rehabbing his… well, rehabbing his career, basically. He had a lingering injury, thought his career was finished. We’d played at college together. He went into the draft. I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?”

His bittersweet smile vanished almost as soon as it appeared. “Because I knew I was coming back here to play. That was always the plan. My dad built this team. It’sourteam. Our family team.”

“And you never thought about playing anywhere else?”

“Sure. But I’m a realist. I’m not good enough to play at the NHL level. I never had the drive or the skill.” He held up a hand before I could say anything. “And I’m okay with that. I get to do what I love every single day. And that’s not a bad thing. Actually, it’s a pretty damn good thing.”

“But…”

That smile was back, and it stuck around a little longer this time.

“But when I got that call, I wondered if it’s not time to switch things up.”

“Do you want to coach?”

Another pause. “I always thought I’d coach here.”

“But…?”

A tiny smile on his lips that was somehow sexier than a full-out grin. “I’m not sure I’m ready to. I’m not sure I’ll be ready to coach here next year. This team can be a lot. Some of the players need a lot more help than I think I can give them. There are a few of us who’ve been with the team for years. But there’re always one or two guys with some real serious issues.”

“It doesn’t all fall on your shoulders, does it?”

“No, that’s why my dad hired Scotty. He played in the NHL for a few years, but he made the jump to coaching pretty quickly. Did a stint in the AHL and gained a rep for being good with the hard cases. And he’s an Army vet, so the Colonel was all over that. He’s also pretty young, so it’s not like he’s going to be retiring anytime soon.”

“Then this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to try something new. If you want to. Where’s your friend’s team?”

“About an hour west of Philly and an hour east of here.”

That would make it not far from New York City. In fact, it was pretty damn close to New York City. My heart started to pump a little harder.

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