Page 106 of Dancing in the Rain

“Did any of the others play professionally?”

“Nope. I think Dustin could have. He went to Boston University, too, and he got drafted in the seventh round. But he decided the chances of him making it in the NHL were pretty slim, so he just finished his degree. He’s an engineer.”

“And your other brother?”

“Trent. He stopped playing hockey when he went to university in Vancouver. He’s an accountant. Shawna played a bit in high school, but then she got more interested in boys.”

“That happens. And they all know about Chloe, as well?”

“Yeah. Also super curious to meet her. Not sure when that’ll happen. They all have busy lives.” He told her about his nieces and nephews, and she talked about when she and Sara were kids, and the high expectations their parents had placed on both of them.

“But they loved us,” she said. “And when Sara got pregnant they were totally supportive of whatever she wanted to do.”

“That’s great.”

“Do you think you’re more like your mom or your dad?”

“Ha. That’s easy. I’m so much like my dad it’s scary.”

“Really?” She rested her elbow on the counter and set her chin on her hand, seemingly engrossed.

“Oh, yeah. He was an athlete, too, except he played football. He actually played in the CFL. Canadian Football League,” he added. “It killed him that none of his boys wanted to play football, and yet he drove us to all those practices and early-morning games.”

“High expectations also?”

Drew considered that. “Yeah. I guess so. I mean, I didn’t feel pressure…but I did want to show him that all the time and energy he put into my hockey was worth it.”

“You put pressure on yourself,” she said shrewdly.

“I guess anybody who has a goal they want more than anything does that.”

She smiled. “True.”

After they ate he went down to the basement to grab a wrench. He knew where the tools were since he’d used them a few times to do small repairs.

“You’re seriously going to fix my bed?”

“Hell, yeah. That’s why I’m here.” He paused at the bottom of the stairs. “But wewillhave to check it out after to make sure I’ve done a satisfactory job.”

Chapter 23

Peyton went to New York Thursday and Friday. Drew stayed at the Watt home Thursday night because it was Halloween. Chloe was now “too old” to go trick-or-treating but wanted to stay home and hand out candy to neighborhood kids, so Drew helped do that.

“What are you wearing?” she demanded when he came downstairs from the room he’d taken as his.

He grinned. He’d donned a hockey jersey and helmet and carried a stick. He’d also put black around one eye to create a huge shiner and blacked out his two front teeth. “It’s my costume. I’m a hockey player.”

Despite Chloe’s mild scorn, he’d been a hit with the kids who came to the door. He even took a selfie and sent it to Peyton.

In the morning he got Chloe off to school then headed home. They’d agreed he’d pick Chloe up after school and she could spend the night at his place since it was Friday and Peyton couldn’t get a flight back until Saturday morning.

So for the first time ever, Chloe was having a sleepover at his place.

This wasn’t freaking him out at all. Oh, no. He’d made a rush trip to IKEA and spent a whole day putting together bedroom furniture for one of the empty rooms and making the bed with the new sheets and comforter he’d bought. He knew from her bedroom decor she liked bright colors so he’d gone with that. He’d gone grocery shopping to stock up on the things he now knew she liked. In the end they ordered pizza and were watching a movie—The Hunger Games, chosen by Chloe and which he hoped like hell was appropriate.

“Did you hear there’s a World of Wizards movie coming out?” she asked him.

“No, I didn’t. That’s cool.”

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