Page 19 of Hot for the Hockey Player
The woman’s gaze turned even more confused.“What?”She was already climbing the stairs, then pushed past me when she got to the top and entered the house.“Gabs?It’s me, Dani.Are you okay?There’s some guy here claiming to be ‘Maverick’ and a ‘friend’.Is that true?”
“Yes,” Gabrielle said from beyond the bathroom door.“He’s not a trespasser.Put away your shotgun, Danica.”
Ah, so this was Danica.
I stepped back into the house, but remained in the foyer while Danica went to go check on Gabrielle.She opened the bathroom door and closed it behind her, but not before I heard a horrified gasp.Crap.Were the burns to the tops of her thighs worse than we feared?
I tuned my ears into their conversation, but they must have been deliberately whispering.
There were bits and pieces around this house that I remembered from living with them in Spokane.The row of succulents along the windowsill behind the sink.I think the squat little baby-blue plant pots were even the same.The throw pillows in the living room.A gingham pattern, I think they called it, in blue and white.Much like the place in Spokane, Gabrielle went for a modern farmhouse décor with lots of blues, whites, and tans.The couch was a light-tan microfiber, the walls a warm white, and while there weren’t a ton of decorations, what she did have on the walls made the place feel more inviting and comfortable.Put together, but not cold.Much like Gabrielle.
Lost in thoughts about what Gabrielle might do to unwind andnotbe so put together all the time, I didn’t hear the footsteps or voices on the other side of the door until it was too late.The front door opened, hitting me in the ass, and I had to step out of the way.
It was Laurel and one of her female cousins.“Mav, you’re back,” she said, not posing it as a question.
“Hey, Laurel.How was your day at school?”
She lifted one shoulder as she hung up her backpack and jacket on the row of coat hooks.“Aced my math quiz.”
“Nice work.”
Another shoulder lift.
Her cousin simply stared at me with wide hazel-green eyes.She was blonde, and I would put money on her being Danica’s daughter.
“Are you Danica’s daughter?”I asked.
All she did was nod, but her cheeks turned the color of a ripe tomato.
“Your mom is in the bathroom with Gabrielle.”I faced Laurel.“Andyourmom spilled hot tea on her lap.She’s running cold water on her legs so they don’t blister.”
Laurel’s mix of shock and confusion had me holding in a snort of a laugh.Danica’s daughter’s expression was similar.“Mom doesn’tspillanything.She is the most careful person in the world.I don’t think she’s ever colored out of the lines, or broken an egg yolk in her life.”She blinked and shook her head quickly.“I’m pretty sure she was coloringinthe lines before she could even hold a crayon properly.”
I couldn’t hold my snort in any longer.That was the Gabrielle I remembered too.
I think everyone in this house was shocked that she spilled tea on herself—most of all, Gabrielle herself.
The quiet cousin leaned over and whispered something to Laurel.Laurel rolled her eyes and nodded.“Yeah, you’re probably right.They weren’t allowed to color.But you know what I mean.”
Weren’t allowed to color?What did that mean?
Laurel ditched her shoes, but took enough time to tuck them on her designated shelf properly, while her cousin placed them on a shelf reserved for guests.I only knew this because that’s where I had also put my shoes.Then Laurel went through the house.“Mom?Are you okay?”
Danica’s daughter—who probably wasn’t a mute, but I’m guessing just shy given that she’d whispered to her cousin—chased after her cousin.
“I’m fine,” Gabrielle called from the bathroom.“How was your day?”
“Aced my math test.”
“Well done, honey.Are you proud of yourself?You should be.”
“It was so easy, Mom,” Laurel said with boredom.“Sam is here too.Can we bake some cookies?”
“That’s fine,” Gabrielle replied.“Hi, Sam, honey.How was your day?”
The bathroom door opened.At this point, I couldn’t see anything, since they’d all disappeared down the hallway around the corner, but I could certainly hear them.“How was your day, my love?”Danica asked her daughter softly.
No reply.
