Page 75 of Lucky Shot
“There’s something special about the words just being for me. My favorite part of the process is the time between when I finish the book and send it off to the editor. Before anyone else has read it or offered up their feedback. That moment feels perfect and…hopeful.”
All the frustration and tension she’s been carrying slides away as she speaks, and she stares off like she’s remembering it and telling herself instead of talking to me. A second later she looks back to me and offers a sheepish smile.
“Anyway.”
I can tell she’s about to jump into asking me questions, but I want to know more, so I cut in before she has the chance.
“Is that how you felt before you found out you had to change your book from baseball to hockey?”
“No.” Her brows scrunch together. “I wrote this book a couple years ago and my agent has been shopping it around. No one wanted it at first, so I did some other things.”
“The writing slump isn’t because of hockey, then?”
“Were you worried I was hating on your favorite sport?”
My mouth lifts on one side. “Maybe.”
She grins back, shaking her head. “No, it isn’t because I had to switch the book to hockey.”
I think that’s all she’s going to say about it, but to my surprise, she adds, “I went through a messy breakup and then my next book didn’t perform like I hoped. It was a rough year.”
“Ah.” I hadn’t expected that answer, but I should have. She’s beautiful and smart, successful. She must have guys falling down to get her attention. Something a lot like jealousy swirls around in my stomach and then lodges itself in the base of my sternum.
“What about you?” she asks.
“You want to know about my scoring slump?”
She shrugs both shoulders. “Was it because of a woman?”
“No.” I shake my head definitively.
“But you do date.”
It isn’t a question, but I nod. “A little. Nothing serious.”
“What about Aidan’s mom?”
“We were together while I was playing in the minor league. She was in medical school, and I was traveling a lot so it wasn’t serious at first. We hung out a few times a month when it worked for our schedules. Then when Beth found out she was pregnant, we tried to make it work.” I can still remember everything about that day she told me. I had never given a lot of thought to having kids, but as soon as I found out, I couldn’t wait to be a dad.
“Aidan’s great so you’ve obviously got the co-parenting thing down regardless of it not working out between you two and who knows...”
“She got married two years ago.”
“Oh.” Her mouth holds the “O” shape and then twists into a smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. She and I are better as friends, and Cory, her husband, is great to Aidan.”
“They live in Bozeman, right? I think that’s what Aidan said.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s convenient.”
Another unspoken question.
“She’s from here originally and moved back when a position opened up at the hospital.”
“And you just happened to get traded here too?”
