Sacked in Seattle: Game On in Seattle Rookies (Men of Tyee Book 1)

by Jami Davenport

“You assumed wrong.” I squared my shoulders and stared him down with a steely gaze of my own. “I love him. I want to make this work, but it takes two.”

  Cooper bent to pet the barn cat rubbing around his legs and was silent for a long time. Finally, he straightened. “That it does, honey. I apologize. I jumped to the wrong conclusion.” He smiled at me, a sincere warm smile.

  “Apology accepted.” I smiled back. “I miss him.”

  “Why don’t you go to him? Riley’s a tough kid, but he’s insecure, and he’s too busy moping to see what’s right in front of him. He’s always chased you. Why don’t you chase him?”

  “I should.” Riley did love me, and maybe all he needed was for me to make the first move. We’d survived so much. We could survive this.

  “He’s not going anywhere all weekend.” Cooper cocked a brow at me and turned to leave. As he walked away, he stopped and called over his shoulder, “And it’s Cooper or Coop. Not Mr. Black.”

  I smiled, feeling better than I had in a long while.

  * Riley *

  I flopped into the recliner and channel-surfed but couldn’t find anything to watch.

  Uncle Coop dropped by to invite me to dinner Saturday night and deliver a decorated three-foot Christmas tree. Aunt Izzy didn’t believe anyone should be without a Christmas tree. She’d always been like that, going overboard with Christmas decorations. My first Christmas with them had been a culture shock. I’d never had a Christmas tree or presents, unless you could count a pocketknife from one of my mother’s boyfriends, or new underwear.

  My mother. Correction—Julie.

  Fuck.

  Way to ruin a decent mood.

  She hadn’t bothered me since that one time, but I most likely hadn’t seen the last of her yet. I guess I could try to get a restraining order, but I’m not sure what the grounds would be. She hadn’t been dangerous or threatening.

  Besides, Julie was the least of my concerns.

  I fucking missed Tiff. I missed her smile, her cute little body, her laugh. I missed the way she hid the remote so I couldn’t switch channels all the time. Hell, I even missed her fingernails tapping on the counter.

  Uncle Coop and I didn’t talk about her, but I knew Izzy had told him about my visit a few nights ago. He half expected me to say something about the situation, but he didn’t push.

  After last weekend, I avoided using alcohol to solve my problems. I knew better than anyone that alcohol and drugs didn’t make coping easier.

  Otto rolled onto his back and stuck his feet up in the air, snoring heavily. I laughed, feeling a little better.

  Love is never easy. Sometimes it hurts like hell.

  Yeah, Izzy was right. I could attest to that.

  I hated cracking open my chest and spilling my guts, but it had to be done, painful as opening up was, or I’d lose Tiff one final time, and it’d be all on me.

  I looked out the window. Tiff wasn’t back yet. Now that I’d mustered my courage, I wanted to get this over with.

  I paced the floor and checked the window every circuit. Finally, Tiff pulled into her driveway. I watched as she got out, tossed her hair back, and reached into the passenger seat for something. She pulled out a pizza box and turned. She was walking away from her door and toward mine.

  Shit.

  I sprinted to the bathroom, combed my messy hair, and rubbed my three-day beard growth. No time to shave. I yanked on a clean T-shirt devoid of Newfie slobber as the doorbell rang.

  “Coming!” I yelled. I ran back to the bathroom, slammed my shoulder into the doorjamb, and yelped some creative obscenities. I quickly brushed my teeth.

  I hurried to the front door, which hadn’t been locked. Tiff was already standing inside, balancing the pizza box on the palm of one hand and petting Otto with the other.

  I braked to a stop and skidded on the hardwood in my socks, almost falling down. Not a very graceful entrance.

  Tiff giggled, which was music to my ears. I laughed, too, and the ice was broken.

  “I’d invite you in, but you invited yourself,” I said, grinning like an idiot.

  She held up the pizza. “No one should eat pizza alone.”

  “I wouldn’t wish that one anyone,” I agreed. My eyes ate her up, taking in every little detail about her. The dimples in those cheeks rosy from the brisk wind outside. Her blond hair with the streaks of honey gold. Her delicate, angelic face.

  Her brown eyes met mine. Without words, I knew so many things. She’d missed me, too. I was beyond a fucking idiot. I was a moron.

  Tiff loved me, and she was here to prove it.

  I grabbed a couple plates, poured two glasses of some really nice red wine Izzy had given me a month ago, and grabbed some napkins. I sat everything down on the old oak table. Tiff put the pizza box in the middle, while I hastily lit a couple candles and dimmed the lights. Presumptuous of me, but what the fuck. A guy didn’t get far without taking risks. I’d been a chickenshit, play-it-safe guy this week.

  We sat down across from each other. Candlelight danced across her beautiful face and shone off her golden hair.

  “Oh, one more thing.” I leaped to my feet and plugged in the Christmas tree. Grinning, I sat back down.

  “Now we need Christmas music.”

  Before I could react, she was asking my Echo to play Christmas music. We dug into the pizza. I grunted like a caveman as I chewed. The pizza was ridiculously good, and I hadn’t been eating much this past week. Now I was starved to death.

  Swallowing, I looked up to find her watching me. “Where did you get this?”

  “It’s my little secret.” Her slight smile said come hither, even though we were talking about pizza. Or maybe it was my overactive dick that wanted her smile to say come hither. Hell if I knew. Tiff was here, and things were going well. That’s all that mattered.

  We scarfed down the entire pizza and half the bottle of wine. Tiff tossed her crust to Otto, who’d been waiting patiently, strings of drool hanging from both lips.

  She smiled at me. I smiled back.

  Standing, she reached out a hand. I took it. Together we walked to the couch and sat down.

  “I love you, Riley,” she said, beating me to the punch.

  “I love you, too. I’m sorry I was such a dick.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the note.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to me.

  I read the message, alarmed by the contents. “Tiff, this is scary shit.”

  She shrugged. “I’m tired of living my life in fear, Riley. That’s a copy. I gave the original to the cops. Not sure what they can do, but I’m not giving it another thought, and neither are you.”

  “Okay,” I said. The forcefulness in her voice didn’t allow for argument. I loved the strong Tiff as much as I loved the timid Tiff.

  “You once asked me why I broke up with Jacob.” She raised her gaze to mine and snuggled closer to me. I put my arm across her shoulder.

  “Yeah. But you told me. He was abusive and controlling.”

  “That’s not all of it. There was someone else. Someone I had a huge crush on. Someone I dreamed about.”

  I furrowed my brow and frowned. “Who?”

  She leaned her head on my shoulder and angled it so she could see my face. “You.”

  “I—I—never knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was afraid you’d blame yourself for the shooting. I did enough of that for the both of us. Not to mention Gina had a crush on you, too, and I’d wished she were gone so you’d notice me.” Her voice quavered and she sniffed.

  “And then she was.”

  “Yeah.” She buried her face in my chest and cried. I held her tightly and let her cry. My turn was coming up.

  As her sobs subsided, I stroked her hair and began to speak. Once I started, the words came in a rush as if they’d been imprisoned for years and had finally escaped. “My mom used to be a good person. In her teens, she was sexually abused
by her aunt’s new husband. The abuse changed her. She got into drugs, and eventually my grandparents kicked her out of the house. She got pregnant, unknown to her family, and for fourteen years, we lived under bridges, in homeless camps, rat-infested hotels. Wherever she could. I’d get taken away. She’d go clean and get me back. Then the cycle would start again. She’d be sucked right back into the drugs and prostitution. We moved around a lot, up and down the West Coast. I became her parent. Working odd jobs to get money for food because all her money went for heroin. She would sleep with guys in our room while I huddled in the bathroom with my fingers stuck in my ears. She’d leave for a few days at a time, but she always came back.”

  Tiff was looking at me, but her expression wasn’t one of horror or repulsion but sympathy and understanding.

  “When I was fourteen, she disappeared. She was gone longer than she’d ever been. After two weeks, I was getting scared something bad had happened when I found Uncle Coop’s info. I took the bus and waited for him on his doorstep. I’ve been with him ever since. I haven’t seen or heard from her until that night we went to get pizza.”

  “Oh, Riley, I’m so sorry. So very sorry. So Cooper and Izzy are essentially your parents?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You could’ve told me this. It doesn’t change anything.” Tiff held my head in her hands and kissed me softly. She kissed me like I mattered, and I always would matter. I’d spent so much of my life not mattering to anyone, I’d easily fallen back into that trap again.

  “I was stupid. I lied to everyone. Created this model childhood.”

  She kissed me again, silencing me. “I love you. Your past will never change that. You are a good, kind person, and that’s what matters most to me.”

  “Thank you,” I said simply. I’d never meant those two words more.

  “We can do this.” Her brown eyes sparkled with determination, and a determined Tiff was a force to be reckoned with. Who was I to argue?

  Instead, I kissed her while the Christmas tree lights blinked in the background, and Otto snored at our feet.

  Life couldn’t possibly get any better than this.

  Chapter 22—Epilogue

  * Riley *

  Christmas day.

  The best Christmas ever because I spent it with Tiff. We woke early to a fine smattering of snow on the ground. White Christmases were rare in Seattle. I made slow, sweet love to Tiff, then we dressed for the cold and made snow angels. Hers, of course, were perfect, while mine looked like some huge beast had rolled in the snow.

  We took a walk along Lake Union hand in hand, with Otto bounding through the snow ahead of us. Stopping near the shore, I pulled Tiff to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gazed up at me. Our eyes met, and I smiled. She stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips across mine. Her eyes sparkled, and she giggled as I lifted her and spun her around. I tripped over my big feet and fell to the ground, cushioned by the soft snow. She fell on top of me, laughing, and brought her mouth down on mine again. She tasted like coffee and minty toothpaste; she tasted like all of tomorrow’s promises, today’s pleasures, and yesterday’s memories.

  God, I loved her. And she loved me.

  I don’t know how long we made out in the snow that morning, but Otto finally broke the spell and licked our faces. I could’ve stayed like that all day long.

  As we strolled back to the house several blocks away, I glanced down at her, still a little amazed she was finally mine, and I was finally hers. One look into her eyes told me everything I needed to know. This was not a dream. This was real. This was forever.

  This was us.

  We had breakfast at her father’s, stopped by the barn to give Dex some Christmas carrots, then spent the rest of the day at Uncle Coop’s with the entire family, including Tiff’s mom.

  Hours later we were stuffed and sitting on the couch in Uncle Coop and Aunt Izzy’s living room. Just about everyone had left, leaving Izzy, Coop, Connor, Tiff, and me.

  Uncle Coop cuddled his son in his arms. Little Connor snuggled next to his dad’s broad chest and promptly fell asleep. I watched the moment with a mixture of envy and tenderness. I’d never known my father, and if I had, I doubted he’d be as good of a role model as Uncle Coop. Someday, I wanted to be the father Uncle Coop had been to me these past several years.

  I swallowed hard. My eyes burned and blurred, and I blinked several times.

  I’d never called anyone Dad in my life, never felt close enough to a man to call him that. At least not before.

  Dad.

  Father.

  There was only one man who had earned that title, just as there was only one who’d earned Mom. Neither was my bio mom or dad.

  But Tiff had said something the other night that stuck in my head and wouldn’t leave.

  So Coop and Izzy are essentially your parents?

  I was twenty-one years old and considering calling the two people who’d been my parents for over seven years Mom and Dad. Better late than never, I guessed.

  Tiff’s eyes met mine, and she squeezed my hand, as if she’d read my mind. She’d done that a lot lately.

  She leaned into me and whispered, “You’ll be a good parent. You’ve had good role models.”

  I faked a shocked look. “Is there something I should know?”

  It was her turn to look horrified. “Oh, hell, no,” she said, and laughed. “I was just saying that your aunt and uncle are incredible people.”

  “I know.” I swallowed hard, but the lump in my throat made it difficult to speak.

  I wanted to show them how special they were with a gift money couldn’t buy. Self-doubt plagued me. What if they didn’t want me to call them that? After all, they were both relatively young to have a kid my age. Maybe it’d be weird for them. Maybe I just needed to ask them. Maybe the time was now.

  I stood and cleared my throat. “I have something to ask you two.” I looked at Uncle Coop and Aunt Izzy.

  They gazed up at me, both smiling.

  I looked at Tiff, noting her puzzled expression. She came to stand by me, ready to support me whatever came next. I hugged her close.

  “Could I”—I choked and fought for control—“call you Mom and Dad?” I rushed through the words before I lost it and blinked rapidly, trying to read their expressions through a haze of tears. Tiff’s proud smile gave me courage. No matter how they responded, I’d done the right thing. I’d spoken from the heart.

  Uncle Coop reacted first. He stood, placed a sleeping Connor on the chair, and strode toward me. He stared at me, eye to eye, unsmiling, his face unreadable. I held my breath, not knowing what might come next and fighting off my old feelings of unworthiness.

  A smile twisted the corners of his mouth, and I blew out a breath.

  “I would be proud to call you my son, Riley,” he said, his grin now spreading across his face. I glanced at Aunt Izzy, who had risen to stand beside him. Tears ran down her face.

  “Oh, Riley,” she cried, and Tiff cried along with her. Even Uncle Coop—Dad’s eyes were moist. He wrapped me in huge hug, and Izzy was hugging us a second later. The four of us were all crying, even Dad.

  I had my answer.

  I had my family, and after all these years of wanting, I had Tiff.

  Sometimes love is hard work, but it’s worth it.

  ~ THE END ~

  Thank you for spending time in my world. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. If you did, please help other readers discover this book by leaving a review.

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  Did you find any errors? Please email me so I may correct them and upload a new version. You can reach me via the contact page on my website: http://www.jamidavenport.com/contact/

  COMPLETE BOOKLIST

  The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks.

  Evergreen Nights Series

  Save the Last Dance
/>   Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?

  The Gift Horse

  Madrona Sunset

  Game On in Seattle

  Skating on Thin Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Crashing the Net (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Love at First Snow (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Melting Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Blindsided (Seattle Steelheads Football)

  Hearts on Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Bodychecking (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Bottom of the Ninth (Seattle Skookums Baseball)

  Game Changer (Seattle Steelheads Football)

  Goaltending (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)

  Penalty Play

  Men of Tyee

  Sacked in Seattle

  Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series

  Fourth and Goal

  Forward Passes

  Down by Contact

  Backfield in Motion

  Time of Possession

  Roughing the Passer

  Standalone Books

  Christmas Break

  Daring to Win (Carly Phillips’ Dare to Love Kindle World)

  Game for You (Bella Andre’s Game for Love Kindle World)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Subscribe to my newsletter to receive free digital books and be notified of new releases, special sales, and contests: http://eepurl.com/LpfaL

  USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary, new adult, and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Men of Tyee Series. Jami's new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times.

  Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland drool monster, and a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat.

  Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan, is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle, and still misses her SuperSonics. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.