Slap Shot

by Rhonda Laurel

  “You don’t want to try because you can’t show off? If you want, you can do a couple toe loops before you before you get started. Or maybe I can let you blindfold me.”

  “You have a pretty big ego, don’t you? OK, superstar. Let’s see if you’re highly overpaid or not.” Charisma swung the stick with all her might and connected with the puck so hard it became airborne and smacked Derek right in the face.

  “Ouch!” he yelled and covered his face with his hand.

  “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” she screamed. “I am so sorry!”

  Derek caught her in his arms as soon as she rushed over to examine his face. “Just kidding.”

  “That’s not funny. I thought I’d blinded you or something. Images of you losing your job, your endorsements, and having to move in with me and my grandma flashed in my head.” She tried to get out of his grasp, but he held on tighter.

  “Your brain cycles through worst-case scenarios rather quickly.”

  “Force of habit.” She shrugged and gripped his face. “I see some slight bruising. Let me get you back to the guesthouse. I can put some ice on that.”

  “Careful, someone might think you were worried about me.”

  “I seem to be hazardous to your health. Since we’ve met, you’ve been punched in the mouth by a crazed ex-girlfriend. Now I’ve beaned you in the eye with a puck.”

  “I’m a lot tougher than I look. So are you.”

  “So is that what you call a slap shot in hockey?”

  “That was more of an assassination attempt. I think you should have to sit in the penalty box for that one.” He moved a lock of her hair away from her eyes. “Ty tak krasiva.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That means you are so beautiful.”

  He kissed her. Charisma didn’t fight the kiss because she’d been wanting him to do that since she’d stepped onto the ice. She opened her lips wider as his tongue swept in her mouth, deepening their connection. She could feel him getting hard as he pulled her even closer and caressed her butt. The feel of his lips on hers, his hands caressing her body, rocked through her like a tidal wave. She hadn’t felt this passionate or safe with a man in long time, and it felt good.

  He finally ended the kiss and gazed deep into her eyes. “Spend the day with me tomorrow.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “It’s the best idea I’ve had all year.” He laughed, then kissed her again.

  “Were you really going to give me a tour of the Alamo?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Sure. I’d like that.”

  And for once saying yes felt like the right thing.

  * * *

  Derek would have preferred a more sensual activity with Charisma, but a promise was a promise…and he’d promised himself to take it slow with her. So the next morning, he’d picked her up in the wee hours so they could get a jump on traffic. Charisma seemed in better spirits than the day she’d arrived. Seth had even mentioned that she and Morgan had made some headway on their reconcilement. Derek was happy to hear the good news. It seemed really important to Charisma that she redeem herself for her past behavior. Speaking of good news, Phoebe had moved on to greener pastures, and the media had dropped them as the hot gossip topic du jour. A picture had surfaced on the press junket of a fellow actor consoling Phoebe and it was plastered everywhere.

  But not everything was perfect yet. Unfortunately, Lamont was still making waves in the media with asinine comments. Seth had clued Derek in that although Lamont put on a big show about how much he didn’t want Charisma, it couldn’t be further from the truth. A few of Seth’s ex-teammates said that Lamont’s mania was ramping up and it had nothing to do with the upcoming season. The trash-talking wide receiver was still bitter that he couldn’t persuade her to stay with him.

  Still, Lamont was easy to ignore down here in Texas, and he didn’t want to waste any more time or energy thinking about the man. He was perfectly happy tootling around San Antonio in Seth’s truck, taking in the historical sites. They visited San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and started with the introductory movie Gente de Razón at the visitor center. They also perused the museum, then went to visit the missions. He went through his talking points of the beautiful architecture while she took pictures, pointing out his favorite highlights of each one. There was something haunting about the church at Mission Concepción that spoke to him. His grandmother used to say he had staraya dusha. An old soul indeed.

  From there they went to the San Antonio Museum of Art. They walked hand in hand on the Missions Hike and Bike Trail for a while and after that they decided to take a lunch break. When he tried to explain the difference between Tex Mex and authentic Mexican food, it was simply easier to restaurant-hop so she could taste for herself. Finally, they’d arrived at his beloved Alamo. They walked the grounds for a bit before exploring the interior. Once inside, he introduced her to some of the staff members he’d come to know on his many visits there. It felt good sharing this with her.

  “So what is it about this place that fascinates you?” she asked him.

  “Well, it means different things to different people. But for me I guess it’s defending what you believe in and taking it as far as you can go. Even if it seems like a lost cause.” He smiled at her.

  “Is that your take on a certain part of American history, or are you talking about us?”

  “I think we have lots of potential.”

  She looked at him but didn’t reply.

  By the time they got back to the ranch, Charisma was sound asleep in the passenger seat. He cut off the truck and watched her sleep. He wished there was something he could say to get her to open up. He leaned over and brushed her lips with his.

  “Hey.” Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. “Where are we?”

  “Back at the ranch.”

  “Oh no. How long did I sleep?”

  “You missed a good stretch of highway.” He laughed. “Did you have a good time today? You can tell me the truth. My ego can take it.”

  “I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about San Antonio, but I also learned a lot about you.”

  “Then it was a good day all around.” He didn’t want to leave her, so he threw caution to the wind. “Do you have any plans tonight?”

  “Isabelle gets back tonight. We’re supposed to have a girl’s night. What’s up? You have something more exciting in mind?”

  “Do I ever.” He kissed her again. “But, I know it’s important for you to spend some time with your family. You did mention something about building new bridges. How about I take you to Houston for dinner tomorrow?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Derek walked her to the door and gave her another kiss. It was no surprise when he followed the path back to the truck that the little Blake boys were spying on him.

  “Hi, boys.”

  They all flashed toothy grins. “Hi, Uncle Derek.”

  “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Since you pulled up with cousin Charisma,” Jake replied.

  “You kiss her like dad kisses mom. Do you like her?” Colby added.

  “I like her very much.”

  “How much do you like her?” Connor asked.

  He thought about it for a moment. “I would share my snack with her.”

  The boys’ eyes all widened, and Derek laughed to himself. As far as they were concerned, he’d just professed his love for her. Sharing a snack was a serious thing, even for a boy his age. It would be his little secret with the boys. Or so he thought. He looked up and saw Seth by the patio, grinning like an idiot.

  “I guess you heard that,” he said.

  “Sure did. Why don’t we hang out after I get the kids tucked in?”

  Derek watched as Seth and Morgan went through their evening ritual of getting the kids ready for bed. It reminded him of Alex’s bedtime routine with Noah and Chloe. Things were easier when you were a couple who could tag team each
other to help out with the kids. Alex managed pretty well, but Derek wondered how long it would be before his brother would put his heart out there again. He envied that brief moment when his brother had the perfect life with the woman of his dreams. And then it had all shattered like glass.

  “Derek, can I get you something while you wait for Seth? He’s singing Mackenzie the ‘Sleepy Slumber’ song and it may take a while.”

  “Sure, I’ll take a beer.” He followed Morgan into the kitchen. “‘Sleepy Slumber?’”

  “It’s supposed to be a lullaby, but he added a few raspberries to her tummy and tickling her feet and then it turns into playtime.” She passed him a cold longneck.

  “And here I thought he’d be climbing the walls by now trying to decide his next career move, but he’s enjoying domestic bliss instead.”

  “I think we both needed this time to decompress and count our four blessings upstairs. It’s nice to just be mom and dad for a while before the rest of the world catches up with us again. We’ll have to make some decisions soon, but right now, it’s heaven on earth.”

  “Michelle is handling the bookstore well, but I can tell she misses you.”

  “I miss her too. She keeps me apprised of everything that goes on in the bookstore. Thank you for your continued participation in the store activities.”

  “No, thank you. If it weren’t for you and Michelle, I’d still be a closet history nerd getting my books online. You encouraged me to share what I knew, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I enjoy the lectures, and the bookstore feels like home to me too, like the Slap Shot.”

  “That’s good to hear because you’re our biggest draw.” Morgan laughed.

  “I’ve always loved the energy in that place. I remember Seth telling me that the first time he stepped into your bookstore he felt the same as he did when he was at the ranch. I think it had more to do with you than anything else, but I knew what he meant.”

  “Isn’t it amazing when you unexpectedly meet someone and that person changes your perspective on the world?” Morgan’s eyes sparkled.

  “Yes, it is.” He cleared his throat. “He really loves you and the kids. It does my heart good to see him happy.”

  “Have you been thinking about your own happiness?”

  But before he could answer, Seth came bounding down the stairs. “Baby, Connor’s waiting for you to fluff up his pillow the way he likes it. I tried, but I don’t have the magic touch.”

  “Is her highness asleep?”

  “She’s been out for about five minutes. But I’d go past her bedroom on your tiptoes.”

  “I’ll see if the boys need anything else before Charisma and I head to Isabelle and Tate’s house. You guys behave.” Morgan smiled and dashed upstairs when she heard Connor calling her name.

  Seth dove right in as he retrieved a beer. “So you’re up for sharing your snack?”

  “That was the nicest euphemism I could come up with since I was in the company of youngsters.”

  “I thought it was cute. How was the tour?”

  “We had a great time. We’re going to dinner tomorrow.”

  Seth looked at him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were smitten.”

  “So what if I am?” Derek rubbed the back of his neck. He wanted Charisma so bad it took all of his restraint not to pull his usual seduction moves to get her into bed. He wanted more this time. He wanted what he saw everywhere he turned on the ranch. He wanted love.

  Seth went back into the fridge, pulled out a half dozen more beers and some snacks and walked toward the living room. “I knew this day would come sooner or later. And you finding someone just as feisty as you are happens to be the icing on the cake. Let’s chat. Lucky for you I have the inside track on how to handle a Reed woman.”

  “And how is that?” Derek mused.

  “You don’t. She’s pretty much going to be handling you and you’ll love every minute of it.” Seth grinned and motioned to the counter. “Grab those tortilla chips. I have the salsa.”

  “If this is going to be a never-ending lecture of ‘I told you so,’ I’m going to need a few more beers.” He got a few more longnecks out of the fridge and snagged the bag of chips off the counter.

  * * *

  Charisma was too anxious about spending the evening with Morgan and Isabelle, so she focused on catching up on work to distract herself. She was happy to hear from Ian that the bar supplies and some of the decorative items she’d ordered had arrived. She was all set to dive back into the project as soon as she returned to Philadelphia. She called her grandma to check up on her, but her grandma was more interested in what was going on at the ranch. Charisma told her everything was going well and that she was hanging out with Morgan and Isabelle tonight. Feeling like she was withholding something from her grandma, she told her that Derek had come to Texas too. Grandma Reed had a good chuckle about that one and muttered something about Derek knowing what he wanted. Her grandmother wished her luck and made her promise to call the next day.

  After a shower and a change of clothes, she was ready to go by the time Morgan came over to pick her up. It was only a short trip to Isabelle and Tate’s cabin. They pulled up to the cabin to find Tate unloading the car.

  Morgan gave him a hug. “Hi, Tate. How was the trip?”

  “Hi, darlin’.” Tate put his arm around her. “We had a really good time. Matt’s even more spoiled than before he left. If that’s possible.” He turned to Charisma and hugged her too. “Charisma, it’s good to see you again. I hope you’re enjoying the ranch.”

  “It’s good to see you again. This place is unbelievable.” She smiled. “Can I help with the bags?”

  “Absolutely not.” He grinned. “Izzy’s in the house trying to get Matt to go to sleep if you’d like to head on in.”

  Morgan led her up the porch steps and into the house. They found Isabelle in the kitchen.

  “Izzy,” Morgan said. “How was the trip?”

  “Adventurous. My parents don’t know how to say ‘no’ to Matt. They never had a problem saying it to me.” Isabelle waddled over to her and gave Charisma a hug. “Charisma, it’s good to see you. Are you in town working with Jared?”

  “Yes.” She exhaled. “Although, I haven’t been doing much of it. So far I’ve put in very few hours.”

  “He just wanted to come to Texas to be with Autumn.” Isabelle smiled. “Isn’t Derek down here too?”

  “Yep.” Morgan made eyes at Isabelle.

  “Yes, it’s a big ole coincidence.” Charisma cleared her throat and turned in the direction of the little feet she heard stampeding toward the kitchen.

  “Aunt Morgy!”

  “Hi, handsome.” Morgan ran her hand through Matt’s curly locks and picked him up. “Matt, I’m not sure if you remember cousin Charisma. She’s visiting from Philadelphia.”

  “Hi.” He gave her a shy wave then nestled his head against Morgan’s shoulder.

  “Wow, he looks just like Tate.” Charisma smiled.

  “Matt, you ready for bed?” Isabelle asked. “You’d feel much better if you got a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we can go say hello to your cousins.”

  Matt shook his head and snuggled closer to Morgan.

  Tate came into the kitchen and chimed in. “That does sound like a good idea. How about we take a nap together?” Tate let out a fake yawn. “I’m pretty tired after traveling all day.”

  Matt shook his head again. Morgan flashed her hand at Tate, signaling that she needed five minutes with him.

  Morgan sat at the table with Matt perched on her lap. “No worries, this one will be asleep before you know it. Matt and I are cuddle buddies from way back.”

  “You have that same soothing touch that Grandma has with kids. A few minutes in her arms and I would out cold for the rest of the afternoon,” Charisma said. She glanced at Isabelle. “So how’s the pregnancy?”

  “Just fine. I can’t wait to have another one who fights his sleep and likes to go eve
rywhere barefoot.” Isabelle plated some shortbread cookies and poured ice tea into glasses from the pitcher she’d retrieved from the refrigerator. “How’s Grandma? She enjoys living with you. She said you taught her how to search the Internet.”

  “I did and have been taking a bunch of flak for it from the family. I’ve learned a lot of things about her that I never knew.”

  Isabelle held up her hand. “Stop right there. I don’t want to know about the pre-Grandpa years.”

  They all laughed. Tate returned after a few minutes. Matt was sound asleep on Morgan’s lap.

  “I don’t know how you do it.” He rubbed Matt’s back.

  “The Reed women have that special touch.”

  “I’ll put him to bed.” Tate kissed Isabelle tenderly on the lips and rubbed her belly before collecting Matt and heading upstairs.

  Charisma was blown away by the tour of the house. The cabin was spacious but still had a cozy charm to it. There was plenty of room for more kids, and she was positive there would be more on the way. Tate looked at Isabelle with such love in his eyes it was hard not to get misty over it. She was happy for her cousin. She’d never liked Ned and was kind of relieved when she’d divorced him.

  Isabelle couldn’t drink the Moscato, but she did enjoy the Shirley Temples Morgan kept serving her. “So what’s going on with you and Derek?” Isabelle asked.

  “You two tell each other everything,” she said, but caught the eye-roll she was about to do and regrouped. She swirled her wine around in the glass. “Actually, I was always jealous of how close the two of you were. You shared toys and secrets and liked being around each other.”

  “Morgan and I just clicked. We have similar personalities. When you came around, we had to see if good Charisma or bad Charisma was going to play with us. It was frustrating.” Isabelle sighed.

  “It sure was. The only time I can remember you not being a total brat was when you spent time with my mom.” Morgan’s voice trailed off.

  Aunt Elizabeth’s death was a blow to the entire family. Charisma had loved her and still missed her every day. Her mother had her good points, but Elizabeth filled in the gaps where her mom was lacking. She’d tell Debra when she was pushing Charisma too hard, like enrolling her in every extracurricular activity from gymnastics to ice-skating. Or when Charisma didn’t excel like Morgan did in school, her aunt would help her with her schoolwork in the afternoons when she came home from working at the library. She’d been attentive, kind, and encouraging. She had the kind of warmth and compassion that…Morgan had.