Hot Read: The Originals (Seattle Steelheads Book 5)

by Jami Davenport

If only he could live the life of one of his pets, no worries other than when the next meal might be served and when the next ball might be thrown. Yeah, that’d be the life.

  Only he wasn’t a dog, cat, or foul-mouthed parrot. He was just a man, a man striving to do the right thing and be a better person today than he was yesterday.

  Just a man who’d run out of reasons why he shouldn’t go after the love of his life.

  Estie wiped down the counters in Sylvia’s vet clinic, where she’d been working the past month. Sylvia followed her.

  Sylvia sighed, one of those sighs that warned she was quickly losing all patience. “You need to go.”

  “Are you firing me?” Estie felt like an idiot. Her mind had been elsewhere for a month, ever since Brett moved out of her apartment. Even working with sick and injured animals didn’t seem to take her mind off the man with those sad pale-blue eyes.

  “No, I’m kicking your ass out of here. Go find him.”

  “I can’t.” Fear shot through Estie. Find him? So he could slam the door in her face? Berate her for being an idiot, a coward, and running?

  “Of course you can. He chose San Francisco.”

  “I told him I couldn’t handle his dark places.”

  “But you can. You’re a strong woman.”

  “I can’t control what happens, how those wounds affect him.” Estie leaned against the counter and twisted the towel in her hands.

  “You love him. He loves you. You don’t need to control anything. You need to be there for him, and the rest will work itself out.”

  “You sound like my mother.”

  “Your mother’s one smart woman, and so am I. Now get the hell out of here.”

  Could it really be that simple? Could she let go of her need to control and live with the uncertainty of all those dark places she knew nothing about? Could she do that for Brett? For herself? For them?

  “What if he says it’s too late?”

  “You won’t know until you try.”

  Estie hung her head, not knowing if she could garner the courage to face possible rejection from the man she loved. “Why haven’t you encouraged me to go after Brett before now?”

  “Because you needed time to figure it out, to be ready to give your heart and soul to the one man who deserves it, despite all the messiness that goes along with a relationship.”

  And just like that, Estie knew Sylvia was right.

  Truer words were never spoken.

  Since the Super Bowl, she’d realized she could live without being in total control.

  But she couldn’t live without Brett.

  One more week passed. One more lonely, torturous week in the life of Brett Gunnels.

  Brett paced the living room floor, cell phone gripped tightly in his hand, while his animals sat on their haunches in a row, watching him walk back and forth, their heads swiveling like spectators at a tennis match.

  Stopping in front of the window, he stared at the phone. Estie’s number was displayed on the screen. He tapped Send then a second later hit End and cut off the call before the first ring. He paced some more. His animal audience still watching his every move.

  “Dumb shit. Dumb shit. Brett is a dumb shit,” Bongo sang happily, ringing his bell then jumping from perch to perch.

  Brett paused before Bongo’s cage and almost laughed. “You know what, buddy? You sacked this quarterback with those words. You’re right.”

  “Bongo’s right. Bongo’s right. Bongo’s always right.” Bongo preened and ruffled his feathers. Risky groaned and lay down, head between his paws.

  Brett dialed again with a shaking hand. On the fifth ring, it went to voicemail. Estie’s soft, sultry voice came across the cellular waves. Brett gripped the phone as he listened to her.

  Hi, you’ve reached Estie. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back.

  Simple. Nothing special, but his heart raced and his breath caught, as if she were reciting a love poem or engaging in pillow talk.

  Clearing his throat, he left a message. “Estie, it’s Brett. I love you. I miss you. I can’t live without you. You’re the sun that shines in my heart, the sparkle in my morning, and the meaning to my day. I want to make this work. Call me. Please.”

  Damned if he didn’t sound like the pathetic lovesick fool he was.

  Brett wandered around with his phone for hours. Jumping at every call, checking the charge on the phone every few minutes, and verifying the bars and the volume level.

  He tried to maintain a positive attitude, but it was tough—fucking damn tough. She didn’t want to talk to him, despite Tyler’s claims that Brett was the guy. Apparently, Brett wasn’t the guy.

  Brett sighed and lay back on his couch. He started the video of last year’s San Fran team, analyzing the weaknesses and strengths of the guys who would be his teammates next season. He tried to concentrate, but his mind kept flipping to Estie, to his phone call, and wondering why she didn’t at least tell him to fuck off if nothing else. He’d understand that. If that’s what she wanted, he’d respect it.

  At midnight, his doorbell rang. Risky started barking, Bongo started bitching, and Blackjack glared at everyone for upsetting his quiet evening. Brett had been ass-deep in the beginning of a nightmare, one of those recurring ones that’d faded into the background when he’d been with Estie. For so long they’d been few and far between and lost their power. Lately, they’d been gaining momentum again, and he hated it.

  He made a mental note to find a good PTSD counselor, but first he needed to bitch out the person at his door.

  He glanced at his watch and frowned, worry replacing his annoyance over a few bad dreams. Midnight? Who the hell knocked on someone’s door at midnight unless it was an emergency? Unless Harris had come back for round two. Now that wouldn’t surprise him one bit.

  Brett tamped down his panic and channeled his inner soldier, the one that stood strong when the entire world blew up around him. Whatever waited on the other side of the door couldn’t compare to what he’d been through in the Middle East.

  Still, Brett wasn’t an idiot. He cautiously opened the door and peered out. Dozer and Marilyn sat on his front porch gazing up at him, tails thumping. With a shaking hand, Brett removed the rolled-up paper tied to Dozer’s collar and the envelope tied on to Marilyn’s. He glanced around but didn’t see anyone else.

  Brett unrolled the parchment paper and read the message written in Estie’s handwriting.

  I miss you. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.

  His heart beat right out of his chest, right up into his throat.

  He tore into the envelope. Inside was a Super Bowl ring. His ring. The one he’d earned. A small note was rolled inside it. “This is yours, and maybe we can discuss another ring of even greater importance.” Somehow she’d gotten his ring from the team and brought it here.

  A grin spread across his face. “Are you proposing?” he called out into the darkness.

  A figure moved from behind a tree and approached him until she stood under the porch light several feet from him in tight jeans and a black sweater covered in dog hair. “If that’s what it takes.”

  “I love you, Estie.” Brett bounded down the steps and dropped to one knee in front of her. He grabbed her hand; it was sweaty just like his. “I love you. I’ll always love you. I pledge my love to you and you alone. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, as long as you share all your dark places with me.”

  “I will, I promise. I’ll tell you everything, and together we’ll fight through it.”

  Estie dropped to her knees in front of him and threw her arms around him. “In that case, my answer is a big yes.”

  “Love you. Love you. Love you,” Bongo screeched from inside the house.

  Estie drew back and smiled at Brett. “Love you instead of fuck you? Now that’s an improvement.”

  “I’ve been working on him.” Brett grinned. He lifted her up and spun her around until they both collapsed in a dizzy heap in his fr
ont yard, dogs dancing around them and jumping on top of them, wet tongues and sloppy kisses all around.

  Brett’s life would never be the same, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  ~ 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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  Complete Booklist

  The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks. These books can be read as standalones.

  Scoring Series

  Introducing the Puck Brothers

  Shutout

  Blocked

  Playmaker

  Icing (Winter 2020)

  Seattle Sockeyes Hockey

  Skating on Thin Ice

  Crashing the Net

  Love at First Snow

  Melting Ice

  Hearts on Ice

  Bodychecking

  Goaltending

  Penalty Play

  Shutdown Player

  Shot on Goal

  Deflected

  Seattle Skookums Baseball

  Bottom of the Ninth

  Men of Tyee

  Sacked in Seattle

  Tackled in Seattle

  Seattle Steelheads

  Kickoff (The Originals)

  Snap Decision (The Originals)

  Offsides (The Originals)

  Draw Play (The Originals)

  Hot Read (The Originals)

  Comeback Route (The Originals—Fall 2020)

  Blindsided

  Game Changer

  Fumble Recovery

  Gone Missing Investigations

  Gone Missing

  Evergreen Nights Series

  Save the Last Dance

  Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?

  The Gift Horse

  Standalone Books

  Madrona Sunset

  About the Author

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

  USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary, new adult, and sports romances, and has recently dived into Romantic Suspense with her new series, Gone Missing.

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

  Jami worked in IT for years and is a former high school business teacher but recently achieved her life-long dream and is now a full-time author. A horse lover since birth, Jami showed dressage horses for over thirty years. Now she gardens and goes RVing in her green Winnebago Minnie, along with other travelling adventures. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan and is impatiently waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle. Jami 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.

  Website: https://www.jamidavenport.com

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