OverTime (The Dartmouth Cobras Book 9)

by Bianca Sommerland

  Mackenzie was sporty, outgoing, and didn’t seem all that into boys, which helped a little. But his daughter had developed an attitude that had taken time to adjust to. As a Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle, he wasn’t accustomed to being told, in so many words, that he was an idiot. Though, in the mind of a teen coming into her own, he probably was.

  Her sister, Madison, younger by almost a day, was more reserved. Her interest in all things supernatural made for some interesting conversations. She insisted on reading the horoscope of every woman he showed the slightest interest in. He’d tried to learn what he could about ‘the occult’ and follow along when she shared what her favorite mystical YouTubers had to say on everything from current events to the fate of the planet.

  Even worse, she thought their house was haunted. He was never sure what to do when she woke with night terrors and called him to her room. He sat by her bed, holding her hand and told her he’d never let anything hurt her. Thankfully, Mackenzie was a light sleeper and climbed into bed with her, holding her close and falling asleep by her side.

  His girls were there for one another in a way he’d always hoped they’d be. Losing their mother so young had been hard, but he was proud of the young women they’d become.

  The last thing they needed was life to knock them down again.

  But there was nothing he could do to protect them from Madison’s deteriorating health. He wished he could. He’d do anything to take the pain on himself. Shield them from the worst. But they already knew he didn’t have that power.

  And he’d had to accept it as well.

  The treatment Madison had gone through for leukemia when she’d been almost twelve had killed the cancer. Given her a chance at a normal life. Her heart had taken a beating in the process. Over the past four years, she’d been closely monitored. Was almost in the clear.

  He’d known something was wrong when his little ball of sunshine and energy stopped wanting to do anything. Keeping her inside used to be difficult, pure hell when she’d been going through treatment, but over the last few weeks, she’d become lackluster about going to school. Uninterested in seeing her friends.

  She was always tired. Developed a nasty cough she couldn’t shake. Her yearly checkup hadn’t been scheduled for another two months, but he’d called her doctor and made an appointment for the next day.

  For hours of tests and waiting. A process that was much too familiar.

  The door opened. The cardiologist, Doctor Jollet, came in.

  Lorenzo stood, holding his arm out as Madison came to his side. He held her close as they faced the doctor, Mackenzie pressing against her sister’s other side, both trembling as they waited to hear the diagnosis.

  Doctor Jollet didn’t waste any time. Her eyes were full of regret as she turned to his daughter. “I’m sorry, Madison, but we’re going to have to schedule surgery as soon as possible.” She gave Madison a bracing smile. “Thankfully your heart valve will not need to be replaced, but we need to do a procedure to repair your annulus—which is the ring at the base of your heart valve which we’d suspected might have begun leaking blood in the wrong direction. The procedure will involve placing a band around it which will tighten the valve.”

  Inhaling slowly, Lorenzo squeezed Madison’s shoulder, his gaze locked on the doctor. The room had gone ice cold, shards sinking into his skin, ready to tear him apart. But he had to hold it together. “And this will help her resume a normal life? What are the chances of a full recovery?”

  “Her chances are very good and many patients find their symptoms improve immediately after the surgery. Others take longer, but she will feel much better as she begins to heal.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” He glanced over at Madison, who was staring at the ground. “Can we have a moment, please?”

  “Of course.”

  Before the door even clicked shut, Mackenzie grabbed Madison’s shoulders, her voice breaking as Madison met her eyes. “Don’t be scared, Maddy. You’re strong. You’ll get your heart fixed and be back to kickin’ ass and takin’ names in no time.”

  Madison leaned back against Lorenzo, pressing her eyes shut. “Doesn’t look like I have a choice. I just…I don’t want to go back to missing school and being in the hospital all the time. And not being able to do stuff myself, or go anywhere, or…” She inhaled roughly. “I was finally normal again. I just want to be normal.”

  Lorenzo pressed a kiss to her hair, managing to keep his voice soft and comforting despite the tightness of his throat. “We need to do whatever it takes to get you healthy. We can go back to Toronto if you’d like. Get a second opinion?”

  Turning slightly to look up at him, Madison frowned. “I thought you trusted Doctor Jollet?”

  “I do, baby. It’s only—”

  “You’re not seriously using this as another excuse to move back out west, are you?” Mackenzie glared at him. “Our whole lives are here. Our school. All our friends. And Maddy’s been seeing these doctors for almost two years. You’re seriously gonna talk about moving now?”

  Deep, deep breath. He kept his tone measured as he regarded his daughter; all long, dark brown hair, ball cap, and attitude. “This has nothing to do with moving, Mackenzie. Your sister has a difficult decision to make. I am simply making sure she considers all her options.”

  “If I stay, the surgery will be within the next two weeks.” Madison didn’t react to Mackenzie’s outburst. She never did. Her slender shoulders squared as she looked up at him with a brave little smile. “I’m comfortable here. Well, as comfortable as I can be in a stupid hospital. And then I’ll get to go home. Recover in my own bed while you both wait on me hand and foot.”

  “Damn right we will.” Mackenzie gave her sister a careful hug, whispering loudly as Madison wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist. “We’ll sneak into the forum and watch a game before you have your surgery. Daddy will never say no with all you’re dealing with.”

  Madison snickered.

  Lord save me from devious teenagers. He frowned at Mackenzie. “No.”

  His little darling rolled her eyes. “She hasn’t asked yet. Of course you’ll say no to me.”

  “This isn’t up for discussion.”

  After giving him the stink eye, Mackenzie went back to talking about all the fun things she and Madison would do before and after her surgery. Which seemed to help Madison relax. When the doctor returned, they made the pre-op appointment and were finally able to leave.

  Outside, both his daughters were in better spirits, almost as though the news hadn’t been that bad. He smiled as they walked ahead of him to his car, resisting the urge to lecture them about looking at their phones while walking. His girls were growing up and he couldn’t monitor their every step anymore.

  But he could protect them from the uglier parts of his business. He’d made the decision to keep them away from the forum, hoping the media wouldn’t decide his twin daughters would look great on the front page of some tabloid. Thankfully, as the owner, few were interested in digging into his life unless the team played badly and there could be some kind of spin to blame him.

  Or rumors got out that he was considering selling the team.

  The sad fact was, the team was not profitable anymore. He’d been optimistic during his first season here, since the changes he’d made resulted in a spike in attendance and sponsors, but during the second season, interest had waned. Reducing ticket prices still didn’t fill the seats. Fewer networks were showing games.

  Without some heavy investment and a major revamp, the team would fold in the next two years. He’d seen what the Delgado family had gone through, trying to keep the franchise alive. Anthony Delgado had gone so far as to pit his children against one another, ambition becoming an obsession. The way the man had run the team, had run his family, left damage that couldn’t be erased, reminding Lorenzo too much of how his own father had lived. Lorenzo had tried to be different by investing in a sport he was passionate about, without risking too much, but th
e team needed someone willing to take chances.

  As much as Lorenzo loved the game, he wasn’t willing to go down with it.

  Unfortunately, his tentative inquiries into selling had leaked. The most reputable reporters simply speculated about the possibility, but the tabloids were trying to make a quick cut and run seem inevitable. Having his daughters at the forum near those bottom feeding journalists risked bringing on the very attention he’d protected them from for so long.

  He also didn’t want them around the athletes. Not that he didn’t trust the guys, but…all right, he didn’t trust them. Individually, most seemed decent, but ‘decent’ wasn’t good enough for his baby girls.

  Once they’d arrived home and the girls had disappeared into the basement den, he gave the team’s General Manager, Dean Richter, a call.

  “Hey, Keane. Good news I hope?” Dean got straight to the point, which was one of the many things Lorenzo liked about the man.

  Lorenzo would consider him a friend if their working relationship didn’t make that impossible. Dean was too close to the players, too reluctant to make big trades which might be beneficial. He’d undoubtedly do it for the good of the team when push came to shove, but Lorenzo didn’t want to end up with similar attachments.

  But it was nice to have someone he trusted to talk to about the situation with his daughter. No one else connected to the franchise knew what she’d gone through, but on one of the rare occasions he and Dean had met for a drink to discuss the coming season, the conversation of their children had come up.

  When Dean had grumbled about his daughter’s pregnancy and how worried he was, Lorenzo had related to him as a father. And expressed his own fears. He’d called him the other night to tell Dean about the doctor’s appointment since he’d had to push off a board meeting.

  Looked like he might have to reschedule a few more.

  “Not good news.” His throat tightened and he inhaled slowly. “She needs surgery to repair her heart. It’s a lot for her to go through, considering… But she’s strong and we’ll get through this.”

  “I’ve no doubt of that. From everything you’ve told me, you’ve raised two incredible young women.”

  “Girls… They’re still children.” Lorenzo shook his head. He was being ridiculous. He cleared his throat. “No, you’re right. But sometimes it feels like they are still so young.”

  “I know exactly where you’re coming from. And I wish I could say it gets easier…”

  “How is Jami?”

  “Doing well. Planning her wedding. Speaking to me again while constantly warning me our truce will end if I punch her fiancé again.”

  Lorenzo chuckled, pouring himself a glass of scotch from the liquor cabinet before heading to his favorite chair. The antics of the Cobras might stress him out at times—it would take only one PR disaster to tank the team—but off the ice, he couldn’t help but admit the boys amused him.

  “I’m not sure what they expected.” He grinned wishing he’d been there to witness the infamous moment. “Having Luke Carter blurt out that he’d gotten your daughter pregnant would drive any man to violence.”

  Dean laughed, the faint sound of ice in a glass coming through the line. “Don’t bother making excuses for me. I lost control. I’m not proud of myself.”

  Tipping his glass to his lips, Lorenzo smirked. “But it felt good, didn’t it.”

  “Damn right it did.” Dean went quiet. “I hope you know I can handle everything here while Madison recovers. And if Mackenzie needs someone to talk to, she’s welcome to come by. I know you keep your private life separate from the game, but it might be good for her to get away for a bit. Silver spends a lot of time with the Ice Girls, most who aren’t much older than your girls.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll suggest it to her.” Lorenzo watched the light glisten off the golden liquid in his glass. When Madison had gone through cancer treatments, Mackenzie refused to leave her side. To the point that it had become unhealthy. She wouldn’t eat unless Madison could. Wouldn’t go outside.

  His mother had still been alive at the time, and managed to coax her away from the hospital every few days, while he stayed with Madison.

  This time Mackenzie didn’t have anyone else. She wasn’t close to anyone besides her sister. Sure, she played sports with a few girls at school, and spoke to them online, but unless Madison dragged her out to the movies or the mall, she never socialized with her peers.

  Which meant, while Madison was healing, she wouldn’t go anywhere at all.

  Unless…

  “Now that Amia is a bit older, I assume you have a nanny, but if you ever need a babysitter, perhaps Mackenzie could do the job.” He didn’t want to use Dean’s sympathy just to find a distraction for his daughter, but this might benefit them both. “She’s amazing with children.”

  “Absolutely. Silver and Landon would have to meet her first, but I don’t see them objecting. Why don’t you all come over for dinner on Saturday?”

  “We would love to. Thank you.” Lorenzo set his glass on the round end table by his chair and sat forward. “Now that that’s settled, I have to say, I’m surprised you haven’t asked about the rumors that I’ll be selling the team.”

  Silence. Then Dean cleared his throat. “Since you’re mentioning it, I’m assuming they’re true.”

  “I have considered it, yes.”

  “I see…” Dean sighed. “These things happen, but I expect we’ll discuss it once you’ve made a final decision. Until then I’m going to focus on this season so you can focus on your daughters.”

  Lorenzo inclined his head, even though Dean couldn’t see him. He valued the man’s business sense—when it didn’t involve the players. And he needed him to continue doing his job as though nothing had changed.

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.” He finished off his whiskey and stood, smiling as he heard baby chatter from Amia through the phone. “I’ll leave you to your little angel while I go check on both of mine.” He paused. “Please know this won’t be a rash decision. The team will be in good hands, either way.”

  “I’d expect no less,” Dean replied, sounding sincere.

  They hung up and Lorenzo headed downstairs to see if his daughters wanted to watch one of the old horror movies they loved so much before he closed himself away in his office to catch up on some work. He stopped in the doorway to the den, a smile tugging at his lips. Both were curled up on the plush, dark brown, U-shaped sofa, the light from the TV glowing on their sleeping faces.

  For a moment, standing here, the world seemed as uncomplicated as it had been when they were children. The software company he’d built had become profitable enough to expand and, while he still worked long hours, he’d managed to do more of it from home. Be a businessman and a father who was there whenever his daughters needed him.

  He was still that father, despite how involved he’d become with the team. Maybe he couldn’t magically make his baby better, but he’d be by her side through every step of her healing. Through any other challenge his daughters faced after.

  Being a single parent was the most important job he’d ever have.

  And no matter how proud he was of his accomplishments, he’d walk away from them all for his girls. He knew what it was like to come second to success. He’d promised himself his children would never feel that way.

  No matter what life threw at them, that was a promise he’d never break.

  Chapter 4

  Silver bit into her cheek as Dean stepped into the living room, a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. It was just past two. He never drank this early.

  The call hadn’t gone well.

  Laying on the floor, lifting their daughter up in the air, Landon made airplane sounds as Amia ‘flew’ above him, her little blonde curls bouncing around her head. She let out a high-pitched giggle, then dropped her arms, wiggling her fingers at him until Landon lowered her to his muscular chest. Amia looked so tiny, surrounded by his thick arms, but despite his power
ful body, Landon was a giant teddy bear when it came to their daughter.

  He noticed Dean and sat up, grabbing the remote he’d dropped on the thick, charcoal carpet. “Before you say another word, you’ve got to see this.”

  Dean smiled and took a seat on the couch beside Silver, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side. He wasn’t as big as Landon, and didn’t train as insanely hard, but she could still feel the strength of him when she rested her head on his shoulder. As she glanced up at him, he gave her a reassuring smile that didn’t help much. He was good at those, but she knew him too well. The fine lines around his hazel eyes had deepened and his neatly styled, grey-dusted, dark brown hair looked mussed up, like he’d been raking his fingers through it.

  Music came on, Amia’s favorite song by Justin Timberlake, Can’t Stop This Feeling. She bopped around to it every time they were in the car. Keeping it on repeat made going anywhere much easier.

  Amia’s lips formed a wide O. She gave Landon a huge smile. Hesitated and glanced over at Silver and Dean. Then she started moving, wiggling to the music, spinning in circles, then rushing over to grab Landon’s hand as the song reached the chorus.

  He danced with her and Silver let out a happy sigh, hugging Dean’s arm. This was the family she’d always wanted. One full of love and joy, everything she could have ever wanted for their daughter. Or herself. Moments like this could make all the worries in the world go away, if only for a little bit.

  “Okay, now just like last time.” Landon crouched in front of Amia. She mirrored him, her expression serious. “Ready?”

  The garbled response almost sounded like ‘Yes’. With a few more syllables, but the excitement in Amia’s eyes said it all.

  As the climax of the song hit, they both leaped up.

  Crack!

  Silver winced as Landon brought a hand to his head.