“That’s harsh,” he murmurs, but to my surprise he nods in understanding. “I get it.”
“Do you?” I ask hesitantly. “Because Shane… my life is my life. My life with Felicity is mine alone with her. What you have with her will be yours. But you cannot be part of mine anymore. I’m really sorry if that’s harsh, but I have to protect myself too.”
“I get it,” he assures me, holding his hands up again. A smile forms on his face, every bit of pain and sorrow for himself evaporates. “Now, you get going. You have a game to get to.”
I don’t move a muscle, wondering if I’m being played or not. Shane waves, turns from me, and opens the door to my home. It’s only after he disappears inside that I head to my car.
CHAPTER 20
Jett
Nora’s ranch—or rather I should say Nora and Tacker’s ranch since they’re married—is a pretty fantastic place. It’s not only beautiful but the purpose is humbling. Nora’s a psychologist and she uses horses in her therapy. It’s the place the team gathers the most for get-togethers because it’s so huge with plenty of room between their house and the barn.
It’s no surprise that Nora has taken a shine to Emory and has been handing out advice on her situation with Shane. They both have the same grit and determination to be champions of others. When Nora invited Emory and Felicity out here, it was for two reasons. The first and most important, was to let Felicity ride and have fun. But the second was to give her an opportunity to talk to Nora about any fears or worries she had since her father had come back into her life after a very long absence.
When I got the invite to attend with them—from Emory not Nora—I was shocked. It was a mother/daughter thing and I didn’t want to intrude, but on the other hand, I wanted time with Emory. We’re both so fucking busy in our careers that our time is very precious. And if I can only get a few hours with her today for a trip to Nora’s ranch, I’ll gladly take it.
Out of politeness, because I always want to respect Emory’s boundaries around her and Felicity, I did suggest perhaps it wasn’t the best outing for me to attend with them. Emory replied that it was the best time since Felicity would be spending most of the time with Nora and Emory would be all by her lonesome.
That, in turn, generated images of my hauling her off to a dark corner in the barn to have some very quality “alone” time together, but I knew that would never happen.
Doesn’t matter.
I’m content to stand here at the fence railing to one of the riding arenas and watch Felicity. She’s currently on a dark brown horse with a white blaze down its face. It’s a pretty big horse and I voiced my concerns when Nora’s ranch manager, Raul, brought the horse out. Raul shot me a wink and said old Charlie was the ranch’s laziest horse and couldn’t be bothered to do more than a slow walk. I actually think he was pulling my chain but it was his way of saying they knew the best horse to pair Felicity with, so I didn’t say anything else.
Oddly, I’m more nervous about Felicity being up on that huge horse than Emory, but Emory assured me she did very well in the lessons she had taken before moving here. She was able to freely ride on her own at both a walk and a trot and was confident in controlling the lesson horses.
I took her at face value and forced myself to settle as we watch.
Nora is on one side of the horse and Raul on the other, both of them adjusting the stirrups of the saddle to accommodate Felicity’s little legs. Admittedly she looks adorable in jeans, cowboy boots, and her black hair done in two long braids hanging over her shoulder. When I showed up today to pick them up, she had on a baseball cap but I pulled a child’s size Stetson out of a bag for her to wear and when she put it on, she looked every bit the Arizona cowgirl. Of course, for safety, her hat has been exchanged for a helmet provided by Nora, and the Stetson is safely perched on the fence post to my left.
Emory and I stand beside each other, near the gate they brought the horse through. Both of our arms are resting on the top rail, our elbows touching. Nora hasn’t made a big deal of me coming with Emory and Felicity. The cat is officially out of the bag that we’re a couple after our game last night. Emory came wearing my jersey, left the arena with me to hang at The Sneaky Saguaro for just one beer with the team since we pulled off a stupendous win, and left with me, our hands firmly clasped. I’m assuming word has made its way back to Nora as gossip regarding player love lives seems to run like wildfire in our team. I’m not sure why that is, but I have a feeling it all started in the beginning, when Dominik meddled in Bishop’s love life with his now-wife, Brooke, setting the tone.
Your personal happiness on this team is as important as your professional happiness.
“You’re seriously not the slightest bit worried about her?” I ask Emory without taking my eyes off Felicity.
She giggles in response and bumps her hip out to hit mine playfully. “She’s fine. She rode for almost half a year before we moved, and I know Nora won’t put her on a horse she can’t handle. But it’s adorable you’re so worried about it.”
I can’t say that I particularly like being thought of as adorable, as it might ruin my ice cred if word got out, but I let her have it. I’d let her have anything she asked of me, I’m thinking.
Raul moves from the horse and heads our way toward the gate. He tips his hat to both of us after he passes through and re-latches it, before ambling off to the barn. We watch as Nora places a hand on Felicity’s calf, her other hand holding onto the horse’s bridle although it doesn’t appear to want to go anywhere. It just stands there placidly, tail swishing back and forth.
Nora is talking to Felicity, but we can’t hear what they’re saying. But then she steps back several feet and says something else to Felicity, who gives the horse a kick with her booted feet. The horse moves and it’s a slow plod, which I’m liking.
“Move to the rail,” Nora instructs and, using the reins to guide her horse, Felicity does as requested, moving further away from where Emory and I are standing. Nora stays in the center of the ring watching, sometimes telling her something like “tighten the rail rein” or “I see space between your knees and the saddle”. Those commands mean nothing to me, but they do to Felicity and I relax as she adjusts according to Nora’s instruction.
Emory and I watch as she makes a complete loop around the ring. Felicity’s eyes move to her mom as she approaches, giving her a toothy grin. She then glances at me, smiles bigger, and sits a little straighter to show the effort she’s putting into her posture.
Fucking adorable.
Apparently just like me.
After she passes us, Emory says, “Shane wanted to come today.”
That shocks me as Emory had not said anything about it before. “When did he ask?”
“Last night,” she admits. “Before I left for the game.”
“And you didn’t tell me last night because…”
“Because you’re such a good guy, you probably would have insisted you not go and Shane come in your place.”
Maybe I would have. I want Felicity to have time with her dad. But maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I would have been selfish because I’ve been looking forward to this outing with not only Emory, but Felicity as well. I’m not stupid… if I want things to work with Emory, Felicity is part of the package deal. She needs to like me. She needs to get used to me being around.