One Timer: An Nashville Assassins Novel Read online

  “Listen, the reason I asked you here is because I want you to be my assistant coach for special teams.”

  Her face is like stone, her blue eyes blazing as she holds my gaze. “Really?”

  “Really. I talked to your mom and sister, and they agree. We need you.”

  She licks her lips as she looks down at her hands. “So, Shelli actually said she wanted me?”

  “She was insistent,” I confirm.

  Posey looks surprised as she glances at her nails, making a disgruntled noise. I’m not sure why, but before I can ask that, she says, “But what about the coach you have now?”

  “He’s out. His plays aren’t readable or teachable, and he’s not giving us what we need. We think you could be what we need.”

  Her eyes bore into mine. “I don’t know.”

  Not what I was expecting. I raise my brow. “You don’t know?”

  She looks up then. “I think I might go to Colorado for a bit.”

  “Colorado? What’s there?”

  Her expression changes, and her face fills with color. Then I realize it’s not what, but who.

  “You’re going after Maxim?”

  She shrugs, and I let my head hang. Maxim was the billet boy who lived with Shea’s family for four years until he was finally called up to the farm team for the Avalanche.

  “I still can’t believe Daddy shipped him off. And I don’t know… I feel like things can happen.”

  I make a face. What is up with girls these days? These boys don’t care about them. We all know about her crush on Maxim, but he was too busy fucking Lucas Brooks’s daughter. It was the main reason Shea shipped him off; he was saving Posey from making a fool of herself. The guy had no feelings for her whatsoever. He only saw her as a friend. I bet Shea never saw this Colorado trip coming.

  “Do your parents know?”

  She shakes her head. “No.”

  “You going to tell them?”

  She smiles. “When I get there.”

  “Jesus,” I groan, shaking my head.

  “Please don’t tell them.”

  I think about it for a second. The thing is, I know she’ll be back. “I will keep your secret as long as—if you do come back—you’ll take the job.”

  She swallows hard. “I don’t know that I will be back. I love him.”

  If I hear one more child tell me she loves some shit dude, I’m going to scream. “Just say you will if you do.”

  She doesn’t even hesitate. “I will.”

  “Great,” I say with a smile. “Now, come give your uncle a hug, and may the force be with you.”

  She laughs as we get up and embrace. I kiss her temple and hug her tightly. “Don’t settle for anything less than perfection, you hear me?”

  “I do.”

  “And the job is yours. You just gotta take it.”

  She nods, holding me tightly. “I hear you.”

  Man, I hope she does.

  As we part, another knock comes to my door. I look up to see Ally grinning. “Posey!”

  Posey lets me go, and the girls embrace tightly. “You didn’t call me when you got back in town!”

  Posey shakes her head. “Dude, I made such a fool of myself at Amelia’s wedding,” she says, covering her face. “Wanna go to dinner?”

  “Heck yeah. Let me talk to my dad, and I’ll meet you at Brooks House.”

  Posey hugs her once more. “Cool. We have a lot to talk about.”

  “We sure do,” Ally says as Posey waves to me.

  “Bye, Jakob.”

  “Bye, honey. Be careful.”

  She grins back at me and waves once more. I want to call Shea right then and tell him, but I know it won’t work out for her. She’ll be back. Plus, we all know Shea will lose his ever-loving mind. He doesn’t even believe his kids are sexually active. He lives in some kind of fantasyland. I know, and while I hate it, it’s a part of life. Lord knows Harper and I do it all the time. Even with my shit arm, I’m still able to hold her ass up and get it.

  Ally closes the door and then sits down in one of the chairs in front of my desk.

  “What brings you by?” I ask as I sit on my desk. “Didn’t you have practice?”

  “It ended an hour ago, Daddy,” she says with a roll of her eyes. She acts like I can keep up with her life; she’s always busy. “I just had coffee with Taco.”

  I find that I’m holding my breath. “Coffee? I thought you guys would have gone for tacos.”

  Her eyes darken. “Daddy.”

  “Sorry. How did it go?”

  “Yeah, I told him I wasn’t going with him,” she says slowly, not looking at me. “He broke up with me.”

  Fucker. I stand up, taking her hand and bringing her out of the chair and into my chest. “Oh, svet, I’m sorry.”

  She holds me tightly, her tears soaking my dress shirt. “I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t even pause or anything. He just said, ‘Fine. We’re done, then.’”

  Motherfucker. “I’m sorry.”

  “Y’all were right.”

  “It happens sometimes,” I joke, kissing her forehead. “But at least you know now.”

  “Yeah, before I threw it all away and chased after him.”

  “This is true,” I say, kissing her once more. “You know you’re going to be just fine.”

  “I know,” she says, holding me. “But it sucks. I just want my version of Jakob Titov.”

  I grin against her forehead. “Don’t worry. You’ll find him.”

  When Ally leaves to meet Posey, I sit back in my chair and exhale heavily. I reach for the phone and dial Harper’s number. She answers right away, and her voice sends me to the clouds. I close my eyes as I sigh. “Hey, kiska.”

  “Hey, when are you coming home? I need you to stop for bread. We’re having French toast for dinner.”

  I grin. “That sounds fantastic. I’ll be leaving in a bit. I wanted to call you, though.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I just love you.”

  I can hear the grin in her voice. “I love you, baby.”

  When she tells me those words, it’s always like I’m hearing them for the first time. “Ally came to see me.”

  “Oh? I thought she went out with Posey.”

  “She did, but she came to see me first.”

  “What for?”

  “Taco broke up with her when she told him she wouldn’t go with him.”

  “That motherfucker!” she yells. “I knew it! Didn’t I tell her that?”

  “We both did, and she agreed we were right,” I say as I lean back. “She’s staying home, though.”

  “Oh, Jakob,” she cries. Maybe I should have waited until I got home. I could have held her, but I wanted to tell her right away. “I was so worried.”

  “Me too,” I agree as I close my eyes. “Great job, team.”

  She laughs. “Well, you are the best teammate.”

  “Right back atcha.”

  “Really, it was smart to tell her everything.”

  “I thought so,” I say softly. “But I think it was a team effort.”

  “It always is.” She lets out a long sigh. “She’s gonna find someone so good for her.”

  “She wants her ‘Jakob Titov.’”

  She pokes fun at me. “Good luck. Nothing but fuckboys out there.”

  I grin. “She’ll find him.”

  “I did.”

  I smile.

  “I love you so much, Jakob. Seriously. You’re the best father and husband ever.”

  I grin as I sit up. “Didn’t I promise you a damn good life?”

  “You did.”

  “And I won’t ever break that promise.”

  “I know, which only makes me love you even more.”

  If only she knew how much I fall for her over and over again. “And you thought I was only a one-time thing.”

  She scoffs. “I was completely wrong. I’m just glad you never gave up.”

  I grin because life hasn�€