Hockey Holidays Read online

  He shrugged. “There’s no reason to thank me. I’m doing my grandfatherly duties.” He joked.

  “Come on, you know you go above and beyond being just a grandfather.”

  “Dag, I’m aware of my duties to you and the boys. I don’t, and will not, have this conversation again.”

  He shook his head. “I rely on you too much. Maybe I should consider a nanny?”

  “Really? You’d rather depend on a stranger than your own blood.” Big Bruce’s voice rose slightly.

  “I don’t want a stranger, but you have a life to live as well, Dad.” Dag took a large gulp of the cold liquid.

  “Is this because of my date?” he asked.

  “No. Hell, I’m glad you’re going out with someone.” He truly meant it. “But you talked about traveling and taking up a hobby when you retired, not babysitting all the time and running my errands because I’m so damn busy.”

  Big Bruce set down his bottle of unopened water on the counter and strolled over to him. “I made my decision to be by your side and my grandsons’ sides until I take my last breath. I will do it. I love you three more than my own soul. If I ever want to walk away, which won’t happen, then I will let you know. For now, I want you to remember this. I love you, and I will run any damn errand you want and babysit those boys anytime I want.” He hugged Dag tightly, kissing his cheek. “I’m proud of you.” He released him and left the kitchen to go to his room in the house, leaving Dag alone.

  He stood there for a moment before finishing the bottle of water and then went to his room. Dag carefully took off his suit so he wouldn’t wrinkle it too much. He yanked back the blankets on his king-size bed. He never thought he’d need such a large bed until the boys were toddlers and they occasionally slept with him. Even in this large bed, he would somehow wake up with a foot on his face and another would be sprawled out on his back tight against Dag’s side. He never got much sleep when the boys slept in his bed, but he didn’t care.

  He checked his phone, noticing all the notifications from Twitter. He sighed while opening the app. The reporters had told him Elexis had tweeted him back. He hadn’t seen it before the game. Nova had broached him with the idea of making this more of a public nuisance, and he wished he could get out of it. But what the hell? One date never killed anyone and they’d be in public, so she couldn’t kill him.

  Finding her tweet, he smiled and tapped her profile picture. There were numerous posts from tonight’s game and the food she ate. He continued to scroll through her tweets and happened upon a selfie of her. He sat up, straighter, staring at a stunning woman. A young woman. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-one, tops. In this particular selfie, her hair was blowing in the wind. A shade of red deeper than he had seen before but shiny in the sunlight she stood in. Her eyes were a deep green. Like algae but breathtaking.

  Reading her tweets, he learned she actually worked two jobs and loved to read. She didn’t talk about fashion, movies, or any reality shows. He figured she would be obsessed with much different things. Chastising himself, he shouldn’t assume he knew what people liked or didn’t like. She seemed smarter than him, just by the books she read. He knew they weren’t for school because she said so.

  What was the last book I read?

  It had to be something with the boys. He used to read every now and again before the boys but couldn’t seem to find the time now.

  He thought for a moment when was the last time he had done something for himself. Hobby? Hanging out with friends? Golfing? Hell, he barely shopped for himself. His boys were first. Always.

  Thinking of Big Bruce, he remembered his dad did things with his friends. He’d played poker from time-to-time and golfed. Dag lived and breathed Bruce and Brock, but he honestly missed having someone to share his life with. He saw how Edgar and Greer were together, and he assumed he would have that same bond with Faith.

  Nope.

  Still looking at Elexis’ tweet he wondered if this could be his first step back into the adult world. Obviously, he felt she would be definitely too young for him to date. This was purely a courtesy date. Nothing more.

  But his first step.

  Chapter Five

  How does one’s life change in a matter of a day? Saturday, she had been enjoying her job and the hockey game. Then Sunday she awoke to hundreds of notifications. People were still talking about Dag and her. It almost felt as if her fifteen minutes should be over. She should wake up from this dream.

  She knew someone had to put an end to this. Possibly, she could end it herself and put them both out of their misery.

  Taking a slow deep breath, she mustered up the courage from every cell in her body to send him a direct message and get this date over with. She remembered Nova telling her she’d be receiving a message from Dag, but this would be an out for him.

  Dag, I appreciate the time and fun of the tweets, but please do not feel obligated to follow through.

  In a rushed manner, she hit send, tossed the phone to the side, and tried to focus on her homework. Feeling satisfied for giving him an out, she knew he would take it. A small twinge of pain hit her. She might be lying acting as if she didn’t want to go. It’d have been the highlight of her life if it had happened.

  Ding. Ding.

  She gasped spinning her head toward the phone. With a shaky hand, she picked it up. Dag had DM’d her.

  How about coffee instead? 1 pm @ The Latte Bean?

  “What?” she said to the screen. “He still wants to go?” Again, she spoke to the cell phone as if it would answer her.

  Her mind raced. She truly didn’t know what to do.

  “Wait.” Taking a deep breath, she put down the phone and tried to rationalize her thoughts.

  Wanting to go and not wanting to go battled her complete thoughts. She had no clue what to do. Groaning she remembered telling Nova Long she’d do the photo op. Why? Why did she agree to such a thing?

  Picking up her phone she tried to compose a DM to Dag.

  1pm sounds perfect.

  Okay it wasn’t a Nobel Prize winning message, but she couldn’t back out now.

  Elexis couldn’t sleep the night before meeting Dag. She tossed and turned the majority of the night and at three in the morning she gave up sleeping altogether. She tried reading, watching Netflix, doing homework, but her mind couldn’t focus on anything. Except for one thing—Dag.

  As the sun rose, she began going through her dressers, trying to find something to wear. No way this would be fancy since she already planned a quick exit. A couple of pictures, a couple of sips of her coffee and then she’d be gone and happy to move on with her life. There would be no need for a drawn-out conversation and small talk. Then again, she could just leave after the photos were taken. Simple and easy. Plus, everyone would be happy and this could all be over.

  Thankfully, the Bears did not tweet the time or location for the date. Bobbe and Joy the owners of The Latte Bean were made aware of the happenings. Being just one—of many—sponsors of the team, they happily obliged for Dag and Elexis to have their own table in the corner and promised they wouldn’t be disturbed.

  At six in the morning, she took a shower, then did her makeup and hair. At eight, she sat on her couch, fully dressed in jeans and a simple gray t-shirt with a yellow jacket she had found at a second-hand store for only five dollars that went perfectly with them, and ready to go…with five hours to go. Her legs bounced. Her insides buzzed, and the anxiousness built up within her.

  She had to focus on something else before she lost her mind. Turning on Netflix, she found her favorite TV show The West Wing. It was strange for someone in their late teens to love this series, but she did. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the couch, she enjoyed the fast-paced actions of the fictional White House staff. One of her earlier goals had been to get a political science degree and work in Washington, DC. Realistically, she knew she never would. Moving to Manchester had been life-changing for her. Leaving her life in her small hometown frigh