Hard Fall (St. Louis Mavericks 1)

“That’s so nice of you, thanks,” I said. “Best of luck, Liz.”

“Same to you.”

Liz hung up the phone on me for the last time and I let out a little cheer. I immediately felt lighter. Why had I thought staying at Willow was my only professional option?

I planned to take a break from work for the next couple of months. I was going to start boxing up some of Ben and Lauren’s things to give to their children one day, and selling some pieces of furniture.

It didn’t feel sad anymore. I was going to let Annalise help me pack up some of her mother’s beloved baking pans and cooking appliances, knowing that one day she’d have a kitchen of her own to use them in. Wes and I were going to work on Ben’s study together, carefully packing up hockey memorabilia for both kids. We had already rented a fireproof, climate-controlled storage unit for most of the stuff we were saving as well as a safety deposit box at a local bank to store some important paperwork for the kids.

It was time. Wes and I had won the court case and Patrick and Susan had left town immediately after. Wes was the kids’ permanent legal guardian, and we’d also had wills created for both of us that left full custody to me in the event he died. I hated the thought, but we knew all too well that life could change in the blink of an eye. Ben and Lauren’s deaths had left us stunned, but the clouds were lifting and we were finding a way forward together.

And like I had told Wes, it was okay that I wasn’t the love of his life. We would always mean a lot to each other because of what we’d been through together, and I hoped our unconventional little family would work for a long time.

The only promise we had made to each other was that we’d always do our best by the kids. It wasn’t the promise I’d expected to get from a man I’d fallen hard for, but it was something.

“Aunt Hadley, I need your help!” Annalise cried, running into the master bathroom as I was drying my hair after a shower.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“It’s, uh…there’s a big, huge animal in our backyard! It’s so huge! Come help!”

I furrowed my brow, sensing a tall tale. “What? How can there be a huge animal in the yard when there’s a fence?”

Her eyes widened and she spoke solemnly. “It crushed right through the fence. It’s so mean and huge, I think it might eat Benny! Come quick, Aunt Hadley!”

I hurried into the closet and closed the door, hanging up my towel and talking to Annalise as I got dressed.

“Where’s Wes? Is Benny seriously alone in the backyard right now? I told Wes I was taking a shower and he said he’d take care of both of you.”

“Uncle Wes needs your help with the big huge animal!” Annalise cried. “It’s true! This is all true!”

She was the worst liar ever, just like her mother. I smiled.

“I’m kind of scared, though,” I said. “What does the animal look like?”

“It’s big! With brown hair and fur and sharp teeth and claws. You better hurry. It’s going to eat Benny!”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

I went into the bathroom and ran a brush through my wet hair and then followed Annalise downstairs.

“Hurry!” She ran to the kitchen and slipped out the back door.

I glanced out the French doors she’d gone through and saw pops of color. Spring had sprouted tulips, hyacinths and other perennial bulbs Lauren had planted in the yard. Knowing her hands had touched those bulbs reminded me that parts of Lauren were still here with me. I planned to dig up the bulbs after they’d finished their blooming cycles and take them with us when we moved. We’d plant them in our new yard and have a small piece of Lauren there.

When I put my hand on the door handle to open it, I frowned as I saw Drew and Nina. Something was definitely up, and it had nothing to do with a big, hairy monster. Glancing down at my cutoff sweats and gray UCLA T-shirt, I shrugged and decided I knew Drew and Nina well enough to wear my comfy clothes in front of them.

But as I walked outside, I saw that it wasn’t just Drew and Nina. I rounded a corner and saw several more Mavericks players. Annalise was on Lars’s shoulders, beaming.

“There’s no monster,” she said gleefully.

“I see that,” I said, arching a brow at her.

I turned, looking for Wes so I could ask what was going on. I found him behind me, down on one knee. My breath left my lungs in a whoosh as I took him in, grinning nervously.