“Well, there you go,” Dax replies, stalking right by Dominik. Bold move to fuck with a man who has the ability to fire him from the team, but Dax is the type who would never be cowed by such a thing. He’s going to protect his sister at all costs.
Dominik’s eyes—filled with amusement—follow Dax a moment before settling on me. Lifting his chin in greeting, he asks, “Got a minute to talk?”
“Sure,” I reply, not able to stop my gaze from dropping to my watch to calculate how much more time I’ll be missing out on with Nora.
Dominik leads me down the hall from the auditorium, away from the other players for semi-privacy. He leans against the wall, crosses his arms over his chest, and asks, “Just wanted to check in… see how things are going.”
“Good,” I say with no hesitation. “Really good, actually.”
Dominik nods, as if this is not news to him. “Dr. Dumfries has been keeping me updated. He’s extremely impressed with the work you’ve done on yourself.”
“He’s pretty easy to talk to,” I admit. Not as easy as Nora, but who is?
“He’s told me that you’re doing so well he could discharge you if you want. At the very least, I don’t think he needs to report to me anymore.”
That catches me by surprise since Dumfries hasn’t discussed that with me. “I think I’ll stick with him a little longer,” I say hesitantly. While I’ve felt the best I have in an awfully long time, I’m also aware this could all be precarious. I’ll never take my current state of happiness for granted. In fact, I sometimes expect sudden grief to overwhelm me.
Knock on wood.
“Oh, and I think you can drink again if you want,” Dominik says. “Dumfries says alcohol isn’t really an issue.”
“That’s because I was never a big drinker to begin with,” I say with a smile. “But thank you for removing that restriction.”
Dominik nods, then starts to turn away. But he hesitates, examining me with curious eyes. “Nora was the game changer, wasn’t she?”
I’m not surprised he knows about Nora. I never gave him any explanation as to why I went back to Dumfries, but my dating Nora isn’t a secret. I’ve told the entire team, so it’s only natural that word filtered back to Dominik.
“Wouldn’t be standing here talking to you like this if it wasn’t for her,” I say.
He appraises me, eyes boring deep. Seemingly satisfied with my proclamation, he nods. “I’m happy for you then.”
Dominik sticks his hand out, and I take it. “I expect great things from you during the playoffs.”
“You’ll get them,” I assure him.
Dominik nods, giving a hard squeeze to my hand before releasing it.
When he turns away, I realize I haven’t told him something incredibly important.
“Dominik,” I call.
He stops, tilting his head in question.
“Thank you for believing in me. For giving me a chance to stay on this team. And most importantly, for making me get counseling. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met Nora.”
He nods again.
“One other thing,” I say.
Dominik waits patiently.
“Willow’s flying back this weekend. Dax says she’s going to stay with him and Regan for a few weeks.”
Eyes flaring, his lips curl with pure carnal delight. “Thank you,” he says with almost a slight bow. “If anyone asks, you’re totally my favorite player on the team.”
I grin, not feeling the slightest bit sorry in revealing that info. Dominik was going to figure it out when Willow came to the games and Vengeance events, anyway.
Yeah… he’s a good dude in my opinion. I watch him for a moment as he walks away before I’m jolted back to reality.
Nora.
She’s waiting on me, and I’m more than ready to see her.CHAPTER 30Nora“That’s good, Emily,” I call as I watch the nine-year-old take Starlight around the arena in a perfect canter. She’s been taking lessons from us for only about four months, but she’s such a natural.
Switching my attention to Raul, where he’s standing on the other side of the fence, I study him. He has his forearms resting on the top post, one booted foot on the lower rung. He smiles, proud to see Emily’s progress. The little girl works with both Raul and me, depending on availability since so much of my time these days is devoted to my counseling patients. But I’m light on that today, and I love just being able to teach kids to ride.
Brings back so many fond memories of Raul teaching me everything I know about horses and how to sit them properly.
How to love them.
So much of what I am today is because of the man on the other side of the paddock fence.
I glance down at my watch. There’s still a lot I have to do today, and Emily’s lesson will be done soon. Her mom is waiting for her in the car, preferring to talk on the phone rather than watch.