A Better Man (31 page)

“Me too.” Ethan nodded. “I should have paid more attent
ion.”

The more they discussed, the more Nicole slunk down into her seat with tears streaming down her
face.

“But how does Dad pilfering money have anything to do with Nicki?” Declan a
sked.

No sense tiptoeing around the subject. This had to come out. Not just to help Nicki, but to try and put to rest one more mys
tery.

“Nicki doesn't seem to think she's our real sister,” Jordan
said.

“What?” Every confused head, including Ryan's, turned toward
her.

Ethan stood up and faced Jordan like he was looking for a fight. “What the hell are you talking ab
out?”

“
I
didn't say that,” Jordan said to make it clear in case his brother started throwing punches. “
She
did. Dad admitted to her that something in his past had affected him in a negative way where she was concerned. He said he didn't blame her. But he did tell her that he didn't know if he could ever move past it to be the kind of father she wan
ted.”

Nicki broke down in tears again. The poor thing was surrounded by five men who were reduced to pansy asses at the sight of a woman's tears. Even their own sister's. Then as if a glass wall shattered, they were all up and hugging
her.

“There's no way you're not our sister,” Ryan said. “You look just like
us.”

“That's what I told her,” Jordan a
dded.

“We love you, Nicki.” Ethan squeezed her tight and Parker pushed him out of the
way.

“Best little sister ever,” Declan a
dded.

“That would be totally crazy,” Parker said. “But even if it were true, you're still our sister no matter w
hat.”

Riley heard the commotion and shuffled into the kitchen. As soon as she saw her aunt crying and all her uncles hugging her, Riley started crying too. Ryan opened his arm and his little girl dove right into the
mix.

“We're a family.” Emotion clogged Ryan's throat. “And we always will
be.”

Jordan had intended to tell them all about his decision for his future, but family came first. They all had enough on their plates to have to worry whether he planned to continue playing hockey or
not.

J
ordan jammed a hand through his hair as he drove back to his parents' house after a quick trip into town later that
day.

Holy
shit.

Their father had stolen money from his own busi
ness.

But
why?

What could cause a man to basically steal from himself or the welfare of his own family? Why would he risk endangering the business he'd worked so hard to make prospe
rous?

No doubt there was more to the story and more they needed to find out. Which was just one more reason Jordan came back to the house to explain the decision about his future to Ni
cole.

When he climbed the stairs to her room, he smiled when he heard the melodic chords from her guitar and the sweet sound of her voice. She had talent, and he'd support her whether she wanted to spread her wings and fly or devote the next four years to a college education. Whatever made her h
appy.

Especially after Aunt Pippy's bombshell had them all gues
sing.

He knocked, and the music stopped while she told him to com
e in.

“Hi.” Like a Gypsy girl, she sat on her bed in a colorful skirt, T-­shirt, and scarf wrapped around her head. All that was missing were dangling gold earrings and brace
lets.

“Hey.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I wanted to come tell you that I'm going to finish out the sea
son.”

“I'm so glad.” She hugged his neck when he sat beside her. “I'd never want you to quit on my beh
alf.”

“If and when I do leave the game, I want you to know it will be the right thing to do for me. Not because I feel forced into it. O
kay?”

She no
dded.

“And I want you to know that no matter where I am, I'm never too busy for
you.”

“Unless you're punching the Rock in the nose, right?” She gri
nned.

“Even then.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Nicki. And as sorry as I am that I haven't been there for you in the past, I'm glad I'm here
now.”

“Me
too.”

“But . . .” He reached down and picked up the box he'd carried into the room. “Just in case you miss me too much, I brought you this to keep you comp
any.”

“What is
it?”

The excitement in her eyes squeezed his heart in a good
way.

“Open it and find
out.”

She pulled up the cardboard flaps and a smoky gray kitten jumped out and into her arms. A squeal of delight filled her room as she nuzzled the kitten. “He's m
ine?”

“He's all yours. I have all his accessories—­including an auto cleaning cat box—­down in the
car.”

She snuggled the kitten and smiled. “I'm going to name him something that reminds me of
you.”

He laughed. “Like w
hat?”

She rubbed noses with the kitten. “Fez
zik.”

“Like from
The Princess Bride
?” He figured he'd get extra good brother points for even knowing that. “
Why?”

“Because Fezzik is a gentle giant. And that's how I see
you.”

When his baby sister hugged his neck and cried tears of joy, Jordan knew that whether he ever won the Stanley Cup or not, home was where his heart belo
nged.

And nothing could ever be be
tter.

S
unday afternoon Lucy sat at her kitchen table preparing her lesson for the following day and fanning the fumes from Ziggy's particularly raunchy
toot.

“Good Lord, dog. What is it you eat that makes you stink so
bad?”

Ziggy looked up with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his tail wagging the stench. When the doorbell rang he scrambled to his paws and headed for the door. Lucy wasn't particularly surprised to see Jordan standing on her front porch. And, as always, he looked good enough to
eat.

“Can I come
in?”

“Of course.” She stepped back but he caught her up in his arms and planted a kiss on her mouth that immediately kicked into high gear. Before she could say, “Let's go upstairs,” he broke the kiss and held her face between his h
ands.

“I'm heading to the airport right
now.”

Her heart raced. “You're going to Dal
las?”

He nodded. “I wanted to come say good-­bye and .
 . .”

Relief danced through her veins. Then her heart went all jittery. Did he mean
good-­bye
good
-­bye?

“
And?”

“And I know I didn't say anything last night when you told me you were falling in love with me. I'm sure that stung. But I've never said that to a woman bef
ore.”

“I understand.” Being in love by yourself sucked. But she'd had a talk with herself when all this began and she guessed she never really expected him to fall in love with
her.

“I don't think you do.” His thumbs gently stroked the high bones of her cheeks. “There's been so much going on that the thoughts all started scrambling in my head. All my life I've taken. I've never given. I wasn't even sure I knew
how.”

“I do understand, Jordan. You have a lot going on. One person can only handle so much
and—­”

“I love you, L
ucy.”

“W
hat?”

“I love you.” The smile he gave her washed over her like a fountain of sparkling happiness. “I not only know I
can
give, I
want
to give. I have no doubt whatsoe
ver.”

“I love you too,” she said. “And I'm not just falling, I'm totally
in.”

“Then promise you'll wait for me until I get b
ack.”

“Where would I
go?”

“Promise
me.”

“I prom
ise.”

With another bone-­melting kiss he got in the SUV and drove away. Lucy waved until the taillights disappeared. Then she closed the door, sank to the floor, and cried tears of
joy.

Ziggy crawled into her lap and spoiled the moment by doing what he did
best.

O
n Monday morning Lucy drove toward school with nerves coiled up like rattlesnakes in her stomach. She didn't know what to expect when she walked into the building. Gossip about educators didn't set well with the school administrators. They might view her as a bad influence for the stud
ents.

Would she be f
ired?

Suspe
nded?

Whatever the punishment for falling in love, she'd pay without argument. Because not for one minute did she regret going to North Carolina with Jordan and Nicole. She'd met the man of her dreams—­even though she'd once considered him a nightmare—­and she'd somehow managed to help and understand a young girl who seemed to be in such need after the loss of her par
ents.

She'd been grateful for
Talk of the Town
's apology, even if it didn't sound too sincere. But what take on the situation would the school administrators
have?

Guess she'd soon find
out.

Parking in her usual space, she gathered all her supplies and headed toward the brick building amid students chatting about what they did for spring break. As soon as she opened her classroom door the snakes in her stomach reared their tongue-­flicking heads. Waiting for her at her desk was Principal Brown in his usual black pants, white shirt, and expertly styled comb-­
over.

“Good morning, Ms. Diamond. Welcome b
ack.”

“Good morning, sir. Thank
you.”

“Quite a stir the newspaper crea
ted.”

“My only intention on going to North Carolina was to help a stud
ent.”

“I figu
red.”

“You did?” Her heart slammed against her
ribs.

“I've known you for three years. I think you have excellent character. And I'd never doubt your decision to help someone after they'd suffered such a loss as has Nicole Kinc
ade.”

Relief weakened her knees. “Thank you,
sir.”

“You can thank the young lady herself. She came into my office this morning. Told me how you helped her with her grief and her schoolwork. She told me how you helped her find the courage to talk about her music and how you encouraged her songwriting. She's very excited to come back to cl
ass.”

“She is?” Lucy wished the girl was there right now so she could hug
her.

The principal nodded. “She said you were also able to help her brother deal with his gr
ief.”

Lucy sighed. “Mr. Brown, not everything in that story was a total fabricat
ion.”

“Oh?”

“Jordan Kincade and I have known each other since high school. I used to tutor him. We were . . . frie
nds.”

“And now it's something m
ore?”

“How did you k
now?”

“You're glowing, Ms. Diamond.” He smiled and patted her hand. “Love has a way of doing that to people. My Maisey had that same look when we were court
ing.”

“I was afraid I'd come back and find out I'd been fi
red.”

“You have a job here for as long as you want.” The school bell rang. He got up out of her chair and headed to the door. “In the meantime, enjoy yourself. It's nice to see you sm
ile.”

As soon as he left the room Lucy wanted to drop down in her chair and cry with relief, but her students started filing in, chattering like mice, and she just felt too darned happy to
cry.

I
n the final game of the series against the Stars, the Vipers were down by a goal with a minute left on the clock in the third period. Jordan stood in front of the bench rocking side-­to-­side on his skates, anxious to get back on the
ice.

When he'd skated on earlier to warm up everything had felt different.
He
felt different. He'd never been in love. Never had someone waiting at home for him. Still he played a fast and furious
game.

Tonight the Stars were on. Their passes were accurate. They didn't bullshit around with extracurricular pushing and shoving. They were in it to win it and the Vipers were fighting back with everything they
had.

With the shift change, Jordan threw his legs over the wall and skated into the face-­off determined to help the team to a win. They'd overcome a deficit in this short amount of time before; they could do it a
gain.

The ice in the Stars' stadium was hinky. Slushy in places. Not everyone who played could handle the inconsistencies that had been a part of their problem all night. When the puck dropped, Jordan slid it across the ice to Seabrook. Seabrook pushed forward and passed to O'Reilly, who'd had a hard time getting a stick on it all night. The puck skittered across the ice as the clock wound down to five sec
onds.