A Hockey Tutor (18 page)

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I asked Lindsay where you lived, and I used the GPS in my car to find your town. Once I got to Malden, I stopped at the post office, and the lady there knew you and your family, and she told me where you lived.”

“I threw my hands up in the air. “Of course she did.”

“I went to your house, and I met your mom.”

I gasped. “You met my mother?”

Andrew smiled. “Yes, and she was very kind, even though she had no clue who I was. I explained to her I was a friend from school and I needed to talk to you. She told me you’d be here.”

“Why would my mother tell you I was here? For all she knew, you were a mass murder.”

“Well, I am quite charming,” he chuckled.

“Fine, you found me. Great job. I’ll be sure to give you a gold star when we get back to Minnesota. Now leave,” I ordered him.

“No, because I haven’t told you yet what I came to tell you. Please, hear me out.” His blue eyes were pleading with me. “So, tell me.”

I relented. “Okay,”

“My dad did pay the school to cover my grades but there was a reason for it.” He raked his hand through his hair. “My mom died in a car accident two years ago. It was the worst day of my life, like I had died with her. I shut everyone out; my dad, Uncle Mike, Franks, everyone. I went to Juniors and started drinking, and sleeping with anything that walked. Then everything happened with Wes, and it just added to my stress and my sadness. On top of that, I felt like I had failed, because I didn’t win that gold medal. So, when I returned to college in Boston, I just kept drinking, and not caring.” His voiced cracked.

“Then, when I got the offer from St. Paul, I thought it would be different. But there was Wes, reminding me every day that I had failed. So I skipped class and I got drunk and I slept around, just like I had in Boston. Because when I was drunk and I was sleeping around, I didn’t feel like a failure. I didn’t
feel
at all.”

“Oh, Andrew,” I whispered.

“My dad was furious with me. He told me this was my last bail-out, and he meant it. He had convinced the school, in the form of a big fat check, to hold off on revoking my eligibility until midterms. He told me he was going to hire a tutor to help me pull up my grades in time so that I would be eligible to play, and would still have a shot at making it into the NHL. I was so angry. I thought I was angry with my dad, and I took it out on him, shutting him out, but really, I was angry at myself, for screwing up
again
. My mom would’ve been so ashamed of the way I was acting.” He dropped his head and took a deep breath. When he looked up again, I could see his beautiful blue eyes full of tears, and my heart ached to comfort him. I moved towards him, closing the gap between us. He reached up and touched my cheek. “You saved me. You snapped me out of my vicious cycle of self-destruction and showed me there was a better way to live. You pushed me, you yelled at me. Hell, you even dumped water on me. You made me believe that I could be a good student again, and a good person, a person you could . . . a person you could love. And I wanted to be that person, because Katie Miller, I have fallen head over heels in love with you.”

He loved me. Andrew loved me.

I stepped to my left, and I saw Andrew’s eyes read the gravestone. “He was my best friend, and my brother. He promised me he was coming home. It was his second tour, and it was going to be his last. He gave me his word, and I trusted him.” Andrew looked at me, and I knew he understood everything I was saying.

“You asked about the necklace.” He nodded as I continued. “He gave it to me, right before he left. I never take it off.”

“Oh Katie,” he breathed out, but I kept going.

“When he died, I couldn’t function. Nothing helped. I pushed people away; friends, family, it didn’t matter. I trusted no one. Until you.” I stopped as the sob escaped me. “You’re the one I love. I do. I’ve never said those words to anyone.”

When I finished, I collapsed into the snow, weeping uncontrollably. It was like a weight had left my chest, and I could breathe again. Andrew wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I repeated over and over again, clinging to him.

“I’m here, Katie. It’s going to be okay.” He stroked the back of my head as his voice soothed me.

We held each other in the snow for a long time. My pants were soaked, and I knew his were too.

I slightly pulled out of his arms and studied his face. “Why did you come?”

“I love you, and you needed to know that.” He laid his forehead against mine. “You’re so damn stubborn, I had to drive all the way here to explain it to you,” he chuckled.

“Oh, and you’re not?” I leaned back, giving him a small smile.

“I may have my moments,” he teased back.

I grinned at him, studying his face. He was more handsome than ever. “I love you, too, Andrew. I truly do.”

He cupped my face and held me close to his lips. The steam from our breath formed a cloud around them, before I closed the gap between us. The softness from his lips made me moan I missed his touch so much. I wanted him so badly, but I stopped myself.

“Andrew,” I said, breaking out of the kiss.

“I know.” He pecked my lips one more time. “I think I’m frozen to the ground.”

I laughed, standing up. My jeans were filthy. Mud, snow, and wetness covered our jeans. Andrew rose to his feet and attempted to brush himself off, but failed.

“Come back to the house with me.” I said it before I even thought about it.

“I’m not sure. I should probably leave.” He seemed unsure.

“No,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Please. Stay,” I begged. “You don’t have practice today or tomorrow. Stay.” I just got him back and I didn’t want him to leave yet.

“Your dad looked mean.”

I laughed. “Follow me home.” I kissed his lips and guided him back to our cars.

He did follow me home, and I was a tad nervous about how my parents would react. Then again, besides Brandon, I'd never brought a guy home.

I waited for him to get out of the car, and I held his hand as we strolled into the house. I knew my parents would be at the table, because they were always sitting there.

“Katie!” my mom squealed, and reached for me, but when she saw my soaked, dirty clothes, she changed her mind. “What have you been doing?”

“I was sitting at the cemetery.” I told her.

She gave me a sad smile, but didn’t say another word about my attire. “Andrew, lovely to see you again. I see that you are soaked also.” Mom pointed at his jeans.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Well, Katie, go upstairs and change. Andrew you can use the downstairs bathroom to change.”

“Um, I’m sorry I don’t have a change of clothes. I wasn't prepared for this.” He looked down at his pants. “If you could just point me to the nearest clothing store, I could purchase something.

We all three laughed at him. “Son, the nearest Wal-Mart is twenty minutes away. Kathy, just get something from my closet that’s clean,” my dad told Mom. She patted Andrew’s shoulder as she headed to their bedroom.

“Thank you, sir.” Andrew said.

“Andrew, my name is Rodney, and you’re welcome. Katie,” he gave me a pointed look, and I knew it was time to go change.

“I’ll be back,” I told Andrew, and went to my bedroom, grabbing the bags that I had dropped when I came home the first time.

My room was still the same as it always had been. The pink on the walls was pale, but not too bright. My white four-poster bed was still in the middle of the room. The only thing missing was my dresser, which was with me in Minnesota.

I stripped out of my wet clothes, cleaned up, and put on dry ones. I threw my hair up in a messy ponytail and went back downstairs.

“Katie, who is this guy?” my dad asked as I sat next to him at the kitchen table.

“He’s my boyfriend,” I said proudly.

Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Boyfriend?”

“Katie, why haven’t you said anything?” Mom asked as she handed me a glass of tea.

Andrew came to my rescue. “She didn’t say anything because of the way we met.” He walked back into the kitchen and sat down next to me.

“And how did you meet?” my father asked sternly.

“My dad hired Katie to be my tutor. That’s how we met,” Andrew explained.

“Oh,
he’s
your tutoring job. That makes more sense. Well, I’m glad you two hit it off so well,” my mom said brightly.

I looked from my mom to my dad. He had a hard look on his face, and I knew that he wasn’t as happy as she was about this.

“Dad?” I asked gently. “You okay?”

“Andrew, tell me about yourself.” He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.

I rolled my eyes. Great, Dad is about to turn into a CIA interrogator.

“Um, I’m 20. I’m a junior. I play hockey as a goalie, hoping to make it into the NHL. Not sure what else there is to tell,” Andrew told Dad.

“Parents? Siblings?” Dad barked.

“Only child. My mom passed away a couple years back, and my dad is the owner of Moore’s Fertilizer.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry about your mom,” my mother said, patting his hand.

My dad’s eyes grew wide. “Your family owns Moore’s Fertilizer?”

“Yes sir,” Andrew confirmed.

I sat there, not saying anything, hoping that this would end soon. I didn’t want to scare Andrew off; we had gotten back together less than an hour ago.

“Dad, I think that’s enough,” I said firmly.

“How is school, Katie?” Mom said, changing the subject.

I went on to tell them all about my classes, especially my photography class. Andrew even chimed in about our classes together. We steered the conversation to things that were happening around town. Of course, it wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to pull the attention away from me and Andrew.

Mom announced that it was time to start dinner. I helped her prepare everything while Dad and Andrew watched a basketball game. I even heard them laughing a couple times from the living room.

“Are you happy?” Mom leaned over and asked as I stirred the food on the stove.

My mom’s eyes were filled with worry, as they had been all these years since Nick died. “I’m in love,” I told her.

“I thought so.” She winked.

“Mom, why did you tell Andrew where I was when he came to the door? You didn’t know who he was.”

“That boy was frantic to find you, and I could tell he had nothing but good intentions.” She kissed my cheek and yelled into the living room that dinner was ready.

The dinner was the most fun I had had in a long time. We all laughed, joked, and enjoyed good conversation. I loved it.

After we cleaned up the kitchen and got everything back in order, Andrew said it was time to leave.

“Andrew, it’s late and a long drive to Minnesota,” Dad said.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied.

“No, you’re going to sleep on the couch, and then you can leave after dinner tomorrow,” Dad told him. By his tone, Andrew knew not to argue. “Katie,” Dad said, turning to me. “You’ll remain in your bedroom. All night.”

“I promise. I don’t think I want to have sex on the couch anyway,” I teased. Andrew began to choke on his tea, as my mother shook her head.

“Andrew, your hands are full with this one.” Dad stood up, kissed the top of my head, said, “Good night everyone,” and left the room.

“Andrew, I’ll put some sweats and bedding on the couch. Katie,” Mom just gave me the look.

“I promise.” I knew that she was just making sure I got the point of no sex in the house.

“Well, I have to say, I was embarrassed.” Andrew kissed the inside of my wrist.

I giggled. “Good.” I kissed him hard on the lips. “Love you.” I knew Mom was coming back into the room, so I headed back upstairs before I got yelled at, again.

When I got into my bedroom, I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I fell asleep with a smile plastered on my face.

Chapter 24 – Andrew

I rolled my neck back and forth. I had a terrible kink in it, but it was worth it. Katie loved me. There was nothing else I wanted more in the world than that.

“Andrew,” Kathy said softly.

“Yes ma’am?” I asked.

“Just making sure you were up. There are some extra toiletries in the bathroom for you,” she informed me.

“Thank you very much,” I said. It was nice to have a motherly person around me again.

I folded up my blankets and then headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I had planned to leave after dinner and get back up to school. I had a game tomorrow, and I wanted to at least rest a little bit.

When I was finished, I came out to the kitchen, and Katie was helping her mom get things together. It was nice to see Katie in her element. She seemed more relax. I’m not sure if it was everything that happened yesterday, or if it was where she was.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“Nope.” Katie came over. “Everything is almost done.”

“It is?” I just woke up. How the hell is everything done?

“I’ve been cooking all morning,” Kathy announced.

“How about a drive? Want a tour of the town?” Katie whispered.

I nodded.

She told her mom that we were heading out for a little bit. We bundled up, and started for the car.

“What are you doing?” Katie looked at me like I was insane.

“Aren’t you giving me the tour?” I was confused now.

Katie walked up to me and looped her arm in mine. “This is Malden. You don’t need a car for a tour.”

“We’re going to walk?”

She led me down to the end of the driveway and we strolled right down the middle of the street. “Yes, we are.”

I didn’t argue with her. Even though there was snow on the ground, the sun was shining bright. I had never been to a small town where you could just walk down the middle of the road, and no one was around. We made it to the main road, where we turned to the right. We walked about fifty steps and stopped.

“Ready?” Katie said.

“Um, for what?”

She smiled, and stepped behind me. She turned me slightly left. “That is the post office.” Then she turned me right. “That is a small eatery and bar.” She spun me around. “That’s the fire department.” She released my shoulders, and faced me. “Did you enjoy that tour?”

“Immensely,” I said, smiling, and kissing her nose.

“I can’t wait to get back to school.” She gazed at me through hooded eyes.

“You as horny as I am?” I squeezed her waist.

“You have no idea.”

We both began to laugh, and it was great to see her happy again. Katie took my arm again, and together we leisurely walked back to her house.

The smells of the food baking that came from the house, when we opened the door made my mouth water. I couldn’t believe how amazing it smelled. Everything was ready to go as we sat at the table. We ate, laughed, and I truly had the greatest time there.

I was so stuffed with food, I didn’t think I was going to be able to move from the table, ever. The problem was, I needed to go. I had to leave. I helped clean up the kitchen, and Kathy insisted I take a plate with me, which I really didn’t argue over.

I thanked Rodney for letting me stay, and firmly shook his hand. Kathy hugged me tightly and told me to drive carefully.

Katie walked me out to the car, and her face was a little sad. I put the food in the car, and turned around to face her.

“When are you coming back?” I asked, holding her close to me.

“Sometime Saturday. Lindsay is coming back then too.”

“Okay, so how about Saturday, you and I spend the night together.” I wagged my eyebrows at her.

“I’ll bring the beer if you bring the condoms.” She smirked.

I threw my head back and laughed at my girlfriend. “Deal.” I kissed her hard on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you. Let me know when you get back to the house.”

“I promise.” I let her go, and got into the car.

I backed out of the drive and went to the end of the street. I had planned to head for the interstate, but I changed my mind. I went back to the cemetery.

I parked in the same spot as the day before, and I walked to Katie’s brother's headstone. I looked at it for a minute, thinking of my mom. I knew that she would be proud of me.

I smiled. “I’ll take good care of her.” I said out loud.

I turned back to my car and headed back to campus. Katie, her love for me, and hockey was everything I had ever wanted in my life, and now I had it.