Taking Shots (Assassins) (11 page)

“
Grace was really tired, so I took the kids.”

“
I thought you were scared of them,” she said with a teasing grin.

“
Unky Shea, I thought you weren’t scared of anything,” Ryan said looking up at his uncle lovingly.

“
I’m not, bud.”

“
My Unky isn’t scared of anything; he won the Lord Stanley Cup last year. He held it over his head as he skated around, he cried but that’s only because he was soooooooo happy, hockey players don’t cry at any other time.”

Elli grinned at Ryan before looking up at Shea, he was actually blushing. “I know he did, I was there. I cried too, I was really happy.”

“
Wow, really! Where did you sit? Unky had us in a box with this girl with really big hair. She smelled funny, but she was nice, I guess. What ever happen to that girl, Unky?”

“
I don’t know, bud, listen, cool it for a second so I can introduce you.” Ryan nodded, hanging on every word Shea said. You could tell he thought his uncle was the bees knees. “This is Elli, Elli this is Ryan and you’ve met Amelia.”

“
I have,” Elli said with a grin, touching the baby’s cheek, before she shook Ryan’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“
Nice to me you, too, Ms. Elli. Unky, can I go play?”

“
Of course, go ahead.” Ryan ran off towards the play area leaving Shea, Elli, and Amelia in his dust.

“
He’s a sweet kid.”

“
Runs his mouth all the damn time, but I love him so much. Do you think it’s safe for Amelia in that sand box?”

“
Yeah, I’m sitting on that bench right there, so it would be perfect,” she said with a grin as she followed them over, Shea sat Amelia in the sand box, then walked over to the bench, sitting beside her. “It’s so sweet of you to watch the kids for Grace. I know how tired she’s been lately.”

“
Yeah,” he said with a grin. “Are you mad I came here? Am I moving in on your time with the kids?”

“
No! Not at all.” She looked at the kids, and then down, picking at the fray of her shorts “I’ve kinda missed seeing you these past two days,” she added in a whisper.

“
Awwwwww,” he teased, leaning into her as he grinned down at her. He looked over at Amelia and Elli felt dumb. Great way to make yourself look needy, she thought as she sat there mentally kicking herself. You don’t put yourself out there like that with guys like Shea. God, she was an idiot- “I’ve missed you too, Elli. A lot. More than I liked to admit, that’s why I came today, not to give Grace a break, but to see you.”

She sat there, shocked, looking up at him, as he watched Amelia. He had his glasses on; she was starting to think that was the only way he ran around when he wasn’t on the ice. His tattoos weren’t covered this time, since he was wearing a t-shirt and cargo shorts. He hadn’t shaved since the last time she saw him, so the hair on his chin was darker and longer.

“
So, when are you going to introduce me to the kids?” he asked, looking over at her. Oh shit, for the first time ever, she didn’t even think of the kids. A look of horror crossed her face as she looked towards the playground where her nieces and nephews played.

“
Shit.”

“
Huh? What?”

“
Okay, Shea, don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t introduce you to the kids. They will go back and tell their parents, and then my mom would find out, and I cannot even deal with my mom about you right now, so we’re gonna have to act like you just sat down beside me,” she said, frantic, just as Riley and Max came running towards her.

“
Auntie El, there’s this kid over there, saying his uncle is Shea Adler! Isn’t that crazy! You think he’s lyin’?” Max practically yelled. Elli gave Shea a sideways glace then looked back at Max.

“
You never know, honey; I heard that Shea Adler does have a nephew, a niece too.”

“
Wow, wouldn’t that be awesome if we met him! Dad would be so jealous!” Riley exclaimed.

“
Yeah, he would. Alright run along” she said, shushing them away. They ran off talking about Shea and she took a deep breath.

“
Ryan talks a lot.” Elli looked over at Shea. He looked upset under his hat. She hated that she was the one to put that look on his face.

“
Shea, I’m sorry.”

“
It’s cool; do you want me to go, so you don’t have to explain why you’re sitting next to me?”

“
No! I want to spend time with you.” She took his hand in hers, “You just don’t understand my family, you haven’t met them or, hell, I haven’t even talked about them, and they are crazy, so please just bare with me through this.”

“
Only if you promise me one thing,” he said after a moment still not looking at her.

“
Yeah?”

“
Come spend the day with me tomorrow. We’ll watch movies, and just hang out, no interruptions, just us.” He had the cutest grin on his face as he kept his eyes on Amelia. When she noticed he only had one dimple, she poked it, and smiled.

“
You only have one dimple.” He covered it with his hand, and blushed.

“
Grace makes fun of me all the time for it.”

“
I think it’s sexy,” she said with a grin, then she looked out to where the kids were. Should she go to his condo? All by herself?

“
So, what do you say?”

“
Um, I-“

“
UNKY SHEA!!!!!!!!!!!!” They both jumped in shock as Ryan came towards them, his hand in the air as tears ran down his cheeks.

“
Ryan, buddy, what happened?” Shea asked jumping up and going to him quickly.

“
I,I,I, fell and hurt my hand!” he wailed, Shea cupped his hand looking at it. From what Elli could see, it was only a small scratch.

“
Buddy, come on now, calm down. Hockey players don’t cry, remember,” Shea said with a smile as he rubbed Ryan’s back. Elli saw it coming but obviously Shea didn’t, because when Ryan’s face cringed up and he started wailing for his mommy, Shea freaked out. He picked Ryan up, hugging him close.

“
I want my mommy!!!” Ryan cried. Elli went over, taking Ryan from Shea, cuddling him close to her chest.

“
Oh goodness, you poor thang,” she cooed as she sat down on the bench, putting him across her legs. “Let me see this boo boo, honey.” He held out his hand for Elli to see. Rocks and dirt were mixed with a little blood on his small palm.

“
Its hu,hu,hurts,” he stuttered.

“
Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed as she dug in her bag for a wipe. She then cleaned off his hand before bringing his palm to her lips, kissing it softly, “All better?”

“
Ye, ye, yes, ma’am. Do you have a Band-Aid?” he asked, tears still in his eyes.

“
I do, honey,” she said, putting a Spiderman one on his hand. He looked at his hand, then at her with a watery grin.

“
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome, darling,” she said with a grin as he jumped off her lap, grinning up at his uncle.

“
Ms. Elli fixed me.”

“
She sure did.”

“
You need to learn how to do that, Unky, it’s good to know.”

“
I know that now, bud, go play.”

“
Kay!” He ran off with the biggest smile in the world and Shea looked down at Elli with appreciation all over his face.

“
You are amazing, Elli.”

“
Why, thank you,” she said with a grin as she leaned back on the bench. “He’s sweet.”

“
He’s a pain,” he muttered as he sat down beside her. She loved how he moved, so fluid like. They sat in silence as they watched the kids play. Elli made sure to keep an eye on Amelia since she was so little but then she noticed that Shea was doing the same. Elli tore her eyes off the beautiful baby to do a head count.

“
Max, Riley, Emma, Penny, Jason, and Jessica, oh, and Ryan,” she muttered as she counted each child.

“
Are those you’re nieces and nephews names?”

“
Yeah, Max, Penny, and Jason are Liam’s kids, and then Riley, Emma, and Jessica are Noah’s kids. We had a child born each year for 5 year; Emma and Max were born within a week of each other.”

“
Wow, that’s a lot of birthdays.”

“
Yeah, but it’s nice. I love them all so much.”

“
You know, you’re always talking about the kids, but this is the first I’ve ever heard your brother’s names.”

Elli thought that over and then shrugged her shoulders.

“
My family issues are not a good topic for today.” Shea nodded as Penny, Emma, and Jessica came running towards her.

“
Auntie Elli, the boys are being mean,” Jessica complained.

“
They are still pulling my pigtails,” Penny cried.

“
They just stink in my opinion,” said Emma. Elli shook her head, as Shea chuckled beside her. All three girls looked at Shea, and when Elli saw how big Penny’s eyes got, she knew that Penny knew who he was. Penny came closer, still looking at Shea as she came close to Elli’s ear to whisper “Auntie Elli, do you know Big Daddy Adler is sitting next to you?”

Elli couldn’t suppress the giggle that came out of her. Penny walked backwards until she was standing with Emma and Jessica.

“
Just stay away from them, girls,” she managed through the giggles, the girls nodded, then ran off.

“
What did she call me?”

“
Big Daddy Adler. My sister-in-law is in love with you, and has a picture of you and her at some hockey thing Max had done. It’s on the mantel and Adina calls you that.” He started laughing, and Elli joined in.

“
That’s intense.”

“
It really is.”

“
You’re really good with kids, Elli,” Shea said after a moment. She looked over at him.

“
I love them.”

“
Do you want your own?” She smiled, then looked out towards the kids.

“
Yeah, I do. When I was younger, I was convinced I would be married by now with a big ole family, guess God had a different plan for me,” she said with a sad smile, than shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the idea. “Do you want kids?”

“
I do, but I need a wife first. Luckily, Grace had kids, so my mom leaves me alone.” Elli laughed as Shea shook his head. “When I was being traded, back in the day, my mom would be so mad at us, saying we needed to settle down, find us a partner, thank God we came here and Grace met Jason.”

“
Y’all traveled together?”

“
Yeah, wherever I went, Grace went.”

“
Really!? Everywhere?”

“
Yeah, she lived with me wherever I went. When I first left, she would have anxiety attacks and when she came to where I was, she was fine, so, we just stayed together.”

“
Wow, I didn’t know y’all were that close.”

“
Oh yeah, Grace is my best friend.”

“
That’s so sweet.”

“
I guess, I’m just glad she has Jason and the kids. I just want her to be happy.” Elli smiled big at him, then looked at the kids some more.

“
Are you close to your parents?” she asked.

“
Yeah, I talk to my parents at least every day. My dad and I are really close. He taught me to play hockey. Plus, we love going deep sea fishing too.”

“
I love fishing.”

“
I’ll take you home and we’ll go out on the boat with my dad. You will love him.”

Elli got all warm inside. He wanted to take her home. To fish. With his dad.

“
My mom is crazy, but God I love her. She cooks all the time. I swear I gain 20 pounds every time I go home,” he said with a grin, “She spoils me and I’m ten hours away! She sends packages to me of my favorite treats and then she packs stuff for the team. Even Coach Bacter loves her.” Elli had to laugh at that. From what she heard Coach Bacter hated everyone. He was always mean-mugging someone in her opinion. He never smiled! Even when the Assassins won! Shea kept on talking about his family, about all their amazing times. Elli could tell he loved them a lot.

Wish she could say the same about her family.

“
I think my mom would love you. My dad would probably steal you away since you love hockey, and mom doesn’t know anything about hockey. She always says it a bunch of baboons fighting around on ice.”

Elli busted out in a fit of giggles. She loved hockey, but she could see where someone would think that. “They sound great.”

“
They are,” he said with his one dimple grin. It was funny that she never noticed that before, probably because he always sat on the other side of her. They sat the rest of the afternoon talking about whatever came to mind while watching the kids. When Amelia started crying, Elli went to get up, but Shea was already there, kissing and loving on her.

He was going to make a great dad one day.

Shea brought her over to where they were sitting and gave Amelia her bottle. She pushed it away rubbing her eyes.

“
I might have to go. I don’t think she is going to make it much longer,” he said looking over at Elli. She smiled, rubbing Amelia’s head.

“
I understand. Grace got at least a three hour nap.”

“
She sure did,” he said with a grin as he stood up, Amelia on his hip. Elli grabbed Amelia’s bag and handed it to him. He looked down at her, and smiled. “Did I tell you that you’re sexy in my number?” Elli turned deep red, crossing her legs as she pulled at the bottom of her shirt.