Lucky Score (The Hawkeyes Hockey Series Book 6)

As soon as we order dinner, I excuse myself and head for the kitchen to check on the refrigerator for Miguel… the one that I already fixed.

I push through the doors of the kitchen, partly expecting to see Brynn on her break, but she’s nowhere to be seen.

Just as well. I don’t exactly want Brynn anywhere near Josslin and if I could have prevented them from ever meeting, I would have.

‘Hey,’ I hear Miguel say as I move to the server side of the pickup window.

The smell of freshly fried chips fills the kitchen air as a server starts to fill dozens of clean baskets to the brim with golden-fried tortilla triangles in preparation for the dinner rush to start.

Miguel’s kitchen staff are all prepping for dinner while I watch him start our plates of food.

‘How’s the fridge running for you?’ I ask, since it’s the excuse I used to get away.

‘No problem today. Thanks for your help.’

‘No problem. Let me know if it acts up again,’ I say, grabbing one of the chips that dropped off the basket and onto the serving table.

I crunch down on it as I watch Miguel squirt oil onto the frying pan.

‘I heard you have your hands full out there,’ Miguel says, with his back to me.

‘Cammy’s mom showed up uninvited.’

Marie walks through the office that’s located against the back wall of the kitchen. She probably just made the afternoon deposit into the safe.

When she sees me, she heads straight for me.

‘Where’s she staying? With you?’ Miguel asks.

Josslin should know better than to test that boundary, but she’s been pushing a few too many for my liking lately.

‘Are we talking about Cammy’s mom?’ Marie asks, grabbing a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa and pushing it towards me.

After all these years, she never has to ask if I’m hungry.

‘Thanks,’ I say, dipping a chip in the red sauce.

Miguel usually has a strict ‘no eating in the kitchen’ rule, but he’s always bending it for me when I’m back here working on something and between Rita and Marie, I always have something to eat.

He scrapes the onions and bell peppers that he chopped up on a cutting board into the hot skillet and steam billows up the large kitchen exhaust fan.

‘If she tries to stay with me, she’ll end up sleeping outside on the beach. She’s not stepping foot in my house. I made that clear before she came.’

‘And how does Brynn feel about this?’ Marie asks, snagging a chip out of the basket she gave me and plops it into her mouth.

‘Brynn?’

‘Don’t play dumb with me. I saw how your eyes flashed to Brynn when Josslin called herself your fiancé. I was only a table away, picking up a check from the customer. I swear you almost turned completely purple for lack of oxygen.’

Miguel looks over his shoulder and smirks at me as his wife calls me out.

Before I can answer, we hear the double doors to the kitchen push open.

Marie and I both look over our shoulders to find Cammy sauntering in.

‘I figured you were hiding out in here,’ she says, as she walks up beside me,  grabbing a chip out of my basket.

‘Get your own chips,’ I tease.

‘They taste better when I steal them from you.’

Maria snickers at my usual back-and-forth banter with my niece.

‘Are you sure she’s not yours?’ Marie jokes.

Cammy just smiles up at me with a smart-ass grin.

Unfortunately, she inherited the Wrenley personality. I can’t take full credit for it. My dad is pretty similar. My brother on the other hand, can’t take a joke.

‘I’m headed back to work. You two behave,’ Marie says and then heads out of the kitchen.

‘You left your mom out there?’ I ask.

‘No, Rita is entertaining Josslin.’

‘Mom. You call her mom,’ I remind Cammy.

‘Why do you care what I call her?’

‘We’ve been through this. She birthed you, and though I can’t stand the woman, you turned out okay. I have to give her some credit for that.’

‘Then you call her mom.’

‘Cammy…’ I warn.

‘Grandpa sure brainwashed you into a die-hard momma’s boy, didn’t he?’

‘Cam—’ I warn again.

‘Speaking of which,’ she cuts me off. ‘Grandma begged me to attempt to call her while you’re on speaker so she can tell you how proud she is of you since you won’t take her call until June 2nd of next year.’

I let out a frustrated sigh. Of course, my mom is trying to use Cammy’s time here to get to me. If my mom weren’t a nervous flier, she’d probably have already visited Seattle a handful of times to see Cammy in hopes of running into me, too.

‘She gets a call on her birthday. She knows the rules.’

‘Has anyone told you that you’re a massive hypocrite?’

I look down at her as I crunch on another chip.

‘Eat your chips, little girl.’

Miguel turns around and pushes a plate of freshly cut mango, papaya, and pineapple toward Cammy.

‘Yum, thanks!’ she beams over at Miguel, who has already turned back and is working quickly on our food.

‘So what are they talking about out there?’ I ask.

‘Rita offered to let mom stay in one of her guest bedrooms at the house.’

I drop the chip I just picked up and shoot a look at Cammy.

‘She did what?’ I ask, the shock evident on my face. ‘Why would she do that?’

‘You know, Rita. She probably wants to keep her enemies closer. I bet you Rita is planning to gather all the intel she can on mom’s weaknesses so that she can hatch a plan to use them against her in the near future.’

It figures that Rita would see some kind of challenge in this, but now I’m stuck with Josslin staying next door.

‘How long is your mom staying?’ I ask.

‘She has a shift at the hospital in two days, so she can’t stay long.’

Two days is manageable. I can survive that. I think. As long as she stays with Rita and leaves me the hell alone.

Miguel turns around with our plates of food.

‘All set. Need anything else?’ he asks.

It’s more than enough food. He gave us bigger portions than normal, and I’ll probably still end up finishing up whatever Cammy doesn’t eat.

‘You ready?’ I ask Cammy.

‘Let’s go.’

She and I grab the plates of food and head out of the kitchen.

The sooner we get through dinner, the sooner I can drop Josslin off at Rita’s and be done with her.

Tomorrow, after Cammy’s shift, she and I will be miles out to sea with no Josslin in sight.