Lucky Score (The Hawkeyes Hockey Series Book 6)

With Cammy in today, Rita said that she won’t need me on shift.

I spent all morning and afternoon trying to write but this apartment isn’t drawing out the inspiration in me. I hear my stomach groan and check my phone to see that it’s after two in the afternoon, which means that the lunch rush downstairs is probably over.

I haven’t eaten all day and maybe it’s time for some new scenery. Grabbing some lunch while I work through my next chapter might help to get things rolling again.

I’m nearing the end of the book, and all the chapters that I’ve been sending Sheridan have been met with a solid two thumbs-up. The book is coming together, and relief is starting a soothe the anxiety that I’ve been carrying around for months over this manuscript.

I head downstairs to order some food and while sitting in the small booth that Seven and I sat in the first time he brought me here, I think about my ‘Fix Me’ list. It’s been a while since I opened it back up and with only a handful more days left in Mexico, I should consider getting a few things marked off my list.

For a moment I feel like I’m being watched. I look up to find Josslin staring back at me from another booth. I give a small smile and wave though it feels forced, but I can’t very well ignore her. She’s staring at me and now I’m looking back at her.

She doesn’t return the wave or the smile.

Awesome.

The spreadsheet pulls up, and my attention is pulled away quickly. I glance through the list to see if there is anything I should add or anything I might be able to check off.

One specific line item has a grip hold on me.

#7 – Have a fling in Mexico.

I don’t know if one night with Seven constitutes a full-fledged fling. And since it ended the way it did—quickly and with Seven storming out of the room—I feel a little guilty about checking it off my list. But not bad enough not to get that satisfaction of seeing one less item on my list.

I mark it complete and feel an instant endorphin boost from my accomplishment.

‘Good afternoon,’ I hear a voice say at the end of the booth.

I glance over to find Cammy standing there with a smile. She’s dressed in a pair of board shorts and a Scallywag’s t-shirt and white apron with an order notepad and pen in the pocket. Her brown hair is pulled up in a messy bun with tendrils of hair framing her face.

I study her face for a moment, noticing all the ways in which she looks so much like her uncle. I suppose they share DNA which makes sense.

‘Hi, good afternoon,’ I say back.

‘We didn’t get to talk much yesterday. You left before dinner came,’ she glances at my open laptop. ‘Rita tells me you’re a writer?’

‘I am. That’s actually why I left early. I have a book due next week that I’m trying to finish. The publisher is waiting on it and I’m way past my due date.’

‘What are you working on now?’ she asks, glancing at my screen. ‘It doesn’t look like a book. It looks like a list.’

I snap back to my screen, almost forgetting that my ‘Fix Me’ list is pulled up instead of my book.

‘Oh, right. I guess you could call it a self-improvement bucket list. I want to accomplish a few things before my boyfriend—’ I stop the second I say it.

This is the first time that calling Daniel my boyfriend has felt weird and awkward.

‘You have a boyfriend? I thought you’re dating my uncle.’

I whip a look up at her in surprise by her comment.

She thought that Seven and I are dating?

I can only guess that Rita made her think that because I can’t imagine she would have gotten that idea from Seven.

‘No, he and I aren’t dating. I just ended up at his house due to a misunderstanding with a scam website. He was generous enough not to leave me to sleep out on the beach during a hurricane.’

She snickers. ‘My uncle can come off crabby, but despite his best efforts to hide it, he’s a really good guy.’

I can’t argue with her there. He is crabby, and yet, I see the other sides of him too. When he shows up for Rita whenever she needs him and how protective he is of Cammy.

‘Yeah, I’m starting to see that.’

‘So, you have a boyfriend?’ she asks.

‘We’re not technically together right now. We’re on the break… thus the list. It’s a list of things I want to do before we get back together to improve on myself.’

Her eyebrows furrow at my explanation. ‘Is this a list of things he’s making you change before you get back together with him?’

I can hear it in her tone. It’s the same one I get from Sheridan.

‘Oh no!’ I say quickly. The last thing I need is yet another person getting a bad opinion of Daniel, even if it is someone I may never see again. ‘We broke up while he left the country for work and there are a few things I want to accomplish for myself before he gets home and we get back together.’

I can see in her eyes that she doesn’t seem convinced, but she drops it and lowers herself to the booth, taking a seat next to me.

‘Mind if I take a look?’

She doesn’t wait for an answer as she reaches for the laptop and turns it towards herself.

I’ve never shown anyone the list before, but it’s not as if it’s anything crazy. There’s no reason why she can’t see it.

‘Go on a first date—Sleep through a storm alone—Go deep sea fishing,’ she stops listing them out loud as she continues to read down the list.

‘It’s nothing crazy, but I want to try to check off as many items as possible before leaving.’

‘It looks like you’ve made some progress. Number seven, ‘Have a fling in Mexico,’ is checked off,’ she smirks over at me, and all I want to do is slink under the table and hide by burning red cheeks. ‘Does the number have any correlation with the man?’

Damn it, I didn’t think about how she might draw a conclusion that her uncle is the one responsible for completing that task. And in my defense, I listed the activity as number seven before I even left Seattle. That’s a pure and unfortunate coincidence.

I divert my attention away from her to hide the obvious tell across my face. The last thing I want to do is discuss what happened between me and Seven to his eighteen-year-old niece, nor do I think Seven would appreciate me divulging the details to a member of his family.

‘Sorry, that’s none of my business,’ she says and then glances back at the list. ‘This guy… the boyfriend that you’re not currently dating, is he bettering himself for you during this break, too?’

I think about it for a second, but the only thing he’s mentioned working on before we get back together is his career.

‘Not exactly. I’m sort of the one with the neurosis that needs to be fixed, not him.’

I heard what I said the second I said it. It’s a little hard to take back now.

Cammy shoots me a look with a lifted eyebrow. The kind of look people give you when they think you’re exaggerating. If only she knew that I wasn’t. If she asked her uncle, I’m sure he could tell her about the time he had to break into his own bathroom when we lost power and I screamed like I was trapped inside with an ax murderer. Or the time I had a panic attack the night of the storm and he brought me into his bed to monitor me all night.

I’m a mess, and Seven can vouch for that. I do have things to work on, and I have every intention of doing them.

Cammy looks back over at the list.

‘Ok, well, you’re in luck. We can check another one of those items off today.’

‘We can?’ I ask, unable to hide my intrigue.

‘My lunch shift is almost over and I’m taking Rita’s car over to the marina to meet my uncle to go fishing. Come with us.’

My instant reaction is to jump on the opportunity. Cross off another item would feel like a huge accomplishment today, especially since my time here is running low. The thing is, I can’t imagine that Seven will be thrilled with being stuck on a boat for hours at a time with me.

‘As much as I’d like to say yes, I don’t think your uncle would love that idea.’

Her eyebrows scrunch together. ‘Why not? He won’t even know you’re there. The boat is huge and he’s only taking me out because I begged him. If you haven’t noticed, my uncle can kind of be a stick in the mud. I’ll have more fun with another girl around and he’ll leave us alone to fish by ourselves. Please come?’ she asks, practically batting her eyelashes.

The offer was already too good to pass up, and now, with her begging, I can’t turn her down.

‘Ok, I’ll come. But if he’s pissed off when we show up, I’m leaving. Can you give me a minute to change and take my laptop upstairs?’

Cammy beams back at me and claps her hands together.

‘Absolutely! I’ll meet you out front in ten minutes.’

I watch as she pushes herself out of the booth and then makes large slides towards the kitchen doors.

Before Cammy disappears into the kitchen, I see Josslin get up for her booth from the corner of my eye and head straight for Cammy. Josslin doesn’t look happy when she approaches, and Cammy seems almost annoyed. I’m too far away to hear them but it doesn’t take long before Cammy turns and walks away leaving Josslin standing outside of the kitchen doors alone and fuming.

Josslin turns towards me, her eyes narrowed, but she doesn’t head towards my direction. She turns and leaves and I have to wonder why she’s so upset with Cammy.

I close my laptop and slide out of the booth, wondering what people wear on fishing excursions.

Eleven minutes later, I speed walk out of the restaurant and out to the parking lot looking for Cammy. I lost track of time texting my mom about how my book is coming along and updating her on my new living arrangements.

I hear a car horn honk and then the same newer truck that I’ve seen in Rita driveway pulls up with Cammy at the wheel. I start walking towards her when she yells out to me.

‘You look cute! Let’s go,’ she yells.

‘Thanks,’ I yell back.

I glance down at my outfit as I walk. I chose a pair of distressed denim shorts that Daniel always says makes my butt look good, and a racerback tank top and sports bra, that admittedly shows off more of my cleavage than is necessary for a fish trip, but it’s hot today and I’d rather avoid pit stains in a t-shirt since we’ll be out in the sun. Paired with a set of leather flip flops and a Scallywag’s baseball cap with my ponytail pulled through it, I’m ready to knock off this next item on my list. And hopefully Seven isn’t too pissed off that I’m joining in.

I open the passenger door and then hop inside, closing the truck door next to me and clipping in my seatbelt.

‘I wasn’t sure what to wear,’ I say.

Cammy gives me a once-over as she puts the truck back in drive and heads to exit the parking lot.

‘No, this is perfect. If this doesn’t do the trick, then nothing will.’

‘Doesn’t do the trick for what?’ I ask.

‘Getting you entry on my uncle’s boat. One look at you and he won’t be able to resist our request.’

A zip of excitement races through my spine at the thought of Seven not being able to resist me, but then I remember the look on his face when he found out about Daniel.

‘I don’t know what you think is going on between us, Cammy, but I assure you that it’s nothing. Your uncle has no interest in me and I have plans to get back together with someone when I get back home,’ I tell her.

‘Just so you know, neither you or my uncle hide the looks you give each other when you think the other one isn’t watching. I might not know you all that well, but I know Seven and I’ve never seen him show interest in a woman before. I’ve certainly not seen him follow a woman’s every movement around an entire restaurant before yesterday.’

I just about laughed out loud at the absurdity of her comment.

‘Show interest? You think your uncle is showing interest in me? He couldn’t wait to get me out of his house. I promise you, he isn’t interested in me. And if he was following my movements it was probably to keep tabs on me to make sure I don’t come anywhere near him.’

If I told her about how Seven found Daniel’s texts on my phone right after we had sex and now thinks the worst of me, she’d have a better understanding.

‘My uncle can seem complicated when you don’t know him. I can relate to not understanding how put off he always seems. With Seven, you have to see the things he does for you… his acts of service. I know he can seem like he couldn’t care less about your existence at first, but once you’re in his keeping, he’s a different person, ask any of the guys on the Hawkeyes team. Ask Rita, Maria, Silas, or Miguel. They’ll all tell you the same thing.’

We pull into the marina parking lot. A building for boat rentals and an attached restaurant sit along the water. Beyond that are rows and rows of docks that are mostly empty. Out in the distance, several boats seem to be making their way back. Seven said something about the boats being anchored out at sea during the storm and now they must be bringing them back in now that it’s safe.

I search each of the boats currently docked to see if I can spot Seven. It doesn’t take long before I see Seven standing on one of the larger sport fishing boats with a large, covered cockpit and a tall flybridge above it. I know Seven has one of the largest paying contracts in the NHL but this is the first time I’ve seen him show any of that off. His beach house could use a renovation, his Jeep is at least ten years old and he mostly wears Scallywag’s merchandise that Rita probably gave him along with canvas work pants or the occasional board shorts.

He stares back at us from a distance, neatly coiling up a long rope, probably to stow it away. He continues to coil up the rope as he stares back at me, his eyes narrowing. He doesn’t look happy to see me sitting in the passenger side of Rita’s truck. I knew this was a mistake.

His intense stare makes me want to slink down in the passenger leather seats and hide from sight.

I’m tempted to pull up the rideshare app now and get the heck out of here. I don’t need to guess that I won’t be welcomed if I stroll up to that boat.

Besides, I need to write anyway.

‘Wait here a second, Ok?’ Cammy says, opening up the driver’s door and then hops out of the truck.

I should have known that she was selling our fishing excursion too easily. Seven’s already mentioned that he wants time with his niece without distraction, and here I am, showing up on their fishing trip.

‘Cammy, I should go—’ I try to argue before she closes the door.

‘Don’t move a muscle. I’ll be right back.’

Before I can offer a rebuttal, she’s gone, practically skipping down the boat launch and headed for Seven’s boat slip.

He sees her wave to him, but he has a look on his face like he’s already preparing for what Cammy is about to drop on him.

I see Cammy’s animated hands as she starts to explain something to him the closer she gets to the boat. He stands there, listening to her, his expression softening to whatever she tells him. Then, quickly out of nowhere, his eyes darken again and they flash over to the truck I’m still sitting in. He stares back at me for a moment and then nods down to her.

They exchange a few words, and then Cammy spins around and heads back toward me, a skip in her step and a bright smile across her lips. I watch as Seven turns his back on us and moves inside the boat’s covered interior.

He must have agreed but he doesn’t look happy about it.

The last thing I want to do is cause more issues between us. After all, Seven has done a lot for me when he didn’t have to. I should probably let him off the hook and say I’m feeling under the weather but giving up this opportunity to check off one more box is hard to pass up.

Cammy trots up to my open passenger window, beaming from ear to ear.

‘Told you that he’d agree. He’ll stay out of our way and let us do our thing.’

‘Are you sure? Because he didn’t look very happy when you were talking to him just now.’ I say, glancing back at the boat with no Seven left in sight.

He hasn’t reemerged after ducking into the enclosed cockpit of the large fishing boat.

‘Oh that? That was about something else. Don’t worry about it,’ she says, swatting at the air as if their conversation was no big deal. ‘I told him that you’ve never gone ocean fishing before and it’s on your bucket list. He’s cool with you coming along, I promise.’

My bucket list?

My pulse jumps at the mention of her telling him about my ‘Fix Me’ list.

‘Wait, you told him about the list? What exactly did you tell him?’

Oh God!

I hope she didn’t tell him that I checked off the ‘Have a fling in Mexico’.

That one night together is why he avoids me when he can. How would he react if it seemed like I used him to fulfill a checklist of things I wanted to do before Daniel and I got back together?

Cammy grabs for the handle of the passenger side of the truck and opens my door for me. Now I’m not so sure I want to get out.

‘Nothing. Just that you have a list of things you want to check off before you go home. That’s all. I told him that I want to help you mark another item since you’re leaving in a few days.’

Something tells me that there is more to what she told him, but she and I don’t know each other well enough for me to drill her without making this awkward. Whatever she said to him, I’ll just have to face the possibility of him trusting me even less than he already does.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and then slide out of the truck.

‘Has he ever told you no?’ I ask, already witnessing that Seven seems to be much softer regarding his niece.

Cammy shuts the passenger door behind me as I step out of the way.

‘Are you kidding? He tells me no all the time. I’m convinced that the word makes up fifty percent of his vocabulary,’ she teases as we start towards the docks. ‘People think he lets me get away with everything, but that’s not even close to the truth. He’s just a lot harsher with most everyone else.’

That’s not as comforting as she probably thought it would be.

‘I just don’t want to make things worse between us. I only have three more days and I don’t want to make enemies.’

‘It’s going to be fine, trust me,’ Cammy starts to feel around her pockets as we walk.

Seven’s boat comes closer and closer with every step we take. ‘Shoot, I left the keys in the truck. I should grab those really quick before we leave on the boat for the rest of the day.’

I do as she suggests. Maybe there are a few words that Seven would like to have with me before Cammy returns. I’d rather she doesn’t hear all the gory details of why he doesn’t like me.

‘Ok, I’ll meet you at the boat,’ I say.

Cammy turns and heads back speed walking towards the truck.

The moment I reach the boat, I prepare myself for whatever Seven might say.

As I approach, I hear the loud humming of the boat’s six engines running, all lined up agains the back of the boat. The water swirling from the propellers underneath. Seven finally walks back out of the cockpit.

‘So, you’re coming out with us?’ he says.

‘Cammy said she would teach me to fish. I’ve never been deep sea fishing, and there’s no better time to experience it than right now before I go home.’

‘Speaking of Cammy, where is she?’ he asks.

‘She forgot the keys in the truck and ran back to get them. She’ll be right back.’

We both over at the parking lot to see Cammy jumping into the truck, starting the ignition, and then speeding off out of the parking lot.

My jaw drops.

I have no clue what just happened.

‘Where is she going?’ I ask, hoping he knows something I don’t and not that I’ve just been stranded here with him.

‘Looks like Rita is rubbing off on my niece. I would say this is a firepit repeat.’

I turn back to him quickly. ‘Why are they doing this?’

‘You’re going to have to go straight to the source with that question. I have an idea of why Rita is doing it, but I don’t know how my niece got roped into it now too. Just tell Rita that you’re getting back together with your ex. That should clear a few things up.’

There’s almost a sharpness to his voice at that last sentence.

‘You don’t have to take me fishing; I’ll just call a rideshare to come get me. I warned Cammy before we left the restaurant that you wouldn’t want me to tag along anyway.’

I turn back towards the direction I came but I only take one step and then I hear his voice.

‘She said you have a list.’

Damn it, of course, he’s going to bring that up.

‘It’s just a bucket list, and not something that you have any responsibility to help me accomplish. I can hire a guide to take me out. It’s really not a big deal,’ I say, trying to let him off the hook.

Seven sighs loudly and then steps closer to the side of the boat and offers up his hand.

‘Come on, let’s get this over with. Rita and Cammy won’t rest until they think they’ve done everything they can do to force us to spend time together. We’ll give them what they want and prove they have it wrong.’

There it is again.

He said it at the firepit, and now he’s repeating it here. It’s exactly what I expect him to say, and with Daniel coming home in a couple more weeks, the outcome makes the most sense. However, it doesn’t stop my stomach from feeling a little queasy with disappointment every time he says it.

‘Right, we’ll prove them wrong,’ I say, sliding my hand into his.

His warm fingers wrap completely around mine, and then he pulls me in and guides me carefully into the boat.

As soon as I’m standing on the back deck Seven releases me immediately. Something catches my eye on the dock. I turn to see someone from the marina walk toward us.

‘Are you ready, sir?’ he asks.

‘Yeah, we’re ready.’

Seven walks to the cockpit as the attendant unhooks the ropes and tosses them onboard. I take the couple steps up towards the cockpit and then walk along the side of the boat until I make it to the front where it looks like some kind of sundeck in the front of the boat. This boat couldn’t have been cheap.

‘Have a good day at sea,’ the man yells to Seven and then smiles at me.

Seven gives the man a quick wave and then starts to pull the boat out of the boat slip we’re parked in.

I take a seat on the large, padded bench in the front of the boat while Seven moves us out into the open water.

‘The spot we’re headed to is over an hour from here,’ he yells over the wind and the engines.

I just nod instead of attempting to compete with the overbearing sounds all around us.

I turn towards the ocean, feeling the wind whip through my ponytail and watch under the visor of my hat as the vast ocean surrounds us the further away from land that we get.

The beauty and the serenity of it might be just what I need today.

I already feel more inspired to write than I did all morning and afternoon.

I don’t dare look back at the cockpit behind me. Instead, I try to forget that I’m alone on a boat with a man who probably wishes he were anywhere else other than here with me.