Fallon scoffed, her face flushing. “Every damn surface imaginable!”
That had the sisters in a fit of laughter. “Oh, Audrey, it was fantastic. I feel so rejuvenated, so ready to get back to work, be a mommy, and watch some hockey. I just love my life.”
“At least one of us does. I’m happy for you, Fal,” Audrey said sincerely.
“Uh-oh, trouble in Audrey’s land?” Fallon asked, a concerned look on her face.
“Nothing that can’t be discussed when you come down from your sex-filled week. I refuse to ruin that for you. So don’t think of me at all.”
“Okay,” Fallon scoffed, giving her a skeptical look, “if you didn’t want me to worry about it, you shouldn’t have made the comment.”
Thankfully, Lucas and Aiden came downstairs. Aiden was grinning, his arms held out for Fallon. She took him and hugged him tightly, covering his face with kisses. Audrey had noticed such a difference in her sister since Lucas came along. She was much happier and smiled a lot more. Fallon being happy should have made her happy, and it did for the most part, but there was still a part of Audrey that was jealous.
“Ready to go home, bud?” Lucas asked, wrapping his arms around his little family. Tears sprang to Audrey’s eyes.
“Did you get a new couch?” Fallon asked.
Shit! She had forgotten that Fallon would notice something like that.
“Yup! Those hippogriffs I left, they poop everywhere!” Aiden said. “Me and Will cleaned up what A.A. missed after she bought the new couch.”
“What?” Lucas asked, confused.
“Who is Will?” Fallon asked.
Audrey laughed. “I’ll explain everything later. Go home.”
“Okay,” Lucas said with a shake of his head, then kissed Audrey’s cheek and headed for the door.
“Say ’bye to A.A. and thank her for keeping your stinky butt,” Fallon said, and giggled.
Aiden held out his arms, and Audrey took him quickly, kissing his cheeks loudly.
“Thank you for keeping me,” he said against her cheek.
Then they were gone.
After shutting the door, Audrey fell onto her couch, digging her face into the pillow before taking a deep breath.
Then she cried herself to sleep.
Chapter 10
“That’s all you got?”
Lucas glared before shooting the puck, hard, toward the net. Tate hit it using his glove hand with ease before giving his friend a taunting grin. Puck after puck, Tate brushed off shots with the skill that had been drilled into him since he was four. He would never forget the day his dad dressed him in too-big goalie gear and threw him in the net. His father and four of his father’s friends all took turns shooting pucks, hard, at him. He missed every single one.
But that wasn’t the case anymore.
He was pretty sure after years of practice and camps that he could take on the five grown men. Tate was now the highest ranked goalie in the U.S. It was a major accomplishment, one he was proud of. He only wished his dad was there to see it. He would have been so proud. His mother and sister would also have been excited for him.
Now there was no one to be excited for or proud of him.
He only had himself.
After blocking another shot that Lucas tried to put in between his legs, Lucas threw his stick against the boards, distracting Tate from his sad thoughts.
“Well, shit!”
Tate forced a laugh as he tucked his stick between his pad and leg before taking off his helmet. “Hey, thankfully you don’t really have to worry about shooting against me.”
Lucas shot him a dirty look from center ice before skating toward him. It was great to have Lucas home. Tate had been lonely, running and lifting weights without him. They had gotten into a routine since becoming friends that Lucas felt more like his brother than a friend or teammate. It was nice to have someone who he could talk to. Maybe he wasn’t as alone as he thought. But not even Lucas knew all of his secrets.
He knew only the basics.