Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)

by Toni Aleo

Lord Almighty.

  But she wasn’t looking at him, her gaze only on Angie. “Baby, your dad is here.”

  “I know,” Angie grumbled, handing her mom her water and stick.

  “Hey, Angie,” the guy said, coming to them as Benji shut the door behind him. The guy looked up at Benji and his brows came together before dragging his gaze back to Angie. “Ready?”

  “I gotta get my equipment off. Give me a minute,” Angie said before walking over to where her bag was. Benji watched her for a moment, and when she looked up, he smiled.

  “You good, Angie?”

  She nodded, a little smile on her lips. “Yeah, thanks, Benji.”

  “Anytime,” he said, watching as Lucy came over to help her. Sitting down, she helped her undress and Benji knew he should have gone back on the ice, but he wanted to make sure they were okay.

  Plus, he didn’t trust this guy at all.

  “I need you to hurry up, honey. We gotta meet Heidi and Nina. We’re already late,” he called over to them, and Lucy looked up, irritation flying off her.

  “We are,” Lucy bit out, untying Angie’s skates and sliding them off her feet.

  “Well, if I didn’t have to drive over here and you would have met me, we wouldn’t have this problem,” he snapped back at her and she looked up, glaring.

  Whoo-wee, that girl was scary.

  “And I told you that she has hockey Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and games starting next week on Saturday. This is important to her.”

  “No, it’s important to your family. She doesn’t want this,” he said, his voice rising. “You care more about making them happy than about what Angie wants.”

  “Excuse me?” Lucy roared, standing up. Her eyes cut to Benji’s and she paused, her hands clenching at her sides.

  “Mommy, don’t fight,” Angie said, slamming things into her bag before sliding her feet into her shoes. She then looked up to her father. “I do want to play, Dad. I love it. Mommy doesn’t even have time to bring me, but she does. Stop being mean.”

  The guy glanced down at Angie, and Benji didn’t like the way he looked at her. Like she was a nuisance and not the best damn thing in his pathetic life. “Whatever, we’ll talk about this later. Let’s go. Heidi’s waiting.”

  Turning to Lucy, Angie wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Lucy’s arms basically wrapped around the girl twice as she kissed her hard on the top of her head. It was almost too much to see. It was obvious Lucy didn’t want to let her go, and when Benji looked away, his gaze met Rick’s.

  “Did you need something?”

  Benji’s eyes narrowed. “Not from you. Just want to make sure Angie was good, and I had to talk to her mom about the game next weekend.”

  Rick glared and then rolled his eyes before looking to Angie. “Let’s go, Angie. You’ll see her Sunday.”

  “I love you, Mommy,” Benji heard Angie say, and honestly, he wasn’t sure how Lucy did this. He would lose his fucking mind. Hell, he was and Angie wasn’t even his.

  “I love you too, baby. Have fun, okay? And I’ll see you tomorrow at the recital. I can’t wait,” she said happily as she pulled back, cupping Angie’s face. She was trying. She was trying so hard to be positive, it was killing her.

  “What? You’re coming?” Rick asked, and Lucy didn’t even look at him.

  “Of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said and Angie grinned.

  “We? The whole Sinclair clan, I’m guessing?” he seethed, and Lucy just smiled at Angie, her little dimples peeking out. It was his first time seeing them, and boy, what a sight.

  “Yup, we can’t wait.”

  Angie was beaming up at her mother, and when she wrapped her arms tightly around Lucy again, Benji swallowed hard. These two were something he had never seen before. Or maybe he had, but he was too drunk to remember. Which made him a bit sad.

  Kissing her once more, Lucy patted her back. “I’ll take your bag. Go on, I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay, bye, Mommy,” she said and then trudged to her father.

  “Bye, baby, see you tomorrow,” Lucy called as they walked toward the door. Once they were out of sight, her shoulders fell and she sucked in a deep breath. Benji didn’t say anything, just watched as she slowly shook her head, swallowing hard. When she looked to him, she shrugged. “Sorry you had to see that.”

  Benji shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You okay?”

  “You’d think, after four years, that giving her to him would be easy, but it’s not,” she said. She looked so defeated. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her in the hopes she’d feel better.

  “Yeah, doesn’t seem so.”

  Shaking her head, she picked up Angie’s bag and then looked over at him. “Yeah, anyway, what did you need? Is it, like, my snack day or something?”

  Benji smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay.”

  “You didn’t need anything?”

  “Nope,” he said simply. “Just wanted to make sure you two were safe.”

  “Oh.” She looked surprised by that. Her sweet eyes widened as her lip quirked a bit. She didn’t smile, but at least she didn’t glare.

  “Yeah,” he said, looking away and drawing in a breath. As much as he wanted to ask her out again, he knew that wouldn’t be appropriate. She was upset and it wouldn’t be fair of him to take advantage of that. So he’d wait. His moment would come. He’d just have to be patient. “Okay, well, be careful going home and have a good night.”

  “You too.”

  He went to turn, to hit the ice, but then he paused. Looking back at her, he saw she was turning, about to walk away, but he called to her, “Hey, Lucy.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she met his gaze. “Yeah?”

  “You look really pretty tonight.”

  As her lips curved and those dimples appeared, Benji found himself fighting for his next breath. Slowly, her cheeks reddened and then she was fully smiling at him. Yeah, that breath he was fighting for…?

  He lost the fight.

  “Thanks, Benji.”

  “Anytime. See ya.”

  “Bye,” she said softly before turning to walk away. As he watched her walk, her ass swaying from side to side, he knew he couldn’t give up.

  Hell, he knew that from the start.

  Now, he just had to get her to give him a chance.

  “You know, just when I think I couldn’t hate that son of a biscuit eater you chose to have a child with more, days like today happen, and I swear, I want to castrate the little bastard.”

  Lucy scoffed at her mother’s proclamation as they walked into the dress shop after having a nice lunch with Jayden and Baylor. She guessed her mom had held it in while they ate with her brother and his wife. Things were already so stressful for Baylor with her surgery coming up that no one really wanted to talk about Rick. But it was evident everyone hated him.

  “Jeez, Mom, tell me how you really feel.”

  Her mother shot her a look and Lucy realized she made that same face daily. She usually added a “What the fuck?” along with it, but her mother was too sweet for that. Unless Rick Hart had pissed her off.

  And boy, had he.

  Lucy hadn’t expected him to do her any favors when it came to the recital. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten her a ticket. But he also had not told her that she could have gotten a disc of pictures and a DVD, but that she had to pay for those two weeks in advance. She wasn’t sure how she missed it on the days she took Angie to dance—she must have been working on something—but she had, so she didn’t get to order. Even with a text to Claire, nothing could be done because everything was already paid for. But Rick had ordered, and when her mother asked him for a copy so that she could make a copy, he basically told her to go fuck herself.

  Which Mom did not take kindly to, nor did River.

  So, of course, when her mother stomped out of the lobby and River was very stern when he actually told Rick he co
uld go fuck himself, Lucy was left with the aftermath. Which included Rick saying he didn’t want Angie around River. Cold day in hell. River loved Angie, and he was about to be her step-grandfather, so Lucy decided Rick could suck it. Hell, she already had decided that. But if that wasn’t enough to stress her out, Angie had whispered to her that she didn’t want to dance anymore.

  Fucking great.

  It seemed like one thing after another, but she’d be damned if her daughter was going to be forced to do something she didn’t want to. It could wait, though, until Lucy picked her up the following day. It had already been a morning of snide remarks and hellish death looks; Lucy couldn’t handle a screaming match with that idiot. Especially when she had to go wedding dress shopping with her mother.

  And not even for Lucy, but for her mom.

  It was pathetic that she was jealous of her mother, but she was. Autumn hadn’t let the divorce from Lucy’s sperm-donor father or the cheating scandal ruin her. No, her mother took it in stride. She had her moment of mourning the loss of her almost thirty-year marriage, and then she was right back out there. It was kind of funny watching her crush on the boys’ college hockey coach, and even funnier when she was the one to ask him out. It was cute and Lucy should be happy for her mother, but she envied her.

  She wanted to be like her.

  She wanted to be able to throw all caution to the wind. She wanted to give Benji a chance. It was insane, but it was all she could think about. That moment she said no when, really, she was screaming yes inside. It was so sad. She wanted to hope it would work between them because he was really proving to be a decent guy. He didn’t have to stay at the rink yesterday and make sure she and Angie were fine. But he did. He also didn’t have to say she looked pretty, but when he did, it meant the world. She may have spent some extra time getting ready because she knew she’d see him. For him to notice was just nice. So why couldn’t she ask him out? Be the one to put it out there? Why couldn’t she be like her idol?

  Her mom.

  Because their situations were so different, that was why. All her mother’s children were grown, and once her husband was gone, he was gone. She didn’t even speak to Lucy’s dad. Hell, no one did anymore, not after the stunt he had pulled with Jace. Trying to buy him off so he wouldn’t speak to any of them? Please, Jace was the baby. He needed them, and even if he didn’t, he couldn’t give up his momma. He was the biggest momma’s boy in the world.

  So really, Lucy couldn’t even put them in the same category. She needed to be happy for the woman who had given her life and supported her no matter what. She was being an ungrateful, selfish brat and she needed to suck it up. And she also needed to let Benji go. Things would never work.

  “I just hate him. I mean, how hard is it to let me get a picture to make a copy? I’ll give it back! I’ve always been nice to that little brat, even when he doesn’t deserve it. I’m done. No more Mrs. Nice Guy,” her mother seethed, shaking her head as she moved each dress out of the way violently.

  “Mom, those dresses did nothing to you.”

  She glared back at Lucy. “Shush. And also, don’t they have a section for women who are older and getting married for a second time? I mean, jeez! I don’t have the boobs for this.”

  Lucy giggled as her mother hung up a low-cut dress that had no back. She, in fact, did not have the boobs nor the back for that dress. Lucy did, though.

  One day.

  Lucy set her with a look. A bored one. “I mean, I don’t even know why we’re here. You two haven’t even picked a date.”

  That made Autumn smile, which in return made Lucy breathless. It was a sight, seeing her mother smile. She was so happy now, so in love, and it meant the world to Lucy. Her mom was her best friend, and she wanted nothing more than for her to be blissful. River was really good to her mother and loved all her kids like his own. Hell, he stood up to her father many times in the past year they had been together. He was something, and she was glad he was with her mother. So really, she didn’t know why she was so bitchy when it came to her mother getting married.

  “We have set a date. Christmas.”

  Lucy’s jaw dropped. “Christmas, next year?”

  Autumn shook her head, her hands coming to her chest like some kind of Disney princess. “Nope, this one.”

  “Mom! That’s in, like, two months.”

  “I know!” she squealed, doing a little jig. “All the boys will be home, there is a small break in hockey for Christmas, and it just feels right. It’s gonna be so small, just us really, and Pastor Dwayne from our church. Nothing crazy or big, just nice and sweet. Us, our family, you know?”

  Lucy’s lips curved, tears gathering in her eyes. “Yeah, Mom, that sounds nice.”

  “Oh, it will be. Angie will be my little flower girl. You and the boys will give me away, and Baylor will stand up with River. It’s gonna be a tearjerker, I’m sure.”

  Lucy was fighting back her own tears at the moment, so no telling what she’d do when they actually had the damn wedding. “I’m sure it will be.”

  “I’m excited.”

  “I am too,” Lucy said, and she wasn’t lying. For the first time since she found out, she was genuinely happy for her mom. Standing up, she went to her mom, leaning her head on hers. She sucked in a long breath as Autumn’s hand came up to rest on her cheek.

  “I love you, baby,” her mother whispered and Lucy’s eyes fell shut.

  “I love you too, Mom.” Clearing her throat free of emotion, she stood up and then clapped her hands together. “Now, let’s find you a dress. Excuse me, do y’all have an older bride wedding dress section?” Lucy asked the dress consultant who had just come into the room.

  “Oh, yes, ma’am. This way,” she said cheerfully, and they followed her into the other room. “My name is Shawna, and I’ll be helping you. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. My daughter is home sick, and I’m trying to talk my husband through it.”

  “Oh, you’re fine. We were man-bashing my daughter’s ex,” Autumn said and Lucy rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, my mom and I do the same. Thankfully, I only had kids with the second guy,” Shawna laughed, bringing them into another room.

  “Lucky. She didn’t,” Autumn added and Lucy gave her a look.

  “Really, Mom?”

  “What?” she asked innocently as Shawna laughed.

  “It’s fine. Okay, so what are we looking for?”

  “I don’t know.” She eyed all the dress, and Lucy’s throat was thick with emotion at the look on her mother’s face. She was giddy, almost like this was her first marriage, her first love, and it was beautiful. “Baby, you think I can pull off a short dress?” she asked then, pointing to a gorgeous, tea length, off-white A-line dress that had a lace bodice and pearls all over it.

  “I think you can,” she said simply. “It’s pretty.”

  “But what about my legs?”

  Lucy shrugged. “What? They’ll show?”

  Autumn gave her a stern look. “No, I mean, do you think that’s okay? It’s a Christmas wedding,” she said to Shawna and she nodded.

  “You might be chilly. Do you want a poofy dress?”

  Autumn laughed. “Oh, Jesus, no. I’m fifty-four!”

  “What! I wouldn’t think you were a day over thirty,” Shawna said with a wink, and Autumn’s laughter filled the shop. Lucy giggled as she leaned back against the puffy white couch, watching as Shawna went back and forth, showing them options, with Autumn having the final say. When they finally had four dresses picked out, Shawna took a very thrilled Autumn to the dressing room to start trying them on.

  Letting out a long breath, Lucy picked up her phone and went into her group message with the boys.

  Lucy: Mom is so happy.

  Jace: You guys shopping? Avery said something about wedding dresses today.

  Lucy: Yeah. It’s supersweet.

  Jayden: Good, she needs to be happy.

  Jude: Yeah, for sure. Send us pictures.

  L
ucy: I will. They set a date.

  Jude: When?

  Lucy: Christmas.

  Jayden: Cool.

  Jude: Awesome.

  Jace: Good, all of us will be there.

  Jude: But man, that means you only have a couple more months before your wife is your sister, Jay.

  Jace: Yeah, that sucks. Can you guys even do it then?

  Lucy: I think that’s incest.

  Jayden: I hate you all. All of you.

  Lucy laughed as she laid her phone down and watched as her mother came out in each dress. She didn’t like the first three and neither did her mom, but when she came out in an A-line, princess V-neck, floor-length chiffon dress with beading along the bodice and cascading ruffles on the skirt, Lucy sat up straight, holding back the tears. The dress fit her mother perfectly. It fell along her curves and gave her such a sexy shape.

  “Oh, Mommy, that’s the one,” she gasped, covering her mouth. Shawna nodded as Autumn looked in the mirror, holding back her own tears. Getting a birdcage veil that was made of the same chiffon, Shawna pulled Autumn’s long, brown hair to the side and pinned it up, transforming Lucy’s mother into a bride. Turning, her mom looked back at her and grinned.

  “I think it’s the one.”

  “It is,” Lucy agreed, and then out of nowhere, Autumn squealed. Loudly. Making practically everyone in the shop jump, Lucy included. That had her laughing so hard, tears started to roll down her cheeks. Man, she was so happy for her mom. Getting up, she ran to her mother and held her tightly, the love for her and this moment overwhelming her.

  She wanted this.

  She wanted it so badly.

  When Autumn pulled back, cupping Lucy’s face, she beamed at her as she wiped her tears away. “You’re next, my love.”

  Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Gotta raise Angie first.”

  But that made Autumn’s smile drop and her eyes narrow. “What?”

  She was confused as she held her mother’s hazel gaze. “I need to raise Angie, and then I can worry about me.”

  “What in the world makes you think that?”

  “I don’t think it. I know it. I don’t have time for a relationship,” she said, but Autumn shook her head.