by Alley Ciz
Sean stood in front of Tyler, his own head barely reaching Tyler’s hips, and looked up at him in wonder. It wasn’t surprising that he was fascinated. Standing at six feet four inches, Tyler’s height was intimidating but with his broad shoulders and military stance he looked down right menacing.
However, Sean didn’t relent in his perusal. He looked Tyler over from head-to-toe trying to assess who the strange guy was.
Tyler looked slightly uncomfortable under Sean’s scrutiny so she jumped in to save him.
She reached out and picked Sean up by the waist and placed him on her chair while she got up to hug Tyler hello. After that she made introductions with her parents.
She heard Tyler’s big exhale. For a guy who faced down terrorists in the dark of night, it was funny how rattled he was by a little five year old staring him down.
“So how’d you manage to get Maddey away from home?” Tyler asked.
With the tension in the room now broken Jordan settled into the chair next to Sean and looked up at Tyler. The family resemblance between him and Maddey was striking. His overall size was impressive and the way he filled out a pair of well worn jeans and gray Navy t-shirt could only be described as mouth watering. So why was it that Tyler didn’t pique her interest?
Because you idiot, you only have eyes for a certain dark haired guy with killer green eyes. She cursed her inner voice and shook off the aggravation at her constant thoughts of Jake.
“Promise not to go all big brother on me?” She asked remembering how Connor reacted on the phone the other day.
Tyler quirked a brow at the question but nodded.
She wasn’t fully confident Tyler wouldn’t freak out but she decided the truth would come out eventually. “She’s spending the day with Skye getting ready for her date with Ryan tonight.”
Now Tyler looked utterly lost. “Ryan? As in your brother?”
“The one and the same.” She shared a look with her mother.
“How’d that happen?”
“Wait you mean Connor and Dex didn’t tell you?”
“I haven’t been with Dex and our team for a few days. I was running a training stateside.”
“Do they know you’re here?”
“Of course. This is all part of our plan.”
“So they were lying when they called her last night.”
“They called her?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.” She got up and placed her coffee cup in the sink. She made her way over to the stairs, picked up a small duffle bag, before bringing it into the kitchen and handing it to her mom. “My skates are in here along with a few other things for Maddey. Ryan is going to come by later and pick this up.”
Her mom leaned up to give her a kiss on the cheek goodbye. “Will do honey, have fun.” Then she turned her attention on Tyler. “It was nice to meet you, Tyler.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Donnelly.” He reached out and shook her dad’s hand.
After saying goodbye they made their way out the door. “So, what’s the plan for the day?” She asked as they walked toward Tyler’s car.
Tyler opened the driver’s side door and leaned on the roof as he slipped on his sunglasses. “I figured we swing by my parents first and then go see if there’s a couple of places that we can try and get a private party reserved.”
She put on her own sunglasses to combat the strong summer sun. “Okay sounds like a plan.” She checked her watch on her left wrist. “We’ll be in the clear by the time we get there because she should be getting to Skye’s as we speak.” As she made to get into the car she saw two runners making their way up the street. They slowed as they neared the car and she noticed one of the runners was Jake and a little thrill shot through her. She waved hello before she got into the car. As Tyler pulled out, she noticed Jake and Tucker sharing a bewildered looked.
JAKE JOINED TUCKER for a late morning run. The run was the perfect outlet for the extra tension that had been building inside him since the hockey house party. The only consolation was even though Jordan denied her feelings with words, the way she reacted to his kiss revealed the truth.
He just had to be patient.
Yeah, easier said than done.
The three mile run he and Tucker were finishing up helped to distract him a little, but as they got closer to home, he couldn’t squelch the excitement that the possibility of seeing Jordan brought on.
As they rounded the corner of his block, he noticed an unfamiliar coupe parked in front of the Donnelly’s home. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Jordan standing by the passenger side of the vehicle.
She turned in their direction and waved when she saw them approaching. He smiled as he returned the greeting but it quickly faded as he saw that the driver of the car was a guy. The sight caused his stride to stumble.
“Who do you think that was?” Tucker asked from beside him.
He was so far gone with his emotions that he completely forgot Tucker was with him. “I have no idea.”
The two watched Jordan and the mystery guy get in the car and drive off.
“You don’t suppose—” Tucker’s question trailed off.
Jake’s chest rose and fell with deep breaths, both from his run and from the tension he could feel coiling through his body. His gaze cut to Tuck, stopping the question he didn’t even want to think about himself.
“I don’t think I want to know,” he answered truthfully.
He knew she was hellbent on trying to keep her promise to her brothers but he hoped with time he would be able to prove it wouldn’t be an issue. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Could it be… Was she so determined to keep her word, she would date other guys instead? Did he really not have a chance?
Shaking off those dark thoughts Jake sprinted the last couple of yards to his front door.
Before they went inside they saw Ryan park in his parents’ driveway. They changed direction to see their friends.
Ryan and Jase got out the car as they all exchanged greetings and bumped fists.
Jase laughed when Ryan dropped his keys on the ground. “Man, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you this nervous. And over a date, too.” His toothpaste ad smile spread across his face.
“I don’t know why I let you tag along. You are so not helping,” Ryan complained.
Jase laughed louder. “And that’s what makes this so much fun for me,” he said as he slapped Ryan on the back.
“He’s right Cap, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this,” Tucker added, earning him another fist bump from Jase.
“It’s not like it’s your first date with Maddey,” Jase said.
“Tonight’s special okay. I’m going for official status,” Ryan said.
The group made their way through the front door of the Donnelly home. Immediately they were enveloped by the scents of Mr. D’s cooking and knew they could find everyone in the kitchen.
“So Dad, what’s for dinner?” Jase asked making their presence known.
Mr. Donnelly looked up from chopping vegetables to greet them. “Chicken Marsala, my specialty.” He said the last part with a flourish.
“Yum,” Jase rubbed his stomach. “Maybe I’ll stay for dinner.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Mrs. Donnelly said as she made her way over to hug the boys hello.
“Do you have any extra?” Jake asked.
“For you dear, absolutely,” Mrs. D said. “Tucker you’re more than welcome to join too.”
“Sweet. Thanks Mrs. D.” Tucker turned to Ryan and Jase. “I don’t know why you guys live at the house. If I had cooking like this at my house I sure as hell would live at home.”
Ryan looked around the kitchen. “Is Jordan around?”
“She went out with a boy!” Sean shouted from his seat.
Both Ryan and Jase snapped to attention at their younger brother’s words. “WHAT?” They asked in unison.
Jake and Tucker didn’t react since they saw
her drive off with said boy.
Mrs. D looked her three sons over. “She went out on a date.”
Ryan and Jase looked like they swallowed a lemon. Sure Jake wasn’t happy with the revelation but he managed to keep his cool.
“And who did she go out with?” Ryan asked.
“A guy she met while she attended NYU,” she said as she went back to chopping vegetables.
“And what exactly do you know about this guy?” Jase asked.
“Not much,” she said with a shrug. “But he is very handsome.”
Ryan’s mouth all but gaped open. “And you were okay with this? Letting your daughter go out with a guy you know absolutely nothing about?”
Mr. Donnelly looked to his wife and shrugged. “He seemed nice.”
“Your sister is big girl and she can take care of herself. I swear, it’s about time you boys learned that.”
Jase moved to sit next to Sean at the kitchen table and gestured for Jake and Tucker to join them.
“Anyway… if you are done interrogating us on your sister’s love life, there is a bag in the front hall by the stairs. Jordan put her skates along with some other things she thought you,” she pointed her finger directly at her oldest son, “might need to help on your date with her best friend.”
Ryan slumped in his chair after being chastised by his mom. “Thanks, Mom.”
The warm air blowing in through the car window was soothing. Jordan relaxed in the front seat enjoying the ride down the Parkway. She and Tyler worked over their plan for Maddey’s birthday surprise and had it pretty much settled.
Tyler parked his car behind his father’s police cruiser in the driveway. He told her earlier his parents were each taking a half-day from work since he would be home. They entered the house and found both his parents on the back deck, his father was grilling while his mother read a book in a lounge chair nearby. When Babs and Jack McClain heard the back door open, they both looked up and grinned ear-to-ear.
Babs came over and enveloped first Tyler then Jordan in a backbreaking hug, before her husband did the same. Tyler went over to the cooler next to the house and pulled out a beer for him and his father.
Jordan settled onto the lounge chair next to Mrs. McClain and they started chatting away, catching up on all things. Since she and Skye were the first girls Maddey had ever become close friends with, Barbara took the girls in as her own.
She studied the McClain family dynamics. Jack McClain was career Navy until he retired and became police chief when Maddey was a child. Their family was just as close as her own and it was nice to be around them. Spending time with the McClains with Tyler around, it was easy to see where each child got their looks. Maddey and Tyler clearly got their looks from their father, with light hair and blue eyes, whereas their other brothers, Justin and Connor, took after their mother with dark hair and green eyes.
“So what’s the plan for Maddey’s birthday?” Mrs. McClain asked.
“Well, we all arranged to take leave from the day before her birthday till two days after. The only one who hasn’t gotten approval yet is Dex,” Tyler supplied.
“So I’m going to have Maddey stay over my house the night before her birthday and Skye, Sammy, and I are going to plan stuff for her,” she added.
“Then Jordan, Skye, Sammy, and now maybe even Ryan will all come down here to have family birthday dinner and we’ll all be here to surprise her.”
“And if that’s not enough, after dinner we are all going to go out to a bar around here and the rest of our friends that she’s made from the hockey team and some friends we know from NYU will be there to surprise her again.”
Wow, was the only response they received about their plans.
“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” Jordan asked. She was a little nervous about how Maddey might react to the surprises.
“It’s a great wow.” Babs looked like she was trying to hold back tears. “I am so happy you were Maddey’s roommate at school, she is so lucky to have a friend like you in her life.”
She reached out to place a hand on Mrs. McClain’s. “I feel the same way about Maddey.”
With the emotional part over, the four finished planning out the rest of the details and were confident they could pull it off.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rookies was bumpin’ even though the night was still young. Jordan sat on the bar in the VIP area looking down at the dance floor below. It had been a few days since she’d seen Jake, having traveled to a meet with the pool’s club team she helped coach. She couldn’t get the look on his face when he saw her with Tyler out of her mind. It wasn’t so much he looked jealous, more like he was hurt. That was the last thing she wanted.
She blew out a frustrated breath and tightened her ponytail with more force than necessary. “Here, you look like you need it,” Skye said as she held out a bottle of beer for her to take.
She smiled down at Skye, grateful her friend could read her so well. “Thanks.”
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Before answering she picked up the beer bottle and took a long swallow from it. “You know exactly what my thoughts are.” She inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about the exact same thing for days now and it’s driving me crazy.”
She paused to take another pull from her beer and looked over the dance floor down below again. “The last time I saw Jake I was getting in the car with Tyler so who knows what he thinks about that. Then I remind myself it shouldn’t matter what he thinks because I’m only supposed to be friends with him.”
Skye rested her elbows on the bar to lean beside her. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“I have no idea. I feel like a wire ready to snap.”
She looked up at Sammy in the DJ booth and waved when he looked down. Always knowing what to do to make her smile, he played an old school Spice Girls song. If it weren’t for her amazing friends she would be completely lost.
As she observed the bar and dance floor below, she hoped that the chaos would be enough to distract her from her feelings. Things had been weird at home with Sean’s unpleasant attitude.
As the Spice Girls song ended and gave way to a current rock hit, she watched as her brothers, and most of the hockey team, made their way into Rookies. Her gaze skimmed over the group to see if Jake arrived yet. She all but jumped off the bar when she saw Maddey enter next to Ryan.
“Oh my god, did you know Maddey was coming?” She asked Skye.
Skye leaned over the edge of the bar to see the dance floor below until she was able to see Maddey’s head of crazy blonde curls. “No.” She paused surveying the scene below some more. “Oh look how cute, Ryan is walking with his arm around her shoulders.”
She took a few moments to study her brother. Having girls with him wasn’t new but bringing a girl to Rookies, especially one he was staking claim on for all to see was. She looked over her shoulder at Skye and shared a knowing look.
The night should be interesting.
As the guys made their way across the dance floor to the stairs of the VIP section, she finally saw Jake enter the bar. She kept her perch on the bar as everyone made their way over but jumped off to give Maddey a big hug.
“Maddey, I had no idea you were coming tonight.”
Maddey returned her fierce hug with one of her own, a blush staining her cheeks. “Well I wasn’t sure what the plan was. I was up here to spend time with Ryan again and we decided to come here tonight.”
She wondered how long it would take before Maddey was comfortable with the fact that she was dating her best friend’s brother.
All around greetings were exchanged and the atmosphere became charged with excitement. She resumed her perch on the bar as the team settled in around the VIP area.
She couldn’t help but smile as she watched Tucker give Maddey a tour. It was nice to see that even though Maddey seemed hesitant on how she would feel about her growing relationship with Ryan, she wasn’t afraid to show her true colo
rs. Tonight she was being classic Maddey in her hot pink baby t-shirt, dark washed skinny jeans rolled up at the ankles, and hot pink peep-toe heels. Eventually, they settled into one of the lounge couches that faced the flat screen playing the Yankees game.
Jordan couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up inside her. “Relax Ry, no one is gonna make a move on your girl.” She nudged his arm for good measure.
The tension in Ryan’s shoulders eased as he turned to face her.
“Speaking of making moves, what is this we hear about you going out on a date with some guy no one knows?”
Her mouth fell open at Ryan’s sudden interrogation. She wasn’t sure what emotion was more prominent, confusion or frustration. Confusion because she wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about and frustration at the attack she was receiving. Even if she did go out with a guy it was none of their business. It’s not like it was Jake or anything.
“Excuse me what are you talking about?” She held up a hand to cut off Ryan’s tirade.
“I’m talking about the guy you were out with when I came over to pick up the stuff you left me for my date with Maddey.”
Ryan and Jase watched as realization crossed her face then watched as it transformed into anger.
Not good.
Her eyes narrowed. “Did Jake tell you that?”
Jake stood a few feet away so he was able to hear when she said his name. He excused himself from Skye and headed over to where she stood with her brothers.
“What’s up, guys?” Jake said as he looked between the Donnelly siblings.
“What does Jake have to do with anything?” Jase asked not sure where Jake fit in to the scenario.
She heaved an irritated sigh, this whole situation was getting old real fast. “What… are you saying he’s not the one who told you about Tyler?”
“What are you talking about?” Jake asked confused.
“Why would Jake have anything to do with this?” Jase asked ignoring Jake’s question.
“Because he and Tucker saw me leaving with him.” She paused. “I don’t know how else you would know?”
