Echo (The Player Book 3)

by Nana Malone

  “I’m sorry we put you through all that, sweetheart,” he whispered as she buried her face in the soft flannel of his robe. He smelled like his favorite soap and coffee. The smell comforted her. This was home. “I’m sorry we didn’t listen to you, and that we didn’t ask you before going ahead and hiring Cole and pushing you for the Olympics and graduate school. And we want you to know that we do support you. No matter what you choose to do in life. You’re our daughter. Our only daughter, and we love you.”

  Echo smiled as she pulled back. “Thanks, Daddy.”

  “You don’t need to move out, Echo,” her mother insisted, finally climbing off her stool and coming to enfold her daughter in a hug of her own. “We’ll figure something else out. We’ll be better about giving you your space, and we won’t ask as much of you, I promise. We just don’t want you to feel like you have to leave to get us to appreciate you more.”

  “That’s not what it is at all,” Echo insisted gently. “I should be on my own by now. I’ve been relying on you guys, too. But I’m an adult, and I need to start acting like it. I think being here so long…it’s like I’ve reverted to a melodramatic teenager and I don’t want to go back like that, I want to go forward.”

  “You were never a troublesome teenager,” her mother said in her defense.

  “All the more reason for me not to become one now.” It was true. Dax had been the troublesome one, sneaking out and getting drunk at parties, stealing from their parents’ liquor cabinet. Bryce had done his fair share of rebelling, and Fox simply ignored anyone and anything he didn’t agree with. She and Gage were the ones who had always done what they were told. She couldn’t help but wonder how much college would change her youngest brother. But whatever else she knew, she did not want to worry about Cole staying over with her at her parents’ house, whether she had to sneak him in, or whether they would invite him to stay over themselves. She wanted a room to herself, and a roommate who didn’t mind being sexiled or donning noise-canceling headphones. And on both counts, Jen fit the bill conveniently, knowing Echo would do the same for her when she had an overnight guest.

  She wasn’t sure how much of what Gramps had said about her relationship with Cole had made it to them, or whether they believed it or not. Bryce and Tami knew, and Jen knew. Cole admitted that there were a few of his friends who knew he was seeing someone, but didn’t know who. They had agreed to keep their romantic relationship from the public for as long as they could—at least until after the Olympics. Neither wanted Olympic headlines that focused on their sex lives instead of their hard-earned accomplishments—whatever they may be.

  Echo wasn’t sure how long she would keep it from the rest of family. Her parents were one thing. She didn't want to lie to them about anything else right now.

  Dax would probably figure it out soon, while her younger brothers were too distracted to pay much attention. Not that they would care too much either way.

  As for Gramps and Gram…they’d be the last to know, if she could help it. It would take a while for the sting of Gramps’ words to Cole to fade, and she wasn’t about to put Cole in an uncomfortable position. She’d have to see whether the chat Tami had had with her grandfather stuck.

  “It’s not like I won’t be by regularly,” she said to appease her mother, who alternated between looking disappointed and trying not to let it show too much. She was trying not to use a guilt trip on Echo, and Echo appreciated it. “I’ll stop by for dinner sometimes, and I’ll need to check in on you two to make sure you’re doing okay on your own. Once Gage goes to college, it’ll just be you guys, and Fox, when he shows up. Plus…you know…going to have to see how Dad’s doing…with the doctors and…medications…”

  “Come sit and have something to eat with us,” her father told her. “We’ll tell you everything we told the boys yesterday. Everything the doctors have ruled out, and the tests they still want to run. When we’re done, you can head on upstairs and pack. I already put in to take today off because of the party yesterday, so…if you need help moving anything, we can give you a hand.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes, and a small ball of fear formed in the pit of Echo’s stomach, as she nodded and let her parents draw her into the kitchen, moving their plates from the island counter to the proper table. Her mother grabbed an extra plate from the cabinet, and retrieved the rest of the pancakes from the oven where they’d been left to keep warm.

  Epilogue

  The sun was hotter than any of them could have predicted, and the track felt almost tacky under Echo’s running shoes. She shook out her arms and hopped from foot to foot to ease some of the nerves.

  Why did they have to take so long to set up? And there were so many people watching. Not just in the stadium, but how many countries around the world were broadcasting? How many millions—billions—of pairs of eyes were waiting to see who would win?

  She glanced to the side and immediately found Cole watching, and it calmed her. She set her feet against the starting blocks and bent over. The track felt even hotter under her fingertips. And then the gun sounded and she was off, the chaos of the crowd quieting as the air whipped past her ears.

  Cole had been working with her in practice on calling up the frustration that she hadn’t felt in a while and using it to drive her forward. After this race, she would be able to put it to bed once and for all. She just needed it this one last time. The quiet fury when she set that first acceptance letter aside, the guttural exasperation each time she tried to tell Bryce or Dax something and they ignored her, only to take the same advice when Tami or Asha suggested it. The roiling combination of fear and wrath each time her parents had returned from a doctor’s appointment and told her nothing.

  It carried her forward and around the first bend in the track. She saw a flash of bright green from the corner of her eye as she passed another runner. It was all she would allow herself to notice, because of the surge it sent through her legs. She refused to count the women still in front of her as they approached the next bend.

  Her top stuck to her chest, a combination of sweat and the breeze generated by her forward momentum. She had a meeting in two weeks with one of the main sportswear manufacturers that did business with Legacy Sports. She’d taken Cole’s advice and reached out to them, at first just letting them know she was going to be leaving her position with the company to attend design school, and when they expressed an interest in what branch of design she was looking to start, she casually mentioned clothing and having been inspired by the training she had done and where she thought she might improve on traditional cuts, styles, and fabrics.

  It was just a meeting to brainstorm some ideas, but they wanted her to bring her sketches, which Cole and Jen both agreed was a step in the right direction. Echo rounded the next bend as though that meeting lay at the finish line, and she noticed another colorful flash from the corner of her eye as she passed another runner.

  She had received her class schedule the week before and had another month to buy her books and materials. She and Jen had already found a great place not far from campus, and had put down a deposit. Even her parents liked the apartment, and they seemed to be getting used to not having her around as much. Her parents had gone against the doctors’ wishes to be there with her, but agreed only to go to her races and not overexpose her father while his immune system was compromised by his treatments. It was something autoimmune related, they’d narrowed it down that much, but there was no way in hell they were missing Echo run.

  Her grandparents were there, her brothers had made it—Dax and Fox were both missing practices to be there. She imagined she heard them cheering her on as she rounded the last bend.

  It had been her idea to invite Cole’s brother to come, insisting she would pay for him to be there. After all, her trust fund kicked in on her twenty-third birthday. Cole had resisted, mostly the idea of her paying for his flight, hotel room, and ticket to the events. But his brother was so excited, he’d relented.

  And then Ec
ho saw the finish line. It wasn’t more than fifty meters ahead of her, and she let herself count the other women ahead of her. There were only two who might cross ahead of her. She reached deep down and ignored the fatigue that was creeping into her hamstrings and calves, compelling her body to go that little bit faster, to pick up the pace and finish strong. She blocked the other women out once more and focused on the line until it had flown beneath her feet and she could slow down and catch her breath. She did a slow cool-down to calm the pounding of her pulse, and the cacophony of the crowd started to slowly break through her veil of concentration.

  She turned to the board to see the results. E. Coulter wasn’t at the top of the list, but it was second. The knowledge that she’d won the silver medal finally soaked in, and Echo broke out into an ecstatic laugh, jumping with joy and running again, this time to the sidelines to find Cole and the rest of her family.

  Despite the confidence everyone had displayed—especially her grandfather, who had ended up in the hospital himself, suffering from an acute anxiety attack not long after the party, Echo had harbored more than a few doubts that she would actually stand on the podium. This was one instance where she was glad Gramps had been right.

  They had the podium ready, and there were too many time constraints to allow the medalists to find their coaches and family members in the stands before the ceremony, so Cole didn’t get to congratulate Echo until after the winner’s anthem had been played and the official photos taken for the global press. His brother had come over to congratulate him on Echo’s win, followed very soon by Echo’s family, leaving him with mountains of introductions and small talk to fill the time until Echo was released with her silver medal around her neck and the Stars and Stripes around her shoulders.

  “You were amazing, sweetheart,” her father said as he wrapped her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “Thanks, Daddy,” she said, hugging him back.

  “I’m impressed,” Gramps said, reaching out and lifting the medal from where it hung in the middle of her chest to examine the etching on the front. “You did better than I did when it was my time here,” he acknowledged. “Though I can’t complain about what I came away with, better’n silver and gold combined, in my opinion,” he added, slipping an arm around Gram’s waist and pulling her in for a kiss. Cameras flashed around them, as they did everywhere the infamous lovers went during the Games.

  Echo’s brothers encircled her to add their congratulations, so Cole stepped back a bit and let them share the moment together. His brother had already headed back to the hotel for the day. He’d have to fly back the next morning, while the rest of them would remain through the closing ceremonies. Cole didn’t want to lose out on time with him, but he couldn’t leave without congratulating Echo, either. He would have liked a quiet dinner with just the three of them, but now that Echo had won, the Coulters would be sure to have a celebratory dinner somewhere outside the athletes’ village.

  Echo would make sure his brother was invited, but whether he would come to such an intimidating gathering…

  “I wanted to apologize, Mr. Jackson.” Rory Coulter’s quiet voice interrupted his musings. He hadn’t noticed the older man slip away from the larger gathering. “I shouldn’t have given you such a difficult time about your training methods. Clearly, they’ve worked for Echo.” He held out his hand for Cole to shake.

  Cole hesitated, knowing that it wasn’t enough to truly make up for the humiliation of that party, and that Rory was apologizing for the wrong things, but it was what was being offered. It might be all the apology he would ever be offered, and maybe not. He looked over at Echo and caught her eye briefly, before accepting the older man’s hand and shaking it back.

  It meant more to her than it did to him. Cole could live with Rory Coulter being a spoiled, rich guy who liked to interfere from time to time—he could be the bigger man. He didn’t want to think about what being an asshole back to him might do to his relationship with Echo, though.

  “Thank you, sir. Coming from you that means…something,” he said and was rewarded with an approving smile from Echo and a satisfied grin from Rory. He clearly wasn’t used to humbling himself, and was pleased with how he’d done. Cole rolled his eyes as soon as the old man turned away.

  It wasn’t long before there were calls from the press photographers and from her family, for Echo to get her picture taken with her coach.

  Echo smiled cautiously as she and Cole were pretty much shoved together. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, while she took hold of the medal to be sure it was prominently on display. The camera flashes were blinding.

  “Hey,” he whispered. “Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”

  “Thanks,” Echo whispered back. “I don’t think I’d be standing here now, if it weren’t for you.”

  “Of course not,” he chuckled. “If it weren’t for me helping to keep you sane you’d have killed someone by now, and even if you made bail, they wouldn’t have let you leave the country.”

  Echo laughed and shook her head.

  The cameras quieted as the photographers moved over to snap shots of the bronze medalist and her family and friends, allowing Echo and Cole a smidge more privacy. From what he could hear, her family was busily debating where they would go for their celebratory dinner, with Bryce purposely confusing things and throwing Cole a wink.

  “I wish I could kiss you right now,” Echo confessed quietly, her eyes darting past Cole’s shoulder. The television crews would be pouncing soon for one-on-one interviews.

  He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Oh, I have plans to do more than just kiss you later.”

  “Really. And, uh…what did you have in mind?”

  “It involves you wearing your medal and nothing else,” he told her, enjoying the way her breath caught. “I want to watch it bounce between your breasts while you ride me. Wouldn’t be the same if I was on top,” he pointed out. “Though we can always try both ways and see which we prefer. Scientific experimentation, and all that.”

  “Hmm…I think that can be arranged,” she whispered back. “And…maybe you can try wearing it, too.”

  Cole took a step back to narrow his eyes in confusion while she smirked, her eyes dropping down to his crotch. He shook his head in baffled amusement and rolled his eyes back at her.

  “Ms. Coulter, Ms. Coulter,” a reporter came running over with a microphone and shoved it in Echo’s face. “What are your plans for the future? We saw you compete in the Boston Marathon earlier this year, and there were rumors you might try qualifying for that event here. Will we be seeing you training for that event for the next Olympic Games? Or will you be looking for gold in the 800 meters?”

  “I’m not ready to look that far into the future,” Echo responded with a teasing laugh. “I can say that I have some plans along the lines of personal business ventures, and that I’ll be going back to school in conjunction with those plans.”

  “Got anything more specific?” the reporter asked with amused frustration.

  “I know that’s incredibly vague,” Echo conceded. “But things aren’t completely in place yet, and I won’t be making any formal announcements until they are, so I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. But I can assure you there will be announcements coming up…just as soon as I can wrap my head around everything that’s happened today. So I guess…there’s still a lot I want to accomplish, and for now, I’m pretty happy with silver.”

  “And what about your romantic life?” the reporter pressed, still not completely satisfied with her evasive response to his first questions. “Do you have anyone special back home? Did you bring someone with you? Or are you on the lookout here at the Games? We all know how that turned out for your grandparents all those years ago.”

  “Everyone I care about sharing this moment with is here with me today,” she assured the reporter. “And that’s as much about my love life as you’re getting from me. I wouldn’t dream of competing with Gram
and Gramps on that front.”

  So far, there had been no tabloid reports linking the two of them together romantically—how the papers had missed that fact, but picked up the idea of Echo contemplating the marathon, Cole couldn’t be sure—but they still had no plans for going public with their relationship. All that mattered was that she was his and he was hers...and one of soon, he was going to make that official.

  Money, power, prestige…washout. Fox Coulter is…the Player. There is no Plan B for Fox. All he has is hockey. All he’s ever had is hockey. That and his best friend, Sasha. So when she’s up rent creek with no roommate, it’s Fox to the rescue. But, with the opportunity of a lifetime on the line will his hotter-than-sin-best friend be more of a distraction than his lucky charm? Love a sexy Hockey Romance? Read more in Fox, The Player.

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading ECHO! I hope you enjoyed the third book in my new series, The Player.

  Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my new release newsletter here, visit me at www.nanamalone.com, follow me on twitter at @NanaMalone, or like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nanamalonewriter. And if you want to chat with other peeps who love my books and spread the word, you can join my Sassy Street Team here!

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  Don’t miss any of the next Player books!

  Bryce

  Dax

  Echo

  Fox

  Ransom

  Gage