The Final Move

by Victoria Denault

  I laugh, remembering how nervous she was about having sex in the car on that deserted road. “Yeah, and you kept freaking out, saying that this is how people get killed by murderers.”

  She bursts out laughing. “Well, it’s true! In the movies the people doing you know what in the woods never survive!”

  I glance back at Conner, who is humming to himself and staring out the window, oblivious to us. “You’re still alive.”

  We fall silent for a moment as we get closer to the airport. I can see the entrance just down the road.

  “Have you thought about what I said a few days ago?” she asks quietly.

  My heart fills with dread. I don’t say anything for a long few moments.

  “It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” I admit because, thanks to Callie’s reaction, that’s the truth. If it had been up to me, Ashleigh’s request for reconciliation would have been nothing more than a passing thought, but Callie leaving me because of it made it impossible to forget.

  “Any thoughts you want to share, good or bad?” she asks in a vulnerable voice that says she’s terrified of what I’m thinking. “I can take it. I promise.”

  She pulls to the curb by the departures door. I glance out the passenger window and see my family is two cars in front pulling their luggage out of my parents’ truck. I open my door and move to the back door, unhooking Conner from his car seat and carrying him to the sidewalk.

  “Luc!” I call out and my brother turns. “Can you take Conner for a second?”

  He nods and jogs over, taking him from me with a big smile. “Come and say bye to Rose, little man.”

  I slip back into the passenger seat and shut my door. Ashleigh is looking at me with an expectant stare and wide eyes. She has no idea what’s coming but she knows it’s big.

  “I’ve been involved with someone,” I tell her frankly.

  She looks like she’s been slapped but tries to recover. She swallows and nods. “Is it…I mean…I…who…how did you meet someone so quickly?”

  “It’s Callie,” I admit without a shadow of guilt. “I’ve been seeing Callie.”

  Ashleigh’s face drops; her glossed lips fall open. “Callie? As in our Callie? Caplan?”

  I nod.

  “Oh God,” she says in a shocked whisper, but she’s smiling. I’m completely confused.

  “What are you thinking?” I can’t help but ask.

  She shrugs her shoulders a little bit. “Well, to be honest, I feel betrayed. By her, not you.”

  “Look, Ashleigh…”

  “Let me finish, please, Devin,” she insists and moves her hands off the wheel into her lap. “Callie was my friend too at one time. Or so I thought. So yes, it hurts. I feel betrayed. But…at the same time I’m almost relieved it’s Callie.”

  “What?! Why?” I don’t even try to hide my shock.

  “Because at least it’s not serious,” Ashleigh explains with that little smile curving her mouth upward again. “I mean, we all know Callie is a good-time girl, not the settling-down type. If you were involved with someone else—someone who was actually in a relationship with you or wanted a future with you…well, then I would panic.”

  Ashleigh turns her body toward me and reaches out and places her hands on top of mine on my lap. I look down at her fingers as they curl around my palm and notice her wedding ring is still on—or back on, I’m not sure which. I wonder if she notices mine is gone.

  “Devin, I have a different perspective now,” Ashleigh insists, squeezing my hands. “I feel like I can learn to be happy. I can make this work.”

  “Can we talk about this when you get back to New York?” I ask, because I’m so overwhelmed with what I want to say, and what I need to say, and I know the curb in front of the departures gate is not the place for any of it. “Just enjoy the rest of your stay with your parents and let’s talk when you get home.”

  “Let’s have dinner at our place the night I get back, okay?” Ashleigh asks with a hopeful smile. “Conner would love that!”

  “I’ve got to go,” I say simply and see Luc walking toward the car with Conner. “Thanks for the ride.”

  She smiles brightly and nods. “Safe travels.”

  I nod back and get out of the car, helping Luc fit Conner back into his car seat. I kiss my son and promise to call him from New York.

  As the car drives away and I wave good-bye, Luc stares at me.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he wants to know.

  “I have no fucking clue,” I admit.

  Chapter 53

  Callie

  Luc wanders out of his and Rose’s bedroom looking disheveled and disoriented. He sniffs loudly and makes his way toward me at the dining room table just off the tiny kitchen. He looks down at my homemade blueberry French toast as he yawns and stretches. I point to the oven.

  “There’s more warming in the oven. Help yourself,” I say quietly.

  “Thanks, Callie,” he says as he grabs a plate and opens the oven.

  As he drops his giant frame into the chair across from me and reaches for the maple syrup, he gives me a soft smile. I take a small bite of my food. I cooked the breakfast mainly for Luc. I appreciate them letting me crash in their guest room, in the two-bedroom condo they’re renting until Luc figures out more permanent housing, and I want to show my appreciation. Also, I miss cooking for people. I loved making meals for Devin and Conner.

  “Why don’t you hate me the way everyone else does?” I finally ask him. I’ve wanted to ask him for a while now. He doesn’t glare at me or call me names like Jordan did. I think it might be just so he can keep from making waves in his own relationship with Rose, but I want to know for sure.

  “Because I kinda get it.” Luc shrugs and shovels a heaping forkful of syrupy toast into his mouth. When he finishes chewing and swallows it down, he continues. “I mean, growing up I watched my chosen brothers do and say the stupidest shit because of love. Seriously, Jordy lost his mind so many times over Jessie. And Devin wins a freaking Stanley Cup and he jumps right into a big serious thing with Ashleigh. And then Cole…”

  Luc starts to laugh. “Cole was a total asshole when he and Leah broke up. He would mouth off to everyone. Tried to start fights in bars. Yelled at everyone about everything. Total nightmare.”

  I nod and try to envision that. During the six-month period when Leah and Cole broke up, Jordan and Jessie had already stopped talking, so I wasn’t really around the Garrison family much at that point. I have a very hard time picturing Cole screaming at anyone, let alone his family or random guys in bars.

  “I tried to avoid love myself,” he tells me as I get up and go to the fridge to pour us both some orange juice. “I mean, I was in denial over how deep my feelings for Rose were. And when I realized how I felt about her, I panicked. Freaked out.”

  “But you never left her,” I say.

  “Nah.” Luc smiles at something he’s thinking. Something intimate, I can tell. “Don’t tell her this but…your sister owns me. I’m, like, totally her bitch.”

  I laugh out loud at that as I place a glass of OJ in front of him. It’s the first time I have laughed since Christmas Eve. It’s fleeting. My thoughts get dark again very quickly.

  “But doesn’t it terrify you?” I want to know. “The idea that someone could very easily hurt you?”

  “No. For two reasons,” he says simply and smiles this deep, sexy grin. “For one thing, I trust your sister would never do that to me. And for another, I’m not a control freak like you are.”

  “What?”

  “Devin has been calling you Callie Control Freak since you were a kid,” Luc reminds me as he finishes the last of his French toast. “And the thing about love is—you lose all control.”

  “I’ve always had to be in control,” I argue back. “All three of us had to be in control of everything in our lives because no adult was there to do it for us.”

  He nods at that as he stands up and brings his plate to the sink to rinse the
excess syrup off it before he puts it in the dishwasher. “You’re completely right. But at the same time, Rosie and Jessie learned to let go of that closed-off, controlled mind-set and let love do its thing.”

  He wiggles his eyebrows at that last comment and I roll my eyes.

  Their bedroom door opens again and a freshly showered Rose comes sauntering out in a pair of well-worn jeans and a soft, clingy, crimson V-neck sweater. Luc’s whole face lights up at the sight of her, his big brown eyes filled with love.

  “Morning, Fleur,” Luc says to her softly, calling her flower in French, a nickname that used to make me roll my eyes at the romantic cliché of it, but now I almost smile.

  “Morning, babe.” She smiles and winks at him.

  My heart drops into my socks. They look so happy. I had started to feel happy with Devin. Because of Devin—but even though I was dealing with it, it still terrified me the entire time. It didn’t seem to terrify either of them. I wonder if I would have ever gotten past that. Not that it matters now that Ashleigh wants him back.

  Rose lets her eyes sweep over my appearance and then she sighs. “Callie, if you’re intent on living your life without him, at some point you have to live your life without him. You’ve barely left the apartment since we got back from Silver Bay.”

  She was right. I had gone out only to jog or buy groceries. I spent most of my time locked in my bedroom—asleep or at least trying to sleep. The TV show was still on winter break so I didn’t even have work to distract me.

  “I have to go out, but when I get back we’re doing something, okay? And sitting on the couch and moping is not an option,” she says firmly.

  I nod. There’s nothing else I can do. I love my little sister but I don’t want to hang out with her today. She’s going to try to make me talk about it and the thought makes me want to vomit. So I shower quickly and leave the apartment before she comes back. Bundled up in a parka, a pair of giant winter boots, a scarf, mitts and a hat, I just start walking, wandering through Prospect Park and then down random streets. I find a movie theater and buy a ticket for the next movie and sit through some asinine comedy.

  When I emerge from the theater, it’s almost seven and everything is dark, just like my mood. I had turned off my phone and am not about to turn it back on because I know there will be a billion texts and voicemails from Rose—and maybe even Jessie, if Rose was worried enough to tell her I took off.

  I start to walk aimlessly again until I see a neon sign and peek in a window to see a relatively full bar. The sign says Black Horse Pub and it looks like a bit of a dive bar, but hey—I suddenly feel like a drink…or ten.

  When I get inside, it’s definitely a bit of a dive but none of the patrons look all too scary. I sit down at the bar and the bartender looks up at me and smiles. He’s cute with shaggy dark hair and a brightly colored tattoo sleeve on his left arm.

  “A shot of Jack and a bottle of Sam Adams, please,” I say and attempt to smile.

  He nods and brings my order quickly. I down the shot and immediately order another. He raises an eyebrow but it’s more like he’s intrigued than concerned. His eyes are very blue and he’s got a pretty little dimple in his left cheek.

  Maybe Rose is right. Maybe I need to start living my life again. I wanted to be the old Callie again and old Callie would totally hit on this guy.

  “Can I buy you a shot?” I ask him with a wink. “I don’t like drinking alone.”

  Chapter 54

  Devin

  I’m sitting alone eating a box of takeout pad thai and flipping through the sports channels when my text message alert goes off. It’s from my teammate Tommy Donahue, which is surprising.

  Your girl Callie is at Black Horse Pub and she’s wasted!

  I read the sentence three times before it registers. Callie is drunk. Who cares? Not my concern. I text Tommy back.

  Typical Callie. FYI, she’s not my girl.

  A few minutes later as I stare at what is left of my pad thai, with no urge to eat it suddenly, Donahue texts me again.

  Dude, she’s a little out of control. She needs rescuing.

  I don’t respond. I don’t know what to say. My heart starts to beat a little faster as I think about all the things that statement could mean. All the very bad, dark things…But Callie isn’t mine to rescue.

  Then it occurs to me that Callie isn’t the type who ever needs rescuing. Even Donahue should be able to see that. No matter the crazy situation she seems to get herself into, she’s always in control. She’s Little Callie Control Freak.

  My text message goes off again and this time there are no words, just a picture. It’s of Callie looking incredibly drunk sitting on the actual bar, her head tipped back with a hipster douche bag–looking bartender pouring vodka straight out of the bottle into her open mouth. His tatted-up arm is wrapped around her middle and his big fat hand is nearly groping her breasts. I feel nauseated and furious all at the same time. I can’t dial Luc’s number fast enough.

  “Callie is at a bar called Black Horse Pub on Fifth and she’s obliterated,” I blurt out as soon as he says hello. “You need to go get her.”

  There’s a slight pause as he takes in the information. “You go.”

  I want to reach through the phone and punch him. “Luc, stop being a fucking moron. Go get her! Something could happen to her!”

  “Donahue already texted me, Dev. I told him to text you,” Luc explains. “Tommy told me he tried to get her to leave and she won’t listen to him. She isn’t going to listen to me or Rose either, but she’ll listen to you.”

  “Luc. No,” is all I can get out.

  “Devin. Yes,” he responds and then hangs up on me.

  “Fucking goddamn asshole,” I swear under my breath as I storm into the front hall and shove my feet into my shoes.

  Chapter 55

  Callie

  Callie! Callie, come on…please?” Tommy’s voice is incessant in my ear.

  Geoff, the bartender who is now finished with his shift and is completely focused on being my entertainment for the night, kisses my neck again where remnants of the salt he put on there to lick off before his tequila shot still remain.

  “Callie!”

  I sigh and turn my barstool to face Tommy and promptly fall off it. My ass hits the tile floor with a hard, painful smack. “Ow! Fuck!”

  Geoff laughs and slaps the bar with his tattooed arm. Tommy bends and scoops me up under the arms, pulling me to my feet. I let my body drape over him. He tenses.

  “Thanks, Tommy,” I whisper in his ear and kiss his cheek, leaving my lips there long enough to get a flush. The kid so wants me. So does the bartender. This is what used to thrill Old Callie. I should be thrilled right now.

  I try to turn and walk away but Tommy grabs me around the waist. For such a young pup, with a gimp knee, he’s incredibly solid and strong. He turns me back to face him.

  “Callie, you can’t go home with that dude,” he tells me in a tense whisper. “Devin and Luc will kill me if I let you.”

  Geoff stands up and stares at Tommy menacingly. “Dude, I was here first.”

  I giggle at that. “Wow. Suddenly I feel like a fire hydrant in between two Chihuahuas.”

  “Did you just call me a Chihuahua?” Geoff asks, unimpressed, but I ignore him and so does Tommy as he starts to pull me toward the table where he and his buddies are sitting. I don’t fight him. When we get there, he drops me into a chair and I lay my head on the table to stop the room from spinning.

  Tommy turns back to Geoff. “Dude, she’s related to three of the biggest hockey players in the National Hockey League and they’re coming to get her right now, so if you want to take that on, be my guest. But I wouldn’t if I were you.”

  Geoff thinks about it and then shrugs and walks away.

  “Wait!” I call out way too loudly, but he keeps walking anyway. I glare at Tommy. “I am not related to any NHL players! Those boys aren’t my family.”

  Donahue smirks at that like
I’m the most amusing thing in the world and sits down in the chair beside me, propping his leg with the knee brace up on the chair across from us.

  “Callie, that dude was a sketchy loser. You can do better.” He reaches out and pushes my hair off my cheek.

  “Do you think I’m hot, Tommy?” I ask him bluntly in slurred speech.

  He looks embarrassed by the question and his young cheeks flush again, but he answers just as bluntly. “Fuck, yeah.”

  “Well, I want to be kissed and no one has kissed me,” I say and make a sexy little pouty face that, even drunk, I know turns men on.

  Donahue shifts in his seat. “That bartender dude kissed you.”

  I shake my head. “Not really. I was holding his lemon for his shot in between my teeth so our lips touched, but that’s not a kiss.”

  Tommy shifts again and blushes more deeply and smiles at me. “Callie, you’re drunk.”

  “Of course I’m drunk,” I reply and give him a smile as I lean forward and put my hand on his knee. “But even drunk girls deserve to be kissed.”

  I stand up, turn and drop myself down onto his lap. He winces and I shift to make sure I’m not putting pressure on his injured knee. I wrap my arms around his neck and stare at him. He bites his lower lip and takes a deep breath, holding it for a long minute as an internal debate rages within him.

  But then Tommy stands suddenly and I’m thrown off his lap onto my own legs, which start to wobble. Tommy steadies me and calls out. “Devin! Over here!”

  He’s storming toward us, his light hair messy, his jaw set tightly and his eyes clouded with anger. Please let this be a drunken hallucination, I pray fruitlessly. He grabs my coat off the barstool a few feet away and then he’s right in front of me—so close I can feel the heat radiating off his beautiful, perfect, sexy body. He doesn’t look at me; he looks over my shoulder at his teammate.