Tacker

by Sawyer Bennett

  Before I can even chastise myself for being so pathetic and trying to slot as much time with this woman as I can possibly cram in, the door to the room opens and all the chatter dies down.

  Coach Perron enters, followed by the rest of the coaching staff. Next is Christian Rutherford. I can’t say I’m surprised to see Dominik Carlson following them in.

  Since he lives in Los Angeles, no one expected Dominik to spend much time with our team. He owns a professional basketball team there that’s always done very well. It’s probably his most lucrative venture. But he’s proved us wrong over and over again this season, popping into several home and away games to cheer us on, and even showing up at non-game events. He crashed the rookie party this year, which, to my knowledge, has never been done by any team owner ever. And when he came to Nora’s ranch to volunteer, he made it clear he’s more than just the man who owns us.

  Dominik walks straight to the podium, making it obvious he’s the one who called this meeting. His voice is booming enough that he doesn’t need the microphone attached there.

  “I appreciate you all coming in on such short notice,” he says as he addresses the crowd of players. “I was actually headed to New York, but I decided to make a stop here first, so truly… thank you for your indulgence of me.”

  Of course he did. He has all kinds of private planes at his disposal. He even lent one to Bishop so he could chase Brooke across the country once.

  Leaning a forearm on the podium, he flashes us a grin. “You may have noticed already, but I’m a bit different than the other team owners. A bit nosier, so to speak.”

  There’s a smattering of laughter across the room, but I notice that Dax’s jaw locks. Dominik has definitely been nosy where Dax’s sister, Willow, is concerned.

  The grin falls away as Dominik’s eyes turn sober. “I’m never going to be the type of owner who just sits back and counts the money you make me. I want you all to succeed. To do that, you have to be happy, well-adjusted, and fulfilled. For those reasons, I sometimes nose around in your business to make sure I can help that happen. I hope you’re used to that by now.”

  There’s more laughter, and Erik has a genuinely fond expression on his face right now, as does Bishop. Dominik had once helped Blue with legal troubles over her parents’ estate.

  “I’m not going to sit up here and give you a motivational speech about how we can win the Cup this year. I don’t need to reiterate how well we’re doing or that we’ve created history by having the best record of any expansion team entering the league.”

  “Fucking right on,” someone calls from the back. There are a few hoots and a lot more laughter.

  Dominik joins in. When things settle, he continues. “The hockey news is focused on the Cold Fury right now. Sure, people are interested in us, but they’re more interested in seeing the Cold Fury win three championships in a row.”

  Now there’s only silence.

  “I say fuck that,” Dominik growls, banging his fist on the podium and straightening his body. “I’m here to tell you… they can’t do it. Because we are the fucking Arizona Vengeance, and we’re directly in their way. They’ll never make it through us. Can’t go around us. The only thing they can hope to do is get trampled by us. That’s all any team can hope for, and well… I just wanted to stop by and tell you with the playoffs starting next week, I can’t wait to see you start your path to victory.”

  There’s a thunderous boom of applause as we rise for a standing ovation. He said he wasn’t trying to motivate us, but fuck if he didn’t do just that. We clap, stomp, and holler.

  Dominik holds one hand up, an acknowledgment he appreciates our response. With one last smile, he pivots on his heel before marching out of the room.

  Christ, that guy has class.

  Coach Perron moves to the podium. He knows he can’t compete, so he merely spends a few moments reminding us of the practice schedule for the next week.

  When he’s done, we all start to file out. Dominik’s name is on everyone’s lips.

  At the end of the row, Aaron and I meet up with Dax and Bishop.

  “You guys want to go hang?” Dax asks as we follow him down the aisle toward the door.

  “I’m in,” Bishop says.

  “Me too,” Aaron adds.

  “I’m out,” I tell the group. “Got plans with Nora.”

  No one gives me shit about it, but I don’t miss the smiles on their faces.

  At the door, we wait for the logjam of guys to shuffle through. Just as Dax is exiting ahead of me, I spot Dominik.

  His eyes lock on Dax, who I can hear audibly groan at the attention. Dominik makes absolutely no bones about his interest in Dax’s sister. “Is Willow going to be coming to any of the playoff games?”

  “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Dax mutters.

  “I would, but she’s still not answering my texts or calls,” Dominik says with a laugh, not sounding put out in the slightest. If anything, I think he’s enjoying her lack of interest in him.

  “Well, there you go,” Dax replies, stalking right by Dominik. Bold move to fuck with a man who has the ability to fire him from the team, but Dax is the type who would never be cowed by such a thing. He’s going to protect his sister at all costs.

  Dominik’s eyes—filled with amusement—follow Dax a moment before settling on me. Lifting his chin in greeting, he asks, “Got a minute to talk?”

  “Sure,” I reply, not able to stop my gaze from dropping to my watch to calculate how much more time I’ll be missing out on with Nora.

  Dominik leads me down the hall from the auditorium, away from the other players for semi-privacy. He leans against the wall, crosses his arms over his chest, and asks, “Just wanted to check in… see how things are going.”

  “Good,” I say with no hesitation. “Really good, actually.”

  Dominik nods, as if this is not news to him. “Dr. Dumfries has been keeping me updated. He’s extremely impressed with the work you’ve done on yourself.”

  “He’s pretty easy to talk to,” I admit. Not as easy as Nora, but who is?

  “He’s told me that you’re doing so well he could discharge you if you want. At the very least, I don’t think he needs to report to me anymore.”

  That catches me by surprise since Dumfries hasn’t discussed that with me. “I think I’ll stick with him a little longer,” I say hesitantly. While I’ve felt the best I have in an awfully long time, I’m also aware this could all be precarious. I’ll never take my current state of happiness for granted. In fact, I sometimes expect sudden grief to overwhelm me.

  Knock on wood.

  “Oh, and I think you can drink again if you want,” Dominik says. “Dumfries says alcohol isn’t really an issue.”

  “That’s because I was never a big drinker to begin with,” I say with a smile. “But thank you for removing that restriction.”

  Dominik nods, then starts to turn away. But he hesitates, examining me with curious eyes. “Nora was the game changer, wasn’t she?”

  I’m not surprised he knows about Nora. I never gave him any explanation as to why I went back to Dumfries, but my dating Nora isn’t a secret. I’ve told the entire team, so it’s only natural that word filtered back to Dominik.

  “Wouldn’t be standing here talking to you like this if it wasn’t for her,” I say.

  He appraises me, eyes boring deep. Seemingly satisfied with my proclamation, he nods. “I’m happy for you then.”

  Dominik sticks his hand out, and I take it. “I expect great things from you during the playoffs.”

  “You’ll get them,” I assure him.

  Dominik nods, giving a hard squeeze to my hand before releasing it.

  When he turns away, I realize I haven’t told him something incredibly important.

  “Dominik,” I call.

  He stops, tilting his head in question.

  “Thank you for believing in me. For giving me a chance to stay on this team. And most importantly, for ma
king me get counseling. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met Nora.”

  He nods again.

  “One other thing,” I say.

  Dominik waits patiently.

  “Willow’s flying back this weekend. Dax says she’s going to stay with him and Regan for a few weeks.”

  Eyes flaring, his lips curl with pure carnal delight. “Thank you,” he says with almost a slight bow. “If anyone asks, you’re totally my favorite player on the team.”

  I grin, not feeling the slightest bit sorry in revealing that info. Dominik was going to figure it out when Willow came to the games and Vengeance events, anyway.

  Yeah… he’s a good dude in my opinion. I watch him for a moment as he walks away before I’m jolted back to reality.

  Nora.

  She’s waiting on me, and I’m more than ready to see her.

  CHAPTER 30

  Nora

  “That’s good, Emily,” I call as I watch the nine-year-old take Starlight around the arena in a perfect canter. She’s been taking lessons from us for only about four months, but she’s such a natural.

  Switching my attention to Raul, where he’s standing on the other side of the fence, I study him. He has his forearms resting on the top post, one booted foot on the lower rung. He smiles, proud to see Emily’s progress. The little girl works with both Raul and me, depending on availability since so much of my time these days is devoted to my counseling patients. But I’m light on that today, and I love just being able to teach kids to ride.

  Brings back so many fond memories of Raul teaching me everything I know about horses and how to sit them properly.

  How to love them.

  So much of what I am today is because of the man on the other side of the paddock fence.

  I glance down at my watch. There’s still a lot I have to do today, and Emily’s lesson will be done soon. Her mom is waiting for her in the car, preferring to talk on the phone rather than watch.

  After this lesson, I’m going to help Raul rearrange our storage room to make room for a feed delivery, then I have to tackle the chicken coops to clean them out. Normally, Raul does that, but I’ve sort of been babying him since his illness last week.

  I’ve had to be surreptitious doing this, though, so he doesn’t catch on. For example, I can’t just go to him and say, “Raul… I’m going to clean the coops today rather than you because I’m afraid for your health.”

  If I did that, he’d be beyond pissed.

  So this morning, I’d instead said, “Raul… can you take my ten and eleven AM lessons today? They’re both having issues with saddle positioning. No matter how much I work with them on it, I can’t get it corrected. I know I’m missing something.”

  I truly have no clue if he bought the lie, but he told me no problem. I didn’t bother telling him I’d do the coops instead, preferring to just knock it out now and tell him that I felt useless doing nothing later.

  At any rate, after the coops, I’m going to shower, change, and then head into Phoenix. Tacker has an afternoon game which I’m going to go to, and then after, we have plans to go out to dinner.

  Correction… we’re going out to a fancy dinner.

  Tacker told me to dress to the nines, which… I honestly don’t remember the last time I did that.

  It’s not easy dating a professional hockey player. Between his travel and my hectic schedule, having nice dates out has been a near impossibility.

  Not that I’m complaining.

  I’m simply happy to be spending any time with Tacker, a man I have come to care so deeply for that I’m worried my heart has been irrevocably stolen.

  “Okay, Emily,” I instruct in a clear voice. “Bring it down to a trot.”

  When she complies, I let her do one loop around.

  “Over to Raul,” I state, and she perfectly slows the horse to a walk, guiding it to the gate where Raul has moved to meet her.

  I walk that way as well, letting him help her dismount. Raul will change up horses before the next lesson to give Starlight a rest.

  Emily runs over to me, then throws her arms around my waist. “That was a great lesson. My canter’s getting good, isn’t it?”

  “So good,” I praise, giving her a squeeze in return. She beams, which solidifies my hunch that she doesn’t get a lot of emotional support or comfort at home. Her parents seem distinctly uninterested in her.

  It makes me appreciate Helen all the more. Even though it wasn’t necessary, Helen came to all my lessons with Raul for probably that entire first year. After we’d developed a close friendship with him, she’d often drop me off for lessons and Raul would give me a lift home. But even after I’d been riding for years, Helen would often come just to watch me.

  She’d occasionally join me, but she wasn’t much of a horsewoman. Much the same way I can just tell Tacker will never be much of a horseman.

  Sure, he’s gotten comfortable with them to the extent he can maneuver them in and out of stalls, and he’s not intimidated by their size, but he’s never going to feel fully comfortable in the saddle.

  I can just tell.

  We went on our ride yesterday when he made it out to the ranch after an impromptu team meeting, and while he had a good time—we both did—he’s just not going to love these animals the way I do.

  And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. We don’t have to share all the same passions, not as long as we share some. While Tacker doesn’t necessarily love riding, he does love working on this ranch. He loves animals in general. Sometimes, I find him simply playing with and loving on the dogs or goats.

  He also loves hard work and making a difference.

  He loves helping.

  And he loves kids. I’ve seen him interacting with them here, plus the way he is with Billy, and I can just tell, deep down… he’s a giver.

  That’s his nature.

  Emily gives me one last squeeze, and I have to jolt away from my thoughts of Tacker. I smile ruefully at my lovesickness—Tacker seems to occupy my thoughts quite a bit each and every day.

  I’m okay with that, too.

  “See you next week,” I tell Emily, watching as she runs out of the arena and jumps into her mom’s car. When they’re halfway down the drive, I turn to see Raul leading Starlight to the barn. “You good switching the horses out?”

  He doesn’t even look over his shoulder. Just throws a hand up in acknowledgment. “Got it.”

  “Okay… I’m off to clean the coops,” I call as I move out of the paddock. Another thought strikes me about the next lesson coming up, and I pivot to ask him a question.

  My heart leaps into my throat.

  Raul is on the ground.

  Just that fast, he was talking to me and walking Starlight, and in the next second, he was down.

  “Raul,” I scream, taking off running toward him.

  Starlight stands placidly beside him, just a little too close, so I put a hand to her chest and the other to her lead, encouraging her to back up. She’s such an obedient horse that she does so easily, then she’s forgotten as I scramble to Raul.

  I drop to my knees in the dirt beside him. He’s on his side, his hat having been knocked off in the fall, but his face is turned downward and hidden by his arm.

  “Raul,” I call, giving him a slight shake of the shoulder.

  I don’t get a single sound back from him.

  Panic seizes me, and tears fill my eyes. My initial thoughts are that I can’t handle him dying. I’m not ready for this.

  And, just as quickly, a measure of calm sneaks in as I realize… I don’t even know if he’s dead.

  “Fuck,” I mutter, quickly but gently rolling him to his back.

  He’s completely unconscious, and my training kicks in. Since I deal with so many children on the ranch, I’m certified in CPR. I even have a portable defibrillator in my office.

  When I place shaky fingers on his neck, I can’t detect a pulse. “Oh, God… Raul,” I moan before grabbing my phone from my back poc
ket.

  I quickly dial 9-1-1 and put the phone to my ear, holding it in place with a hunched shoulder. As it’s ringing, I place one hand over the other, lace my fingers, and begin compressions on Raul’s chest.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” a man’s voice comes across the phone.

  My voice is shaking. “Yes… um… I’m at 4811 Goose Camp Road… it’s Shërim Ranch. My foreman has collapsed, and I can’t find a pulse. I need an ambulance.”

  The man’s voice is cool and collected, sounding softly reassuring. “Okay… I’m dispatching paramedics to you right now. Do you know how to perform CPR?”

  “Yes, and I’m doing compressions right now,” I say, but then I get really panicky. “And fuck… I don’t even know how many I’ve done. It’s thirty, right? I do thirty and then two breaths?”

  “Ma’am,” the man says smoothly. “It’s fine. You can just continue to do compressions, no more than one hundred per minute until paramedics arrive.”

  “I have a defibrillator in my office,” I say, my voice squeaking with nerves.

  “Is there anyone who can get that for you?” he asks.

  “No,” I reply, and then a sob comes out. “I’m here by myself.”

  “Okay, you just stay with him and continue compressions. I’m showing the paramedics are just about four minutes out right now.”

  Four minutes? That’s an eternity.

  I want to check for a pulse, but I’m afraid to stop what I’m doing. I can’t tell if he’s breathing while I’m doing compressions.

  I want to break down and cry, but I can’t because his life depends on me right now.

  Turns out, watching an unconscious Raul for four minutes while waiting for medical help to arrive is perhaps one of the most excruciating things I’ve ever been through. Not nearly as traumatic as watching my family gunned down or my sister raped, but it’s third in line.

  Even watching Helen die wasn’t this horrific because I’d been prepared. She was in pain, and it was a relief. It was also very peaceful.

  If Raul dies under my hands in the dirt with Starlight watching over my shoulder, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get over it.