Unexpected Romance (4 page)

Morris
was on the mend, so who knew what was in his future.

He
threw the blankets off. He could have breakfast with the Porter's.
They reminded him of his home when he was growing up. Happy kids,
happy parents. Hardworking and loving. With easy laughter.

He
wasn't sure where Tonya fit into the whole picture. He had tried not
to think too much about her while he was away. But sooner or later
his thoughts seemed to return to her.

He
had partied, and kissed more than one girl. He didn't get too drunk
nor did he take anyone to bed. He didn't want to get himself in
trouble. He had to make a good impression on management. He'd seen
guys let the fame and money to go their heads, and do really stupid
things. Nearly lose their positions.

He
pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers and a grimy T-shirt, before
opening his door. Right outside his door was Tonya. He stopped short.
"Good morning."

She
was dressed, her hair and makeup done. In the ten days he'd been
living here, he'd yet to catch her undone. She raised an eyebrow. "It
is morning. I haven't had coffee yet, so the good remains to be seen.
Didn't you get in like super late last night?"

"Yeah,
but I heard everyone up and it made me feel like a kid again, so I
thought I'd get up, grab some cereal, then I'll go back to bed when
it's quiet."

She
nodded. "How was the trip? Did you hit lots of home runs?"

He
stared at her. Was she fucking with him or did she really not know
hockey? "Score goals, you mean? A few."

She
laughed. "I had you for a moment. I do know the difference
between baseball and hockey. I know the basics of hockey, what
happens, I don't understand the appeal of following a team of people
you don't know. I don't mind going down and watching Corey play, well
when he played. I don't care about the whole establishment. You
know?"

"I
thought you might be screwing with me. Well, Corey doesn't play, but
you could come watch me and cheer me on."

"I
don't know you. Besides, shouldn't you be heading back to Abbotsford
or what now any day now?"

"Eager
to get rid of me?"

"I
thought you'd be eager to get out of the busy house."

"No,
like I said, it reminds of me of when I was growing up. Happy family
and all that. I miss that."

She
gave him a smile and turned to go upstairs.

"You
don't know me because every time we are alone, you leave."

She
stopped at the bottom of the stairs and faced him. "I'm no good
at small talk. And I know your type, successful without trying,
popular and charming. You like to flirt and have a good time, and
maybe take advantage of some girl and toy with her feelings.
Something like that?"

Successful
without trying stung. She had no idea how hard he'd had to work for
his success. He ignored the sting. He had learned that skill long
ago. He was good looking and he liked to talk, so people thought
everything came easily to him. "I like to think I'm charming and
popular. Most people like to have a good time. I'm young, and I have
made no commitments to anyone. But I have never toyed with anyone's
feelings on purpose."

"Well,
look, I'm not interested in getting to know you. I have a full life
with my job and family."

"I
thought we had a good time with coffee the other night. I'm not
looking for another conquest, but we can be friends."

"I
don't know what to tell you." She turned and went up the stairs.

He
wanted to grab her and explain to her. Something. He didn't know
what. Her judgement without getting to know him, hurt. It shouldn't,
as it wasn't personal, none of them fit him exactly. He didn't like
being judged at all.

He
wanted to grab her and kiss her, until she… Until she what? He
had no idea. No idea why he would think of kissing Miss Priss
herself.

Maybe
he should go back to bed. It was too late to turn back. With a sigh,
he followed her up the stairs.

In
the kitchen, Tonya handed him a mug of coffee. "Cream and sugar
are on the counter," she murmured.

He
frowned. A minute ago, she was downstairs being rude to him. "Thank
you," he said, crossing the kitchen to add a healthy dose of
sugar. Now, that she had an audience she was polite.

"Good
morning, Chris. I hope we didn't wake you. Paige is a bit excited to
see her dad," Nicole said.

Her
husband smacked her cheek with his lips. "I'm happy to be home,
too."

"I'm
a morning person, I have trouble sleeping in, no matter how late I
stay up. The sounds reminded me of my teen years, when my brother and
sisters were living at home. Made me a bit homesick."

"We'll
be your stand-in family," Nicole said, nodding to Jessa and
Tanner. "Although no one but Paige and I are morning people."

"So
did you decide if I can drive to school or not?" Tanner
interjected.

Nicole
sighed and looked at Corey who shrugged. "He's got to learn
sometime," he said.

"He's
had his learner's permit for four days. I thought maybe we could
Bubblewrap him and keep in the basement. He's safer there,"
Nicole said.

"You'll
have real trouble when he gets his license," Corey replied.

"You
have no idea."

"I
can take him driving sometime. It wasn't that long ago I was
learning, so I probably have some pointers," Chris said.

Everyone
stopped and looked at him. "Mom, can he? Can we? After school or
something? Or tonight?" Tanner asked.

"Are
you sure?" Nicole asked.

"It's
the least I can do for letting me stay." Chris looked around.

"We'll
see about tonight. Get your homework done. No wait, don't you have
football practice after school?"

"Oh
yeah, dang it." Tanner grabbed his bowl from the table.

"We'll
find time, hopefully, while I'm here."

"It'll
be a few weeks yet," Corey said.

"All
right, go brush your teeth, if you're driving, we have to be out the
door in twenty minutes. One minute later and I'm driving. Or you're
walking," Nicole said.

Tanner
was grinning. "Colton's gonna be so jealous."

Jessa
looked at Tonya. "If I stall, will you drive me to school? I'm
scared to ride with him."

"Shoulda
caught the bus, Jess," Corey said. "This will teach you."

Tonya
laughed. "Your school is so not on my way to work. And if I
don't hurry, I'm going to be late. You guys are lucky, Colton has to
ride the bus every day."

"We
ride it home," Jessa protested.

"I
had to walk three miles uphill both ways," Corey said.

Jessa
and Tonya left the room chattering. Corey returned his attention to
his young daughter. Chris, leaned back in his chair, the sudden
silence ringing in his ears.

Tonya
came back in the room and hesitated. She looked at Chris then to her
brother. "Did you need something?" Corey asked.

"I
have something I need to talk to you about. Not now. Tonight. Nicole
too."

"Okay.
Everything all right?"

"Yeah,
everything is fine. I should have waited until later." She
looked at her watch. "I have to get going. I'll talk to you
after work."

"All
right. Have a good day." Corey raised an eyebrow at Chris.

All
the younger man could do was shrug. He had no right to spill her
secrets. He barely had the right to know them.

"So
that's the Porter family morning chaos," Corey said. "Come
on, buttercup, you need to get washed and dressed. Maybe we'll go to
the park for a bit before Dad has to leave for work." Corey
hefted his daughter from the high chair.

"I
can wash my own face," Chris said.

Corey
gave him a soft swipe across the back of the head. "Wiseguy. Any
plans for the day?"

"Drink
my coffee, go throw a load of laundry in, eat something and then
maybe have a nap before practice at two."

"Are
you sure we didn't wake you up? We can try to tone it down."

"I
swear that you didn't wake me. I didn't feel obligated to come
upstairs at all. I meant what I said about missing family. I'll take
this while I can. Except Tony, I don't think she likes me."

"She's
like that at the start. She has a hard shell to keep people out. Give
her a bit to warm to you. She's used to fending for herself and being
alone."

Corey
left the room. While Chris finished his coffee, the door opened and
slammed several times. Mrs. Briere, the Porter housekeeper, came in
while he was eating breakfast. She cleared the table while she hummed
to herself.

"Do
you need the washing machine?" he asked.

"I
will later, dear," she said, still humming between sentences.
"You go ahead and put your clothes in and I'll move them to the
dryer."

She
offered to do his laundry when he first moved in, but he refused. His
rent didn't included housekeeping services. His mother taught him
better.

"Thanks
Mrs. B. I'll go toss them in then I'll take a quick nap. But don't
worry about waking me while you go about your business."

She
smiled at him as he put his bowl in the dishwasher. Then he went off
to get the rest of his chores done for the day.

Tony
cracked her knuckles as she paced.

Her
half brother looked calm as he drank his beer. His wife rubbed his
shoulders.

"Am
I scary?" he asked Nicole, looking up at her.

She
kissed him. "I've never been scared of you. Even when you got
super pissed at me for interfering with your life. If not for me, we
wouldn't be here, you know that?"

"Okay,
you and Mandy meddling did turn out good that time. But that's the
only time and there were other ways. You had me caught either way.”

"Okay,
rehashing the past probably isn't a good way to get Tony talking
about this." Nicole kissed the back of his head.

Tony
felt a pang of jealousy. She'd been told stories about Corey's wild
past, but they were hard to believe. She'd never encountered anyone
as dedicated to his family. Maybe Kip Turner. Either way, Tony longed
for someone to feel the same about her. Love, commitment. Family.

"Sorry,
Tony. You wanted to say something."

She
wanted to run. "I've been thinking about school."

Corey
opened his mouth to reply, but Nicole put her hand on his shoulder
and squeezed. He stopped before he got a word out.

"I
know, we've been around this circle for two years. I was talking with
Chris about it."

"Chris?
Basement Chris?"

"Yes,
he asked. Anyway, I still have no idea what I would study if I went
to college. I was never good at anything in school. I don't have any
interests."

"What
about with kids? Mandy says you're great." Nicole covered
Corey's hand on the tabletop.

"I
dunno, I can’t see myself working with kids for the rest of my
life. I took an aptitude test back in high school. I think it gave me
like bank clerk or secretary or something. I'm afraid of choosing
something wrong. And I don’t want to waste your money on
something it turns out I hate and quitting."

Corey
started to say something, but Nicole squeezed his hand. Nicole nodded
at Tony, encouraging her to go on.

Tony
took a breath. "I really am most afraid of disappointing you. No
one's ever been there for me. I mean Mom was there, but most of her
energy was devoted to physical survival. So I don't know what to do."

Corey
looked at Nicole. "Tony, we love you. We love having you here. I
spent the first year in constant worry for you, that our house was
too busy, that you'd never feel comfortable with us."

"It
was a hard first year," Tony admitted. "I love you guys
too, but someday you would probably like your house back to just your
family."

"Pish,
like Corey will stop bringing home homeless hockey players. Don't
worry about us. We'll have some small life-form here for what seems
like forever." She patted her belly.

"What?"
Tony said, looking from him to her and back.

Corey
grinned. "We thought we'd do it once more."

Tony
grinned. "That's great! Congratulations! How far are you? When
are you due?"

"Only
about twelve weeks, so I'm due in the middle of January."

"I
get to be auntie again. Do the kids know?"

"Not
yet. We're doing a big reveal thing in a few days. Keep it hush
hush," Nicole said.

He
coughed. "So school."

Tony
nodded.

"I
hope I haven't been pressuring you into going to school. If you don't
want to, that's fine. I wanted you to have the option."