The Buchanan's Baby(31)

Vince rolled his eyes, irritated. “When did you grow ovaries? This is ridiculous. All this over one chick?”

“She’s not just a chick!” Nolan shouted, slamming his fist down on the table so hard that the tequila nearly spilled. “She’s the mother of my daughter. Don’t you get it?” He stared hard at his twin, unable to contain his fury. “She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and she doesn’t want a thing to do with me and you know why? Because I’m not worthy of her time.”

“Says who?” Vince retorted, not impressed. “There are plenty of fish in the sea as they say.” He helped himself to a shot of tequila and gulped it down. “Think about it, Nolan. You only want this woman because she’s the first to turn you down. Eventually, you would’ve gotten over whatever you’re going through and you’d have moved on. Count yourself lucky that she cut you loose before things got ugly and complicated.”

“You don’t get it, Vince,” Nolan said, shaking his head. “What I feel is more than a passing thing. Whatever I feel, is so strong, I feel it in my bones.”

Vince cut his gaze away. “It’ll pass.”

“Did it?” Nolan pressed, daring his brother to lie to him. “Did it pass with Isabel? Or does not a day go by that you don’t think of her?”

“That’s different,” Vince said, refusing to look at Nolan. He reached for the tequila. “No fair bringing up the dead.”

“Who said any of this was fair?” Nolan mocked, leaning back in his chair to stare out the window. “If life were fair…hell, we both know it’s not good to travel down that road.”

“True.” Vince stared morosely into his tequila before downing it. A long moment stretched between them before Vince said, “Do you love her?”

Nolan squeezed his eyes shut, almost afraid to put a name to the wild feeling wrapping itself around his heart but he knew whether or not he admitted it wouldn’t change anything. “Yes,” he said, his lids flipping back open. “I do.”

“Then you can’t give up,” Vince said finally. “Go to her, figure it out.”

“She doesn’t want me. I disgust her.”

“There’s a fine line between love and hate. Maybe you can nudge her the right way.”

“I screwed up.”

“We all screw up. At least you’re trying to fix it. That’s more than what some of us did.” Nolan knew Vince was talking about himself and how things had unfolded with Isabel. Vince’s pain over Isabel’s loss was almost palpable when Vince cracked open that box. Of the three of them, Vince had suffered the most over Isabel’s suicide. Nolan feared that as messed up as the Buchanan boys were, Vince’s damage was the deepest. Vince stood abruptly and walked toward the door, saying gruffly, “If you really love her…stop bitching about how pathetic you are and just go make it right. It’s the only choice there is.”

And then he left.

Nolan drew a deep breath. Vince was right. He could sit there crying like a whiny baby or he could man up and go after his woman.

He stumbled to his feet and swayed when the tequila caught up to him. Oh damn, he realized when the room tilted on its axis, he was trashed. And there was no way he was going anywhere — but straight to the floor.

And that’s exactly where he ended up.





Shannon worried her bottom lip, her mind nowhere near where it should be as the new line up of players received their beginning of the season talks from the head coach. Most of the players already knew Shannon as the head athletics trainer but she still had to make her appearance, nod and wave and then return to her office to finish the odds and ends of paperwork for the insurance requirements.

Usually, she enjoyed the fresh start of a new season — she loved hockey and everything that came with it – but her thoughts were a chaotic mess. She’d tried repeatedly to get a hold of Nolan but her calls had gone unanswered. She supposed that was to be expected as she’d tossed him out of her life like a diseased potato but she was a bit shocked that he refused to take her calls.

Okay, so maybe her pride was dinged but the bigger issue was that she was a bit worried. It seemed unlikely that Nolan would refuse to answer the phone, especially since they shared a child together. What if the call were about Aubrey? She frowned, chewing her pencil. Perhaps she ought to call the hotel and have them do a security check. No, that was silly. He was fine. She couldn’t blame him for being prickly given their last meeting.

CeCe nudged her and Shannon realized the head coach was staring at her expectantly. “Oh!” She stepped forward with a perfunctory smile. “I’m your sports trainer, Shannon Garrity. I will be the one bandaging your cuts and breaks as well as making recommendations on game day whether you sit or continue to play in the event of an injury. Here’s to a great, injury-free season.” Then, she backed out and walked hurriedly to her office, determined to finish up her papers and go to the hotel where Nolan said he was staying.