Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)(127)

Shaking his head, he ran his hand down his face as he sucked in a deep breath. “Fuck, baby, I don’t know,” he pulled in a deep breath as she cried, leaning into her mother. “I can’t come in early—we have a game Friday night and Saturday afternoon, or I would be there,” he said and she nodded.

“I know.”

“I want to be there. Can River go? And your mom? Can you guys go, Autumn?”

“Yeah, we’ll be there, honey,” her mother said, but Lucy wanted Benji. He knew what to do, how to calm her and handle Rick. Her mother and River might fly off the handle, and then everything would be a f*cking mess. Even though it already was.

“I can’t do this, Benji. Explain how I am supposed to do this.”

“Like the strong woman you are,” he said simply, holding her gaze. “You can do this. You will do this. You will be strong for Angie. You will tell her it’s only two days and then she’s back home with us for the rest of the month. She is as strong as you, baby. She’s got this. She was raised by you,” he said, his voice breaking, and Lucy swallowed a sob as he had to look away. Looking back at her, he tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “She is the best thing in this world, and she’s got this. I know she does, as I know you have it. You hear me?”

Her lip wobbled as she nodded. “Yeah, I hear you. I wish you were here.”

He paused, letting out a deep sigh. “I wish I never had to leave. I’m sorry I’m not there.”

“It isn’t your job—”

“Shut up,” he said simply and she laughed, her face brightening as her tears rolled down her cheeks. Looking into his eyes, she felt her heart yearning for him. He was so amazing. “Now, go watch her kick some ass and position the phone so I can see.”

“Okay. I miss you, Benji. I’ll call you back in a moment. I’m sure my mom wants to cry all over me.”

Autumn laughed against her shoulder. “I do.”

“See?” she said dryly and Benji laughed.

“Fine. Hurry, though. I don’t want to miss much, but I do I miss you more, baby.”

She smiled as she nodded. “Be back soon.”

He waved and she hung up, turning in her mother’s arms and hugging her tightly. Autumn’s tears wet Lucy’s face as she kissed her cheek. “He’s right, Lucy Lane. You are so strong and you’ve got this. You do. I know you do. But man, it’s gonna be hard.”

“It is,” she agreed, nuzzling her nose against her mom’s shoulder. “It’s going to gut me.”

“Me too,” her mom whispered as she hugged her tightly, kissing her one more. “But damn that man for being just freaking perfect! I’ve never crushed on a man, but Benji Paxton has my heart.”

Closing her eyes as her mom held her, Lucy smiled. “Me too, Mom. Me too.”





The rest of the week went by quickly. While Lucy was thankful for that since Benji would be home the following day, her heart was aching because she knew she had to take Angie to Rick. She hated it. It was December; she was supposed to be excited for Christmas, for her brothers coming in town, and for all of them being together for her mom’s wedding. But she was so stressed out she hadn’t done a lick of shopping and all she could think about was watching Angie being forced to go with her father.

It was heartbreaking, but she had to follow what her dad had said.

And jeez, he was a whole other issue.

He was great at the game, and Angie just ate it up that he was there. He was extremely sweet to her and actually very nice to River and her mom. She didn’t know what he was up to and hated that she assumed he was up to something since he had been so helpful, but it wasn’t like him. The last three years had been hell. He had manipulated all of them and burned his relationships with his sons, so she was sure she was next.

Leaning on her hand, she dreaded every hour that passed. The closer to meetup time, the more her belly hurt. Her mom and River were meeting her at the rink where Angie would only have an hour practice since Rick said he wouldn’t meet her there. It was frustrating because Angie wanted to practice, but what could she do? It was his time, and he was following the parenting plan like he had told her many times.

When her office door opened, she looked up as Rayne came in, her brows pressed together. “Hey, Lucy.”

“Yeah?”

“So, I know it’s none of my business,” she said, falling into the seat in front of her desk. “And usually, I would ignore it, but—”

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked, her heart kicking into high speed at Rayne’s worried expression. She was usually so happy-go-lucky, but she looked troubled.

“Well…” She paused, handing Lucy a piece of paper. But when she looked down, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at. “I follow Nikky Jiggler’s Blog of Puck Bunnies. I know, it’s trashy and just something I find hilarious. This chick goes around and sleeps with all these hockey players and then writes up these insane blog posts about them. It’s very funny, but also pretty scandalous.”

Her stomach dropped. Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say.

Swallowing hard, Lucy looked down, and there it was, Benji’s name.

“She doesn’t have a blog post yet, but it’s just his name and the words ‘To Come,’ so I don’t know. I don’t believe it, but I thought you should know.”