One Timer: An Nashville Assassins Novel Read online

  One Timer

  An Nashville Assassins Novel

  Toni Aleo

  Copyright © 2019 by Toni Aleo

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  All rights reserved.

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  One Timer is a work of fiction. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Editing by: Lisa Hollett of Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  Proofing by: Jenny Rarden

  Cover Design: Lori Jackson Design

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Hey, how you doin’?

  She’s Gonna Be the Death of Me, Jakob!

  Nice Stick

  You Came Quick

  Oops, I Did Him Again…

  It’s Been a Week

  Jakey!

  In a Relationship

  We’re Doing This Together

  For Real? For Real.

  We Won’t Break Up, Will We?

  No, We’re Going to Live Happily Ever After

  Would He Be There for You?

  It’s Yours. You Just Gotta Take It.

  UP NEXT….POSEY!!!

  Dump & Chase

  Also by Toni Aleo

  Acknowledgments

  About Toni Aleo

  This book is for someone I consider to be very special—Janet.

  Janet was full of such beautiful life. She was a hopeless romantic and funny as all get-out.

  She was the first person to read Taking Shots, chapter by chapter. I wrote it in her basement when I wasn’t at work. She was one of my first supporters. I lost her on 9/15/2019, and my heart aches at the loss.

  Love you, Janet.

  Janet Leigh Moore

  2/1/83 – 9/15/2019

  Hey, how you doin’?

  Why don’t you join my newsletter for updates on new releases, sales, deleted scenes, and more? Sign up with confidence. NO SPAM EVER! JOIN NOW!

  She’s Gonna Be the Death of Me, Jakob!

  Jakob

  I feel all children should just accept their parents are always right.

  We’ve been there. We made the bad decisions. We slept with people we shouldn’t have. We drank until we were drunker than a skunk. We jumped out of cars and fought with exes outside Taco Bell. We worked hard and then hardly worked, which resulted in ramen for a week. We were broke, we struggled, and then we realized that our parents were always right. I know this, I learned it the hard way, and I ignored all my parents’ wishes. They didn’t want me to chase my dreams of the National Hockey League. They wanted me to work for the family, and while I ignored them and it worked out great for me, I know that will not be the case for my baby.

  So, if she could just realize it before she ruins her life, that would be great.

  Instead, I sit in the middle of the living room as my daughter screams at my wife. Journey, my son, who is mighty smart, sits beside me with his headphones on as he kills zombies on the Xbox. I wish I could join, but my wife would probably cut me in half. But neither of the women in my family is listening to me.

  “Mom! You don’t understand! I love him. Like, with my whole soul! And he loves me the same!”

  Of course he does. Our daughter, Allison, is the perfect combination of her mother and me. She’s built like Harper, tall and slim. She’s got muscles from years of volleyball and my dark green eyes that, in the right light, sparkle from the flecks of gold. Her hair is a light brown that falls down her back like a mane. Harper always keeps her own hair shorter and her eyes are blue, but when they stand beside each other, they look like twins. Problem is, my daughter has her mother’s mouth, which is why it’s never quiet around here. They’ve been going at it since Allison was twelve, and sometimes, I wish she were more like me. Let the water roll off her back. But for some reason, she is always geared up to fight. Or maybe that’s Harper; she brings it out in our girl. For me, Harper brings all the good feelings out of me.

  Even after all these years, my wife still knocks me on my ass with her beauty. She keeps me on my toes, keeps me laughing, and she’s one hell of a mother. Journey is easy; he plays video games when he’s not on the ice. But when he’s on it, she’s in the stands screaming his name. She is the best at homework, which is fantastic since I struggle with the English written word. Even after living in the States most of my adult life, I still struggle. Harper doesn’t care. She does it all. There isn’t a game of Allison’s she’s missed. She has been team mom for the last five years. How she is team mom for the college team is beyond me, but I’m so proud. Allison needs her mom.

  They may fight, but they love each other more than anything. Which is why this fight is killing me. I want to blame the guy—Taco. Yes, this dumbass goes by the name of Taco, sometimes Doritos Locos Taco if he’s feeling spicy. Insert the eye roll. And truth be told, I hate him. I let my hatred for him slide most of the time because of how much Allison loves him. First-time adult love is rough. I remember mine; I married her. So, yeah. I get it. The guy has no choice but to notice my princess. She’s her mom made over, but he doesn’t get to take her away from everything and ruin her life.

  I know I sound dramatic, but Allison is on a full ride to Bellevue. Not just for volleyball but for academics too. She’s not only talented on the court, but she’s a damn genius! Again, taking from both of us. My athletics and her momma’s smarts. She took a year off after high school to play volleyball in Brazil. She already had the scholarship lined up, but she wanted to improve her skills even more before she started on their team.

  While I understand she’s gotta make decisions on her own, fall on her face and all that jazz, can’t she do that when she’s done with school? She’s worked so damn hard. Which is what Harper is trying to tell her.

  “Ally, I get it. Baby, I do. I promise I do. But you have a full ride, sweetheart. A full ride. You can’t give that up to run off to Texas. What the hell is in Texas? Will you go to school? Will you play? I mean, you’re the team’s setter. They need you!”

  “Princess, Mom is right. It’s not only yourself you’ll be hurting—it’ll be your team.”

  “But I love him!” she screams, and then the tears start. “He’s leaving for work, and he won’t do long-distance. I can’t lose him.”

  “Why?” I ask, and apparently, that is the wrong question.

  “Daddy! I love him,” she says, her eyes wide and flooded with tears. I hate when she cries. “He is my best friend, my other half.”

  Was I this dumb? I might have been. Harper tried to get rid of me over and over again, but I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “But Ally, darling, if it is the same for him, why can’t he do long-distance? No man should ask you to give it all up for him. Daddy never asked that of me.”

  I nod, though neither of them is looking at me. I have been prone to injuries my whole career—and each time, Harper was there. I wouldn’t let her miss work or anything with the kids for my sake. Somehow, she made it work. I think when I retired, Harper was sadder than me. She loved watching me play, watching me live my dreams. But what she didn’t realize was she is my dreams. She stood beside me on the ice with our children as we watched my jersey rise to the rafters. It hangs with my buddies’ up there—Shea Adler, Alex Welch, and Lucas Brooks. It’s pretty damn awesome, especially since I’m on the special teams coaching staff for the Nashville Assassins as their lead coach. Elli Adler may have had to let me retire, but she wouldn’t let me coach anywhere but for her. We won the Cup last season, and we want it again this year. Things are go
ing well. The start of the season has been somewhat successful. Our power play is junk, but we’ll get there. If Allison leaves, I’m worried my focus will be shaken.

  I can’t lose my baby yet. Not to some dude named Taco. What will they name their kids? Chalupa and Burrito? Fuck no. Don’t get me wrong—the guy is nice, but he isn’t what she needs. It was fine as some fleeting romance. She met him at a party on campus. He doesn’t go to Bellevue—or anywhere, for that matter.

  Higher education is a waste of time and money, bro. It’s The Man. He’s making us do it all. We’re wasting our lives for money when we need the experience!

  His words, not mine. I’m all for the experiences and I live my life to the fullest, but how am I supposed to do anything if I don’t have money? I grew up dirt poor. I mean, really poor. The only experience I had growing up was watching my neighbor snort coke off one of his whore’s ass cheeks. Now, I am experiencing watching my kids live their dreams, while loving the best woman I know. I need money for that. Maybe it is The Man, but I don’t care. I work for what I want, and that kid—he doesn’t work. The reason he is moving to Texas is because his grandma is giving him a house and a car if he comes to live with her. So, he wants my daughter, who is doing fantastic here, the starting setter for the Bellevue Bullies and with three years of a 4.0, to give all that up to follow him. When she has half a year left?

  You know what? I hate the guy even more.

  “You’re not thinking clearly. What will you do when you get there?”

  Allison looks away, a tell that she has no damn clue. “I don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far. We’ll live with his grandma, and I’ll find work.”

  “Find work…” my wife says slowly, her eyes burning with anger. “Your work is getting a damn education so you can make a life for yourself.”

  “But Mom, I don’t want to work to make a living. I want to live.”

  For the love of God. I let my head fall. “Allison, my love, you can do both. Your life is what you make it. I had nothing. Now I have everything because I worked for it.”

  She throws her arms in the air. “But my life will be shit without him.”

  Journey snorts beside me. “Yeah, because your life is so great with him. You spend more time making sure he isn’t cheating on you than you do enjoying him.”

  Harper gasps. I look at the side of my amazing boy’s face, and I nod. The kid doesn’t say much and I may have forgotten he was in the room, but damn if he didn’t just drop a bomb.

  “He cheated? On you? He’s lucky you’re even allowing him to breathe your air!”

  Allison rolls her eyes. And yeah, Harper may have been a bit dramatic there. “God, shut up, Jour! You don’t even know him.”

  “Because he’s an asshole,” he says.

  “Journey! Your mouth!”

  He shrugs. “I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”

  He sure is, but Allison doesn’t like that. She throws her hands up and yells, “No one is thinking that! He is wonderful!”

  Before Journey can say more, I press my hand to his knee. “Allison, it has nothing to do with him and everything to do with you. We want the best for you. This is not the best. I mean, look at Shea’s niece. She threw away everything—”

  “And now she is happily married with babies.”

  By the look Harper gives me, I realize maybe that wasn’t the best example. “But she suffered first.”

  “Taco loves me. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Anyone named Taco isn’t someone I would trust,” Journey says simply. But before Allison can snap at him, Harper holds up her palms.

  “Okay, we can’t change your mind on him, and that’s fine. But here is the deal, Allison. We won’t be there when he drops your ass like we all know he will. If you’re willing to throw away everything you worked for, all the money we put into volleyball for you, the hours we spent doing math with you, then I’m sorry, you will leave this house as naked as you were the day we brought you here.”

  Allison’s eyes widen. “What?”

  “You heard me,” Harper says sternly, but I see the hurt in her eyes. She doesn’t want to do this to our girl. “We will cancel your bank card, we will take the car, and everything will stay here. So, think long and hard if you want to give up all that—along with your college career.”

  And with that, Harper walks out of the room. When she reaches the hall, though, I can still see her, and she drops her shoulders. Fuck, I think I hate it more when Harper cries.

  “She’s not serious!” Allison hollers at me, but I don’t have to answer her.

  Journey does. “Of course she is. They’ve given us everything, and you want to throw away the one thing you’ve been working for since you were ten for some guy? For a genius who wants to be a dentist, you’re a real idiot.”

  That obviously offends my daughter. Offends me a bit too, but he isn’t wrong. “Like you even understand. Girls aren’t even on your radar! Or guys, for that matter.”

  She stomps away, eventually slamming her door as I look down at Journey, who doesn’t seem to give two shits about what his sister just said. I didn’t think he would, though. He really just goes with the flow. He’s our easy kid, the one who doesn’t cause a fuss. He does him, and I love that about him. However, I’ve always wondered if he was gay. He’s never given any indication or behaved stereotypically in any way, but I’ve also never seen him with a girlfriend. Then again, I’ve never seen him with a boyfriend either.

  When his eyes meet mine, I raise a brow. “Got something to tell me?”

  He shakes his head. “Your daughter is an idiot?”

  I want to laugh, but I don’t. I don’t want this to be a laughing matter. “I mean about what she said.”

  He looks away, swallowing hard. “Nope.”

  I nod and tap his knee before I get up. “Good talk.”

  “Always.”

  A smile pulls at my lips as I head toward our bedroom. It doesn’t matter if Journey is or isn’t. I love the dude, and he’ll always be my best friend. When I reach our room, I push open the door to find Harper on the phone.

  “Elli, I don’t get it. She isn’t dumb.”

  She looks at me, and I shake my head. “She’s gonna be the death of me, Jakob! It’s your turn to talk some sense into her.”

  I hold out my hand toward the hall. “I tried! She doesn’t listen. She gets that from you.”

  “Fix it!” she screams, and then she comes undone. Elli must have said something, because Harper sneers, “I know I gotta let her fucking fly, Elli, but not with that shithead!”

  I slowly back out of the room. If she’ll yell at her best friend like that, she’ll have no problem cussing at me. I’m an easy target, too. I made the kid with her. I shake my head as I start down the hall toward Allison’s room. I should probably let the situation calm down, but I gotta head to the rink and I need her to hear what I have to say. I walk through the living room, and Journey hollers out, “May the force be with you.”

  I snort as I reach my daughter’s room. I knock, and when she calls for me to come in, I take a deep breath. I’m terrified she is going to leave us. I push open the door to find her on her bed, looking down at a photo album. I close the door behind me, and she looks up at me with a tear-streaked face.

  “I just want what y’all have. And if he leaves, I won’t have that.”

  I scrunch up my face. “What?”

  “You and Mom. I want that whirlwind romance that lasts lifetimes. And Taco, he’s that for me.”

  “I don’t understand,” I say slowly before approaching the bed. It’s then I see what she is looking at. The photo album of Harper and me when we first started dating.

  She points to a photo. “We smile like this, and I swear he makes me laugh like this. It’s all so picture-perfect.”

  I snort as I sit beside her. In the picture, I’m gazing at Harper like she’s the queen of my world. She is, but man, I look like a doofus. “She ignored me for th
ree days after that was taken.”

  She looks up at me, those eyes blazing into mine. “What?”

  “Our romance wasn’t picture-perfect, and we were older, Allison. That’s what we’re trying to tell you. Get your life together before you even try to find love, because it’s rough.”

  “But…but y’all look so damn happy.”

  I nod. “In pictures, sure. But that doesn’t show the times she ghosted me, or the time we fought in the front yard, or how she would never commit to me. How I loved her more than she loved me for most of our relationship.” I’m apparently rocking my child’s world, but I feel I need to. “I’d have married her the moment I met her, but it took time for her to feel the same. Relationships are hard, love. So hard.”

  She seems put off by that. As if she doesn’t believe me. I mean, based on these pictures, I wouldn’t believe me either. “I thought you two fell in love right off the bat.”

  I snort. “No, I fell for her. But your mom…well, she was a free spirit, and man, if I didn’t love that about her.” I glance down at the book, taking one of the pictures of us out of it. “She tried to shake me so many times, and I wouldn’t let her.”

  “See? So how can you want me to let go of Taco?”

  Well, that backfired a bit. “Because while I wouldn’t let her shake me, I also would never allow her to give up everything for me. I had her best interests in mind. Does Taco have yours?”

  She looks down. I can see all over her face that he doesn’t.

  “Tell me.”

  I look over at her. “Tell you what?”