Read Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) for Free Online Page B

shot him a dirty look. Spending time with New Wife #4 wasn’t on her To Do list. The woman would be gone in a few months anyway. Doug wasn’t the relationship type. Getting to know the woman was just a waste of time.
    “Sorry I’m late.” A feminine voice broke the quiet as a young brunette sat down next to her brother. She was a small thing, skinny. And familiar. “Hi, I’m Cindy.” She held out her hand to Jo. “You must be Joey.”
    “Hello.” She studied the woman for a minute. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
    “Don’t think so.”
    “Babe, Cody here plays for the Highlanders.”
    “Oh!” Cindy looked ecstatic. “You didn’t tell me you were related to Cody Baker.”
    “He’s not,” Joey replied. “He’s related to me. Cody is my husband. So, you go to a lot of Highlander games?”
    The woman blushed. “You caught me. I love hockey. Favorite sport. I have season tickets.”
    “Oh?” Cherry smiled. “That’s wonderful.”
    “My baby does love her hockey,” Doug cooed, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “She had Highlanders stuff all over her apartment before we moved in together.” The blush deepened as she smiled. Jo nearly gagged. She so wasn’t in the mood for happy, mushy couple love.
    “Always glad to meet a fan,” Cody replied. He leaned forward. “I signed something for you, didn’t I? During the media day?”
    Cindy cleared her throat. “Yeah. For my nephew. A jersey. It’s his first. I wanted him to have something special. He usually goes with me to the games.”
    “Awesome,” Cody grinned. “Though I’d have suggested Charbonneau. He’s a much better player than I am.”
    Cindy blushed, and looked down at her plate. “He likes you best.”
    Jo pursed her lips. It might be the excessive hormones in her at the moment, but Jo wasn’t all that keen on the way Cindy was acting. Cody was soaking up the fan girl act too. Jo pinched his thigh. He jerked his thigh away and frowned at her.
    So what if he got mad at her? They were at her parents’ house. He didn’t have to play the gracious hockey player all the time, and especially not there.
    “When do you go back for games, Cody?” Cherry asked. If she saw what Jo did, she didn’t give any indication.
    “Uh, January,” Cody replied.
    “Oh, good. Then you guys get a few weeks, huh?” Her mother was fishing for something. Jo could smell her mother’s investigative digging. “Going anywhere special after you leave here? A vacation, maybe?”
    Jo glared at her mother, but the woman would not be deterred. She completely ignored Jo, actually.
    “Uh, not really. I think we were just going to take care of stuff at home, right babe?” Cody caught her eyes, the pleading plain to see within them.
    She nodded. “Yeah.” She raised her glass to take a drink, suddenly wishing it was wine rather than water. But there was no alcohol in her mother’s house.
    “Oh.” Cherry settled back in her chair. She seemed almost disappointed by the answer. “So when are you going to give me grandchildren, Joey?”
    Jo sputtered out water and coughed. She wiped her mouth, trying to breathe at the same time. She set it down and turned her attention on her mom. “What?”
    “Well, you’re the oldest. It makes sense you’d be the first.”
    “I—Uh… Cody… Um… Why are you asking, Mom?” Jo wiped her mouth with her napkin.
    “Just curious.” Cherry turned back to Cody. “You do like children, don’t you, Cody?”
    “Uh, yeah, I guess.” Cody’s discomfort was palpable.
    “Cherry.” Her dad covered her mother’s hand with his and squeezed gently. “Stop interrogating your daughter and her husband.”
    “Just wondering.” Her mother mumbled.
    Jo was irritated, and the anger spread into her body, heating it almost to a pressure. Finally, she blew out a long breath and said slowly, drawing out the words. “Cody and I hadn’t actually planned on children.”
    Her mom stared at her, obvious from her expression she