Sequel: Run the Show ›
Somebody Needs You
Chapter 39
“You're nervous,” Luke observed as he looked at Katie as they were waiting for their bags to appear.
“No, I'm not nervous,” Katie replied too quickly, knowing that he wasn't believing her.
“You're fidgeting,” he stated, wrapping his arm around her waist and taking one of her hands in his. “You always fidget when you're nervous.”
Sighing softly, knowing that he knew her almost as well as she knew herself, she leaned into his embrace and let her head fall onto his shoulder. “I'm nervous,” she admitted softly.
“Why?” he wondered quietly.
“He’s your brother,” she pointed out frankly, ignoring the look he gave her. “You love him, you're as close to him as I am to Kris and that’s saying something. I'm just worried he’s not going to like me,” she admitted in a slight rant, refusing to look up at him when she finished.
“Babe…”
“No, I know what it’s like being the younger sibling when you're older sibling brings home a serious…well girlfriend in this case, and you feel like you're whole world as you know it, is shifting,” she told him. “It sucks and it’s something…” she trailed off.
“What?” he wondered, frowning slightly as he wrapped her closer to him.
“When Kris brought home the guy she was dating before Eli, I…” she trailed off, blushing with embarrassment at the memory, it wasn't one of her proudest moments. “I shut him out and I treated him like crap, because I was scared that our relationship, the one between me and her, would change because of him,” she admitted. “That we wouldn’t be as close any longer, that I wasn't going to be able to talk to her about everything and anything…I just knows how it feels when you're older sister is taking steps you're not ready for, when they’re experiencing huge changes in their lives that you can’t imagine and which ultimately are going to affect you too.”
“I promise, Brayden’s not going to be like that,” he kissed her forehead softly. “And if he is, I’ll kick his ass. I love you,” he told her seriously.
The NHL-season – at least for the teams that didn’t make the playoffs – had been over for a few weeks now and so had the junior leagues in Canada. The only thing left in the season up there was the Memorial Cup. And the 2010 edition had been handed to Brandon, Manitoba, the home of the Wheat Kings. The very team Luke’s younger brother Brayden played for.
Having played in the Memorial Cup himself, Luke had promised his brother that he was going to be there, to support him and cheer him on. Managing to shuffle around her work and her vacation, Katie had made sure that she could come along; she had after all never met the younger of the two Schenn-brothers, though she had heard a lot about him.
She had a feeling that he’d actually heard more about her…
Having rented a car and checked in to their hotel, Luke had talked to his brother – after he let his mother know they were still alive after the flight – and had agreed on somewhere to meet. As neither he nor Katie knew their way around the small town, they had put the GPS-system to good use.
The tournament had started the day before and from what Katie knew it was a game Brandon fans wanted to forget rather quickly as they’d lost 9-3 against the Windsor Spitfires. Their next game being the following day, they’d only had a morning practice that day.
Arriving at the café located at the edge of a large park, the two of them stepped out of the rental car and looked around the area in search for Luke’s brother.
They didn’t have to look long as a tall, dark blonde guy with eyes almost exactly the same shade of blue as Luke’s approached them, giving his brother one of those manly hugs before Luke introduced him to Katie.
At best, the initial meeting was frosty, just like Katie had expected, but the three of them getting drinks from the café before taking a seat out on one of the café tables in the park things got a little better.
“So Luke told me his side of the story but how did you meet?” Brayden wondered as he looked at the blonde sitting across from him. She seemed like a nice enough girl, she was pretty – hot actually, but he wasn't going to tell his brother that – but…he didn’t know her, he just knew a lot about her…
“I went to college down in LA,” Katie smiled softly, remembering doing the same thing to Kris’ boyfriends. “And I worked at the Staples Center for extra cash, from my second year there, and I got to know Drew Doughty and he introduced me to Luke December before last when the Leafs were there playing. The three of us went to a Lakers game together,” she smiled softly.
“Did you go to any Kings games when you were living there?” Brayden wondered curiously.
“Quite a few,” she nodded slightly. “Mostly Drew was the one to convince me I should go,” she admitted. “I'm a Leafs girl all the way.”
“How did you end up in Toronto?” he wondered, ignoring the look his brother sent him. “Didn’t you like LA?”
“LA is…” she hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe the city without completely scaring him, she knew he’d been drafted by the Kings, she’d even watch that draft the previous summer with her brother. “It’s a city like none other,” she smiled softly. “I liked it, but it’s different and considering that I was entering a rather competitive industry, which is a lot bigger and broader then just Hollywood, I felt that I needed to move,” she shrugged slightly. “I was thinking about Chicago or Montréal or New York, but I was leaning towards New York when I got a job offer in Toronto and here I am,” she smiled softly as she looked over at him.
“So when I make it to LA, I should call you for some pointer on where to go?” Brayden smiled cheekily.
“You can,” she nodded slightly. “And I can kick Drew’s butt if he doesn’t show you the ropes,” she joked, happy that he seemed to be warming up to her.
“So how far along are you?” Brayden asked slowly as the three of them were walking through the park, Luke had told him bits and pieces about the pregnancy but it was a subject he wasn't all that comfortable with. He still felt he should ask her about it, it was probably the polite thing to do considering that she knew he knew about it.
“I'm about 23 weeks,” she smiled softly. “Which according to my doctor doesn’t show,” she laughed slightly.
Not saying anything, Brayden glanced at his brother for help before looking back at her. He knew that this was one of those situations that no matter what you tried, or what you said, it would be the wrong thing.
Her hand loosely laced together with Luke’s, Katie looked up at him before turning back to the younger Schenn, forcing them all to stop. “Do you…do you want to feel it?” she wondered.
“What?” Brayden choked slightly, blushing when Luke laughed at him. He hadn't met that many girls that were pregnant and no one in the family had had babies recently, he wasn't sure how to approach this situation…
“Give me your hand,” she smiled softly dropping Luke’s hand and holding out her own.
“No, I don’t…” Brayden tried to protest.
“Do it,” Luke encouraged him; he was still amazed at everything that was changing with her, almost right in front of his very eyes.
Looking between them, Brayden didn’t say anything, but let her take his hand and place it flat against her stomach that was no longer flat. Not that you would have noticed with the loose baby-doll cut halter top she was wearing.
“Does it always feel like that?” Brayden wondered, keeping his hand pressed against her stomach as he could feel a slight fluttering beneath it.
“I think the baby’s sleeping or just resting right now,” she replied. “Other times you can actually feel them kick, surprisingly hard,” she smiled, remembering the first time when Luke had been able to feel it. She’d been aware of the baby’s movements a while before anyone else could actually feel them and she’d been at work when she for some reason had her hand against her growing bump and she’d felt movements beneath it.
As soon as she got home she’d forced him to feel it, he’d been a goner since…
“Wow.”
And by the looks of it, so was Brayden…
“No, I'm not nervous,” Katie replied too quickly, knowing that he wasn't believing her.
“You're fidgeting,” he stated, wrapping his arm around her waist and taking one of her hands in his. “You always fidget when you're nervous.”
Sighing softly, knowing that he knew her almost as well as she knew herself, she leaned into his embrace and let her head fall onto his shoulder. “I'm nervous,” she admitted softly.
“Why?” he wondered quietly.
“He’s your brother,” she pointed out frankly, ignoring the look he gave her. “You love him, you're as close to him as I am to Kris and that’s saying something. I'm just worried he’s not going to like me,” she admitted in a slight rant, refusing to look up at him when she finished.
“Babe…”
“No, I know what it’s like being the younger sibling when you're older sibling brings home a serious…well girlfriend in this case, and you feel like you're whole world as you know it, is shifting,” she told him. “It sucks and it’s something…” she trailed off.
“What?” he wondered, frowning slightly as he wrapped her closer to him.
“When Kris brought home the guy she was dating before Eli, I…” she trailed off, blushing with embarrassment at the memory, it wasn't one of her proudest moments. “I shut him out and I treated him like crap, because I was scared that our relationship, the one between me and her, would change because of him,” she admitted. “That we wouldn’t be as close any longer, that I wasn't going to be able to talk to her about everything and anything…I just knows how it feels when you're older sister is taking steps you're not ready for, when they’re experiencing huge changes in their lives that you can’t imagine and which ultimately are going to affect you too.”
“I promise, Brayden’s not going to be like that,” he kissed her forehead softly. “And if he is, I’ll kick his ass. I love you,” he told her seriously.
The NHL-season – at least for the teams that didn’t make the playoffs – had been over for a few weeks now and so had the junior leagues in Canada. The only thing left in the season up there was the Memorial Cup. And the 2010 edition had been handed to Brandon, Manitoba, the home of the Wheat Kings. The very team Luke’s younger brother Brayden played for.
Having played in the Memorial Cup himself, Luke had promised his brother that he was going to be there, to support him and cheer him on. Managing to shuffle around her work and her vacation, Katie had made sure that she could come along; she had after all never met the younger of the two Schenn-brothers, though she had heard a lot about him.
She had a feeling that he’d actually heard more about her…
Having rented a car and checked in to their hotel, Luke had talked to his brother – after he let his mother know they were still alive after the flight – and had agreed on somewhere to meet. As neither he nor Katie knew their way around the small town, they had put the GPS-system to good use.
The tournament had started the day before and from what Katie knew it was a game Brandon fans wanted to forget rather quickly as they’d lost 9-3 against the Windsor Spitfires. Their next game being the following day, they’d only had a morning practice that day.
Arriving at the café located at the edge of a large park, the two of them stepped out of the rental car and looked around the area in search for Luke’s brother.
They didn’t have to look long as a tall, dark blonde guy with eyes almost exactly the same shade of blue as Luke’s approached them, giving his brother one of those manly hugs before Luke introduced him to Katie.
At best, the initial meeting was frosty, just like Katie had expected, but the three of them getting drinks from the café before taking a seat out on one of the café tables in the park things got a little better.
“So Luke told me his side of the story but how did you meet?” Brayden wondered as he looked at the blonde sitting across from him. She seemed like a nice enough girl, she was pretty – hot actually, but he wasn't going to tell his brother that – but…he didn’t know her, he just knew a lot about her…
“I went to college down in LA,” Katie smiled softly, remembering doing the same thing to Kris’ boyfriends. “And I worked at the Staples Center for extra cash, from my second year there, and I got to know Drew Doughty and he introduced me to Luke December before last when the Leafs were there playing. The three of us went to a Lakers game together,” she smiled softly.
“Did you go to any Kings games when you were living there?” Brayden wondered curiously.
“Quite a few,” she nodded slightly. “Mostly Drew was the one to convince me I should go,” she admitted. “I'm a Leafs girl all the way.”
“How did you end up in Toronto?” he wondered, ignoring the look his brother sent him. “Didn’t you like LA?”
“LA is…” she hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe the city without completely scaring him, she knew he’d been drafted by the Kings, she’d even watch that draft the previous summer with her brother. “It’s a city like none other,” she smiled softly. “I liked it, but it’s different and considering that I was entering a rather competitive industry, which is a lot bigger and broader then just Hollywood, I felt that I needed to move,” she shrugged slightly. “I was thinking about Chicago or Montréal or New York, but I was leaning towards New York when I got a job offer in Toronto and here I am,” she smiled softly as she looked over at him.
“So when I make it to LA, I should call you for some pointer on where to go?” Brayden smiled cheekily.
“You can,” she nodded slightly. “And I can kick Drew’s butt if he doesn’t show you the ropes,” she joked, happy that he seemed to be warming up to her.
“So how far along are you?” Brayden asked slowly as the three of them were walking through the park, Luke had told him bits and pieces about the pregnancy but it was a subject he wasn't all that comfortable with. He still felt he should ask her about it, it was probably the polite thing to do considering that she knew he knew about it.
“I'm about 23 weeks,” she smiled softly. “Which according to my doctor doesn’t show,” she laughed slightly.
Not saying anything, Brayden glanced at his brother for help before looking back at her. He knew that this was one of those situations that no matter what you tried, or what you said, it would be the wrong thing.
Her hand loosely laced together with Luke’s, Katie looked up at him before turning back to the younger Schenn, forcing them all to stop. “Do you…do you want to feel it?” she wondered.
“What?” Brayden choked slightly, blushing when Luke laughed at him. He hadn't met that many girls that were pregnant and no one in the family had had babies recently, he wasn't sure how to approach this situation…
“Give me your hand,” she smiled softly dropping Luke’s hand and holding out her own.
“No, I don’t…” Brayden tried to protest.
“Do it,” Luke encouraged him; he was still amazed at everything that was changing with her, almost right in front of his very eyes.
Looking between them, Brayden didn’t say anything, but let her take his hand and place it flat against her stomach that was no longer flat. Not that you would have noticed with the loose baby-doll cut halter top she was wearing.
“Does it always feel like that?” Brayden wondered, keeping his hand pressed against her stomach as he could feel a slight fluttering beneath it.
“I think the baby’s sleeping or just resting right now,” she replied. “Other times you can actually feel them kick, surprisingly hard,” she smiled, remembering the first time when Luke had been able to feel it. She’d been aware of the baby’s movements a while before anyone else could actually feel them and she’d been at work when she for some reason had her hand against her growing bump and she’d felt movements beneath it.
As soon as she got home she’d forced him to feel it, he’d been a goner since…
“Wow.”
And by the looks of it, so was Brayden…