Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
no more halfway
ROOK
Finn knocked on the door at ten in the morning, which was either perfect timing or terrible timing depending on how you looked at it.
Soren had been up for an hour, moving slowly through the house like he was still learning how to exist in a space that wasn't actively trying to kill him.
I'd made coffee and scrambled eggs that he'd picked at without much enthusiasm, and we'd settled into a comfortable silence on the couch overlooking the ocean when the knock came.
I opened the door to find Finn grinning at me with Jamie standing beside him, bouncing on his toes with the kind of energy only eight-year-olds could pull off before noon.
“We brought pastries,” Finn announced, holding up a white bakery bag. “And emotional support. Also Jamie wanted to see his favorite drum teacher, so here we are.”
Jamie looked up at me and signed, “Is Soren here?”
I signed back, “Yeah, he's inside. Come in.”
The kid's face lit up and he immediately pushed past me into the house, leaving Finn and me standing in the doorway.
“Thanks for letting us come by,” Finn said, his voice dropping into that lower register that meant he was being serious for once. “I know he probably needs rest, but Jamie's been asking about him since I told him Soren wasn't feeling great.”
“It's good you're here,” I said honestly. “He could use the company.”
We walked inside to find Jamie already on the couch next to Soren, signing rapidly about a new rhythm pattern he'd been practicing.
Soren's whole face had transformed, the exhaustion still there but buried under genuine warmth as he signed back just as fast. Watching them together made my chest do weird shit, and I had to look away before the feeling got too big to ignore.
Finn caught my eye and raised an eyebrow, clearly reading more than I wanted him to, but he didn't say anything. Just set the pastries on the kitchen counter and I poured him coffee and handed it over, watching him take a sip and make a face.
“So this is the famous coast house,” Finn said, looking around with obvious appreciation. “Very nice. Very 'successful captain who has his shit together.' I'm jealous.”
“You're twenty-two and making league minimum,” I pointed out. “Give it time.”
“I'm twenty-two and making league minimum while living with my grandfather and trying to keep my baby brother from being forced into surgeries he doesn't want,” Finn corrected, but his tone stayed light. “Different trajectories, Cap.”
I poured him coffee and handed it over, watching him take a sip and make a face.
“This is terrible,” he said.
“It's functional.”
“It tastes like punishment.” He set the mug down and pulled out his phone. “I'm ordering you a proper espresso machine. Consider it a thank you for letting us crash your recovery safe house.”
“Don't do that.”
“Too late, already ordered.” He grinned at me, and I realized with some surprise that I actually liked having him here.
Jamie had moved on from drum talk to showing Soren a video on his tablet, both of them bent over the screen with matching expressions of concentration. Soren's hand rested on Jamie's shoulder, casual and affectionate, and the kid leaned into the touch without thinking about it.
“He really loves Soren,” I said quietly, and Finn nodded.
“Yeah. Soren's the first adult outside of family who's treated Jamie like he's exactly right the way he is. No pity, no fixing, just—teaching him music because he's good at it and wants to learn.” Finn's voice had gone soft in a way I'd never heard before. “That matters more than you'd think.”
“I think I'm starting to get that.”
Finn looked at me, really looked at me, and I could see him putting pieces together in real time. “You're good for him too, you know. Soren. He seems steadier when you're around.”
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything.
Just watched Soren laugh at whatever Jamie was showing him and felt the weight of how much I wanted to keep this—the house full of people who cared about him, the sound of his laugh echoing off the windows, the proof that he was alive and recovering and not disappearing into the dark.
Finn glanced over at the couch where Soren and Jamie were still absorbed in the tablet, then back at me. His voice dropped lower, casual but pointed. “So are you guys, like—together? Boyfriends?”
For a second I just stood there like an idiot because I'd somehow forgotten that I had a team. People who would need to know. People who'd probably already started wondering why their captain had been acting weird for weeks.
But then I remembered who those people were. Cole and Tate and Dmitri and the rest of them—guys who'd skated next to me for years, who'd seen me at my worst and still showed up. They'd be fine with it. More than fine, probably. Supportive as hell because that's who they were.
“Yeah,” I said, meeting Finn's eyes. “We are.”
Finn's grin was immediate and shit-eating. “Holy fuck. Captain Kincaid has a boyfriend. Jace must be so proud. All that emotional availability finally rubbing off on you.”
“Fuck off,” I said, but I was smiling despite myself.
“No, seriously. Did he give you a handbook? 'How to Have Feelings for Dummies'? Because you were emotionally constipated as hell last season and now look at you. Holding hands, bringing your guy to your secret ocean house, probably writing poetry about his eyes or some shit.”
“I don't write poetry.”
“Yet. Give it time.” Finn took a sip of his terrible coffee and made another face. “But real talk, Cap? I'm glad. You deserve this. And Soren's good people.”
The sincerity underneath the chirping hit harder than I expected, and I had to look away for a second. “Thanks.”
“When are you planning to tell the team?” Finn asked, his voice still low enough that Soren and Jamie couldn't hear. “Because you know someone's going to notice eventually. Probably Tate. He notices everything.”
“Soon,” I said. “I hope.”
“Yeah? You ready for that?”
“Getting there.” I glanced back at Soren, watched him sign something that made Jamie dissolve into silent laughter. “I'm working on it.”
“Good.” Finn clapped me on the shoulder. “And when you do tell them, I want to be there so I can watch Cole lose his shit. He's going to be so fucking smug about calling it.”
“He didn't call anything.”
“He absolutely did. Two weeks ago in the locker room he said you were acting weird in a 'Rook's got a person' kind of way. I told him he was full of shit, but apparently he was right.” Finn shook his head. “I owe him twenty bucks now.”
“You bet on my personal life?”
“We bet on everything, Cap. You know this.”
I couldn't help it and I laughed and Finn grinned like he'd won the fucking lottery.
The visit lasted another hour. Finn told increasingly ridiculous stories about rookie hazing that had Jamie signing laughter and Soren grinning, and I sat back and let the warmth of it wash over me.
This was what family looked like when it worked.
Messy and loud and full of people who showed up because they gave a shit, not because they had to.
When Finn finally checked the time and announced they needed to head out, Jamie hugged Soren hard enough to make him grunt. Soren hugged him back just as tight, and when he signed “I’ll see you next week for our lesson,” Jamie's whole face went bright with relief.
At the door, Finn paused and looked at me with an expression that was half mischief and half something more serious.
“Take care of him, Cap,” he said. “And if you need anything—legal help, someone to run interference, whatever—you let me know.”
“I will.”
“I mean it. Soren's our people now. Which means you are too, apparently.” He grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the found family, Kincaid. It's weird and exhausting and you're stuck with us.”
He left before I could respond, Jamie waving goodbye over his shoulder as they headed down the driveway. I closed the door and turned to find Soren watching me from the couch with a look I couldn't quite read.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just—Finn really likes you.”
“He's a good kid.”
“He's twenty-two. That's not a kid.”
“He's a rookie. Same thing.” I crossed back to the couch and sat down next to him, close enough that our thighs pressed together. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah. That was good. Seeing them.” He leaned his head against my shoulder, and I wrapped an arm around him automatically. “I should probably go talk to Luca and June at some point today. Let them know I'm alive and not completely falling apart.”
That was the opening I needed, and I took it before I could second-guess myself.
“I want to take you somewhere first,” I said. “If you're up for it.”
He lifted his head to look at me. “Where?”
“To meet my private investigator Leroy. And a lawyer.”
The warmth drained out of his expression, replaced by wariness and something that looked like anger. “Rook—”
“Your parents are escalating,” I said, keeping my voice even. “The custody threat isn't going away, and you can't fight them alone. You don't have the money or the legal leverage, and they know it.”
“So you're just—what? Deciding to handle it for me?”
“I'm deciding to help you handle it. There's a difference.”
He pulled away from me, putting space between us on the couch, and I let him because pushing wouldn't help. His hands were shaking slightly, and I could see the old patterns kicking in.
“I didn't ask for this,” Soren said tightly.
“I know.”
“I can't afford a lawyer, Rook. I can barely afford rent. So whatever you're planning, I can't pay you back.”
“I don't need you to pay me back.”
“That's not—” He stopped, jaw clenched, and looked away. “I'm not your fucking charity case.”
“You're not charity. I have the resources to help. So I'm helping.” I reached over and took his hand, lacing our fingers together even though he was still tense. “You can pay me back whenever you want. Or never. Either way is fine.”