Chapter 19 Landon
Landon
The walk over to Abbott’s house is precarious because Ocean Pines isn’t the best at salting the streets. Grady almost eats it on a patch of black ice, and I have to catch him.
“Watch it,” I warn as he steadies himself. “Don’t injure yourself, or we’ll have to rely on Michaels.”
“I assume you’re talking about for goalie work, not… other things?” Grady wiggles his eyebrows as if I need the visual cue to know what he’s referring to.
“If you put visions in my head of Tyson Michaels doing things…” I stop talking and make a gagging sound.
Grady laughs.
“Welcome, boys!” Abbott calls out, pulling our attention to the humble beach house.
He’s standing in the door that opens onto the three-season porch and waving.
We walk a little faster, but still cautiously, and reach the driveway as he says, “Sorry we didn’t do this sooner.
I was so preoccupied with the injury, and then my sister-in-law was in the hospital, and my other sister-in-law gave birth, and I just… I was a bad captain.”
“You don’t owe us a dinner, or anything,” Grady says, stepping inside before me. “I’ve been traded a lot and sometimes I’m lucky if the captain even gets my name right in the first month, let alone invites me out for dinner.”
“Yeah. I’ve played for guys like that, too, and I’ve never wanted to be that guy.
” Abbott smiles as my feet hit the pine floor and the warmth of the room engulfs me.
There’s a scent of something floating around, too.
Roast chicken, maybe? It makes my mouth water.
“I can’t believe you guys are living in Ocean Pines, too.
I mean, I knew you were Eli Casco’s son, but I didn’t know you were also Braddock’s nephew and related to Henricks.
I grew up riding my bike up and down your street here in Ocean Pines, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of Jude Braddock every summer.
The best moment of my life was when I rode by when I was twelve and he was playing a game of street hockey with some of the kids, and he asked me to join.
He even signed my shirt. I was star-struck. ”
“Uncle Jude is great that way,” I reply. “Meanwhile, I grew up following your career. You were just a few years ahead of me, and I thought it was so cool you were from Ocean Pines.”
“I thought two single guys like you would live in Portland, not here. It’s not too sleepy for you?”
Grady shrugs out of his coat before me and turns to hang it on the row of hooks by the door. The move is casual. Confident. He’s always like that with everything, but my brain snags on his movements for some reason, like something is… off?
“Well, I mean, I may move down there eventually, but it’s kinda cool to be so close to the ocean,” Grady replies. “And I’m not into the bar scene much anyway. I basically grew up in one, so I’ve had my fill.”
“Right. Your dad owns the most popular place in Silver Bay, right?”
“Right. And it’s not that hard an achievement because Silver Bay is only slightly larger than Ocean Pines,” Grady replies.
“Landon?” Abbott says my name, and I realize I’m expected to participate in the conversation, not just watch.
I pull my arms out of my coat sleeves. “I’m still waiting on my Los Angeles property to close.
When that’s done and I have some free cash, I’ll look at what’s available.
I can’t squat in the family home forever, but there isn’t a lot on the market in Ocean Pines.
I’ve never looked for a place that was just my own, so it’ll be interesting. ”
I should be excited about that, according to my mom.
Not having to worry about anything other than what I want should be liberating, but it’s not.
I never thought of being in a relationship as a burden or an inconvenience.
I cared more about making Angie happy than I did about what style home we were living in.
I see decisions about house style and location, and, dear god, furnishing a new place, as a burden now, not a joy.
“I’m sorry about the break-up. You guys were together for a long time,” Abbott says quietly. “Must be hard.”
I shrug. “It’s been an adjustment, but she was right, it was for the best.”
“You really think it’s done, or is it a break?”
Grady stiffens beside me so abruptly that it catches Abbott’s attention, and he glances at him.
“My partner and I were high school sweethearts and we ended badly, and things got really dark for both of us,” Abbott explains.
“It took years and years, but here we are now. Been together seven years and about to celebrate our second wedding anniversary.”
“I love how he makes us sound like a Hallmark movie.” A man in an off-white cable knit sweater stands in the doorway, holding a dish towel in one hand. “It was like a badly written soap opera for a while there, but… it all worked out.”
“Grady, Landon, this is my blunt husband Declan,” Abbott tells us.
I remember when Abbott came out at his Cup party when his team won the Stanley Cup.
The way it sent shockwaves it sent through the league and how ridiculous it was.
I mean, who the fuck cared? Apparently everyone.
Players were asked the next season how they felt about it.
I remember my uncle told the press that if one of them asked the Quake players anything about it, they’d be banned from the press line-up for life.
He told them the sexuality of a player has nothing to do with the game or the sport, and no one had a right to an opinion on it, and they didn’t have a right to ask them for an opinion.
I glance at Grady as we walk into the house. I would love to know if that’s why he doesn’t come out. But that’s not my business, and, despite the fact I feel like we’re moving in the right direction with each other, I still don’t think I should ask.
Declan leans in to kiss Abbott quickly on the mouth as he passes, and then he shakes Grady’s hand and mine.
He’s even hotter up close. Abbott is good-looking too, so they make a cute couple.
I glance at Grady again. Does he want to be like that—married—one day?
I still do. Despite never having rushed to do it with Angie, I still see myself married one day.
To… well, someone that I love. Male or female? Damned if I know.
Why doesn’t he already have someone? It’s gotta be a purposeful choice because I can’t think of a person in the world that wouldn’t think he’s drop-dead gorgeous. And he’s a great guy.
“Sorry, the house is a bit of a mess.” Declan waves his hand around as we enter the not very messy living room.
There’s a small pile of toys strewn about the floor in the corner, and the throw pillows are piled on one end of the couch, but that’s hardly a mess.
The rest of the room looks like something out of a Coastal Living magazine.
“I’ve been babysitting my two nephews as much as possible because my brother Finn and his wife just had their third, and the boys are a lot with the baby.
They keep treating her like a football. So between having the boys here and working at my family’s restaurant and Abbott being back on the ice, it’s been chaos. ”
“Declan’s family is huge,” Abbott says as he walks us through the living room to the dining room. “Not like Garrison-sized, but big. Everything is a bit chaotic in our lives all the time.”
“I get that.” Grady smiles. “The town of Silver Bay acts proud that we’ve created this hockey legacy for the town, but I also secretly think they’re thrilled to death when the season starts and we all disappear to our respective teams. It’s a lot when we’re all in that town at the same time.”
Once again, I’m slightly jealous of how close Grady is with his family.
Abbott offers us beers, and I decline, but when I see him grab non-alcoholic ones for himself and Declan, I ask for one of those.
The conversation is light, easy, for everyone else anyway.
I find myself quiet and doing more nodding than talking.
I’m always like that in groups, but I’m fascinated tonight by how easy it seems for Grady.
I’m the one who grew up spending a couple of weeks here every summer, so why is he the one who seems like he’s old friends with the locals?
Is it just because he’s a Mainer? Am I reading too much into it?
Declan tells us the dinner is simple, but when he places it on the table, it seems anything but. There’s a lobster bisque to start, a lemon herb roasted chicken, which is juicy and flavorful, with roasted veggies. Even the giant bowl of salad looks delicious.
My gaze catches on every moment between our hosts.
The way they casually touch each other’s hands, the way Abbott refills Declan’s water glass without asking.
The way Declan notices Abbott dropped his napkin and automatically gets him another that earns him an appreciative smile.
They’re… well, they’re just like any other happily in love couple.
I think, a million years ago, Angie and I looked like that.
I’ve just… never seen it this up-close-and-personal with a same sex couple.
Then my eyes start sneaking glances at Grady, who is directly to my left at the round teak table.
He’s being Grady—friendly, gregarious, and witty.
Never awkward and always confident. But there are a few, quick moments when he thinks no one is looking, that I see him staring at our hosts, too.
Absorbing the details just like I am. Processing the normal simplicity of it.
Does Grady think he can’t have that? That it isn’t possible? Does he just not want it?
“Do you have a lot of nieces and nephews?” Grady asks them. “The Garrisons have just started the next generation. In the next couple years, we may have to build our own town to house all of us. Or at the very least extend the boundaries of Silver Bay.”