Chapter 13
“Told you he wouldn’t run.” Cole held his hand out to Reece, who slapped a twenty into his palm.
“Real mature,” I muttered, as I headed to my locker to finish stowing my gear.
We’d played hard against Belcourt, one of our rivals, but they’d come out on top by one point. There were plenty of games left in the season, but I hated that I hadn’t stopped the last puck. I’d seen Naginski sneak to the left for the shot, so I leaned right, letting him think there was an opening.
Then I’d mistimed the save. My fucking cockiness cost us the game. Not good enough.
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the unwelcome voice, but I’d seen him in the stands again tonight. My dad. At least I knew why he was suddenly popping up if Grandma was telling the truth.
Part of me was relieved. I still had several months of college hockey to play, then several more months before I’d be expected to move back to Portland to sign my ELC. Portland had been clear I wasn’t destined for a minor team as long as I maintained my development.
They were ready to retire their franchise goalie for new blood. Dad’s presence in Texas was probably a sign Portland was still eager to sign me. Or so I’d thought.
If he was really here for Andrew, I needed to be careful.
Reece snapped in front of my face. “Wakey wakey, big guy. Time for the grown-ups to talk.”
“Shouldn’t you head on out then?” I asked him.
Cole chuckled. “Nice. We’re worried about you.”
I grunted as I shoved random gear from my locker into my bag. Cole reached out and pulled half a protein bar from the pile, tossing it at the trash.
“See, this is why we’re worried.”
I gave up and set the bag down to face them. “You have my attention.”
“Finally,” Reece muttered.
Cole elbowed him before he could say anything else stupid. “You just inherited a kid, and you haven’t said one word about it.”
I crossed my arms. “Could that be because your first response was about the damn duck?”
“If this is how you talk about Sunny, I’m not sure you should be in charge of a human,” Reece offered as he picked through the mess in my bag.
The familiar feeling of failure squeezed my chest. “I agree, yet here I am. Do you have anything constructive to add, or can I go home?”
Cole stepped in front of Reece and gripped my arm. “All joking aside, we’re here if you need us for anything. I know you talked to Gavin, but Avery and I are happy to step in whenever is necessary. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“What he said,” Reece mumbled with his mouth full of the emergency peanut butter crackers he’d found in my side pocket.
My throat tightened with an embarrassing flood of emotion. No matter how much shit we gave each other, these guys were my family. I knew I could count on them, but I didn’t feel right making my problem a group project.
I hated referring to Andrew as a problem, but in the end, he made my life endlessly complicated. Grandma had said the magic words when she’d warned me Dad wanted custody. Nothing motivated me quite like fucking my dad over, except for maybe protecting my brother from him.
Doing both at once? Gravy.
“Thanks, man,” I ground out.
Cole stepped back, as usual sensing when I needed space. “I know we’re all concerned about the kid, but are you okay?”
My usual response was to brush off the question, but Cole was right. Taryn was right. I didn’t have to do everything myself. I could afford to relax my control enough to talk to the only people I trusted.
“I don’t know what to do here. There’s space for him in the basement with me, but what if I can’t handle it? What if I fuck it up? What if he gets hurt because I…”
I trailed off, but they both understood. What if I had another sleep deprivation episode and did something stupid. I hadn’t really considered the way my issues could affect other people until now, and I definitely didn’t mention the added challenge of my dad.
Reece cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be the dick, but I’ll say the quiet thing out loud. Is there somewhere else the kid could go?”
Cole glared at Reece, but I appreciated his willingness to throw out ideas, even unpopular ones. Reece, for his part, held his ground under Cole’s disapproval with an upward tilt of his chin.
“He’s right. Another place might be better, but I don’t want to give Andrew even more baggage than he already has.
He’s lost his mom and been shuffled from one place to the next.
His whole life is gone based on the whims of the adults in his life.
He deserves a little bit of stability, at least for now. ”
Reece nodded. “Figured you’d say that. My advice is to call the lawyer right away.”
I checked the time on my phone—almost 10:45 at night—way too late to be calling a lawyer. “No point. He won’t answer.”
“You don’t know until you try, and you need information. Do you want me to call for you?” Reece reached for my phone, and I held it out of his reach.
“No.” From the corner of my eye, I caught Cole shaking his head.
Reece was faster than I gave him credit for. The second my attention shifted to Cole, Reece snatched the phone from my hand.
“Number?” he asked with a raised brow.
I needed to remember to pick my battles with these guys. In this case, it was easier to give in. Reece had considerably more experience with lawyers than I did, considering his mom was one.
“Fine.” I rattled off the number I’d accidentally memorized while trying to sort through the pile of paperwork before the game.
We all waited in silence as the phone rang a number of times then clicked over to voicemail. To my surprise, Reece left a very professional sounding message requesting a call back on behalf of one Mason Black. I was impressed—then he hung up and literally tossed my phone at me.
“You’re welcome,” he said smugly as I snatched the phone out of the air.
“Why can’t you be mature for more than a minute at a time?”
“I’m mature plenty of times. You just don’t get to see it because you’re hiding out in your lair or over at the hot neighbor’s house.”
I growled at his description, but Reece wasn’t phased. “I’m not wrong,” he muttered.
“Are you coming home tonight?” Cole asked a little too casually.
I rubbed the back of my neck, acutely conscious about my continued absence when I was supposed to be taking care of my duck. “I was planning to crash at Taryn’s again since Andrew is there asleep.”
The two of them shared a look, then both spoke at once. “Dibs!”
Reece got his word out barely ahead of Cole and did an abbreviated victory dance. “Suck it, Cowboy. The duck is mine.”
Cole frowned. “There’s no way it’s fair for you to get her two nights in a row. We should make some rules.”
“No way. Rules give you an unfair advantage. We’ve already established that all’s fair before the official duck off begins.”
I shook my head, amused and annoyed at once. “You two are unbelievable. This stupid duck off is getting out of hand.”
Reece pointed a finger at me. “You abdicated any say in the matter when you refused to judge.”
“She’s my duck,” I pointed out.
“Unimportant,” Reece declared, turning his attention back to Cole. “You keep your grubby hands off her until morning.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “If she’s quacking at my door, I’m letting her in, and I’m not returning her this time.”
Reece smirked. “She got out once, and you’re a sucker for returning her the first time. I hope you’re ready to come in last.”
I held up a hand. “I’m taking Sunny with me. You two idiots are a bad influence.”
Cole groaned. “Fair. Reece, let’s get home. You know Boo likes to eat your shoelaces if you’re late.”
Kenzie, Reece’s girlfriend, had moved in not too long ago along with her black kitten, Boo. None of our shoelaces had survived the first week, and we’d taken to hiding our shoes in our rooms. Unfortunately for Reece, the cat lived in his room and was very particular about his schedule.
Reece pouted as he pulled his bag over his shoulder. “Sunny had a blast last night. We threw some of those hornworms you got in the water during her bathtime. She loses her mind chasing them around. It’s hilarious. The video already has like fifteen thousand views.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You’re posting videos of my duck on your socials?”
“No,” he denied. “I’m posting them on her socials. Kenzie helped me start an account for Sunny. She deserves her own fame.”
Cole laughed and urged Reece toward the exit. “We’ll change her diaper and make sure she’s ready for you to pick her up. Do you want us to heat you up a plate for dinner?”
“I’ll handle it,” I told him, grateful at least one of them was willing to actually help. “Thanks,” I added belatedly.
“Oh my god, you’ve been in a relationship for five minutes and you’ve already turned into a mom,” Reece teased him, resulting in Cole ‘accidentally’ shoving Reece into the closed door.
“Watch the face, man,” Reece complained as they bickered their way down the hall.
Truthfully, I was grateful for both of them. They were mostly not serious about the duck off, but the ridiculous contest took my mind off the terrifying, life-changing situation waiting for me at Taryn’s.
I paused and sat back down on the bench in front of my locker. Normally, I’d leave with them, but today, I needed the quiet. Coach always let me stay as late as I needed to decompress after games. He’d threatened the privilege after I’d decked Kane, but I didn’t think he’d follow through.
Not as long as I kept doing my job.
I understood the relationship of coach to player.
As long as I was valuable, he’d let me get away with bullshit like driving off the road in a sleep-deprived haze.
Or sitting in the locker room long past when the players were supposed to be gone so I could text my…
neighbor? Hook up? Sexy ass gamer friend who lets me get her off in the wildest way.
At least she did until my little brother showed up and complicated everything.