Chapter Fifteen
Dean
Iwatched the Terriers game with Sam, Maverick, and Cole that night from Maverick’s apartment.
It had been fun spending all that time with them.
Sam had transformed my hair, and I knew from that moment on that she would be my go-to going forward for all my hair care needs.
She couldn’t believe that I had been dyeing it on my own for so long.
“Honestly, you have the money, Dean. You can pay someone to do this,” she teased, brushing it back from my face.
“The chemicals aren’t as harsh as what comes in a box.
” She smiled at me in the mirror. “And...” Sam leaned forward.
“Consider this my gift now that you and my brother are whatever the two of you are.”
My gaze shot to where Cole was sitting with Maverick as they spoke softly together. “Don’t... We haven’t told Cole yet,” I whispered. I felt my face burn hot at the admission.
“You need to.” Sam patted my shoulder. “Because my nephew is low-key into you.”
And now guilt rattled inside my stomach.
Every single time Cole laughed at something I said or asked me about the band or spoke about anything, I carried that around like a scarlet letter.
I knew he had a crush on me. I saw the way Cole looked at me, and it was going to break his heart no matter how gently we tried to tell him the truth.
It was going to hurt me to do that to him, because he was a good kid.
I hung my head. “I know.”
So now, as we sat on the couch at the apartment, Cole next to me, I couldn’t stop the nervousness I felt.
I tried to keep a smile on my face and cheered happily when the team scored a goal, but I didn’t want to keep lying.
Beau and I were going to have to come clean when he came home before it got out of control.
“Are you going to spend the night at our place more often?” Cole asked.
My eyes went wide, and I caught the way Maverick was staring at me. “Uh...” How was I supposed to answer that? This was a conversation he should be having with his father right now.
“I mean, it’s cool if you and Dad have that kind of relationship. He hasn’t dated much since Mom died. I just want him to be happy. You seem to make him happy. Plus, you’re pretty cool, and my friends are going to be so jealous that my dad is dating Dean Frost.”
Wait, what was happening? “I’m sorry?” I shrugged off my leather jacket as sweat broke out against my shoulders and back. He knew?
“You and my dad are together, right? I figured it out this morning when I came home to find you in his bed. I mean, come on, Dean. Why else would you have been there?” Cole blushed and turned back to look at the television as the game came back on. “I might be young, but I’m not stupid.”
Sam ruffled his hair. “No one said you were stupid, Cole.”
He swatted her hand away. “I was going to ask Dad when he called me tonight, so if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. If you’re trying to keep it on the DL or whatever.”
My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I felt like my throat was full of sand, and I couldn’t swallow. Maybe I was going to pass out right now.
“Son of a bitch!” Cole jumped to his feet. “Did you see that?” He was pointing at the television just as the replay came on to show me what I had just missed.
Someone from the opposing team shot a puck that came up and appeared to hit Beau in the face.
Beau had gone down hard on the ice and hadn’t gotten back up.
This was bad. This was really, really bad.
I felt sick to my stomach as I watched them replay it over and over again, my palm covering my mouth to contain the scream that was threatening to escape.
Until fingers found the ones of my free hand, and I looked up to find Cole’s blue eyes watching me with concern.
“He’ll be okay,” he assured me, his voice tight. Cole sat down next to me again. “Dad has had worse. He’s strong. You’ll see.”
“Much, much worse,” Sam added.
Maverick squeezed in next to me. “We can fly out right now. Just say the words.” He brushed the hair back from my forehead.
“What? Stop. You don’t want to get on a plane.” I rolled my eyes, but when I saw he was serious, I felt tears sting my eyes. “You’d do that for me?”
He nodded. “Of course, Dean. You’re my brother, and I love you. You came to me when I needed you the most. When my head was so fu—messed up over this whole Jackson situation. You were there without me even asking. If you want to fly to Canada tonight, we’ll go.”
“Thank you.” I sniffed.
As badly as I wanted to go, I couldn’t. That would lead to questions neither Beau nor I wanted to answer, and it wouldn’t be fair to Cole to leave him behind. That was his father. If anyone should go see him, it should be his son. And I had no right to take him to another country with me.
Cole squeezed my fingers. “You should go. He’d want to see you.”
“If anyone needs to go see Beau, it’s you. You’re his son, Cole, and I’m not putting myself first. I’ll pay for your ticket. Sam can go with you,” I told him.
Sam held up her hands. “Why are we all acting like my brother is in a coma right now? We don’t even know the details. Why don’t we just wait to see first?”
Maverick’s phone began ringing, which meant it had to be Jackson.
He flashed a smile before he answered it.
His voice was soft as he climbed to his feet to speak with his fiancé.
I wanted to follow him. I wanted to know what had happened.
To make sure Beau was okay, that he was awake and speaking.
But I had no claim on the man. We weren’t official.
He wasn’t my anything, but he was Cole’s father and Sam’s brother.
“Are you holding up all right?” I asked them. “Do you need anything or want me to call someone for you?” What else was I supposed to do?
Cole burst into tears, then threw himself at me.
He wrapped his arms around me, and mine immediately went around him to pull him closer.
Sam smiled at me as she carded her fingers through his hair, her own eyes full of tears.
I held Cole as he cried, while ugly, angry sobs wracked his body.
I wasn’t sure my words would do anything, so I soothed my palms against his back.
Maverick stopped in the doorway when he saw us, surprise and concern written all over his face.
I jutted my chin at him, wanting to know what Jackson had said.
“So, uh, Beau’s going to be just fine.” He coughed, and Cole pulled away, brushing the tears from his face. “He has a broken nose, and he lost a tooth, but other than that, he’s fine.”
Cole jumped to his feet. “Really?”
Maverick nodded. “Yeah, really. Jackson’s at the hospital with him, and—whoa!” He laughed nervously when Cole engulfed him in a hug. “Okay, sure, we can do that.” He patted his back lightly.
“Sorry, I just... I was worried. He’s my dad, and he’s the only parent I have. Seeing him go down on the ice like that was scary, you know?” Cole stepped away from Maverick. “And, uh, I’m sorry for crying on you like that.”
I waved a hand at him. “It’s cool, man. You can cry on me any time you want.”
When his phone started ringing, Cole looked like he was going to burst into tears again.
“It’s my dad,” he announced. “Hey, Dad.” His shoulders loosened as his muscled relaxed.
. “Yeah, no, Maverick told me. I’m with him, Dean, and Sam.
We were watching the game.” He glanced over at me.
“I hope you don’t mind that I kind of figured it out. About you and Dean. It’s cool, though.”
I blushed and looked away. I could only imagine the conversation that was going to bring on later. If Beau even wanted to see me after this.
“You look nervous.” Maverick nudged me as he sat down. “Cole knows now. Beau’s going to be just fine. What else do you have to worry about?”
Sam sat down on the other side of me. “You and my brother make a cute couple.”
“What is this? The third degree?” I folded my arms over my chest as I watched Cole.
He had moved away to speak with his father, giving himself a little privacy.
It had been terrifying to watch Beau get hurt.
I couldn’t imagine doing that in person.
Was that what it would be like all the time? I shuddered at the thought.
Sam leaned closer. “It doesn’t happen a lot. And he could wear a cage.”
“A cage?” I squeaked. What the hell was that? The only cage I could think of... I shook my head. Nope, now was not the time to think of that.
She giggled. “Not that kind of a cage. One for his face. They’re mandatory in high school and college games, but some of the NHL guys wear them, too.”
“You thought she might for his cock, didn’t you?” Maverick hollered with laughter. “You should have seen your face!”
I was blushing again. “Shut up, asshole. Let’s talk about you and your boyfriend, huh? And the things he does to you.” That’s stopped him really quick. “That’s what I thought.”
“Dean?” Cole was watching me now, a smile on his face. “Dad’s going to call you in a little bit. He asked if you could stay over in the apartment again. With me. If that’s cool.”
I guess that meant Beau was okay with Cole knowing about us.
“That is most definitely cool,” I assured him.