Chapter 13
Thirteen
Josh
I walked off the ferry whistling, happier than I’d been in too damn long.
And it was all because of Reegan. Meeting her, being with her, reminded me that I enjoyed being in a relationship.
Not for the sake of a relationship, but because I liked having someone I could talk to. Someone I could laugh with.
Hannah was that person when we met, but it didn’t last once she moved to Amethyst Bay.
At first, I thought it was because everything was new for her, and she was lonely.
She wanted to spend all her time with me instead of meeting friends and having her own life.
Christy tried to get to know Hannah, but Hannah always resisted getting close to Christy.
Once we were married, it was even worse, and after Evie was born, nothing I did was right.
Hannah made me doubt everything about myself every step of the way, right down to who I was.
My job wasn’t good enough, our sex life wasn’t good enough, my parenting wasn’t good enough. The common denominator was me.
Since our divorce, she kept her thumb on me, reminding me whenever I started to think I could try again with someone new that I still wasn’t good enough. That I failed Hannah, and I would fail anyone else.
The women always listened to Hannah and chose to invest their time with someone other than me.
The first time it happened, I tried to convince the woman Hannah was jealous, but once Hannah got married, that reasoning didn’t hold up. She had someone else, someone who made her happy. I didn’t.
Again with the common denominator.
Things with Reegan weren’t going to last forever, but being with her gave me a tiny bit of hope. Maybe there was someone out there who wouldn’t be scared off by my ex-wife.
Reegan’s car was in Ashlyn’s driveway when I parked in mine. I debated going over there and kissing her, but I didn’t want to push my way between Reegan and Ashlyn. She promised to tell her friend, and I would respect that. Even if it meant waiting until the next morning to get my lips on hers.
I let myself in and went straight to the shower to wash off the grease and dirt from my day. Everything went wrong that could, but even that didn’t kill my good mood. Sex had a positive effect on me.
My phone buzzed on the counter while I was in the shower, but I ignored it. When it buzzed again, sounding like a phone call instead of a text, I was worried. I hurried through the rest of my shower and grabbed my phone before I grabbed a towel.
I missed a text from Christy asking if I was home, then a phone call with no message. I called her back as I ran my towel over my body.
“Are you home?” she asked, a worried tone in her voice.
“I am. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Dad’s having a bad day. I need a few minutes to shower and fix dinner. I was wondering if you could come over and hang out with him. I texted Oscar, too.”
“I’m just getting out of the shower. Let me send Evie a text so she knows where I am when she gets home, and I’ll walk over.”
“I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to enjoy your summer with her.”
“We’re good. I promise. We were going to play mini-golf tonight and get dinner, but there’s still plenty of time for both.”
“You don’t have to come—”
“Chris, I’m coming. I love you, and I love Coach, and so does Evie. We’re good. I can hang out while you do what you need to do, and Evie and I can go out when you’re settled. I promise. I’ll see you soon.”
She exhaled a strained breath, and I made a mental note to check in with her more. “Thanks, Josh. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time.”
She released a breath, then said bye and hung up.
I didn’t know what it was like to watch someone you loved die slowly.
I loved Coach, but it wasn’t the same as being his kid.
It was all on Christy as an only child, too.
She moved back in with him two years ago and realized he wasn’t doing well.
She pushed him to go to the doctor, and they found lung cancer.
He was never a smoker, but a lifetime of breathing in exhaust from ice cleaning machines, and not realizing how dangerous it was, took a toll.
I dressed in shorts and a collared shirt since The Dragon was a little nicer restaurant. I thumbed a quick text to Evie letting her know I would be visiting Coach and to let me know when she was home, then I slipped on my flip-flops and headed next door.
Christy’s parents bought the house next to my parents shortly after they were married.
Our parents were friends, and when Christy and I were young, we played together constantly.
Her mom died when she was only six, and I could still remember my parents having Coach and Christy over for dinner multiple times every week.
Coach found a new love in coaching hockey, stepping up to lead the youth team a year after his wife died.
He coached the team until a few years ago, offering private coaching sessions to kids who’d aged out of his program.
He loved hockey, and he was the closest to a legend in Amethyst Bay.
Former players always thanked him when they were offered scholarships to play in college or were drafted to play professional hockey, crediting Coach Jack Ross with teaching them the skills that got them there.
I knocked once, then let myself into the house, knowing it was unlocked. “Hello?”
“In here,” Christy answered.
I followed her voice to the living room. Their house was laid out in a similar way to mine, but instead of the entryway leading to the kitchen, the hallway was longer and sported a full bathroom, laundry room, and a large closet that had been stuffed with hockey gear forever.
Still was since Christy took over coaching hockey from her dad.
She was a star in her own right, a highly recruited forward with a full ride to play in college.
She opted to stay close to home and played at SUNY Plattsburgh.
After college, teams all over Europe wanted her to play for them, but Christy didn’t want to leave home.
She gave up playing to follow her other passion and got a job as an ER nurse.
She was checking her dad’s pulse when I walked into the living room, smiling at me with a tightness around her eyes and mouth.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” She stood, walking straight into my arms for a hug. “Thanks for coming.”
I nodded, kissing the top of her head. “You could have called me before now.”
She shrugged. Christy was like Oscar and me. She didn’t like asking for help, and she struggled to admit she couldn’t do everything. Usually because she actually could do everything, but she didn’t need to. We considered each other family. And family showed up for each other.
“Is that Josh?” Coach asked from his recliner. He looked frailer than a few days ago at Evie’s party. Christy had wheeled him over to the party for an hour. He mostly stared out at the water.
Seeing a man who’d always been larger than life in such a state was hard to take. My parents died in a car accident, here one day and gone the next. It was a shock, but I never saw them suffer or decline. It was a whole different kind of loss. Both sucked.
“Hi Coach. How are you?”
“Any better I’d be twins,” he said, the old line making me chuckle.
Christy hid her tears from her father, a smile lifting her lips.
I winked at her and nodded toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “I got this.”
She nodded in thanks, then left me with her father.
“She’s worried about me,” Coach said once a door closed down the hall.
“Yes, she is,” I agreed, taking a seat next to him. “How are you really feeling?”
“Like I’m dying,” he said. He turned to me, his eyes crinkling more than usual at the edges as he studied me. “You look different.”
I snorted. “How is that?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Lighter.”
“Is everybody decent?” Oscar called out from the front door.
“Hell no. Never have been,” Coach shouted back.
I snorted. “We’re in the living room.”
“Josh?” Oscar came around the corner. “I didn’t know you were here. Where’s Chris?”
“She’s in the shower. I just got here.”
“She thinks I need a babysitter,” Coach grumbled.
“She wants you to be okay.” Oscar clapped Coach on the shoulder and took a seat on the other side of him from where I was.
“I’m dying. I’m not going to be okay.” Coach coughed violently, his entire body shaking. His shoulders bunched, and he leaned forward as his body fought to clear whatever was in his lungs.
“She doesn’t want to think about that,” Oscar said when Coach settled against the back of his chair again. “None of us do.”
Coach smiled. “I’ve had a good life. The best kids ever. All of you. Chris, you two, all the kids I’ve coached. I’ll live on in you guys. I still might get a few to the pros.”
“I’m sure you will,” I told him.
“But I’m tired. I’m ready to go see my Betsy.” He closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face.
“She’ll be waiting for you,” Oscar said. His voice was soft, strained. He understood the pain Coach had lived with for decades. Oscar had gone through the same.
“That’s what it is,” Coach blurted. He sat upright and looked at me. “You met a woman. That’s what that look is about.”
Oscar narrowed his eyes at me, tilting his head in question.
“Coach said I look different.”
“He’s in love,” Coach declared.
I snorted. “Hardly.”
“But there is a woman,” Coach said.
“I… How the hell do you do that?” I asked.
Coach laughed loudly, the sound bolting out of him like lightning. “I knew it!”
“You met someone?” Oscar asked.
“She’s… I… It’s Ashlyn’s friend. She’s staying there for the summer. It’s nothing serious.”
“But it is something,” Coach said, preening like a peacock with his feathers out. “I knew it.”
“What did you know, Dad?” Christy asked, joining us again. Her wet hair was tied up in a twist on top of her head. She wore a pair of navy pajama shorts with tiny stars on them and a fitted tank top that matched. Her eyes were red, but I knew better than to comment on that. “Hey, O.”