Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brooke
I spent the afternoon cooking dinner for Brandon and me.
It wasn’t like I had anything else to do.
I needed to be careful about going out in case I ran into Logan.
He couldn’t know that I was still in New York.
I had called my dad earlier and told him what I’d done.
He wasn’t pleased initially but understood why I had to do it.
“Hey, something smells delicious.” Brandon smiled as he walked into the kitchen.
“You’re home and right on time. Dinner is ready to be served.”
“Good. I’m starving. I’m going to go change.”
There was a knock on the door. Brandon turned and looked at me.
“You better go upstairs in case that’s Logan.”
“Do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t take the chance.”
I sighed as I left the kitchen, and Brandon answered the door. Sitting at the top of the step, I heard Owen’s voice. Shit.
“Hey, we need to talk about Logan and what that bitch did to him.”
I bit down on my bottom lip as I sat there and listened to their conversation.
“You know, this is all your fault, bro.”
“How is it my fault?” Brandon asked.
“You went and hired that bitch, brought her to Logan, and she played him like a damn fool. What’s that smell? Are you cooking?”
“It’s chicken. Would you care for some?”
“Hell yeah, I’m starving. Training was brutal today.”
They walked into the kitchen, and I knew I had to come clean to him. I didn’t want him going around calling me a bitch and thinking that I was someone I wasn’t. I stood up from the step and walked down the stairs. As soon as I reached the kitchen, Owen glared at me.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” he yelled at Brandon.
“Calm down, bro.” He put his hands up.
Owen walked over with his finger pointing directly at me.
“You moving on to the next brother? I swear, if you were a guy, I’d punch the shit out of you right now.”
“Let me explain.”
“You are a cold, heartless bitch. Logan showed me what you said to him. He’s so torn up inside, and I hate seeing my brother like that,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “I have no idea why you’re still in New York, but I suggest you get the fuck back to California as soon as possible.”
“She’s not going anywhere, Owen, and you need to calm the fuck down,” Brandon spoke.
“What?” He glared at him. “Is she staying here?” he shouted.
Brandon opened the refrigerator and handed Owen a beer. “Take this and go sit down. She’ll explain everything.”
He grabbed the beer from his hand, shot me a look, and sat at the table. Taking a deep breath, I sat across from him, and Brandon handed me a glass of wine.
“Thanks.” I smiled at him.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“If you can keep your mouth shut long enough, I will.”
Brandon snickered, and Owen sat there, shaking his head.
“Logan was giving up. His fear of being unable to play like he used to prevented him from even trying. He told me that if he couldn’t be Lightning Logan again, playing hockey would be useless.
I had no choice but to do what I did. I didn’t mean any of it.
I love your brother more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. ”
“Wait a minute. I don’t understand. You hurt the fuck out of him.”
“I did hurt him, but I also made him angry. Your brother has made a career by taking out his anger on the ice. It’s the one place where he can truly focus. He needs that anger towards me to get back out there and become the hockey player he once was.”
Owen narrowed his eye at me. “You’re right. He told me he spent two hours on the ice this morning.”
“I know. His coach called me and gave him two weeks of practice on his own. When the time is right, I will explain everything to him. I will make things right, but for now, he can’t know that I’m still in New York. He has to believe that I went home.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell him. As much as I hate seeing him like this, I understand why you’re doing it. I’m sorry for calling you a bitch. It’s just that I’m very protective of my brothers.”
A small smile crossed my lips. “I understand. There’s no need to apologize. I would have called myself the same thing, or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how you can do what you’re doing. You must be hurting pretty bad.”
“I am. But have you ever heard the saying, ‘If you love someone, set them free?’ I know he loves me, and I love him, but I could never live with myself if he gave up on his dream. His happiness is all that matters to me.”
Owen brought his finger up to his eye.
“Bro, are you crying?” Brandon smirked.
“Fuck you. I’m not crying. I just have something in my eye. Probably all that dust floating around at the gym. You are a pretty special woman, Brooke, and someday, if I ever decide to feel something for someone, I hope she’s like you.”
“Aw.” I smiled as I got up from my seat and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re sweet.”
“Okay. Okay. Let’s not go and make a big deal out of this.”
I kissed the top of his head, sat back down, and the three of us talked some more over dinner.
Logan
Kyle had called me earlier to let me know that Lawrence told him to shut the arena down for the next three days and to put up a sign that they were working on an ice issue, but I would pay up the ass for it.
I didn’t care. I needed the time to get my shit together and keep my mind off of Brooke.
He also agreed to let me have the ice before and after hours.
Grabbing my hockey bag, I headed back to the arena.
“He must owe you big time for shutting down the arena,” Kyle said as he handed me a key.
“Yeah. Actually, he does.”
“Make sure to lock up when you leave, and I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
Walking to the storage room, I pulled out the orange cones and set them up on the ice.
Grabbing my stick, I weaved in and out of the cones doing crossovers to start and then transitioned into backward crossovers, increasing my speed gradually each time.
After about an hour, my leg felt weak, and my speed had significantly decreased.
Throwing my stick down on the ice, I skated off and sat on the bench, trying to catch my breath.
After about ten minutes, I returned to the ice and continued my drills.
This was all I had now. This was where my focus needed to be.
Looking at the clock, I saw it was two a.m., and I was physically exhausted.
Locking up the arena, I headed home, quickly showered, and climbed into bed.
I lay there, staring at the empty side where Brooke used to lie.
I had envisioned a life with her, and I would have given up everything to go wherever her job took her.
That was how much I loved her. Believing that she didn’t have feelings for me was impossible because I felt it.
I know I did. Or maybe it was just my love that was blind. Closing my eyes, I shut her out.
When my alarm went off at six a.m., I stumbled out of bed. The pain in my leg wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. That was a good sign, right? After getting dressed, I grabbed my phone and headed to the kitchen. Against my better judgment, I sent Brooke a text message and set my phone down.
“I don’t believe you never cared for me.”
A few moments later, my phone beeped as I was making some eggs. When I picked it up from the counter, there was a reply from Brooke. It was three thirty a.m. in California. Why was she not sleeping?”
“I cared for you as a patient and nothing else. Let it go, Logan.”
Maybe she couldn’t sleep because of her ice-cold heart.
“I am letting it go, Brooke. I’m resuming my life. A life that only consists of hockey and fucking all the beautiful women I want.”
“Good for you. Make sure you use protection. But I do hope you find someone special someday.”
I clenched my fist and jaw after reading her last message. Anger ripped through me like a tornado. I threw the eggs in the sink, grabbed my bag, and went to the arena.