13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Mac
“Are you going to be okay if your family isn’t one hundred percent in our corner?”
“Of course.”
Bash frowned and crossed his arms. “What if they criticize something?”
Em shook her head. “They won’t.”
“But if they do—”
“I’m not twelve anymore. I’m not going to run off or anything if someone’s mean to me.” She tossed a grape in her mouth and I had to adjust myself when she popped it between her teeth. “Plus, we’re perfect. This is the best our relationship has ever been. The closest we’ve ever been. What’s there to criticize?”
She smiled at me and I grinned back, finding her logic perfectly rational. I knew they weren’t close to their families after Em’s brother Rob died, but I hadn’t really heard anything bad about them beyond that.
It would be a perfectly fun week. Something I needed badly after last night’s loss. Once I said goodbye to my teammates for our sort of deserved break, I had my phone off all morning, and it was so damn nice. A few days cut off from the rest of the world sounded like heaven.
At the end of the week, we had a trip with the Evergreens to a forest retreat that promised to help us reconnect and recoup as a team for a few days. All in all, this summer would be the best of my life.
I glanced at Bardot, expecting him to share my smile. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn't frowning. His eyes were wide, his jaw slacked just enough to pull his face long without opening his mouth, his brows knitted together. He was worried. Not even grumbly or cranky. Pure worry wrenched his face and my stomach sank.
The lake house couldn’t be that bad. Surely.
Twenty miles outside of Vancouver, my mood improved radically. We were singing eighties songs at the top of our lungs as Bash drove through winding, forested roads that brought us closer and closer to the lake.
It was hard to be angry when I was with the two of them. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about losing the finals. There was next year—if I was signed on again. It wasn’t worth it to bother Coach or any of the management about that right then, either. If I was renewed, I was renewed. If not, I would have to figure it out.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Em said, stretching up to shut the radio off.
“In this economy?” I scoffed.
“Yes,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“I have no thoughts.” I folded my arms across my chest and smiled.
She wasn’t convinced. “Bash?”
“On it.” Bash guided the car to a pull-off with a view overlooking a clear cutting.
Em got out of the car and the two of us shared a look in the rearview mirror before following her.
“I love it out here.” Em spread her arms wide, and I joined her, catching a little breeze beneath my hands.
I pulled her close to me, slipping inside her jacket. She leaned against me, arching her warm back against my hands.
She studied my face, her big blue eyes so tender and so caring, I thought I would cry. “What’s on your mind, Savage?”
I chuckled and exhaled hard. “I’ve had the future on my mind a lot lately.”
She didn’t respond, just watched me, listening.
“And?” Bash asked.
“There’s so much uncertainty—”
“Like what?” Em asked, searching my face again.
It was hard to say the words out loud. What would I do if they thought I wasn’t worth it? I couldn’t do long distance with them. I had to be in the same city. The same home. The same bed. It was the only way I could sleep at night. The only way I felt safe.
“Talk, Mac.” Bash’s firm voice pulled me out of my head.
“Whatever it is, I need you to tell me.” Em’s eyes creased at the corner and I realized she was thinking it was something about her.
I dug my fingers into the soft flesh above her ass and anchored myself. “What if they don’t renew my contract?” I whispered, getting the easiest part out of the way first.
Her shoulders dropped, and she wrapped her arms tightly around me. “They will,” she said with way more confidence than I felt.
“We don’t know that, though. I lost the game last night—”
“That was a group effort.” Bash frowned. “Don’t blame yourself.”
“It’s hard not to. If I had just—”
“Don’t waste time going back and forth with what you could’ve done.” His frown deepened. “It won’t change anything.”
I tilted my head and motioned for him to step closer so I could lean against him without letting go of Em. These two knew more than they wanted to about how unyielding the past was. And here I was, sniveling over hockey.
But hockey was my life. And they were also my life.
Right then, the two parts of my life intersected. Would they continue on the same path, or would hockey take me farther from them than they were willing to go?
“That’s not all that’s bothering you.” Bardot wasn’t asking. He was still frowning, assessing my every movement.
I couldn’t avoid this conversation. I didn’t really want to, either.
“What if I get traded?”
“You won’t—”
I kissed Em’s nose and shook my head. “Anything’s possible. What if I’m traded to some crazy place like—” I searched my head for the farthest place they would find ridiculous. “Maine?”
Em snorted and then sobered when she saw I was serious.
“Michael,” Bardot wrapped his arm around me, turning us into a sandwich, with me as the filling. “ If they trade you to Maine, we’ll go to Maine.”
“Arizona? It barely rains there—”
“If they trade you, we’ll go to Arizona.”
“Em?”
Bardot was serious. There was no hesitation in his statement. But I needed both of them. I couldn’t take Bardot from her and I couldn’t live without her.
She kissed my chest and snuggled against me. “Wherever you go, we all go.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t you if one of us had the more important job?”
My face fell, and I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes. I would. But my job isn’t more important—”
Em laughed and shared a look with Bash, who joined her. “Mac, you’re a hockey player. Your schedule takes priority—”
“I’m sorry—”
“No. Don’t be. We knew that going into this. I’m a social media manager. Sure, I love the Evergreens and they’re like family, but if they were willing to trade you, I would follow you. I’m loyal to you .”
Bash pressed his hand to my back, stroking me through my shirt. “I cook food. Everyone everywhere needs to eat.”
“But you guys need time to think about it—”
Em shook her head. “We’ve already talked about it. We’ll go wherever you go.”
“You did?”
“Of course.” She smiled and stroked my cheek. I blinked, savoring her touch. “We were just waiting for you to be ready to talk about it.”
Bash kissed my neck, leaving his lips against me. “We have flexible jobs. You don’t. And we’re okay with that.”
“You are?” Tears stung the corners of my eyes and I blinked hard to press them away, which only clouded my vision.
“Oh, Mac,” Em murmured, reaching up to wipe my cheek with her soft hands. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“I guess no one’s really chose me first. Ever.”
Bash’s hand stilled, and he smirked. “I don’t believe that for one second. You’re definitely the guy who picked his own team for dodgeball.”
“Yeah, but who picked me? The gym teacher?”
“How long has this been weighing on you?”
I hesitated, and Bardot tilted his head. “Seriously, how long?”
“A long time?” I grimaced. “Like two months?”
He smacked my ass and pointed to the car. “Get in there and don’t ever treat the man I love like that again—”
“Bash—”
He shook his head. “Two months ago was the time to talk. Not now.”
I stood there, mouth gaping. “Seriously?”
He smirked and opened my door. “Just get in the damn car. I want to get there before the sun goes down.”
“We have like five hours until then—”
“And we told our families we’d be there at six.”
“We’ll get there around six—”
His laughter filled the car as he slid into his seat. “They’ll send search parties at 6:01.”
“Seriously?” I glanced at Em.
She frowned. “No, but we’ll never hear the end of it.”
My stomach lurched as Bash gained speed on the shoulder, merging back onto the highway, hurtling us toward people I was increasingly less sure I wanted to meet.