Chapter 6
ATLAS
Two weeks later
Thomas
When the hell are you coming back?
Benny
Don’t listen to him. Stay away. Stay far away.
Jacob
What the hell did you do, Benny?
Thomas
You really don’t want to know. But come back home, Atlas. Your babies need you.
Jacob
Please stop calling me his baby. It’s getting weird. Especially with the forced nap time.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as others in the team group chat joined in on the hilarity.
It had been two weeks since the funeral, and that meant my time in Ashford Creek was coming to a close.
I didn’t want to leave. What the hell did that mean?
Usually, when summer came, I spent as much time as I could with my family, and with most of the guys on this group chat.
A few of my teammates had been traded over the years, and that meant unless we did our best to stay in contact, we tended to drift apart.
Only seeing each other when we played against one another, at the All-Star game, or at an awards ceremony, didn’t preclude a good relationship.
Yes, everyone was far more connected these days thanks to this lovely invention called the internet, but it wasn’t quite the same.
However, the guys in this group chat were all on our team.
None of us had been traded yet, which was always a distinct possibility.
The new season would be ramping up, there would be specialty placements, training, and of course, with the draft, there’d be a new age of babies on skates, trying to play with the big boys.
Considering I had once been one of them, I couldn’t truly complain about that.
I had been damn lucky that there had been a good set of veterans on the team when I had joined the Portland Gliders.
I had spent my entire career with them, and while some of them hadn’t been too accommodating, the rest had been open arms and open books.
They taught me how to be a professional hockey player.
Because the limelight was on us. Yes, I might be slightly protected in this town because they protected me from the media storm, but it didn’t always last. And no matter what, I still had to deal with the small-town media storm.
Images of Lizzie and me with our heads bent to one another, speaking about everything and nothing, had already hit the Gazette.
Not only had it been online, but they printed the damn thing.
It was only a matter of time before I saw it all over Page Six in a larger news piece.
My publicist and agent hadn’t caught on yet, but they would.
Because everybody wondered why Atlas Carter hadn’t settled down yet.
Me
Reynolds, how are the twins?
Reynolds and his wife had been together since they’d both been sixteen.
I ignored the oddly familiar ache. Lizzie and I had been in a different place than them, with Reynolds’s wife wanting other things, but it still hurt.
Unlike some younger relationships, this one had lasted for over a decade.
They had four children, two older boys and now, twin baby girls.
And in a small blessing, the girls had come during finals week of the Stanley Cup.
And if we had been playing in it, Reynolds would’ve missed the birth of his girls.
So maybe our being terrible on the ice for a couple of games was good for his family.
Reynolds
I don’t remember what sleep is, and Danielle is a goddess. She is the best fucking person out there.
Then Reynolds sent along three different photos of the twins, and the team chat exploded with emojis, questions about how the babies could be so cute with Reynolds as a father, and so on.
And then everybody decided to show pictures of their kids and pets.
My lips twitched as I scrolled through them all, liking them, so that way they knew I had seen.
Hockey players had babies. It’s what they did. They got married young, had big families, and the WAG rooms at the games were always packed.
I had never brought a girlfriend or any form of significant other to any team events.
No, two of our teammates last year had come out on the national stage—not the first, thankfully—and now brought their boyfriends to WAG events.
I wasn’t sure what they were going to change the name to since wives and girlfriends didn’t work anymore, but you couldn’t be a Portland Glider and not be inclusive.
They kicked you off the team quite quickly.
Unlike some teams, Portland actually cared about its teammates and wanted everyone to feel included.
So by the end of summer, I had a feeling anything labeled WAG would have the new branding, and my teammates’ boyfriends would feel included. Because they very well should be.
Of course, as soon as our teammates had come out, I had been quietly pulled to the side by Thomas, asking if I was finally going to bring a boyfriend to an event so that his wife would stop bugging him.
I had rolled my eyes and kissed Thomas on the cheek before shaking my head.
While a lot of my friends and family were bi or pansexual, I was sadly straight. As much as I loved the guys as my friends, I didn’t want to fuck any of them or be in a relationship with any of them.
Hell, even dating women at this point seemed like a chore.
Then I thought about Lizzie and realized maybe it wasn’t that much of a chore.
She’s the one I had let get away.
Because I had been so fucking stupid that I thought it had been a good idea.
I pushed those thoughts from my mind and said my goodbyes to the group chat. It would continue to go off, and I would have to catch up later, but I had to head to the lovely summer festival.
The joys of living in a small town.
Over the past two weeks, I’d done everything I could to help Lizzie, but truly, the best way to help her was to give her space.
I knew Teagan and Felicity, as well as some of the other women in town, had practically made a schedule to make sure that Lizzie was never alone.
I only showed up in the evenings, when she had a few moments to herself, and made sure she ate.
She would smile at me, and I would hug her close and then walk away.
She didn’t need the questioning glances or far too curious looks from anyone in town. If Lizzie needed me, I would be there. I would hope that even after all this time, even being separated, she would know that.
So my job then was to take care of Will.
I hadn’t meant to help with the kid so much, but other than being forced to throw that rock that one time, the kid was pretty nice.
My brother liked him and thought he was a good worker.
Neither one of us had known what to do for Lizzie other than to be there for her, so I did what I promised and tried to find a way to help Will.
That meant being on the ice with him, helping out with Rune, and volunteering for the damn summer festival.
Jasmine moved next to me and smiled kindly. “I am so glad that you’re here, Atlas. We’ve missed you in town.”
Jasmine put her hand on my forearm, and it seemed as if she were just friendly, not flirting. But I wasn’t sure. I looked down at it before taking a step back. People were already staring, some giving us curious looks, others were very disappointed.
I wasn’t cheating on Lizzie by standing next to Jasmine. I didn’t even like Jasmine, but this town was set in its ways, and as much as I loved it, I hated it too. “Well, I’m glad I could be here. Because I love this town, even though I’m not here often.”
“You bring light to the town. And memories. I’m glad you’re around.”
I blinked. “Anyway, I promised my mom I would dance with her at the festival once I find her.”
Jasmine continued to speak about committees and other town events and I felt bad that I was ignoring her. “Anyway, save me a dance? Friendly. I promise.” She looked around as if searching for Lizzie and I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“He promised me he’d dance with me next,” Will put in as he held out his arm.
I looked down at the kid, trying not to laugh. With a smile, I reached forward and slipped my arm over his. “Why, thank you, gentle sir.”
“It’s truly no problem. I have been looking for a sugar daddy.”
I pressed my lips together as Jasmine rolled her eyes. “I’m glad you’re having fun on your break at least. Have a good night you two.” She said her goodbyes and went to talk with another committee group, leaving the two of us standing there, confused.
I closed my eyes. “If somehow a story of me and an eighteen-year-old boy gets on some form of social media, I will have to beat you.” I let go of Will’s arm, and he just grinned at me.
“Like the town would say something like that. Plus, I’m a catch. Just saying.”
“That sure of yourself, are you?” I teased.
“No, but that sure of someone else.” He wiggled his brow and gestured towards Lizzie.
I scowled at the kid. “Your teacher and I are just friends.”
“Sure. And I’m the pure sense of responsibility and joy over here,” he said wryly.
“Is there something I should know?” I asked softly.
The kid shook his head. “Not at all.” He cleared his throat and gave me an odd look. “You don’t have to hang out with me, you know. I know you’re just doing it because Ms. E. feels obligated.”
“I don’t do anything that I don’t want to do,” I lied.
“You’re here, and you had to hang out with that woman for how long? No, I’d think of something else to do.”
“Fine. There’s a ton of shit I have to do that I don’t like.
That’s what happens when you’re an adult, especially in a job like mine.
But Will, if I didn’t want to hang out with you at all, I wouldn’t.
I promised Lizzie that I wouldn’t be an asshole when it came to you, and she’s been dealing with so much shit recently, it just made sense for me to be here.
Plus, you’re not ugly, so I guess that’s fine. ”
“So you don’t want to date me?”
“You’re disgusting, you know that?”
“I can’t help how I was raised.”