Page 99 of The Blame Game

But he’d never been able to say no to her so he followed her into the room, shutting the door behind them.

“I tried to be good!” he said as she wheeled over to the bed.

“Oh, I know you did. And Dad’s doing the bare minimum, as per usual.” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah,” Shea agreed with a sigh. There was little else to say about that.

“So what’s going on with you?” Shea asked as she transferred from her wheelchair to the bed.

He sprawled on the floor, stretching his back.

“Oh, you know, just trying to save the world.” Emma grinned down at him, getting comfortable on the bed and propping herself up with a few pillows.

She worked as a grant writer for a disabilities non-profit and loved her job.

“How’s Alex?”

“Good.” She smiled. She and her boyfriend lived in Ottawa where he worked as a commercial real estate law clerk. “Trying to convince me not to overdo it.”

“Which you inevitably ignore,” Shea pointed out.

“Yes. But he loves me anyway.”

“Good thing someone does,” he shot back teasingly.

“Hey! You love me and you know it,” Emma said as she tossed a throw pillow at him. He batted it away, then used it to prop up his head so he could see her better.

“Yeah, you’re alright,” he agreed.

“Did he have to work this weekend?” Shea asked. “Is that why he didn’t come?”

Alex was a great guy and everyone got along well with him so it was a surprise not to see him.

“Yeah. Someone’s out on paternity leave so the office is a little short-staffed.”

“Well, tell him I said hi.”

“I will.”

A wave of affection washed over Shea. Growing up, they’d spent so many nights like this, Shea sprawled on the floor of Emma’s room as they talked about life. He hadn’t realized until now how much he’d missed this time together.

“What about you?” She flipped her long sandy-brown hair over her shoulder and divided it into sections, weaving them together into a braid. “What you been up to?”

He shrugged. “Work mostly.”

“And axe throwing with NHL players?” she teased.

“Just … one player,” he said, not surprised she knew what was going on with him. “And a couple of other buddies.”

“Mm-hmm.” She shot him a doubtful look. “The one player you were hotly defending tonight, in fact.”

“Yeah, look, Dom’s a client and he’s going through a hard time right now. It feels shitty to sit there and say nothing while Dad drags him.”

“Is he a friend as well?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that all he is?” She arched an eyebrow. “Cause it kinda seems like more to me.”

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