Page 12 of For the Win

“Mark and Dad are going to sit down with Dad and Chelsea,” JP adds.“They’re waiting until after the appointment.”

“Okay.”Everly nods.“That’s good.”

“You were great that night,” Ash tells Everly, smiling.“I damn near died when you went off like that.”

Ash was at the game in the press box and had stopped by Dad’s box between periods when this all went down.

“Thanks.”Everly beams.

“And you’re right, Everly,” JP says.“About family and money.”He looks around.“Hopefully they can settle things.It really seems that Grandpa owes Dad and Uncle Mark money.”

We’ve learned that Dad didn’t steal money; he actually borrowed it from a trust fund that belonged to Mark and Matthew, which was their inheritance from their mom, with legal documents all drawn up.But he was supposed to pay it back, and he hasn’t, which is why they ended up suing him.

The media had a field day with that, holy shit.It’s died down from when the suit was first filed, but everyone knew it was going on and that there was bad blood between the King of Hockey and his sons.

I don’t know why he’s not paying them back, but that worries me too.Is it the Alzheimer’s?Is it because he has no money?Christ, I hope he hasn’t bankrupted the team.Or himself.

“Théo,” I say.“Can Dad afford to pay back the money?We all know that the Condors aren’t a big money-making team.”

Théo blows out a breath.“I don’t know.I know the finances of the team, but not his personal situation.”

“What if...”I hesitate.“What if he can’t pay it back?What then?”

Everyone trades uneasy glances again.Silence as heavy as a Zamboni falls over the room.

Everly speaks first.“We’ll deal with that when we come to it.”

We all nod.

“What else do we need to do?”Everly gazes around at us.

“Make sure Dad goes to the doctor,” I say.

“And make sure Uncle Mark and Dad sit down with Grandpa and Chelsea,” JP adds.

“If they don’t...we’ll need to get involved.Are you all ready for that?”Everly asks.

We all speak up in the affirmative.

“Okay.We’ll check in with each other in a couple of weeks.No need to meet unless things don’t go right.”

“Sounds good to me.”I lift my beer bottle to my lips.

Everly pulls her phone out and starts tapping the screen with her thumbs.“Texting Wyatt,” she says.“Telling him he can come over now.”

Her boyfriend Wyatt Bell, known to players as Bellsy, lives in the same building, a three-unit condo.

“He could’ve been here,” I say.

“He wouldn’t.”She sets down her phone and lifts her wineglass.“He says it’s family stuff, and it’s awkward that he plays for the team.”

I respect that.

Lacey heads to the kitchen and Théo heads outside to get the barbecue going.They offered to make dinner for us.Bellsy arrives and heads straight to Everly, sliding a hand around the back of her neck and kissing her forehead.

She closes her eyes briefly, smiling.

I’ve never seen my sister like this.It’s weird, but nice.I’m happy for her.

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