Page 58 of Breakaway

“I’m…uh…actually in Los Angeles.”

“Whaat! What are you doing there?”

She sent another sideways glance at Jase, this time smiling. “I’m having a little weekend vacation. With Jase.”

“You’re still seeing him?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you back later. Bye, Kyle.”

She ended the call.

“Your brother?”

“Mmm. He has a little problem he wants me to fix.”

She told him the story and he frowned.

“He does want you to lie for him. How old is he?”

“Eighteen.”

“Shit.”

“He’s just a kid.”

“When I was eighteen, I was earning my own living. I’d been on my own for a couple of years.”

“Well. He’s in college. I still have to support him while he goes to school.”

Jase’s mouth twisted. “I suppose. I didn’t go to university.”

The touch of bitterness in his tone made her shift in her seat to look at him. “That’s okay. You had other talents.”

He nodded and accelerated fast to merge onto the freeway.

“Didn’t you finish high school?” she asked tentatively.

“Yeah, I did. I was playing major junior hockey and I was living in Brandon. With another family. They made sure I went to school, although it was kind hard keeping up with it when we were on the road a lot. But I did finish. I even took a few university courses.”

“That’s good.” It must have been hard to combine school and a hockey career at that young age. Kids that young weren’t ready to be living away from home. Yet Jase seemed to have done okay. “Was it hard for your parents to let you move away when you were so young?”

He glanced at her. “I don’t know. I never thought about it.” He tipped his head to one side. “It was just what we had to do. I guess it probably was hard for them, but…my parents made a lot of sacrifices for all of us so we could be successful.”

“That’s what parents do.”

“Yeah.”

She’d bet it had been a lot harder for his parents to let him go than he even realized. “Where are we staying?” she asked, changing the subject. Sunshine flashed and glinted off speeding chrome and glass surrounding them on the freeway.

“The Ocean Front, in Santa Monica.”

“Oh. I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s a small place, a boutique hotel, very nice.”

She was sure it would be, knowing Jase. More excitement tingled in her veins.

Her cell phone rang again as they were checking in. She moved away from Jase in the lobby, her boots clicking on the bamboo floor. She needed to get out of these winter clothes. Kyle again. She sighed. “Hello?”

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