Page 97 of On Thin Ice

“Finn,” Morgan chided.

“You just . . .you have your life in New York, and I have mine here.”

Finn told himself to ignore the disappointment that flashed across Morgan’s face, but he wasn’t expecting the hurt.

“You’re telling me you don’t want me here?”

“No,” Finn said, hating himself. Hating that he felt this way. Why couldn’t they just figure out a way to co-exist happily, peacefully? Without pain? Without all this fucking baggage?

Morgan’s face cleared. “I just . . .I missed you.”

“You missed me.”

“Finn,” Morgan repeated.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to work my way around to this new style of parenting.”

There was that hurt again. And it suddenly, painfully, occurred to Finn that all of this was his father’s way of apologizing, without actually ever saying the words.

“I’m not that shitty of a father,” Morgan insisted brusquely. “No matter what you’re gonna claim—or what Braun’s gonna say.”

“WhatdidJacob say?” Finn knew he shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t swallow the question down.

“Do you really believe that I don’t think you’re any good?”

Goddamn it, Jacob.

“I . . .I don’t know,” Finn said carefully. Told himself that he didn’t, in fact,know, so it wasn’t a lie.

His father had the nerve to look fucking shocked, like he’d just been electrocuted. “Finn, I think you’reamazing.”

“That’s not the way it comes across,” Finn said sullenly.

“I want . . .I want you to be the best. I want you to know what that feels like. It’s . . .” His father huffed out a hard breath. “It’s all I have to give you.”

Finn was unpleasantly reminded of what Jacob had said to him that first night.If he’s this hard on you, how hard do you think he’s on himself?

He hadn’t been able to forget that, even though he’d wanted to, more than once. And now he wouldn’t be able to forget this either.

“If you really think that, you’re full of more shit than I thought,” Finn said angrily.

He skated off, fast, going towards the locker room, hoping thatone, his father wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow him in, andtwo, that if he was that stupid, that his famous face wouldn’t be enough to grant him access.

But as he was stripping his gear off, tossing it into the laundry bin, the person who approached wasn’t Morgan.

It was Jacob.

“What did he say?” Jacob asked, frustration edging his voice.

“Nothing,” Finn muttered. “Nothing more than usual.”

“He’s trying,” Jacob said.

Finn glanced up, in shock. Not expecting, aftereverything, for Jacob to ever take his dad’s side.

“I mean it,” Jacob said. “I don’t want to, but I do.”

“Well, that’s helpful,” Finn bit off sarcastically. He sat down on the bench.

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