Page 73 of Love Me Boldly

“Oh crap.” There was a beat of silence, and then he said, “Tracey said she didn’t want you to know. Sorry, man, but you were going through a hard enough time. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

I wasn’t sure if it made it worse or better if he knew thisentiretime or not. “You’ve known since the beginning?”

“Called Tracey one night to hang out, and he was screaming in the background. Then she and Holly got into an argument about how to calm him down. It all happened so fast it took me a minute to figure it out, but yeah. Listen, I’m sorry. But she was adamant she didn’t want you to know. It was senior year. You’d already gone through the Sophie stuff…you know?”

The Sophie stuff. Like my best childhood friend dying was athingto be managed. My lip curled, and I bit back the anger before it came across. “I can’t freaking believe it.”

“Wait. How doyouknow? Oh…you found her, didn’t you? You’re still looking? After all these years?” He sounded part shocked, part disgusted.

“I’m not hunting her down,” I drawled and rolled my eyes. Not like he could see that part. “I’m at Jackson’s hockey camp, and guess who showed up to pick up theirkidwhile I was helping him with skates after his drills?”

“Who? Oh…oh dang.” He coughed and then laughed, and then I wasn’t sure if it was a cough or a laugh, but it irritated my senses. “That’s wild. She walked back into your life after all this time, huh? That’s kind of cool. Kismet or whatever that’s called.”

“Yeah, Tanner. Kismet.” This guy. He might have been hit in the head with too many hockey pucks this season. Swore he kept getting dumber by the week.

“So what’d you say?”

“I said hi. She said goodbye.”

“That’s it? After all this time?”

I scratched at the scruff on my jaw. “And then I showed up at The Grille and told her I was staying in Deer Creek for six weeks.”

It was a definite laugh this time that filled my ears. Tanner howled like there was a full moon. I shook my head and checked the kitchen cabinets in my rental until he composed himself. There were basic seasonings I could use and some coffee for a Keurig. The small two-bedroom place wasn’t much, but it was mostly used as a winter ski chalet. From the back patio, I could potentially ski right out the backdoor and down to the lift. Probably why it costs more than the upper two floors.

“That’swild, G. You’re not actually considering it, are you?”

I couldn’t tell if he thought it was a good thing or not. Probably wasn’t. There was a chance the high schoolers over the years had hurt my brain too much. Maybe I was the one getting dumber by the minute.

“In the rental now. Only packed for three days, so I need to head home and get some stuff, but yeah. I’m pretty serious. You going to tell me this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done?”

“Not thedumbest. But maybe the riskiest?” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Listen, Tracey and I are friends, right? We don’t see each other much, but we talk every couple of weeks. And she’s been worried about Holly for a long time. There’s a lot going on there, with her folks, her aunt, the restaurant…Jonah. I just…don’t screw with her, you know? And give her time? Frankly, I’m not sure six weeks is enough.”

“Has to be enough to start a foundation. What’s going on with her folks?”

I’d assumed she had no contact with either of them, but was I wrong?

“Not helping. I’m staying out of this and not giving you anything.”

“Well, I know about Caroline’s stroke and that she half-owns the restaurant.” The fact she never shared that had hurt in the moment, but that was always how getting to know Holly had been. Tiny, quick jabs of pain in between the times I’d never felt happier.

“Huh. So you’re there and staying. Can’twaitfor Tracey to find out. That’ll be fun. Maybe I should come down.”

“Stay far away.” Tanner turned everything into a joke and a good time. He was good to have around, definitely, but not now. “How’s the offseason going anyway?”

He was in Iowa, working hard to get his big shot. His team had lost in the playoffs in the last series before the finals, fighting for the Calder Cup, the AHL’s Championship. He had two more years on his current contract, but he was also getting older. He either got called up soon and given his shot, or he’d soon have to join me in teaching. He was only twenty-seven, but even now he was running out of time. Not that I’d ever tell him that, but it was hard to watch nineteen—and twenty-year-olds getting to play when you were still down below, fighting it in the trenches.

“It’s all right. My body is sore, likealways. But I’ve been healthy for the most part, so I’m working with a trainer on my agility and flexibility to help with some of that. The guys and I are going down to the Keys in a few weeks for a long weekend, but I was thinking of coming to see you.”

“Give me time alone with her. Let me see what progress I can make on my own.”

“All right, G. Man, this is wild. Glad you’re not pissed at me or anything, but I do think it’s cool you found her. Just move carefully, right? From what Tracey said, she’s not going to leap into your arms and declare it love at first sight.”

“Trust me, I know. Talk soon, Tanner. Keep your chin up.”

“You too, man.”

I hung up the phone, tossed it to the corner, and then picked it back up again.

---