Page 28 of Skating to Him

“Yeah, well, we played shitty tonight, and Coach threatened to split us up.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at the tray in the seat in front of me. Maybe that tidbit of info would satisfy Myles. I was not going to admit to the kiss. It wasn’t going to turn into anything anyway. It couldn’t.

“No way. Who would Coach have you play with then? You and Mackenzie were great on Friday night. What the hell happened?” His brows snapped up.

Should I blame it on my mom’s illness? No, that was fucked up. But I could trust Myles. I huffed. How could I tell Myles about Mom without mentioning Rowan’s mom and how he’d comforted me and what that led to… No. “Myles, I’m going through some shit, and I don’t want to talk about it right now.” I gritted my teeth and glanced at him.

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone. You’re in a pretty shitty mood anyway.” He rested his hand on my thigh. “When you’re ready, come talk to me. The squad sticks together. You know that.” He fixated on me.

“Yeah, I know. I just need to think on things, okay?” I met hissoftening gaze. “Thanks, man. I know you’re there for me.” Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, I side-hugged him.

The engines on the plane rumbled to life.

I buckled in as Myles did the same, then closed my eyes. A good nap on the flight home might help me see things in a different light.

Mid-week,I’d come home from classes and set my backpack next to the couch. Things had gotten better between Rowan and me on the ice, but he was keeping his distance otherwise. Maybe it was for the best. My phone buzzed in my bag, and I fished it out of a side pocket. It was Mom.

Dropping into the corner of our green sectional, I answered the call and set the phone on speaker. “Hey, Mom. Everything all right? Are you home?” If she was just getting there, it had taken longer than expected.

“I am. I’m feeling much better, almost back to normal.” Her voice was cheery. “How are you doing? You and that Mackenzie boy didn’t play so well on Saturday.”

Fuck, of course, she saw that. “Yeah, we had an off night. We’re working on it.” I toyed with a fold in my joggers and glanced out the sliding glass patio doors into the sunny afternoon, the spindly tree in the backyard shadowing the landscaping rocks and desert plants. We should get off this subject right away. “But tell me more about your diagnosis. Do you know what type of MS you have yet?”

“No, I think only time will tell. But the doctor’s pretty sure it’s the most common one, and with the drugs he has me on, it won’t progress very fast.” She exhales. “Honey, was it because of me that you played poorly on Saturday night?”

My gut clenched. “No, it wasn’t because you called me from the hospital. If that had been the case, don’t you think I wouldhave played badly on Friday?” I couldn’t let her think she was the cause of it. But could I tell her about Rowan?

“Well, okay. I’m sorry I called you on game day?—”

“No, I’m glad you called. If I’d have found out you told Nathan and not me, I’d be mad at you.” I scoffed a laugh. “I’m not a delicate flower, you know.”

“I know. You play hockey. Nothing delicate about that.” She giggled. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know I’m back home, and everything is fine.”

“Okay, thanks, Mom. I’m glad to hear it.” I sighed. I should start studying now so I could relax a little bit tonight.

“I’ll let you go. I have to call your brother now,” she said.

“Sure thing. Love you, Mom.” Movement caught my eye in the hallway. Shit, was someone home and I hadn’t noticed?

“Love you too, honey. Bye.” She ended the call.

Myles stepped out of the hallway, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey.”

“You heard that, didn’t you” I winced. I would’ve needed to tell Myles and Ace at some point anyway.

“I did, yeah. Sorry, but I didn’t want to walk out in the middle of the call and disturb you. It sounded pretty important.” He ambled toward me and sank next to me, his forehead wrinkling. “So, your mom has MS?”

“Yeah. I found out on Friday. It was upsetting, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.” I angled toward him. “How much do you know about it?”

“Not much. But damn, no wonder your game was off last weekend.” He draped an arm over my shoulders.

Leaning against his side, I said, “It wasn’t her fault. I just sucked on Saturday.” Was he going to buy it?

“She told you about it on Friday?” Myles peered at me. “Like when?”

“When I was in the hotel room before I met with the scout.” Which I hadn’t heard anything about. I pursed my lips. I should call Dean, but he would have called me if he’d heard anything.

“Does Rowan know then?” Myles asked, furrowing his brows.

My breath hitched. “Yeah, he knows. Turns out his mom has MS too.” No way to deny all this shit now.

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