Page 4 of Keeping it Real

Right.

Jamie had a son.Alek’s mom had mentioned that at some point during the past nine years.The boy must be somewhere around Gunner’s age.Leave it to Jamie to use his kid to weasel his way back into Alek’s life.He was going to be disappointed, though, because it wasn’t going to work.

“Good to know.Hey, Finn, if you’re calling for an autographed stick or sweater, have your dad reach out to my publicist.I’ll be glad to send you one of each.”It wasn’t the boy’s fault his father had screwed Alek over.

“Cool!Thank you.But that’s not why I called.”

Of course it wasn’t.He could almost sense Jamie hovering in the background, waiting for Alek to take the bait.The guy had never met a stranger and couldn’t stand it when anyone was miffed at him.He was used to being the beloved center of attention.A cool breeze brushed against the back of his neck as if Jamie was saying, “Gotcha.”

“Look—"

“Please don’t hang up.”Finn’s excitement had dimmed.“I feel like I know you.My dad and I watched all your games whenever they were on the hockey channel.Even on school nights.He always told me bedtime stories about all the crazy things you got up to when you were roommates in college.Especially when you traveled overseas to play against each other in Europe.”Finn paused to suck in a breath.“He said they were the best days of his life.Well, except for when me and him were doing something fun together.”

The boy’s voice cracked before it trailed off.His use of the past tense had Alek instinctively bracing his shoulder against the wall.

“Finn, can I talk to your dad?”

The boy ignored him.“Dad told me that if he couldn’t be here and I ever needed anything, I should get in touch with you.That you were him in a different place.And you would always have my back.”

The room felt like it was spinning.Alek dropped onto the bench.“Finn, put your dad on the phone.Please.”

The boy was silent for so long, Alek thought he had hung up.Until he said the words Alek wasn’t prepared to hear.

“I can’t.My dad and my mom are dead.”

Two

Sheridan Cobert’sheart raced as she hurried from room to room.While it was nice to know that particular organ was still functioning after everything she’d been through the past several days, she wasn’t pleased with the universe for giving her a reason to bring it back to life.Apparently, the universe didn’t have a mercy rule.It simply continued to test her.

A fine sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead.Her nephew was the only other living member of her immediate family, and she’d already lost him.It wasn’t like Jamie and Madison lived in a mansion anymore.For the past several years, their house was a modest rancher with three bedrooms and two baths.Sheridan knew all its nooks and crannies intimately because she’d grown up inside it.Given the amount of grief its four walls had endured over the past two decades, it was a wonder the place was still standing.

There was no sign of Finn in the kitchen.Not that there was room to move in there anyway.Neighbors stood practically shoulder to shoulder, trying to organize the fridge and freezer so they could cram in the never-ending stream of casseroles that kept appearing at the side door.

She peeked into the den, where the late afternoon sunlight flickered off the wall of trophies belonging to her brother.Jamie’s friends congregated in the room, drinking and reminiscing about his short-lived glory days.Some of the people gathered were from as far back as middle school and his junior team.Others were regulars from their father’s bar, where Jamie held court every night.

Make thatusedto hold court.

She pressed her palm against the wall as another wave of sorrow washed over her.It had been like this since she’d gotten the news of the fatal car accident three days before.

This can’t be happening.

Except it was.And not even her library of self-help books seemed to be of any use to her right now.The only thing she knew for certain was that she had to be strong because there was a little boy who was hurting likely more than she was.

If only she could find him.She’d looked in every hiding place in the house.Finn wasn’t in any of them.

Sheridan stepped outside to check the backyard.The kids from the local hockey team Jamie coached milled about aimlessly, trying in vain to look cool despite their shock and heartache.Finn worshipped those kids, shadowing them everywhere.Except not today.

That left her with only one other place to look.Behind the door she had been dreading opening since she arrived back in New Hampshire yesterday.

Jamie and Madison’s bedroom.

She forced herself to turn the knob and was rewarded with the muffled sound of her nephew talking to someone.Hattie, the family’s big Bernese Mountain dog, greeted Sheridan with a forlorn sigh and a swish of her tail.The dog didn’t bother lifting her head from where it rested on Jamie’s favorite sweatshirt.Sheridan dragged in a rough breath.The poor animal was hurting, too.

She glanced over at the display of photos on the dresser, her eyes immediately drawn to a photo of Jamie and Finn she’d taken years earlier when her nephew was a rambunctious tow-headed three-year-old.She’d expected his hair to have darkened to the same brunette shade as hers and Jamie’s, but so far, it hadn’t.

Her brother’s hazel eyes, so similar to her own, were shining with the unbridled joy of a man at the top of his hockey career.It had been a long time since she’d seen Jamie look that happy.She choked back a sob, realizing she never would again.

Finn’s voice filtered out from the partially opened closet door.

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