Page 89 of Keeping it Real

“Improving.Finn is a little hesitant to head out for Thanksgiving break tonight, but this actually works out better,” Sheridan told her.“She can board at the vet while she heals.The staff agreed to FaceTime Finn so he can see her twice a day.Which reminds me, I need to get Finn’s phone from Claire before we fly out.He left it at their house the other night.”

“Claire’s not here yet.She’s still dealing with the police.”

Sheridan rocked back on her heels.“The police?”

“Yeah.Someone broke into their house while she and the kids were at church this morning.Likely the same crew who robbed Trey Van Horn and Dex Fletcher from the Growlers last night.”

“What?!”Sheridan noticed as she glanced around the room that the mood was more muted than usual.

“There’s been a rash of burglaries at the homes of pro athletes lately.The Growlers players had precautions in place and not much was taken.”

She felt a fission of fear crawl down her spine.

“What about at Claire and Gus’s?Did they lose a lot?”

Freya shook her head.“Claire’s parents are in town for an early Thanksgiving.Her dad skipped church.Luckily, he’s a retired cop and was able to scare them off before they got their hands on anything.”

“Very lucky.”Sheridan heaved a sigh.“And very scary.”

An image on the monitor caught her attention.Alek was warming up on the ice.When he shoved his mask on top of his head to grab a drink of water, she gasped.

“What happened to Alek?He looks like he’s been in a fight.”

Freya gave her an odd look.“You don’t know?”

Sheridan felt a little guilty for hiding away last night.“Uh, no.I was busy dealing with Hattie.I haven’t seen Alek since we took her to the vet.”

“He got in a fight with Brad Merriweather yesterday,” Freya announced.

“Oh my gosh!What were they fighting about?”

Freya scrutinized her for a drawn-out moment before replying.“Henrik didn’t say.He was busy getting the new kid into town for tonight’s game.Brad has been suspended indefinitely.”She lowered her voice.“The team is negotiating with his agent to admit him to inpatient counseling.They’re citing his temper.He tried to strangle Timothée.”She leaned in closer.“If you ask me, I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy doesn’t have a concussion disorder.And self-medicating with drugs, even if they are legal, doesn’t help.”

Sheridan plopped down into the nearest chair.“Wow.I missed a lot while I was distracted with Hattie.How are Brooke and the boys?”

“She took them home to her parents.For good.”

“That was a smart move,” Sheridan said with a nod.

She was proud of the other woman for standing up for herself.It wasn’t always the easiest thing to do.There were so many times in her life when Sheridan had gone with the flow, toughing it out and not rocking the boat for the sake of her family.Mostly for the sake of Jamie.

The one time she had decided to take the reins in her life, she’d imploded a friendship.And crushed her heart in the process.Her hands shook just thinking about it.She could right that wrong.But at what cost to her future with Alek?

The WAGs began to file out of the room and into the arena to find their seats before the horn blew at the start of the first period.Freya and Sheridan followed.

“How is Valentine?”Sheridan scoured the group of WAGs, looking for Sloane.It was odd not to have the woman filming content before the game.“I hope Brad didn’t injure him, too.”

“The only thing hurting on that boy is his heart,” Freya said.“He and Sloane broke up last night.”

Her announcement had Sheridan nearly tripping over her own feet.“What?!I swear.I feel like an entire lifetime happened in the past forty-eight hours.Do you have any more tea to spill?”

“Only that Zack Picard is pouting because Sloane made a scene at his restaurant when she walked out on Timothée.Of course, a video of it landed on social media.Not only that but both the Growlers were being robbed while they were enjoying dinner there.”

Sheridan slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head from side to side.

“I know,” Freya said.“You can’t make this stuff up.”

The Mayhem were already down two goals, and they weren’t even through the first period when Claire slipped into her seat next to Sheridan.

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