Page 5 of Find Me Again

"His injury is healing up, which is great, because, let me tell you, that guy who's the forward now is nowhere near as good," Aunt Susan went on, and a part of Ryan wanted to stay and listen, but the other, bigger part needed a breather.

He got up and excused himself, purposefully avoiding his mother's gaze. She'd never asked and he'd never told, not even after he'd come out, so it was hard to say how much she knew—or thought she knew.

Either way, he wasn't up to talking about this.

The kitchen offered him the respite he needed, since it was empty and filled with little things he could do, like unloading the dishwasher, clearing the countertops, and preparing tea for his grandpa. Still, as he did all those tasks, the thought of Neil being so close after so many years wouldn't leave his head.

As far as Ryan knew, they'd never been in town at the same time after high school. At first, his leave hadn't lined up with Christmas, then there were his two tours, and by the time he'd gotten a chance to spend the holiday break with his family, Neil had been the one who couldn't make it back because of the NHL schedule.

Of course, it was also possible that Ryan had gotten lucky in the past and simply hadn't known about Neil being here at the same time, but with how gossipy this town was, it seemedunlikely. It took, what, an hour for him to find out today?

Hearing the steps down the hall, Ryan straightened. For a second he thought it was his mom coming to check up on him, but the steps were different, slower.

"I hope you're not trying to serve me the tea once it's cold," his grandpa said right as he appeared in the door.

"No, sir." Ryan gestured towards the steaming mug. "I only just poured the hot water in, so it should be perfect for you."

"Har, har. Comedians don't wear suits and carry guns, you know."

"Maybe they should," Ryan said as he watched his grandpa step closer. "Besides, no suit or gun on me now."

"Good." His grandpa patted him on the chest. "You're a good boy, Ryan."

He raised his eyebrows, not knowing what to say. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I'm simply stating a fact. You've done well for yourself, and you're an honest, hard-working person. You've made it."

Maybe it was because of the news about Neil or because of the long day of travel, but the words hit Ryan in a way he didn't expect.

"If I have, it's because you all raised me well," he finally said, but his grandpa shook his head and patted him on the chest again before turning towards the door with his mug in hand.

"That was a start. The rest is all you."

Ryan stared after him, leaning heavily against the counter. He'd never had ambitions of becoming a star—of hockey, politics, or anything else. All he'd wanted was to do a good job of whatever he decided to pursue and to lead a happy life like his parents. That dream had shifted and evolved over the years, and he'd found himself far more successful in that first part than the second, but the core of it hadn't changed and he assumed itnever would, at this point.

And even though Ryan was aware that "making it" in the popular sense didn't really mean anything in itself, it was still good to hear his grandpa say those words about him simply living his life.

It might be too little to some, but not to him.

Not to him.

CHAPTER THREE

It took Neil's parents two days to notice.

Well, to be fair, it had probably taken a few hours, but they'd given him two days to settle in first.

"Honey, listen," his mom started when the three of them moved to the living room after dinner, supposedly to watch something. "We can tell something's wrong. And whatever it is, we'd like you to talk to us—"

"There's nothing to talk about, Mom."

It was a reflex, really.Deny, deny, deny.

"First of all, don't interrupt your mother," his father said from his seat next to her on the couch. "And second of all, we don't lie to each other in this family, remember?"

Neil swallowed back a humorless laughter.If only you knew.

"Sorry, Mom."

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