Page 26 of Moms of Mayhem
I passed the last row of houses in town and crossed through the wide expanses of ranch land that backed up to the Gore Range mountains. Ty had renovated my parent’s ranch house over the last decade and now lived on their property, surrounded by large expanses of nothing but his animals and the one neighbor he tolerated. It was a far cry from his high-rise apartment in Chicago when he’d played for theStorm, but the peace and solitude our mountain town brought him suited my brother.
Living in a valley between two mountain peaks meant the roads were long and twisty, weaving alongside the Eagle River. It had been a long time since I’d spent a winter here in Linwood, but I knew these roads like the back of my hand.
The rink sat about two miles outside of town, backing up to the water. Every night here was busy with multiple age groups using the same rink, and the parking lot was full yet again. I turned on my blinker, listening to the steadyclickas I circled for an open spot close to the entrance when a black truck turned into the row from the other end, nose pointed at me.
I grinned, hand resting lightly on the horn and ready to fire. “Not today, Conway.Not today.”
10
The second I saw the name flash across my screen, I cursed under my breath.
I hit accept and braced myself. “Coach.”
He didn’t waste time. “Before we get into anything else—how’s your mom?”
That question hit harder than I expected. My throat tightened. Not because I had an answer, but because I didn’t.
“Honestly?” I stared straight ahead, the mountains a blur outside my windshield. “I don’t know.”
It was the truth. I’d just found out about the Parkinson’s diagnosis myself—something my mom had been hiding for God knows how long—and the words still felt foreign in my mouth.
“Gavin mentioned the diagnosis,” Coach said after a beat. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“She fell last week. Broke a couple ribs. ER visit, hospital stay. Recovery at home’s not an option, not without help. She shouldn’t be living alone.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, a little gruffer this time. “That’s a tough one.”
I grunted in response, my hands locked tight around the steering wheel. What else was there to say?
“I can’t say I’m thrilled about the way this all went down, Conway. The front office has been in meetings all morning combing through your contract for a breach.”
There it was.
My stomach knotted, and I pulled the car over, needing solid ground under me.
“I’m in your corner, though,” Coach added, voice steel-edged but solid. “Hockey’s not forever. You’ve paid your dues. You’ve thrown a wrench in the recovery plan, yeah, but?—”
“You know me. I’ll be back as fast or?—”
“I wasn’t done,” he snapped. “You’d think by now you’d have learned when to shut up.”
I clamped my mouth shut. “Yes, sir.”
“I do know you, Beckett. You’re reckless, but you’re smart about it. Calculated. You push the edge harder than anyone I’ve ever coached, but you always know the line. That’s why I’m going to fight for this. Because I believe you’ve still got more to give.”
I let out a slow breath, some of the weight lifting off my chest. “Thank you.”
“Don’t get soft on me now. This isn’t going to be an easy sell. Management’s pissed you left without clearance, missed appointments, blew off check-ins. But I told them—family’s family.”
“I know I handled it wrong. I’m sorry, Coach.”
“I’m not your priest. I don’t need an apology. I need youto remember that we’re a team, and you matter—to this franchise and to me.”
My jaw clenched, emotion burning hot behind my eyes. I dropped my chin to my chest and tried to breathe it down.
“I watched Mason light it up in Dallas last night,” he said after a pause. “Guessing he’s not with you?”
“No, sir.” I’d watched the highlights too—my little brother’s hat trick in the third. “Didn’t make sense for both of us to miss games. I told him to stay.”
