Page 154 of Desperate Pucker
She frowns like she’s confused. “For what?”
“For how Alina treated you guys. She was so rude. She was never interested in being part of our family. I should have ended it with her way sooner than I did.”
“Oh, honey.” She gives my arm a soft squeeze. “You don’t need to be sorry for that.”
I tug a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I do. I wouldn’t put up with that now. But at the time, I really loved her and wanted to make it work.”
“I know that.” She’s quiet for a second. “You’re different around Madeline. In a good way.”
A gentle smile appears on her face. “The way you look at her and the way you look at everyone else is like night and day. You look at her like she’s everything to you.”
An intense feeling rises up inside of me. “I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s been through a lot. She’s a fighter. She’s not afraid to call me on my crap and bust my chops.”
My mom chuckles.
“She’s also one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met,” I say. “She’s so sweet and kind and loving. She gets me in a way no one else does.”
My mom’s smile grows. “Oh, honey. You are so smitten.”
I let a smile break free. “I think I am.”
A half-hour later, we leave my parents’ house with a massive container of cabbage rolls.
I glance over at Maddy sitting in the passenger seat of my car, smiling at the leftovers in her lap while I drive home.
“Your family is the best,” she says.
“They loved you.”
She looks at me with a hopeful smile. “Really?”
I nod. “They want you to come to every family dinner from now on. My mom is ready to adopt you.”
Maddy goes quiet. When I glance over, she’s gazing down at her lap again, the look in her eyes sad. “I can’t believe how welcoming they were to me. I’m not used to that. Not even with my own family.”
Pain lands at the center of my chest. I think back to Casino Night. Her brother and sister were so rude and dismissive to her. They didn’t even hug her. They treated her like a stranger that annoyed them.
Anger pricks up inside of me, but I force it back.
I ease to a stop at a red light, then reach over and grab her hand in mine.
“My family will always welcome you. They’ll always treat you like you’re one of us. I know it’s not the same as feeling that from your own siblings. ”
Maddy smiles softly. “That means everything.”
The light turns green and I pull forward.
“It’s so cute how you are with your family.”
I smile at the road ahead. “Is it?”
“Yeah. You’re the perfect oldest child, always helping your siblings and your parents.” She’s quiet for a second. “Your mom told me about how you bought her and your dad their house. That was so generous of you, Ryker.”
A tight feeling knots through my chest. “It was the least I could do after all they did for me. All the sacrifices they made for me so I could play hockey.”
All the extra shifts my dad worked at his construction job to pay for my gear and training and league fees. All the hours my mom spent driving me to and from practices and games while carting my baby siblings with her. All the vacations they gave up so that I could go to hockey camps and tournaments.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if they hadn’t done what they did to support me,” I say, emotion squeezing my chest. “All the money they spent, all the hours they worked, all the things they gave up to help me succeed. A house honestly seems small in comparison.”
