Page 122 of The Trade Deadline
Escape was apparently not an option: after a few minutes in the tent, he found himself volunteering to find more ice for the cooler and couldn’t find the basement in the main house.
“You’re lost. What do you need?”
He jumped, hand on his heart as he laughed at how stupid he was being. An older woman with silvery-blond hair stood behind him in the kitchen. She’d apparently been watching him as he opened three consecutive doors and still hadn’t discovered the basement.
“Yes. I’m supposed to get ice?—”
“You’re the boyfriend.”
This must of course be Alba Lingren, Lars’s grandma. He could see it in her smile, maybe a little more knowing than Lars’s but with the same shape of it and the way it lit up her eyes. Then he processed what she’d said, and his heart stopped. He felt cracked open like a nut, one well-placed blow to have his insides spilled out for her to do with as she pleased.
“I— I don’t— I’m not?—”
She made a dismissive gesture that shut him up. “Come, I’ll show you where the ice is.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“You want to bring it, but can’t find it. I know where it is, but can’t carry it. Teamwork, yes?”
He wasn’t given a chance to protest as she disappeared back into the kitchen and down another hallway. The last thing he was going to do was leave her alone and abandon his task, so he quickly ran after.
“So you’re the infamous Mormor.” He trailed behind her on the steps down. If she was going to accuse him of being a boyfriend, he didn’t see much point in playing coy. She knew who he was; he knew who she was.
“Those boys talk too much.” She flicked on a light switch and waddled over to a large freezer next to a washer and dryer. “You’re infamous around here, too, you know.”
Ryan made a face. “Good things, right?”
“Mostly. Anders likes you, which isn’t easy. He’s very picky about new players, especially so late in the season. Worries about the team chemistry. You are a good player, but I think it’s more than that.” She laid a hand on the freezer, barring him from getting the ice. “Lars is very complimentary of his teammates, almost all of it superficial. Things he’s heard or thinks he’s supposed to say.”
“I know I’m not that good?—”
“You are,” she scolded. “When he talks about you, I can tell he sees you as a person, not a name on a roster. He doesn’t have crushes often, that one. Too busy with family and hockey, always. Even as a boy, he never liked a boy heknew. Always celebrity crushes, someone unattainable he could like but otherwise ignore.”
Ryan wasdyingto ask who his celebrity crushes had been, but he bit his lip. Not the time.
“He’s never brought a boy home, either,” she continued, her look mischievous. “And now here you are, home but withouthim. The wrong brother brought you. Lillen must hate that.”
“He does,” Ryan conceded. “I don’t know what to do about it.”
She took her hand off the lid and opened the freezer for him. “He’ll come around, but he’ll have to do it on his own. He’s a good boy. He stayed home and helped when his morfar was sick. He helped me move. He visits and is good with thebarn. The children. He’s too damned stubborn, though. Won’t let Anders outdo him. Playoffs coming up, too.” She tsked. “It’ll get worse before it gets better, I think.”
Ryan stepped forward to grab a couple bags of ice. “Thanks.” He swallowed. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome, but I have a favor to ask before you go back up.”
“Sure. Anything.”
Her grin made her look decades younger, her eyes bright and shining. She took out her phone. “Could we take a selfie together? For Lillen? He’d be so jealous.”
The request startled a laugh out of him. “Yes, definitely.”
NHL Playoffs: Round One Summary
Abigail Cunningham, The Baltimore Sun
THE NHL PLAYOFFS ARE underway, and for the first time in over five years, the Blue Crabs are part of the action! We’ve all been excited to cheer them on against the Florida Pythons and I know I personally was ecstatic when they won Game Six here in Baltimore, but before Round Two starts in a few days, let’s go through and see where things stand around the league.
The Western Conference
