Page 73 of Hot Puck
I offered to take care of Whit because Bex is also there—with Cami—wherever there is, except Dana and Fenton Barnes, Cami’s mom and dad, took her back to their room. And as much as I wanted to ask Whit for more information, she was visibly upset, and I didn’t want to cause her any more distress.
Despite what was happening, everyone was ushered back to the hotel after the game to celebrate our win in the first round of the season as planned.
No one was surprised we won. We’re playing stellar hockey right now and I don’t see that changing. The mood at the hotel was jubilant to say the least. Rogues’ staff and players and families, all piled into multiple rooms with food and drink and replays of the best plays of the game rolling on screens spread throughout the rooms.
I did my best to enjoy the moment, to celebrate with the team—the girls. But there was no stopping my gaze from searching out Gem. I saw her a few times. Fleeting glimpses that did nothing to soothe the agitation of not knowing what was going on.
Surprisingly no one other than a select few seemed aware there was an issue. And with Oakley, Blake, and Gem making appearances it looked as though nothing was amiss because Cami rarely attends any Rogues events.
The coaches were tight-lipped too, and I’m positive Bran knows more than he said but I’m not going to force him to break confidence with his wife because I can’t stand not knowing what’s happening or where Gem is.
Or Cami.
To anyone looking in on our celebration they wouldn’t see a problem, wouldn’t notice the owners flitting in and out in an attempt to hide the situation. And they succeeded. Most in attendance were clueless to the drama unfolding behind the scenes.
But I knew.
The girls knew.
Their concern, for their friend, for Cami, for Gem’s absence, showed on their faces and in their searching eyes. It was torture for all of us to pretend we weren’t worried, so I made excuses about the girls’ bedtime and brought us up to our suite.
It took forever to convince the twins to go to bed. And in the end, I resorted to bribery. A day out to do anything they want, go anywhere they want.
We’ll probably end up in New Orleans. We haven’t ventured that far from home yet and I know they’re keen—I’m keen—to explore more of our new home state.
They wrangled an extra promise to take Whit with us too.
I smile despite the tension holding every muscle rigid.
Cass and Stell have blossomed into confident young women in recent weeks. And it’s not only the move that has been good for them, allowing them to come into their own.
It’s Whitney Higgison.
It’s their relationship with Pa.
It’s the found family the Rogues have given us.
I might have had a small bit of doubt over the move. A teeny-tiny niggle of regret in not keeping us in our family home. But I can’t argue with the way we’ve all come out from under the cloud of grief.
Yes, we miss our parents. Every day. But Gem has helped with our sadness by talking about them, by hanging their pictures on the walls of her house—ourhouse.
There’s no denying her house is now our home. We’re more comfortable there than we were in the last few months we lived in the home we’d grown up in.
I’d go as far as saying the girls love it in Baton Rouge. Love Gem.
Fuck, after what I let slip the other day, I think I’m in love with her!
She fascinated me from the beginning but after my chat with Lindberg, my subconscious must have been pulling all my emotions together and forming a conclusion I’ve been too blind or stupid to see.
I’m falling for Gem.
Maybe I’ve already fallen.
The anxiety I feel right now could only be because I love her. It’s the same way I feel when any of the girls has an issue. Cass usually. She’s been the one to struggle the most with my parenting, at least outwardly.
Not that we’ve had a lot of issues, just the occasional explosion of emotions when she doesn’t like what I’m telling her to do.
It’s expected, and if Gem wasn’t living with us, I’m sure things would be worse. She manages to calm us all when things get unsettled. Just her presence, her clear?—
