Mack blocked her path. “You could stay.”
“I’m calling an Uber,” she threw back over her shoulder, ignoring the man in front of her. “Colin wanted to hang tonight anyways.” Sidestepping Mack, she practically ran into the hall.
“On that note,” Mack said. “I’m going to crash.” He disappeared down the hall.
Josh could barely look at Taylor as they finished eating. Once done, they lounged on the couch and flipped through channels.
“So,” Taylor started. “Tell me about this brother that’s coming to town.”
“You don’t want to know about him.”
“I do.”
Josh scratched the back of his neck and looked into her expectant eyes. “He’s an ass.” He sighed, studying her to see how much of the truth to tell. All of it. He didn’t talk to anyone about his family, but suddenly found himself wanting her to tell him what to do. “We haven’t talk in two years because he hit his girlfriend.”
“This Michaela you always talk about?”
“Yeah, she’s like my sister. I wanted her to marry Ethan so bad. I wanted her in my family for real. But she deserved better than him. The night Ethan struck her, she left with her father. They were in a car accident; one she almost didn’t survive. After I saw her in that hospital, I could only bring myself to look at my brother long enough to clock him.”
Taylor grabbed his hand. “This is going to be hard for you, isn’t it?”
He nodded, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. “He’s been calling me, and now he’s coming here with Dad. I don’t know what’s going on. Why now?”
“Were you guys ever close?” she asked, stroking her thumb against the back of his hand.
“When we were younger, we were inseparable. Michaela’s family has been close to ours for forever, so I was always trailing after the two of them.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her free hand playing with his hair. “I can’t imagine ever hating my sister.”
“I don’t hate him,” he said after a moment. “At least, I don’t think I do. I don’t want to hate him. I want him to be my brother again. But after everything… I don’t know if that’s possible.”
“It’s okay to move past it,” she said, smiling at the way she reformed his own words. “It’s okay to miss him.”
“I think I’ve heard that before.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, well, it’s good advice.”
“Will you go with me to see them? I don’t think I can do it alone and there’s no way I’m taking Mack.”
She considered it for a moment before looking him straight in the eye. “Of course I will.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Back at you, buddy.”
He chose to ignore the ‘buddy’ remark and imagine it was just the two of them - no dead boyfriends to grieve, no brother to forgive, no coach/father to please. Just the two of them and all the time in the world.
Chapter Nine
Fall in Ohio could be a beautiful thing. The crisp chill in the air made for perfect sweatshirt weather. A rainbow of orange, green, and red leaves covered the ground as a soft cushion beneath the feet of college students as they talk of the upcoming football game or weekend tail-gaiting. The nice weather didn’t last long, so they had to enjoy while they could before the long, frigid winter took over.
Leaves crunched beneath Taylor as she shifted against the tree. She was sitting on the ground, sketchbook propped on her knees, nose scrunched in concentration. She didn’t hear him walk up, despite the lack of stealth fall noises created.
“Taylor.” She heard it in the back of her mind, but kept drawing.
“Taylor.” Louder this time.
A foot nudged her leg, and she startled out of her trance. Closing her book quickly, she looked up, squinting into the sun.
“Hey, Colin,” she said.
“You good?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Just working on something.”
“Homework?”
“Something like that.” It was a lie. The truth was, Taylor hadn’t been able to bring herself to work on much homework since retrieving her sketchbook. She’d even skipped her classes today in favor of drawing. There was a picture she just couldn’t get right. A picture of Danny. It looked like him, but she couldn’t get it out of her head that something was missing, a feeling.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, realizing she’d zoned out again.
She nodded, and he took a seat beside her.
“Can I ask you something?” He looked at her and her mind told her this was a bad idea, but she agreed anyway.
“Shoot.”
“Did Abigail cheat on me?”
Those warning bells that had been going off in her head - yeah, she should have listened to them. Taylor had always been a terrible liar. Danny said it was because she had too many tells. Chewing on the end of her hair? Well, she couldn’t do that anymore. Shifting her eyes away was less obvious beneath her glasses. But, tapping her fingers against the side of her leg? Yes, she was doing that.
Colin looked from her fidgeting hand to her face and sighed. “That’s what I thought.”
“But, I didn’t tell you anything,” Taylor argued.
“You didn’t have to.”
“Look, you need to talk to her about this.”
“Like she’ll tell me the truth,” he scoffed, scrambling to his feet and looking down at her. “Don’t try to lie, Taylor. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Because of my damn tells.” She leaned her head back against the tree, remembering what Danny had said to her. At least I know you’re always being honest with me. Then he’d laugh.
“Whatever.” He kicked the ground. “I have to go.”
Taylor watched his retreating form as she stood up and brushed off her pants, the mood officially killed. Sighing, she walked in the direction of the dorm, passing the football stadium, or “The Shoe” as her football obsessed classmates called it.
Saying a quick “hi” to people she passed in the hall of her dorm, she hurried to her room, where Abigail sat hunched over a textbook at her desk.
“You need to talk to Colin.” Taylor tossed her bag onto her bed.
“He’ll live,” Abigail responded, closing her book and rubbing her temples. “I hate accounting.”
“Abigail, seriously, Colin’s a nice guy, and he just came to me asking about you cheating.”
“I didn’t cheat.” She shrugged.
“Yes, you did!”
“Not technically.”
“Oh, don’t give me all this bullshit about lists,” Taylor huffed in exasperation. “You’re never supposed to actually meet the people on your list.”
“Come on, Tay.” She tilted her head to the side, regarding her friend. “Can you honestly say you wouldn’t go for Grant Mackenzie given the opportunity?”
“No, I wouldn’t. Especially if I had a boyfriend.”
“Ah, I forget, you’re more into the nice boys. You know, the kind who never even make a move.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Taylor growled. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Whose fault is that?” Abigail stood abruptly, bring her face-to-face with Taylor. “I do have eyes. Eyes that can see a totally hot boy who obviously likes you, but you’re so frickin’ closed off that you can’t even see it. That boy would do anything for you. Not that I know why. You’re frigid and have no clue how to have fun. I don’t know what your damage is, but don’t judge me for living a little.”
All the anger drained from Taylor’s posture and her shoulders sagged as the weight of her roommate’s words struck her. A cry escaped her lips. Taking a step back, she dropped onto the edge of her bed and hunched forward.
Abigail stood watching her in shock and complete ignorance of what was going on. “Taylor,” she said tentatively, running a hand through her blond curls. “I don’t know what’s happening here.”
T
aylor wiped her face on her sleeve before reaching into her bag to withdraw her sketchbook. Flipping it open, she held it out to Abigail to show her the picture she’d been working on.
“I didn’t know you were into art.” She sat next to Taylor and looked up from the drawing. “You’re really good, but I still don’t understand.”
“That’s Danny.” Taylor got her breathing under control and her tears finally slowed. She started to talk and didn’t stop until Abigail knew everything.
Taylor had been doing really well for a few weeks now, and this time she wasn’t crying for Danny. She was crying because everything Abigail said was true. She’d let his death take every part of her that Danny used to love.
“Oh, honey.” Her southern accent was stronger than ever. “I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t know.”
“But I shouldn’t have been so harsh.” She wrapped an arm around Taylor’s shoulders. “What I still don’t get is where Josh fits into all of this.”
“We met at Danny’s memorial service. He’s been a good friend.”
“Friend?”
“Yes. No. I don’t freakin’ know.”
Abigail laughed. “That’s helpful.”
“I have all these feelings and I’m too completely terrified to do anything about them. I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“Something tells me he’ll wait until you are. Just don’t take too long. He’s a good one.”
“I know.”
“I wasn’t lying about his abs, you know.” Abigail bumped her shoulder against Taylor’s and laughed. “Better than Grant’s, not that Grant’s weren’t sexy as hell.” She stood up and winked. “I have a boyfriend to go placate.”
With that, she was gone. Taylor wiped all remnants of her tears from her face before picking up her phone, suddenly wanting to hear Josh’s voice.
He picked up on the third ring.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey yourself. What are you up to?”
“I have a game tonight.” His voice vibrated in her ear.
“I’m surprised you picked up the phone, then.”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Taylor smiled against the phone.
“Kick some ass tonight,” she said.
“Will do. See you when I get back?”
“Can’t wait.” She hung up and flopped back on her bed, confusion swirling around in her head. Her grief warred with her excitement over seeing Josh soon, the excitement eventually winning. At least for tonight.
“It was a team effort tonight,” Mack said to the group of reporters surrounding them. Josh stayed quiet as usual while Mack gave all the stock lines that would appear in the Columbus papers in the morning. They’d just beat the New York Islanders on the road and the media scrum inside the locker room felt both familiar and foreign at the same time.
From the time they attended development camp, media etiquette was drilled into a professional athlete’s mind. In hockey, that meant toeing the line. It’s a sport that had been criticized for lacking true characters, but that was just the reporters complaining that very few guys gave them quotes that were anything other than the typical blandness. If you scored, you passed the credit to the guy who set you up. If you lost, it was “our play was unacceptable”. A goalie’s bad night turned into “we didn’t play well enough in front of him.” These lines felt rehearsed and emotionless, but that was what was expected of them.
Mack had been in trouble with management a few times for popping off at a reporter. In his first couple years in the league, he’d had trouble reigning in his emotions. Experience changed that, and now it was rare for him to deviate from the norm.
Josh watched his friend and barely recognized him as he tried to be the poster boy for the team. He was the superstar with an ego to match his status, but with recorders waving in his face, he was just another hockey player.
Mack threw his arm around Josh and grinned at the paunchy man on his right. “Josher had quite the night in the face-off circle.”
Josh rolled his eyes. He’d only taken face-offs because Mack couldn’t seem to win any. It was the only good part of his game tonight and everyone knew it. He’d felt off, kind of sick, but he couldn’t afford to miss any games right now and Coach would make him sit if he told him.
“Every guy on the team pitched in, and we’re one game closer to the playoffs.” Mack continued. “Thanks everyone.” He steered his friend away as the last of the reporters left the room, leaving the team to their showers.
“Tell me we’re celebrating tonight,” Zak said, stopping in front of them. Carter walked up with him and gave Josh a sympathetic smile. He could tell something was off.
Coach Peterson actually encouraged them to go out after games - as long as the next day was an off-day. He said it promoted team togetherness. Most of the guys took advantage of that. Josh on the other hand, usually went back to the hotel and crashed, but not tonight. They were in New York, and that meant one thing.
“I’m meeting up with some friends,” Josh said.
“Michaela?” Mack asked, a half grin appearing on his face. He’d had a thing for Michaela since he met her last year.
“And her fiancé.” Josh stared at his friend until the grin slipped.
“Oh, Jason’s cool. I’ll come with you.” To Zak and Carter, he said, “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“I’m so glad you’re inviting yourself.” The sarcasm in Josh’s voice didn’t seem to bother Mack.
“Do you want Michaela all to yourself?” he asked, trying to get a reaction from his friend. “I know I do.”
“Did you miss the part about Jason being there?” Josh shoved Mack towards the showers. “Just get ready. They’re waiting for us.”
“Oh, it’s us now?” Mack asked, arching one eyebrow. “As long as Michaela knows we’re not exclusive. I wouldn’t want her thinking I was unavailable.”
Josh finally smiled and Mack grinned in triumph before ducking into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, they exited the arena clad in the suits they always wore on game days and caught a cab.
Josh walked into the restaurant to find some of his favorite people in the world waiting for him. Michaela jumped from her seat as soon as she saw him and ran over.
“I missed you,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight. He lifted her off her feet for a moment before setting her down and releasing her.
“You look amazing.” He grinned.
“Yes, you do,” Mack said, his eyes roaming over her suggestively.
“Hi, Grant,” she said indulgently. “You remember Jason?” She gestured to the table where the three remaining people were now standing.
“Yeah.” Mack sighed. “I do.”
Josh chuckled and made his way over to greet Jason as well as their friends Maggie and Elijah. New York sometimes felt like more of a home than Columbus because of those four people.
He introduced Mack to Maggie and Elijah as he sat next to Michaela. “Where’s your brother?” he asked.
“Chris had to go to Connecticut this week for some meetings,” she answered, putting an arm around his shoulders. They’d all been at the game, and that’s the direction the conversation took.
“You’re too selfish, dude,” Jason was saying to Mack. “You need to pass more rather than always trying to take it in yourself.”
“Ok,” Mack started, “let’s leave the hockey advice to the guys who actually play it.”
Josh laughed because what Jason was saying was something the coaches had been trying to drill into Mack’s head since he came into the league. As they argued, Michaela leaned in to talk to Josh.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“You know, okay.”
“Josh Walker, why do I sense a lie?”
“Alright, fine,” he said, tensing to tell Michaela something he hadn’t talked to anyone about, but she wasn’t just anyone and he couldn’t get the feeling out o
f his mind. “Do you remember how the past two summers I’ve had some issues with dizziness?” She nodded, and he continued in a low voice. “It’s been happening in games.”
“Is that why you played like shit?” She wasn’t one to soften her words.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You need to tell your coach.”
“I can’t.” He glanced at Mack quickly to make sure he wasn’t listening. “There’s a guy on our AHL team who’s pushing for a spot, and I’m scared if he gets called up he’ll play himself into a permanent spot. I don’t want to be expendable to this team.”
“Josh,” she said seriously. “What if something’s wrong?”
“It’s probably nothing,” he said. “My health screening in training camp was fine. I’ve been training hard, so that might be it. I probably just need to scale back my workouts.”
She looked at him skeptically before taking his hand in hers and putting a light pressure on it. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse? And you’ll promise to get it checked out as soon as you can?”
“I will,” he promised, placating her for the moment.
Talk turned to Michaela and Jason’s upcoming wedding, and then Maggie and Elijah’s adopted daughter Kimberly. Coach Scott’s kid, Evie, was the only one who rivaled Kimberly’s cuteness in Josh’s mind, but he wasn't going to say that. As they chatted and ate, Josh was reminded of why he loved those people so much. The Blue Jackets were his team, and he wanted to stay with them, but if he ever had to be traded, the Rangers or Islanders would put him close to his family.
“Josher here has himself a girlfriend,” Mack said suddenly, an impish grin stretching his lips.
“Really?” Michaela asked hopefully.
“No,” Josh cut in before Mack could respond. “Not really.”
“Well, let’s see,” Mack said. “For one, he has no interest in getting laid.”
“By the kind of girls you meet,” Josh groaned.
“He spends all his free time with the same chick. He has absolutely no fun anymore.”
“Your kind of fun,” Josh cut in.
Mack was unfazed. “That all screams ‘girlfriend’ to me.”
The New Beginnings (Books #1-3) Page 41
