After that, the atmosphere in the car warmed up, the two of them playing road games as they traveled. He was thankful, since snow had begun to fall faster, the road becoming slippery and traffic backing up.
He suppressed a frustrated growl at the detour signs taking them off the interstate and onto a much smaller, less traveled state route. From the emergency lights ahead, it appeared there had been a traffic accident and responders were still clearing it up.
It was getting dark now, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Harper’s fingers starting to drum a rhythm on her leg.
“Everything okay?” he asked as they came to a stop.
She looked at him absently. “What?” He couldn’t read every expression she had, but he’d seen this one before: anxiety.
“Hey, why don’t you tell me about your master’s program. What made you decide to be a teacher?”
Her shoulders dropped as the drumming of her fingers ceased as she told him about her favorite teachers throughout her school years and how they’d inspired her to make a similar impact.
Chase smiled at the thought of her taking charge of a class of her own. “You’ll be an amazing teacher, and your students will be lucky to have you.”
There was silence for a few moments, and he wondered if he’d said the wrong thing.
When Harper spoke, there was a barely noticeable tremor in her voice. “Thank you, Chase. That means a lot.”
He wished he could see her face, but he needed to keep his eyes on the road. Darkness was descending, and the snow was falling at an increasingly rapid pace. Fortunately, they only had another forty some miles to go, so he was optimistic they’d stay ahead of the advancing storm and reach the cabin at LakeGeorge in time to unload their things and warm up by a roaring fire with hot toddies in their hands.
Harper cleared her throat. “How is life in Stamford? That must be a big change from New York City.”
He chuckled. “You could certainly say that. I miss being able to get anything I wanted 24 hours a day. I miss Luigi’s Pizza, too. But the cost of living is a lot cheaper there, and Stamford is surprisingly diverse, especially for Connecticut. It’s not so bad.”
“I’m glad.” After several seconds, she spoke again, her voice quieter. “How’s Glenda doing?”
His heart warmed at the thought of his warrior mom, who had battled an insidious disease and won with grace. “She’s great! Just passed her second anniversary being cancer-free, and feeling better than ever.”
“That’s amazing!” said Harper. “I’m so happy for her, and for you. She’s one tough lady.”
“She is,” he said. “The last few years have been so difficult, with the diagnosis and then my dad taking off.”
“I imagine they’ve been tough for you as well.”
Chase thought about all that had happened during those years, good and bad. He nodded. “Yeah, at times. “But the flip side is that Mom and I are much closer than we ever were when Dad was around.
“Your mom actually invited her to join us all this weekend, but she’d made plans with friends in Florida. I offered to fly down there, but she said I should go to the cabin so I didn’t spend so much of my weekend off in crowded airports when the flights might not even make it, anyway.
“Personally, I suspect she has a boyfriend and she’s not ready for us to meet quite yet.”
Harper laughed. “Go, Glenda!”
He chuckled in response before he sobered. He had an overwhelming urge to share more with her about the last few years and how much everything had weighed on him.
“After my mom got diagnosed, my playing got steadily worse until I was playing like shit. For NHL standards, anyway. Coach told me if I didn’t get my act together, I’d either be traded or sent down to the affiliate team until I could.”
He heard her gasp. “I never knew that.”
Chase nodded. “But I’ve worked really hard over the last season and a half to prove myself, and I think I’ve done enough to avoid either outcome. At least I hope I have.”
“I hope so, too.” Harper’s voice had taken on a soft tone he didn’t recall ever hearing from her. “You’ve always had such a great work ethic. I’ve seen a few Connecticut games this season, and you’ve dominated the ice.”
His chest puffed out with Harper’s praise. He had no idea she’d been watching his games—why would he? And why would she?
“You’ve watched my games?”
“Oh, well, you know… sometimes I’m studying and I need something on for background noise.”
