“Louis Frederic Tremblay,” Mom says, using the full name she reserves for felonies. “Don’t you lie to us.”
Before I can defend myself, there’s another knock at the door.
Two quick raps, pause, three more.
“That’ll be Ry,” I say, grateful for the distraction.
Rylan and Jamie walk in, and the volume in the room doubles. Mom descends on Rylan like he’s her long-lost son.
“Rylan Joseph Collings, look at you!” She pulls him into a hug that I’m currently ineligible for.
“Hey, Mama T.” Rylan grins. He’s one of the few people who can handle the Tremblay intensity without blinking.
Mom turns her critical eye to Jamie. “And you must be Jamie.”
Jamie gives her a brilliant smile. “Yes, ma’am. It’s great to finally meet you.”
“Manners.” Mom nods approvingly before wrapping him in a hug. Guess he passed inspection.
The next twenty minutes are pure chaos. Mom forces food on everyone, while Dad peppers Rylan with questions about our playoff chances. Caley alternates between fussing over my sling and interrogating Jamie.
It’s loud and overwhelming and perfectly familiar. But amidst the noise, I find myself wondering what Tanner’s up to. Today is a rare mid-season day off. There’s a game tomorrow night, but since I’ll probably still be drugged up, I’m not sure how much of it I’ll be awake for.
There’s another knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Rylan offers.
“Nah, I got it,” I say, pushing myself up. I need a second of air anyway. I love my family more than anything, but they can be a lot when you’ve been away for a while.
When I open the door, Tanner is standing there, holding a bag of takeout and wearing a concerned expression that morphs into confusion as the wall of sound hits him.
Warmth spreads in my chest.
“Um… hi?” he says, looking past me toward the circus in my living room. “I thought—you said your family was coming later tonight?”
“Change of plans,” I say, grinning at him like a fool. I’m so damn happy to see him, it’s a little pathetic. “They caught an earlier flight.”
Tanner nods, unsure. “I just, uh, wanted to check on you. Brought you a couple of things in case you didn’t feel like cooking, but…” He trails off.
I step aside, motioning him inside with my good arm. “Thanks, man,” I say, wishing I could wrap him up and kiss the hell out of him. “I’m really glad to see you. But you’re gonna want to brace yourself,” I warn quietly.
The minute we walk into the living room, the Tremblay family descends on him.
“Family, meet Tanner Sinclair.”
“Oh, your backup!” Mom says, beaming. “You’re the one who’s been taking care of our Lou.”
“I—what?” Tanner glances at me, panicked.
“Louis told us you’ve been takingreallygreat care of him,” Caley adds from her perch on the arm of the couch, her eyes lighting up with knowing amusement. She shoots a grin in my direction that says,We are definitely talking about this later.
I want to crawl under the rug. All I told them was that my roommate helped me over the last couple of days, but leave it to my sister to read between the lines.
“Well, thank you so much,” Mom says before wrapping him up in a hug the same way she did to Jamie.
“We appreciate it,” Dad chimes in.
Tanner’s cheeks turn a sweet shade of pink. “It’s nothing. Just, you know, teammate stuff.”
