Naese’s smile widened. “If she likes dogs as much as Cruz, that’s another angle we can work.”
“What if Vivian doesn’t want to leave San Francisco?” Maxim asked.
Coach Kramer snapped his fingers before pointing at me. “That’s why we get Lola involved now. If she likes Vivian, there’s no way she’ll rest until she’s gotten the two of them together.”
Coach Whittaker leaned back on the couch, a slight smile gracing his lips. He crossed his hands over his stomach and let the rest of us plan—as if he weren’t as invested as we were. But I knew that wasn’t true. Cruz was a special player because he was a special man who’d held us all together during those early rough years as the league’s newest expansion team. He also held us together now that we were a force few other teams could match. I might wear the captain’s patch, but Cruz was the big brother for everyone.
“The first thing you need to do is get him to talk about the last night they saw each other,” Coach finally said.
We turned and frowned. “That’s ominous,” Stolly muttered.
“It’s part of what Lola told me in confidence. But if you want to understand Cruz’s funk and why he’s pushing away the love of his life, that’s where you need to start.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Any suggestions?”
“Well, if it were me, I’d remember the trip Cruz took last summer?—”
“To Michigan!” Maxim shouted, like this was a pop quiz.
“He was supposed to be gone four, five days, but we didn’t see him for a month,” Naese said. “Hana said he and Vivian spent a weekend together.”
“That’s where I’d start,” Coach said, slapping his knees. He rose.
“What aren’t you telling us?” I asked. I pulled out my phone.
Coach shrugged. “Like you said, there’s a reason Cruz isn’t talking to Vivian and hasn’t asked her to come here. Just like there’s a reason he stayed away for nearly a month. If you can figure that out, you’ll probably know why he’s breaking his—and her—heart.”
I blew out a breath. “It’s time to play sleuth. We have to get to the bottom of this. For both their sakes.”
“And ours,” Maxim rumbled.
“Yeah, Cruiser deserves to be as happy as the rest of us,” Naese said. “Ah! Found something…”
He grunted, clearly unhappy. Turning his phone around a moment later, I read the headline: Man hospitalized after knife attack.
I grimaced. “Damn. That’s a big thing to keep quiet about. We definitely need more information.”
“We should talk to Cruiser’s mom to get more information about all this,” Naese said.
“Glad you offered,” I told him. “Talk to her and pump Hana for information.” I rubbed my finger over my upper lip. “We gotta fix this, stat.”
Chapter 1
Chapter
Vivian
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, the previous year
* * *
The ache in my heart swelled as I stared out at the languid waves from my beach blanket. I enjoyed the puffs of warm air that intermittently cooled my skin. “Bye, Mom. Thanks for being such a wonderful one to me,” I murmured. “I’ll always miss you.” Tendrils of peace slid over the ache in my heart, and I breathed deeply. “You were right. It’s beautiful here,” I told her, trusting she could hear me somehow. I’d never been to this part of Michigan before—never been to the Midwest—but my mother had been born here, and I wanted to spread some of her ashes at her favorite childhood haunts as I reevaluated my life and where I wanted it to go.
This was my final leg through the grief. She’d been gone five years now, but I’d had to finish my degree and get my career started before I had the time or energy to make this final stop. Now an established oncology nurse at University of California, San Francisco’s hospital, I’d found the work more draining and less fulfilling than I’d hoped.
That was also part of why I’d come here. I’d been close to my mother, done everything I could to ease her last months, but the frenetic pace of my job and the number of patients I was responsible for had already worn me down. I wasn’t sure I could keep doing the work I’d taken such pride in before. I also wasn’t sure I wanted to continue to put myself through the emotional hardship of losing people I’d gotten close to.
Perhaps the answers would come in time. I hoped so. The sun shone as the faint sound of water lapping lulled me into a half doze. For a first solo vacation—and any vacation in years—I smiled at my ability to relax. I’d really needed this time to recharge and reconsider.
