“Dad,” Jonah warned, his voice low. The mood shifted again, and Michael’s hand froze midair as he brought a bite to his mouth. His brows furrowed, and I knew my brother was desperate to hear the end of that sentence.
His dad blinked and turned bright red before clearing his throat. “I overstepped, forgive me. I meant… I’m happy you’re happy. That’s all.”
Jonah took a long breath before nodding as the conversation moved toward more trivial things. Tate ribbed Paxton, and Patrick hit on the waitress, earning a pat on the back from Michael. The sight of them joking made me so happy for my brother, that he found the family he needed.
Once we finished the meal, I used Michael as an excuse to let the two of them visit. “Thank you so much for the meal, Mr. Daniels. It was nice meeting you.”
He shook my hand and smiled at me with so much warmth, it made me miss my dad so damn much. “You too, Ryann. And Michael. Hopefully see you again soon!”
I slid out of the booth, avoiding both Jonah’s stare and Michael’s suspicious look. I could feel Jonah and Michael staring at me, and I hated it. Jonah had nothing to worry about if he was concerned I’d tell my brother, and Michael… he needed to chill, even though his suspicions were right.
“You guys wanna head to the house? I’m bored,” Patrick said.
Michael shook his head and stared right at me when he said, “I need to talk to my sister.”
Shit. This wasn’t good.
Patrick, Paxton, and Tate took off, leaving me and my brother alone in the parking lot outside the restaurant. He asked the question I knew he would.
“Why wereyouthere with them, and whathappenedwith Jonah’s mom?”
Don’t lie.I swallowed and tried to look natural, play it cool. “His dad invited me to be nice, and it’s not my business to tell you about his past, Michael.”
“He’s my teammate.” He made his eyes bug out, like that would convince me to break my trust with Jonah.
I put my hands on my hips and stared him down. “Well, he’s my friend, and I’m not going to ruin that. If he wanted to tell you, he would.”
My brother’s face tightened, and his eyes took on a dark haze, one that made me feel horrible because I deserved it. “Aren’t you two getting chummy then?”
My heart raced at his insinuation, but I knew he was annoyed I wasn’t sharing Jonah’s story. There was no way he knew therealtruth. The fact I broke my promise and could riskeverythingif he found out. “Look, I know you care about the team and want to bring everyone together, but he’ll get there, eventually. You’re a great leader, bro, continue being you. You can’t force others to open up.”
He ran a hand over his face and nodded a few times. “Sorry. You’re right. I was being an ass. Hanging with his dad felt… weird.”
“I know. I miss him and mom so much.” My eyes stung enough that I faced the other way to hide it from him.
He put an arm around me and pulled me into a half-hug, the real reason for his snippiness coming through. “Let’s go do something fun.”
“Like bowling?”
“Exactly like bowling.” He laughed, and I left with him, trying to shake off the combined feelings of guilt and grief. Would we still hang out like this if he ever found out what Jonah and I had done? Twice? Would he cut me out? Would he move away and not talk to me again?
I didn’t want to know the answer.
18
Jonah
Coach Bart Keller was a hard ass and commanded us to be better. All the preseason anticipation seemed to implode at practice with only two weeks until the first game, and something was off. The air changed. Shots weren’t made, goals weren’t blocked, our passing was embarrassing, and Coach had another vein about ready to bulge from his existing vein. We’d been at it for an hour already, my blood pumping with adrenaline, but it wasn’t a good practice.
“Two weeks. That’s it. I can’t help you get ready if you’re going to play like this.” He slammed his clipboard on the side of the rink and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re done. Skate if you want, I don’t care. Come back tomorrow and be ready, all of you. Patrick, Paxton, Michael, stay here.”
Everyone’s shoulders slumped as we made our way off the ice and into the locker room. Some of the freshmen wore looks of horror, and I almost smiled. It was normal to have an off day as a team. This wasn’t the end of the world, but it did place a wedge of worry in my chest. What if fooling around with Ryann caused this in a sick twist of karma?
“J.D., there’s a woman outside the locker room to see you,” Lex said, his face serious and lacking his normal grin. “Said it’s important.”
“Okay, thanks.” I put my equipment into my bag and threw on athletic shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt before wiping a towel over my face. On my way out, Patrick passed me, and he didn’t wear his typical smirk like he was about to tell a joke. He was focused and looked pissed. He didn’t acknowledge me, and a lump formed in the back of my throat.
There’s no way they know about Ryann.
