“Wrong?”
“Yeah, you haven’t given me shit all afternoon. Something must be up.”
“Grumps, is that your way of saying you’ve missed me?”
“No.”
I grinned. “Because if you want me to give you a hard time, you know I don’t need much encouragement…”
“I definitely don’t want that.”
I laughed. “How’s college going?” I asked.
“It’s going.”
“Always such a talker. What about your knee? How’s it holding up?” Grayson had struggled with an injury last year, but he’d been playing brilliantly so far this season. My brotherwas a martyr though, so it was impossible to tell if his knee was still bothering him now.
“So far, so good.” The relief was evident in his eyes. “How about you? How’s school? And the new coach?”
“Don’t get me started on Coach Foster.”
“Still on his bad side?”
“I’m not sure the man has a good side. Even his own daughter can’t get his approval on the ice, and he definitely thinks I’m a waste of space.”
I half expected my brother to agree or jump on the chance to give me crap, but Grayson frowned. “Just because he can’t see your talent, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“I haven’t been playing my best,” I admitted.
“You’ve never needed someone else’s validation before; why does it matter now?”
“He’s still refusing to make me captain.”
“Has he made someone else captain?”
“Well, no.”
“Then maybe he’s just waiting for someone to step up. It’s not a bad thing. It’s an opportunity.”
I started to frown too, wondering if maybe Grayson had a point.
We entered the dining room to find my mom had Mackenzie’s hands grasped in hers. Oh, God. What was happening? It looked like they were… bonding.
I went a little closer so I could hear what they were saying.
Mom was gushing over Mackenzie’s hockey skills and I smiled to myself as I went to find a seat. Of course Mom had noticed what a badass Mackenzie was.
When Mom was finished heaping praise on her, Mackenzie took a seat on the far side of the table to me. I had Reed on one side of me, and on the other, there was a spare seat with a plate of food laid out for Dad. I leaned back in my chair, looking out toward the living room. “Dad, you coming?”
“Can’t! I’m too busyenjoyingmy show. Derek is definitely going to choose Natalie!”
I laughed and turned to my mom. “You’re really going to hold him to this bet during dinner?”
She glanced around the table. “He told you about the bet?”
“Yep.”
“They forced it out of me!” Dad called from the other room.
