I hear Miles’s words well enough, but something about his demeanor makes me think I shouldn’t trust him. For a guy who handles the stress of high-intensity hockey games multiple times a week, he seems particularly nervous.
Maybe more nervous than I’ve ever seen him. Is he in trouble somehow? I read an article the other day about an NFL player who racked up enough gambling debt to wipe out two years’ worth of salary. I don’tthinkMiles is a gambler, but I guess a man can have his secrets.
“If I’m not in trouble, then why are you looking at me like you’re about to ask for one of my kidneys?”
He huffs out a laugh. “It’s nothing like that.” Then he shrugs. “Well, not exactly.”
“What is it then?”
He leans forward and props his elbows on his knees, then sits up again, rubbing a hand down his face. “Okay, here’s the deal. You met Sarah last weekend, right? At the team dinner?”
“Sure,” I say, trying to keep my voice casual.
“She has to go back to Canada—her student visa is running out—but we’ve been trying to think of a way for her to stay.”
“Yeah, she said something about that,” I say. “She told me she’s trying to get an O-1 through her artwork.”
Miles shakes his head, almost dismissively. “That’s really a long shot. But I’ve come up with a better idea. If she gets her teaching credential in the state of Georgia, she’donly need to find a school willing to sponsor her employment.”
I lift my eyebrows. I don’t actually think itisa longshot for Sarah to get an O-1, but I’m not sure I’m in any position to argue with her brother. But I can’t keep myself from asking, “Does Sarahwantto be a teacher?”
Miles frowns. “Does it matter? She wants to stay, and this is a way she could do it. The only problem is she needs more time than she has to get certified. The program is nine months long, and she only has three.”
I have no idea why Miles thinks this is a problem he needs to discuss with me, but I find myself brainstorming anyway, searching for possible solutions.
“Could she go back to Canada and finish from there? Then come back?”
He nods. “She could, but then she’d miss the baby being born, and…” His gaze drops to the floor and he’s quiet for a long moment. When he finally lifts his gaze again, there’s a seriousness in his expression that wasn’t there before. “I don’t know if we ever talked about Anna’s postpartum depression after Olive was born.”
I don’t know a lot about postpartum depression, but I can infer that any kind of depression coupled with having a newborn would be tough to handle. “We haven’t,” I say. “I’m sorry she had to go through that.”
“It was pretty rough,” he says. “But she had her mom, so we got through it. I’m not sure we could have otherwise. That’s the biggest reason why I’d really like to find a way to keep my sister here. We’re all the family she’s got, but more than that, Anna’s going to need her.”
They had Anna’s mom—but now they don’t.
I’ve sensed Anna wearing the loss of her mom on hersleeve the past few months, something I recognize from personal experience. Theo and I lost our dad when we were seventeen.
“I’m sure,” I say with a nod. “There isn’t any way for her to extend her current visa? If they know she’s working toward teaching?”
“We’ve looked into every possible avenue.” He pauses for a long moment before adding, “There’s really only one way to keep her here.”
There’s a weight to his words that makes me uneasy. “Okay?”
“She could get married,” Miles says.
“Married,” I repeat. “Is she dating someone?” A weird surge of jealousy flares behind my ribs. I’d like to think a boyfriend would have come up in all our conversations last week, but maybe not.
“For what I have in mind,” Miles says, “she wouldn’t need to be.” He takes a deep breath. “Look. When I thought through all the guys on the team, you were the obvious choice.”
He pauses, and I stare. The obvious choice for what?
“You’re steady, you’re calm, you’re weirdly nice to everyone. And you’re loyal. I’ve seen the way you watch out for your brother. Loyalty is important.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “Thank you, I think?”
“You’re also a solid hockey player who really fits with our system, which means you likely won’t be traded anytime soon. That’s important. That you aren’t going anywhere.”
“Still don’t know what we’re talking about here, Miles,” I say.
