I lean back in my chair. I figured this question would come up.
“You want my honest answer?”
She nods.
“I think he’s more involved in what’s been going on behind the scenes than anyone realizes.”
Her brows pull together.
“I don’t believe he was the one pulling the strings, but I think he’s a key player. And when rumors started swirling, and headlines with his name started popping up, he had to be removed.”
She listens carefully, not interrupting.
“It’s not just about money moving through the program, though. Other things haven’t added up too—games where things don’t make sense. Calls that feel off. Plays being run that shouldn’t be.”
“You think he was doing these things intentionally?”
“We’re not completely sure,” I admit. “Those were the notes I was keeping, though. Tracking things.”
I pause for a second.
“But when people started digging around this season… when the questions got louder… that’s when he bailed.”
Brinley looks down at the table.
“You think he ran.”
“I think,” I say carefully, “he knew something was about to come out, or he was forced to leave to avoid making it worse.”
Outside, the wind moves through the trees along the mountain. Brinley lifts her glass and takes a small sip, then looks back at me.
“I guess he has a history of doing that… Of running when things get hard. Of not facing the consequences of his actions. We all deal with consequences for our actions, don’t we, Rowden?”
I push my chair back and stand, walking around the table before she can say anything else. When I reach her, I pull her up out of her chair and into my arms.
Her head settles against my chest like it belongs there.
“I don’t want to think about him tonight,” I tell her.
She tilts her head back to look at me.
“Tonight’s supposed to be about us.”
Her mouth curves just a little.
“One day, in a couple of years, we’ll graduate,” I say, sliding my hands down to rest at her waist. “We’ll move on from life in Rixton.”
“Where will we go?”
I shrug. “I hope to be drafted into the NHL, so who knows where I’ll end up.”
She nods slowly, like she expected that answer.
“I could go anywhere,” she says after a second. “With you.”
The way she says it is simple. Like it’s not even something she has to think about.
“You sure about that?”
