“I think at this point my mom is really invested in the idea I’ve got a boyfriend.” Harlow smiles.
I don’t take her bait to keep this light. “Everyone would be supportive.”
She locks eyes with mine and lifts an eyebrow. “Right back at you.”
“Not on the Talbot side,” I remind her. “You don’t have a Talbot side, so you’re golden.”
“As I have said from the beginning, fuck them,” she announces. “Grandma Donna and Grandpa Henry will love you twice as hard if those other grandparents of yours turn their backs.”
I sigh. “I’m sure we’re not here to talk about my sexuality.”
“No, we’re here because Theo is entirely off-the-rails,” she announces, and any trace of a smile disappears from her face. “And I’m officially scared, Grady.”
Theo is her brother and the second youngest cousin in the group. He, like all the male cousins, was drafted straight out of high school a few years ago. He’s played for two teams and is currently in Vegas playing for the Vipers, a team that his father once played for. “The drinking?”
Harlow nods, and somehow her dark eyes get darker. “I went to visit him last week. He was drinking every moment he wasn’t on the ice or at work. Not kidding. Comes home from practice, grabs a beer. After a game, off to the bar. He took me to a casino, I spent an hour on the slots and found him at a blackjack table, four whiskeys in and down five grand. He wouldn’t leave until he won it back. I ended up almost carrying him home an hour and a half later, and he was out twenty-five grand by then. The next morning, I had to tell him about it. He remembered nothing.”
My face shows my shock, and she nods before sipping her coffee. “But like, was it just because he had guests? Was he showing you a good time type thing?”
“Does that sound like a good time?” Her words are pointed. She sighs. “There’s always an excuse. He’s blowing off steam after a bad season or a bad game. He’s on vacation. He’s heartbroken over a girl.”
“That was my favorite excuse,” I reply and roll my eyes. “He kept telling me he loved Lana. Her name was fucking Laura, and they’d only dated four months.”
“Everyone thought that was hysterical. Even Mom and Dad are in denial, but I’m not. Not anymore. I think my little brother has a problem,” Harlow announces. “And I’m telling you because I want your opinion. You’re the most level-headed, rational of all the testosterone sacks in this family. So if you see it, then I know I’m not just leaning into my trauma and taking it out on him.”
Harlow’s ex-fiancé, that boy she gave up skating for, had a drinking problem. Also the Richard's grandmother—Luc’s mom—had such a serious drinking problem, it drove Luc to basically become a Garrison when he was a kid, even moving in with the family. It was technically because of hockey, but he could have easily played on a Canadian team, and he didn’t want to. She ended up dying of liver failure when Harlow and Theo were little.
“Okay. What do I do?”
“You’re heading out west for a road trip. Spend time with him. Outside of the rink. Tell me your honest thoughts, and better still, tell him,” Harlow says as she puts her half-empty coffee mug down on the table. “And if you see what I see, I’ll talk to my parents. We’ll hold a Garrison intervention. I am not losing him, or letting him lose his career, to this.”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
This is a heavy way to wake up after a dreamy night, but I’m glad Harlow confides in me—about this and everything. I glance at the big bag beside her on the bench. “You aren’t gonna burn out, are you? Between this and working full-time?”
“No. I’m good. This morning is just a skate with a new partner. We’re auditioning each other.” She looks like she’d rather eat glass. “Every time I think I’ve made it to the top of this uphill battle, there’s another mountain to climb. Am I an idiot? Should I just admit my chance is gone?”
“No, because your chance isn’t gone,” I reply. “You’re in the best shape of your life. You never lost your talent on the ice. Partners may come and go, but you are still the best ice dancer out there. Even better ice dancer than you were a figure skater, and you were stupid talented at that. So, no. Do not give up.”
“Olympic trials are in four months. Four.” She pales.
I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine. “You’ll make it. And I will be there to cheer you on. And so will the rest of the family if you just fucking tell them you lone wolf.”
She laughs and swats my hand away. “If I make it that far, I will tell them. But first… find a partner.”
I finish my drink, and she finishes hers, and we both slide out of the booth. I yawn. She looks up at me as she grabs her bag and shoulders it. “Late night?”
“I was… entertaining.”
She lifts one of those dramatic eyebrows again. I reach out and try to push it down with my index finger. She swats at my hand. “If I wandered over to Landon’s house, would he be there this morning?”
Fuck. She’s good.
“Why would you think?—”
“Please. Shelby told me you flat-out said she couldn’t hit on him, and then you invite him out and spend the whole night next to him, and you guys stayed for an extra beer. Plus, why would you stick around in this boring, barren town if it wasn’t because he’s a few blocks away?” She smiles at her own cleverness.
“It’s not, like, a thing.” I shrug and hold the door to the cafe open so we can both head back out into the snowy morning.
