Why I won’t.
Kids, heartbreak, chaos—it’s a weight I can’t risk carrying again. Because with kids, there are no do-overs. No stats sheets. No fresh starts. When you fail them, you fail them. End of story. So after that night with Maria, a woman I want so much more with, I stepped back quickly, before it could go any further because some fires aren’t meant to burn.
I turn the tap off, realizing it’s been running the whole time I took a trip down memory lane. I grab a towel and dry my hands, still feeling the weight of those old memories pressing at my chest. A glance at the clock tells me it’s time to head to Jaxon and Rowyn’s for dinner.
Third wheel.
Yeah, I might be team captain, but sometimes, when it comes to team activities, I feel like the odd man out—and dinner with friends is no exception. I grab the alcohol-free wine from the fridge for Rowyn along with the beer I picked up for Jaxon and me. Just as I reach for the door, my phone buzzes. I fish it out of my coat pocket.
I smile when I see the number. Sliding my finger over the screen, I say, “Hey, Kit Kat. What’s up?”
“Can’t a little sister call her big brother just to say hi?”
I chuckle. “You remind me of Stella.”
“Stella? Ooh, is this a new girl I should know about?”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Stella’s five, and one day she’s going to make a great hockey player…or a lawyer.”
“I like her already,” she says.
I open the door and lock it behind me. “Speaking of lawyers…I have a friend and she’s thinking about going back to school to become a lawyer.”
“She?”
The teasing lilt in her voice makes me grin. “Yeah, she. And she’s a friend. Why does everyone care so much about my love life?”
She laughs. “Whoa, Chucky.”
Chucky. Her childhood name for me, because she was trying for Tucky but had trouble with her T’s. So Chucky stuck.
“I never said anything about your love life, you did. Even if I wasn’t a trained lawyer, I could read between the lines. Something’s up.”
Something was up. Something I shouldn’t even think about when it came to Maria.
“It’s nothing. She’s just a friend,” I mutter, knowing how ridiculous I sound.
“He who protests too much,” she teases.
“I’m hanging up now,” I say, sliding into the car and starting the ignition.
“No, don’t,” she yells, laughing. “I won’t pick at your love life, or lack thereof.”
“Kate,” I growl, but my tone is more amused than angry.
“I called because I wanted to talk about next month. I know it’s busy for you, but it’s slow for me. I was hoping I could visit. I know you have away games, but honestly, Tuck…I just want to veg out and hang out at home with my big brother when he’s free. Maybe even meet a few of your friends. If there’s time I’d also like to visit Violet. I haven’t seen her since she moved to Boston after our undergraduate ceremony.”
“That sounds great, Kate.”
“I know you’re coming home at Christmas if you can, but I’d still like to come see you before that.”
I smile, my heart doing a little flip at the thought. Home. They say you can take the boy out of Canada, but you can’t take Canada out of the boy, and I fully agree. Would Maria and the boys ever cross the border? Sure, Boston feels a lot like Halifax, but I bet they’d love the scenery, the food, the culture, maybe even whale watching. And Mom and Dad would undoubtedly fall in love with the boys, just like they fell in love with Ben.
My thoughts screech to a halt. What the hell am I doing?
“Bro, you still there?”
“Yup, just driving. Had to focus for a second.”
