Page 96 of Breakaway Hearts

“My dad is from New York, so I guess it was like a rite of passage, where you play in a kiddie league and that’s how you learn to skate. I don’t think he would have bothered with it in LA, but he played the coach in Blades of Knight, and when I visited him on set, I was mesmerized…it looked like they were flying. The guys taught me to skate during lighting setups, and I was hooked.”

“Was he disappointed?”

“My dad?” He scoffs. “If anything, he’s pissed I chose a school on the east coast so he can’t come to all my games without having to fly.”

I’m about to mention that I’ve never seen his dad at a game, but then I remember his dad is Christopher Glass, and probably sits somewhere the entire school can’t gawk at him.

“I played both in high school, up until senior year,” Owen shares. “My heart belonged to hockey, but football was a way to bond with my much older brothers. When we go to Lake George, people still stop Jared and Kyle in the streets to talk about their glory days and what a shame it is that neither of them chose to go pro.”

“Is Dallas Savannah’s brother?” I remember to ask.

“You caught that?”

“She says things sometimes, and your face lit up like a proud sibling.” Which doesn’t entirely make sense, but I don’t call him on it.

“I mean, you’ve never seen how bad I get when it comes to my actual siblings, but…last year, at least once a month, team dinner was at Mrs. James’, because she’s used to feeding a football team. If the Coyotes were playing, the game was on, and we cheered like he was family. Not to mention, Noah lived at Ivy so…let’s just say I see my fair share of home games.” He smiles at me, then looks back to the road, suddenly serious. “Earlier, I was going to say I could get you tickets, but I didn’t want to presume.”

“My grandfather tried so hard to get me into football when I was younger, but my dad was so enthusiastic about hockey, and he used to coach the team when we were little, so I got a lot of ice time. Maybe it would be different if I’d been able to play football instead of just watching it, but hockey had my heart as well.” I regret saying as much when I’ve made it clear how anti-hockey players I am, but he’s picked up on the fact that I have issues.

“Your dad, he⁠—”

“Died around the time I started high school. Heart attack,” I add before he can ask, biting the inside of my cheek to keep the tears at bay.

“I’m so sorry, Mads.”

“It was a long time ago.” I shrug, but I can feel Owen’s eyes on me, probably trying to decide how much he can push before I shut down, so I keep my eyes on the road.

“Your grandfather could come too,” he changes the subject for me. “And I don’t have to be there.”

“That’s sweet,” I tell him. “But we’re good.”

He sighs, giving up, and I hate that I feel guilty about it.

“I really didn’t know you were with anyone. Jay just looked torn about helping Vales and abandoning you, so I offered.”

“Out of the kindness of your heart, completely altruistic? No ulterior motive?” I call him on it.

“That’s not fair,” he warns.

“My ethics teacher always said the why matters.” He told us community service hours were a school requirement, but it cheapens the whole experience, in his opinion.

Owen looks at me like I wouldn’t like any of the words that would come out of his mouth if he responded to that.

“Let’s just say that while my enthusiasm on the inside would have greatly differed, I would have made the same offer, no matter who needed a lift.”

“And driven their grandfather home?” I call bullshit.

“I did that in spite of you,” he assures me. “It was entirely for Frank.”

“How many siblings do you have?” I ask after rolling my eyes and shaking my head at him.

“Five.” He smiles, the love he has for them clear. “Three sisters and two brothers.”

“Is that why you have the ‘6’ tree tattoo?”

It’s on his inner arm, so anyone who’s seen him in a t-shirt or with his sleeves rolled up could have noticed it, but he smiles like he’s got me.

“We all went out and got matching ones for Tab’s eighteenth birthday,” he shares. “You didn’t say anything.”