There was a minute of silence where Harrison put down the jersey, his thumb absently brushing over the R in Fraser.
“It’s not a good idea,” Harrison murmured finally. “He’s young and talented, and he doesn’t need me distracting him by sitting at home and waiting for him to come home like a dog.”
“So don’t,”Arlo clapped back. “Do what I’ve been telling you and look into being a goddamn coach. You got a lot of attention at the exhibition games, whether you want to admit it or not. Your name still gains a lot of interest in the hockey world, and he just so happens to play for the same damn team that signed you to begin with. Maybe it would be a nice comeback story if you worked for them in some capacity.”
But fear, embarrassment, shame and frustration threatened to drag him back down. All he could say was, “I can’t,” before he ended the call and sank to the kitchen floor with the hockey jersey still clutched tightly in his hands.
Jett
Jett was zoned out on his hotel bed, watching mindless Instagram videos while he listened to Ryan’s poor rendition ofMy Heart Will Go Onin the shower, when his phone rang.
Killinger
For some reason, Jett’s first reaction was to flip out of the bed without finding his feet first, which ended with him being face-down on the floor. He pulled his phone out from where it had landed under him, panting in pain and excitement as he accepted the call.
“Harrison?”
There was a pause.
“Are you…okay?”
Jett knew that Harrison meant how breathless he sounded after his fall, but the words hit him closer to home than he would have liked. His eyes began to water, and Jett cursed and wiped them, determined to get his shit under control before he embarrassed himself.
“I’m good,” said Jett. “I fell off my bed.”
Harrison’s familiar scoff had him smiling. Jett was sure his request to Arlo hadn’t worked after days passed without hearing from either cousin, but this call couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Jett, are you—what is thatwailingsound?”
Jett felt his ears and cheeks burn. There was no hiding the mortified look on his face.
“That’s uh, Ryan Bracken.”
For the second time in under two minutes, there was a pause.
“Maybe it’s a good thing the accident took me out of the game.”
“Harrison!” Jett shoved his face into his arm to keep from laughing. “You don’t mean that.”
Ryan chose that moment to hit a particularly high note, and he butchered with no shame.
“No, I really do,”said Harrison. “What has him singing like a lovestruck idiot? Is he going out on a date?”
Jett supposed there could be a hint of truth to his guess. “Yeah, he and Powers are going to the karaoke bar to drink.”
A third pause.
“Bracken and Powers are a couple?”
This time, Jett didn’t bother trying to muffle his laugh. He loved how talking to Harrison made him feel so much lighter. If he wasn’t careful, he would start kicking his feet.
That was when Ryan strolled out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his head instead of his hips, confidently belting out the final note of his song. He struck a dramatic pose, his arm outstretched toward Jett, as if he were dedicating the entire performance to him.
“Tell him I’ve heard better vocals from a deer getting hit by a truck.”
Harrison’s words made Jett double over with laughter, and Ryan’s expression brightened at the sound.
“Is that Fraser senior?” asked Ryan. “Tell Daddy that I say hi.”
