Page 66 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

“Why would I be upset at my brother, who thinks I don’t care about him and I’m just using him to pay for my wedding—when he is the one who offered to pay for my wedding, and he is the one that?—”

“Muriel, I love you. I’m more than happy to pay for your wedding and your honeymoon. I’m more than happy to buy you this house. I just want to make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of.”

“I guess,” is all she says, sounding bitter.

“What?”

“The wedding is off.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was cheating on me. He—” Her voice catches. “I’m sorry. I can’t talk about this right now.”

“What’s going on? What do you mean, he was cheating on you? I don’t understand…”

“I can’t talk about this right now. Can I call you later?”

“Hold on, Muriel—yeah, I love you. Do you want me to come home to you?”

“It’s okay,” she says. “You were right, and I was wrong. He was a jackass." She sniffles. "I know you've always had my best interests at heart. And I know recently I've been so absorbed, and I'm sorry. I'm hurting right now, and I'm trying to process. But I'm sorry, because I love you, and I know you do a lot for us. You do everything for us. And I know that you're just there by yourself, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that our dad sucked and you had to step up. You really shouldn't have had to. And Mom's also sorry. You have to know that."

"I hear her talking to Pastor David, and I hear her say that."

"What are you talking about?"

"She feels guilty. You know that, right?"

"Why would she feel guilty?"

"Because she's the mom. And she was meant to take care of us, and you stepped into that role. And of course, we love you for it, and we thank you for it. But we know—we don't take you for granted. I mean, I know sometimes it seems like we take you for granted because we always want something, but that's becauseyou're so giving and loving. And... well, I just want you to know that we don't think you're just our cash cow or whatever. And I didn't mean to make you think that."

"Okay. It's okay.”

“But Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be jaded. Every woman out there is not just after you for your money or because you're a hockey player. There are some women who aren’t going to like that.”

I laugh. "Trust me, I know."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that maybe I've met someone who is the very opposite of what I ever expected to find in my life. And maybe that's got me asking all sorts of questions I didn’t know I needed answers to."

"You okay, big bro?"

"I am. You okay, Muriel?"

"I’ll be okay. I mean, I’m glad I found out before the wedding."

"See, you're being smart here. In fact, I think that?—”

"I don’t need to hear anything else right now. My heart is still broken." She sniffles. "But I want to hear more about your girl when you feel like telling me, okay?"

"She’s not my girl. Trust me. She's just..."

"She’s just what?"