Linc nodded again. “That’s why I’m here. You’re distracted and pissed as hell, and while it hasn’t cost us a game yet, it’s come close a couple times these past few weeks.”
Elliott stayed silent. The kid was right and he didn’t want to gaslight him into believing he wasn’t.
“Is it your parents? Did something happen to Coach Swift senior?”
Dad had coached Linc’s ex-NHL superstar dad while he was in school. Elliott’s team still called him Coach, too. It warmed his heart, and Dad always got a kick out of it when he used to stop by the rink for a visit or to watch practice.
He slid down his chair and tipped his head back. “No. Dad’s okay. He moved into an assisted living facility this week. We were pretty lucky they had a spot in the same place as Mom, but they’re both there now. It’s a weight off.”
A pang of guilt struck him as he winced. “I didn’t mean…” Raking a hand over his face he shook his head. He shouldn’t feel so relieved that Dad was somewhere he was less likely to hurt himself, versus being somewhere with Elliott taking care of him instead, but he did. The relief was like aloe on sunburn, instant and damn near overwhelming.
“It’s okay. I get it. When Dad convinced Gramps to go into a nursing home I saw such a change in him. In both of them. Dad wasn’t feeling stressed out every day that Gramps might set the house on fire or wander down the street naked.” Linc leaned forward, the corner of his mouth twitching. “That happened twice before Gramps agreed it was time and something needed to give.”
Blowing out a long, slow breath, Elliott rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I have to clear out and sell their house, which is, y’know, a lot since it’s my childhood home and all. But it’s too far from school to move there.”
Why the fuck was he unpacking this shit to one of his players? He wasn’t his guidance counsellor—hell, he wasn’t even his friend. If anyone should be unloading to anyone, it should have been Linc to Elliott.
“Anyway. My parents are fine.”
Linc pursed his lips. “Good. That’s good. So your troubles are of a…female nature?” His cheeks pinked, and he winced as the words hung in the air between them.
Was he for real? He was really going there? In truth, Elliott wasn’t completely surprised. Linc was a mother hen on the team, and he had some of the biggest balls on the ice Elliott had ever seen. He also had no idea how fucking strong and capable he truly was.
“I can figure it out by myself, Linc. But I appreciate you coming in here to talk. But while I have you here… You wanna tell me what’s going on with you and Enzo?”
Linc flexed his jaw. “Not really.”
“You two gonna be able to work it out?”
A defiant jerk of Linc’s chin made the light bounce off the whirlpool of emotions swirling in the boy’s eyes. “I will if he keeps his hands off my fucking sister.”
Ah. Woman troubles of a different nature.
“You’d think after Finn and Will he’d learn not to fuck around…” Linc shuddered. “I can’t even. Dude wants to date my sister. I told him to fuck all the way off.” He steadied himself with a slow breath. “Nice try, Coach. But I’m not here to put my brother on blast. He knows how I feel about it, and we’re moving forward. This…” He pointed his finger back and forth across the space between them. “This is about you.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
Linc didn’t move. Instead, he held his gaze, there was no judgment or amusement in his stare, only concern. Maybe heshouldopen up to the kid, maybe it would somehow help thembothif Elliott could figure out how the fuck to get out of the quagmire he’d fallen into with Clare.
“I fucked things up with Clare. Again. And I have no idea how to fix it.”
Linc’s solemn nod bordered on hilarious. “It’s cool, Coach. We all make mistakes. And I can tell you from personal experience, us Snow Pirates sure know how to fuck things up on a monumental scale.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at Linc’s bluntness. He wasn’t wrong. And being included as part of the Snow Pirates family of fucked-up-ness tickled his heart.
But if Elliott knew anything about anything, he knew that not only did the Snow Pirates know how to mess things up, they also knew how to fix it. They were becoming somewhat famous for their grand gestures to win back their partners. Hell, they’d just thrown a freakin’ prom because Morrison had royally screwed things up with his girl.
It ain’t nothin’ but a family thing.
He wasn’t sure he could pull off something so grand, nor was he sure it was even something that would work for Clare, but if it’s what the guys thought he should do, he’d try anything. He needed to get her back. He needed her to believe he was staying forever. He needed her to trust him.
He had no idea how to repair fractured trust other than time, but if she wouldn’t talk to him, if she was truly done… A shiver passed through him. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Mason was going to be a Snow Pirate someday. He’d see him—both of them—at practices and games and if she wasn’t his, he wasn’t sure he could even stand it.
His stomach twisted. It couldn’t be over between them. The universe had conspired to bring them back together after all those years apart. This was their time. It had to be.
“We can help you fix it, Coach. We just need to figure out your big ‘I’m sorry I fucked up, please forgive me’ moment.”
