Page 298 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

“They’re exactly what I imagined.”

“Really?”

She nods. “And somehow even better.”

The corners of my mouth lift. “Mom tends to have that effect on people.”

“Oh, she absolutely does.”

Annette turns toward me, her expression softening. “She made me feel like I’d been part of your family for years.”

I glance over for only a second. “That’s because she already thinks you are.”

Her smile changes then. Becomes smaller. More tender. “I’ve never met anyone quite like her.” Her thumb begins tracing slow circles across the back of my hand. “I kept watching your mom today. The way she remembered everyone's name. The way she noticed what people needed before they asked.”

I smile. “That's Mom.”

“So that's where you learned it.”

The words settle somewhere deep inside me. She isn’t finished. “And I kept thinking how much you’re like your father.”

“I’ve heard that my whole life.”

“The quiet part.”

I nod.

“The thoughtful part.”

Another nod.

“The way you listen before you answer.”

I smile. “Dad would appreciate hearing that.”

“But…” She tightens her hand around mine. “Your heart…” She shakes her head gently. “That’s your mom.”

I don’t answer right away. Not because I disagree. Because no one has ever said it quite that way before.

Finally, I smile. “I think she’d like hearing that too, and I think she’d pretend not to cry. And then she’d cry in the kitchen.”

I laugh. “Probably.”

***

The road curves gently as Briar Cove disappears behind us. Fields replace storefronts. Streetlights appear, glowing to life one by one as dusk settles over the highway. Annette looks out the passenger window. “We’re heading back toward Frostholm.”

“We are.”

“I thought we were going to the inn to drop me off.”

“We will.”

She waits.

I take a slow breath. “There’s one more place I’d like to show you first.”

She turns toward me. “Another part of your world?”