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“That’s kind of you, Rose, but we’ll need to check with your parents first,” Dad says.
“I’m seeing Vi, Char, and Sunny for lunch today,” Mom says. “I’ll talk to them, and we can work it out from there.”
Those are my mom’s friends. Vi is my half-aunt, Charlene is Rose’s mom, and Sunny is Lovey’s mom. They’re part of our extended hockey family.
“I’m texting my mom.” Rose thumb-types on her phone.
I glance at Winter, who looks like she has no idea what’s going on. This is reasonable considering what happened this morning and the way my friends and family are basically taking over her life. It’s a problem I’m partly responsible for. “Hey!” I whistle shrilly. “So I realize I suggested Winter move into Kody’s room, and I appreciate that we’re a family of problem solvers who like to solve problems, but this is Winter’s decision, and maybe we shouldn’t turn it into a family dilemma where everyone gets to say their piece and argue their side.”
Rose’s phone rings. “Uh, hey, Mom,” she answers. “Yeah. I’m at the Ballistics’ with Lovey. There have been some developments, but I might need to put a pin in my request, because I think we’re actually steamrolling our friend.” She pauses. “Hold on a second.” She covers the phone and turns to Winter. “I’m just going to explain because not explaining is going to lead to a lot of unnecessary texting. Okay?”
Winter shrugs. “Okay?”
“I’ll be quick.” Rose goes back to her phone. “Long story short, you know that new player on the women’s team that everyone is freaking out over? The one I work with at Boones?” Another pause. “Yeah, Winter Marks. That’s the one. She’s got a scholarship for hockey at Monarch, which is super cool, and we’re trying to work out the living arrangements. She has the option to live with some of her teammates, but BJ and Quinn still have an open room at their place. BJ and Winter are a thing, though, and living together and dating in college isn’t the easiest, so we were throwing out ideas, and I suggested I take Kody’s old room at BJ’s place and Winter take Lavender’s old room. But that’s when BJ pointed out that we’re steamrolling Winter, which isn’t cool. So we can put a pin in this for now.”
Another pause. “Sure, you can talk to Lily, but like I said, this is Winter’s decision.” She holds the phone out to my mom. “She wants to talk to you.”
Mom takes the phone, and they have a brief conversation that consists mostly of yes, no, and we can talk more about it at lunch before she ends the call and passes the phone back to Rose. “She said she’ll hold off until we have more information.”
“Seems reasonable.” Rose pockets her phone, but a few seconds later it goes off with a siren sound. “Uh, we need to get to work.”
Dad addresses Winter. “BJ is right. This is about what you want and what you decide is best for you, okay?”
Winter nods. “Okay.”
“Can I get a minute with Winter before you go?” I ask, looking to my parents. “If we’re done here, that is?”
“We’re done for now,” Mom says.
“We’ve got fifteen minutes, and it only takes five to get to Boones.” Rose thumbs over her shoulder. “We’ll wait in the car.”
“I can drive Winter to Boones,” I offer.
“Your dad and I want to have a conversation with you, so it’s better Winter goes with the girls,” Mom says.
Yeah. I knew I wasn’t getting off that easily. “Let’s take your stuff back upstairs.” I tug on Winter’s sleeve, and we grab her bags.
As soon as we’re in her room, I close the door.
“What the hell just happened?” Winter rubs her temple.
“Welcome to family discussions at the Ballistic house. I’m sorry about the living-arrangement thing. The idea popped in my head and came out of my mouth without a lot of thought. I can totally appreciate that you might want to live with your teammates, and I see the validity in that option. You’d be on the same schedule, you’d have lots in common—maybe that’s the better choice.”
“So you don’t want me living two doors down?” She arches a brow.
“I want what you want. And maybe that’s a copout answer. But I want you to do what’s best for you. And if that’s living with your teammates, that’s what you should do. If you’d rather live with Lovey and Lacey and River, that’s cool too. But I feel like you’ve had enough of other people making choices for you, and I don’t want to do that.”
She pats my chest. “Thank you. I appreciate that, and I can see that everyone just wants what’s best.”
“Are you okay? I mean, besides figuring out where you’re living in the fall.”
She nods. “That was the opposite of what I expected. I honestly thought you had your head up your ass and I was going to get kicked out.”
I laugh. “My parents are easygoing.”
“Yeah. I’m learning that.”
I run my hands down her arms. “Take some time to think things through, and don’t let Rose pressure you either way. It’s really whatever you feel most comfortable with, okay?”
