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“Do you know I have a ritual to eat a peanut butter sandwich before playing a hockey game?” I ask Crew, looking down at him.
“You do?” Crew asks with interest.
I nod.
“Does it help you win?” he asks.
“Not always, but I love peanut butter. It gives me energy, and I think it helps my game. Sometimes athletes like to have rituals, and that’s mine.”
“What is a ritual?” he asks.
“Kind of like a routine,” I reply.
“So like me and Mommy reading books before bed,” Crew says.
“Yeah, just like that,” I say.
We walk down the sidewalk and eat our ice cream. I offer Skylar a lick of my cone, and she indulges me.
It feels so natural to be walking down the sidewalk with them eating ice cream and just chatting.
We head back to the car. Skylar helps Crew into his booster seat.
“Thanks for the ice cream,” he says.
“We should go there again soon,” I suggest.
Then I look at Skylar. “I need to get you guys home. I’ve got practice.”
She nods. “Thanks for taking us to get the test done.”
“I don’t want you thanking me. I was there because I wanted to be there. I wish I could be here for you more.”
“You’ve already done so much for us,” she replies.
“I wish you would reconsider staying at my place. The security is so much better,” I offer.
I’ve already asked her to move into my apartment about ten times in the past week, but it would be majorly inconvenient for her because of work being so close to her apartment and Crew’s school being close to home too.
“Now isn’t the time,” she says, and I hate how spacey she seems. I know she’s walking around with this heaviness because of Carter and what those test results will mean. “Maybe in the summer when Crew is done with school.”
Her words sound like she’s on autopilot, and I hate seeing her this way.
I drop them back at the apartment and walk them to the door. Patty is home, and she gives me a concerned look. Crew is Skylar’s life, and right now, she feels like he is in danger.
I give Crew a hug and say goodbye to Skylar, and then I head to the arena, but on the way, I call Flynn. Skylar is scaring me right now, and we have to do something about it.
“We shouldn’t speak over the phone,” she says. “Can you come to my office now?”
I look at my watch. I have an hour to be on the ice for practice.
“Yes, I can make it,” I say, switching lanes. I pray traffic is light because although Coach understands my situation right now, my teammates are not in the loop, and I need to be in practice on time just like they do.
I head to Flynn’s law firm. She’s got a ton of lawyers working for her. When I approach her secretary and ask to see Flynn, I realize how big and ritzy her law firm is.
When I get to her office, a man stands off to the side. He’s wearing a black leather biker jacket and has long black hair with silver strands and dark eyes.
“Liam, this is Mike,” she introduces.
