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“Then what was all this?” Milo asked. “Roughing, fighting, and slashing.”
“Oh, my!” Chris teased.
I punched Chris in the arm, but he just laughed.
Calder sat down near me to unlace his skates. “Phoebe and Dom seemed to be having a good time.”
I grunted. “Too good a time.”
Ilya sat on my other side. “You’re worried about your brother being interested in Phoebe?”
I grunted lifting a shoulder.
Milo tilted his head. “Why?”
I kept my eyes on my task of removing my pads. “Found them in bed this morning.”
Calder chuckled. “So?”
I growled. “Together.”
Hank’s eyes flared. “Say what now?”
Calder knew the story and filled in the blanks for everyone. “Ransom, Dom, and his aunt became Phoebe’s family when she was a young girl. Phoebe used to crawl into Ransom’s window, usually sleeping in his bed every night, but sometimes with Dom too. Her home life was bad after her mom died. Her dad was a drunk and her grandmother treated her like shit.”
Ilya sighed. “Which is why she puts herself down so much, right?”
My head snapped up.
Ilya nodded. “It’s impossible not to notice. She’s spent a lot of time with Molly and Kiley this week.” He shrugged. “They’re worried about her.”
My shoulders slumped. I felt defeated. It didn’t matter how much I built her up, she always came crashing back down. “I work with her.”
Milo spoke from a few lockers away. “You’re a good friend, man, but it has to come from inside of her. Katy did some counseling. Kiley did too.”
Hank tipped his chin to me. “Maddy’s talked to someone too. Even the two of us together sometimes. Helps work out the issues in a place where it doesn’t feel so damn personal.”
Calder looked at me hesitantly. “Have you suggested counseling to her or for yourself?”
I scowled, then grunted. I knew they meant well. Talking just wasn’t my thing. And mentioning it to Phoebe would only make her feel like she was crazy.
“Come on, finish changing and hit the showers,” Calder said, sensing it was time to let me be. “Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving and we don’t have to play a game on the day for a change.”
Chris clapped my shoulder. “Is Dominic coming to dinner?”
I shook my head. “He’s heading to Bali in the morning.”
Ilya smiled. “Then cheer up. Phoebe will spend time with the girls and we’ll have a nice relaxing afternoon.”
The rest of the night was filled with tiptoeing and eggshell walking. Dominic and Phoebe came to the bar with the team, giggled and joked together as they always did, but Phoebe looked to check for my reaction more times than ever before. I saw how worried she was and I didn’t like it.
So, in turn, I got all twitchy about how I reacted to things. I toned down my laughter. Sobered up my celebratory nature. And with the look in Phoebe’s wide eyes, it felt like we were farther apart than ever. Instead of talking it out, crawling into her bed, and trying to work through the issues side-by-side as we had all our lives, Dominic was still here.
Back at home, Phoebe pulled Dominic into her room and closed the door. I waited for an hour before Dominic opened the bedroom door, waved to her, and closed it again.
Dominic took a seat at the island. “How did I know you’d still be out here?”
I grunted drying the same mug for the hundredth time.
