Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding) - By Sydney Somers Page 0,42
them had needed to fill the uncomfortable silences with words of encouragement, insisting he’d be back on his skates in no time, but every one of them had known that wouldn’t happen.
The kid in the wheelchair glanced down at the reminder of Coach’s failing health, the brim of his ball cap hiding his eyes.
“I’m not sure when Hayley will be back, but I’ll let her know you guys were looking for her.”
“Would you be able to run some drills for us? The other guys would crap their pants if we showed up with you.”
“He’s way too busy for that,” the taller one put in, sounding just a bit hopeful that he was wrong.
“You need to see Cody play, Mr. Knight. Coach says he has a gift.” Pride filled the voice of kid in the wheelchair as he stared up at the taller one.
His older brother, Jackson guessed, noting the resemblance between the pair. He also saw the eagerness in the teen opposite him, recognized the same determined gleam Jackson had once seen in his own mirror every day. The kid wanted it bad. Wanted the speed, the challenge, the glory of a breakaway goal with every voice in the arena cheering him on.
He understood exactly what the kid hungered for even as the loss of that dream struck Jackson square in the chest. “I’ll let Hayley know you guys could use extra help.”
The kids stared at him expectantly.
He jerked his thumb behind him. “I’m in the middle of helping with renovations,” he offered as an excuse, feeling a little bit like an asshole turning the kids down. He’d always enjoyed offering advice and hitting the puck around with kids that made his career possible, but that was before it meant setting foot in his old arena with a bum knee and not a lot to show for the years he’d busted his ass. “Maybe another time,” he threw in.
“Cool,” the two on the porch echoed in unison.
“Are you Hayley’s new boyfriend?” Cody’s younger brother rolled his wheelchair as close to the bottom step as he could. “Because our mom said that Eric Thorton came in and ordered a bunch of flowers for her first thing this morning.”
Apparently Eric wanted to know what it was like to have them shoved up his ass. After what Eric said at the reception, Jackson sure as hell couldn’t imagine Hayley expressing her gratitude for a bouquet any other way.
“She likes girly movies, you know. Horror ones piss her off.” The shorter teen shook his head like he couldn’t fathom why she wouldn’t want to watch people being stalked and murdered one by one.
“She hates pepperoni on her pizza,” Cody added.
The kid in the wheelchair nodded. “And she always complains about needing a foot massage.”
“I appreciate the tips,” Jackson began, cut off by the sound of a door slamming inside.
Seriously? He’d blame an open window and the wind, but the breeze outside was barely enough to stir the occasional blade of grass bordering the glassy surface of the lake.
Either the boys didn’t hear the door slam or they weren’t that worried about it.
“You should be part of the bachelor auction.”
Cody elbowed his friend again. “Dude, he’s dating Hayley. He can’t be part of the auction.”
“She could bid on him, douche.” The shorter one put a little space between himself and his friend’s elbow. “We’re raising money for Kyle.” He nodded to the kid in the wheelchair. “He has cystic fibrosis and needs a new lung.”
Jackson didn’t know a lot about CF except that it would probably kill the kid long before his time should be up.
“If you can’t do the auction, maybe you could do an autograph signing.” Kyle looked at his brother and friend. “We could sell tickets to it.”
“That’s a good idea, bro.” Cody glanced at Jackson. While he might have been shy about asking for Jackson to help with drills, the teen didn’t hesitate when it came to helping his younger brother.
“Sure,” Jackson said after a moment. Talking about the good old days and answering questions about what he was doing with himself now were not on his list of favorite things to do, but looking at Kyle made his own problems less important. “Just give me a time and a place, and I’ll be there.”
“Awesome.”
The teens jogged down the steps, paused. “Is it true you’re up for a coaching position with the Sentinels?”
Deciding it was a waste of time to keep secrets in Promise Harbor, Jackson nodded.