Page 25 of Keeping it Real

“What do you say?”she prompted.

“Thank you,” the boy shouted.“Thank you so much.This is the best gift ever!”

Something about the way Sheridan’s face softened as she watched her nephew shrug the jersey over his head sent Alek’s heart racing.

“We should get you one, too.”Alek motioned to Lori.

“No need.”Lori smiled at Sheridan.“The WAGs have it all taken care of.”

Of course Sheridan protested.“I don’t need?—”

She was interrupted by Merriweather showing off his skating skills, shooting up a spray of ice particles in his wake when he stopped short in front of her.

“Well, if it isn’t Sherrie Baby all grown up,” he said.“I heard a rumor you might be coming to town.Great to see you again.”

Sheridan looked a bit confused before her face brightened.“It’s Brad, isn’t it?You played with Jamie in Boston.”

“Ayup.We were both rookies together.Although I was drafted at a younger age than your brother.”

The arrogance of the little shit.

Sheridan’s smile grew more brittle the more Merriweather yammered on.

“As I recall, we were the only two underage drinkers at the hotel bar that night.But we still managed to have a good time, you and I, didn’t we?”

It was all Alek could do not to gag.

“There were a lot of people at the bar that night,” Sheridan replied diplomatically.

“Sorry to hear about Jamie.He was a solid guy.”He gestured to the two boys, oblivious to the conversation as they leaned along the rails watching Gus shoot slapshots into the empty net.

“Too bad about you getting stuck with the kid.”

Alek dropped his gloves onto the ice.Picard bristled beside him.Lori’s soft gasp was hard to miss.

Sheridan’s eyes grew hard.“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Merriweather was either an idiot or a masochist because he wasn’t picking up any of the signals around him.

“Well, everyone knows Bergeron is a hermit.”He actually had the nerve to wink at Sheridan.“If you need someone to show you around town, I’m happy to offer my services.”

“You already leave your wife home alone with two little kids half the week.Do you think you should be offering up your ‘services’ to someone else?”Picard threw out.

“You’re married?”The astonishment in Sheridan’s voice was hard to miss.

Merriweather glared at Picard before turning to Sheridan with an “aw shucks” look.“We have an understanding.”

“I need the defensemen to the line,” Coach called out.“That includes you, Merriweather.”

“Think about it,” Merriweather called as he saluted her with his gloved hand before skating off.

Sheridan shook her shoulders.“Why do I feel like I need a shower?”

“The better question is why didn’t any of the scuttlebutt surrounding that guy mention he was such a creep?”Lori’s knuckles were white where she was gripping the boards.“I’d better have a word with the GM.He could be trouble on the road.”She turned to Sheridan.“It was nice to meet you.Look for me at the arena tonight.Mr.Kellogg would like to say hello to you and Finn.”

Picard bent down to retrieve Alek’s gloves.“Let’s get this done.We’ve got a game tonight.”

He skated toward center ice as Alek pulled on his gloves.