Page 6 of Keeping it Real

“Thank goodness,” she added as she shot him a soft smile.

“Yeah,” Alek agreed.“How is your dad taking it?And you?”His voice softened.“How are you, Sheridan?”

Of course he wouldn’t know about her father.Why would he?The break nine years ago had been clean and permanent.

“As my dad predicted, he didn’t live to see his sixtieth birthday,” she told him.

Alek made an agonized noise, and she immediately felt sorry for hitting him with more bad news.

“He was never the same after my mom died.It literally broke his heart when Jamie had to step away from the game,” she explained.

It had broken all our hearts.

Jamie, leading the league for points scored during his fourth season, took a punishing cross-check from an opposing player.He went down hard on the ice when a teammate tripped and landed on the back of Jamie’s neck.Her brother was lucky that the only damage was a loosening of the first and second cervical.Doctors were able to fuse the two using part of Jamie’s pelvis.But it was the end of his promising career.No team would take a chance on their star player receiving a hit that could paralyze him.

She swallowed roughly.“The one consolation was my dad passed away in his sleep.”

His fractured breathing was the only sound audible on the other end of the phone.

“It’s okay, Alek,” she reassured him in much the same way she’d comforted her older brother for most of their lives.“We’re okay.”

She reached over and laid her hand on Finn’s forearm.

“We’re going to be just fine,” she said as she gently squeezed.

Finn shook off her hand and jumped to his feet, startling the dog.

“He needs to be here,” he demanded.

Hattie barked in solidarity as she stood, too.

“Dad would want him here.Alek, will you come?Please?”He was shouting now, his face growing blotchy red as his bottom lip curled in defiance.

Confused, Sheridan struggled to stand.Her nephew was the most even-natured kid she knew.“Finn, you need to be reasonable.Your dad and Alek were friends a long time ago.”

“Best friends!”Finn yelled.“And a best friend would come to his best friend’s funeral.I know Dad would have gone to his.”

Somehow, the thought of Alek dying made her chest ache even more than it already did.She’d barely survived him breaking her heart years before.Yet knowing he was no longer walking on this earth would be even more unbearable, she realized.

“Finn,” she said, wondering how best to reason with the boy whose world was already turned upside down.

“I’ll be there,” Alek announced loud enough for her nephew to hear.

She’d forgotten for a moment that he was on the other end of the phone.

Oh no.No, no, no.

Sheridan was hanging on by a thread as it was.Seeing Alek again would likely unravel the shred of equilibrium keeping her sane right now.

“The service is tomorrow afternoon.”She tried to dissuade him.“I—I doubt you’ll be able to get a flight.”

“I said I’ll be there, Sheridan.And I will.”

The line went dead.Finn jerked his chin up and down once, then he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.Hattie gave her a pitying look before trotting after him.

Sheridan’s knees gave out, and she plopped down on the bed, mystified by what had just transpired.How had Finn known to call Alek?Were he and Jamie communicating again?Was that the reason for the recent strain in Jamie’s marriage?Surely, Alek wasn’t trying to resurrect his relationship with Madison?

But why not?