Page 48

Twenty-Seven

The kids were splashing in the resort pool when Sheridan ventured downstairs that afternoon.

She wasn’t particularly feeling social, but she needed to check on Finn.

The fact that he didn’t have an asthma attack with all that went down last night was a minor miracle.

Aunt Eileen told her he’d even slept through the night without incident.

It looked as if her sweet nephew had turned a corner dealing with the death of his parents.

Too bad she was beginning to doubt she ever would.

She hesitated by the pool deck. Avoiding Alek would be easy. The team was in meetings in the ballroom. They would be climbing aboard a charter bus and heading to the arena shortly. Evading the WAGs was a different story.

“There she is!” two of the wives chorused. “Sheridan! Over here. We saved you a seat.”

Claire shot her an empathetic look. The women were only trying to be nice. After all, they thought she’d be one of them for the foreseeable future.

If they only knew.

Pasting on a wane smile, she chose the chaise closest to Claire. Grace was bundled up in a bright beach towel, asleep against Claire’s legs.

“Chasing her brother and his best friend has taken its toll on her,” Claire said quietly.

Any other time, Sheridan would have laughed at the irony. Not today.

“I can relate,” she murmured.

Finn came scampering out of the pool, the soles of his feet slapping against the concrete as he hurried toward her. He threw his arms around her neck, drenching her with pool water in the process.

“You’re okay,” he said.

The sound of relief in his voice made her chest feel slightly lighter.

Their relationship had been forever altered when his parents died.

She was no longer the zany aunt who spoiled him rotten when she visited.

Now she was his primary caregiver who doled out discipline.

It seemed he was coming around to the new order of things.

Sheridan gave him a big squeeze. There would likely be more bumps in the road—especially where Alek was concerned. They’d get through them together, though. She’d gotten the Cobert men through rough patches like this before.

“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Better now that I’ve had a hug from you.”

Finn’s teeth chattered. “It-it’s colder out h-here than in the w-water.”

“You boys have another half hour to play,” Claire said. “But when it’s time to go up and shower, I don’t want to hear any arguing.”

“Yes, ma’am,” both boys shouted right before Finn splashed them with a cannonball.

Grace whimpered.

“Why don’t you take her up? I’ll keep an eye on the Junior Mayhem,” Sheridan offered.

Claire glanced back warily at the other WAGs, several of whom were gathering up their stuff and heading inside. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. You’ve had them all morning. I can handle the boys. And everyone else. Go.”

The other woman didn’t need to be asked twice.

She slipped her feet into her flip-flops and gathered up her pool bag.

“Their towels are here. Oh, and Finn’s phone is underneath them.

They’ve already FaceTimed Hattie.” She lowered her voice.

“Between you and me, I think the staff is going to be sad to lose their fifteen minutes of fame when that dog goes home.”

“Sloane is still posting Finn’s videos?” Sheridan had really hoped that nonsense would die down.

Claire scooped up Grace. “The woman hasn’t met an algorithm she can’t master. And right now, Finn’s dog is her gravy train. I overheard Lori talking to the publicity staff earlier. They would love to replicate even a smidge of Sloane’s success with the Mayhem’s account.”

A groggy Grace wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.

“You’re sure you’re good keeping an eye on them?” Claire asked again.

Sheridan reached for Finn’s phone. “No worries. I’m going to catch up on the videos Sloane has been posting about our Hattie.”

Dog videos are the perfect prescription for battling despair, aren’t they?

The other WAGs were all hurrying upstairs, too, leaving Sheridan and the boys with the pool to themselves.

She settled in the chaise, letting the sun’s rays warm her skin while she scrolled through Finn’s phone.

As she swiped over the icons, her finger was drawn to the long list of photo albums. The one labeled “Monk” had been deleted, thank goodness.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she clicked on the album bearing her name.

She was surprised that among the photos there were also several videos.

“Huh.”

She tapped on one. It was dated six months ago. Her breath caught when Jamie’s smiling face popped up on the screen.

“Hey, Sheri,” he said as if he was standing right in front of her.

Joy exploded in her lungs.

“You’re always razzing me that I don’t communicate with you enough. Or that my penmanship sucks. So I’ve come up with the best solution.”

He spread his arms wide, and she recognized his small office at the bar.

“Ta-da! It’s an hour after closing. The one time of day when I have a few minutes to myself.

It takes me a while to come down from being on all night, which is why I’m still here working.

Payroll is a bitch with half the servers trading off shifts.

” He groaned. “I don’t know how Dad made this look so easy. ”

His big smile was back. Sheridan grinned along with him.

“Who knew our dad was a magician, right?” He swiped at his face. “I miss the big guy. Shit. Now I’m getting maudlin. This is a stupid idea.”

“No!” she cried when the screen went black.

Tears spilled from her eyes as she frantically pressed her lips to the phone.

“Oh, Jamie, please don’t go.”

Oblivious to her distress, the boys were still splashing in the pool.

Around her, the birds chirped, and someone whistled as they passed through the breezeway connecting the restaurant to the pool area as though it was a normal day and her brother hadn’t just been resurrected on his cell phone.

Sheridan was grateful not to have an audience while she sucked in huge gulps of air, trying to regain her composure.

“It’s not stupid, Jamie. It’s priceless,” she whispered when she dove back into the phone again.

There were five videos in all. Most of them lasting a minute or two.

In one, Jamie was trying to recount the evening’s escapade with Phil, the bar’s resident drunk.

Her brother was giggling so hard that he couldn’t get through the story.

Her own smile was filled with gratitude, knowing that she and Finn would forever have the sound of Jamie’s laughter to listen to whenever they needed it.

The final video was a bit longer. It had been recorded three weeks before his death. She traced her tongue over her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

Jamie was sitting out on the bar’s patio overlooking the river right as twilight was beginning to land. That had always been his favorite time of day. He was twirling an unlit cigar between the fingers of one hand.

“Guess where I just came from?” he began. “Oh, you won’t be able to guess, so I’ll just tell you. The Dartmouth team’s ten-year reunion.”

He popped the stogie between his teeth.

“Damn, it was great to see the boys,” he mumbled around the cigar.

“Of course, Ice-Berg was a no-show.” He sighed as he pulled the cigar back out of his mouth.

“He’s got an excuse, seeing as he’s in training camp.

” Her brother chuckled. “I’m not gonna lie, every guy on the team is as surprised that Alek even made it to the pros, much less is still starting in goal. ”

Jamie shook his head with a smile. Sheridan did the same.

“I’m proud of him,” he said with a sigh. “So fucking proud. He deserves it.”

She pressed her hand to her heart.

Something shifted in his countenance causing him to sober up.

“Lots of secrets were unleashed over the weekend. I mean, lots. ” He looked directly into the camera. “Imagine my surprise when one of them involved you.” He flicked the cigar at her.

She glanced around, making sure the boys were still where they were supposed to be and not listening.

“You lied to me, Sheridan Leigh,” he said. “Sure, it was a lie of omission, but a lie is a lie.”

Sheridan’s pulse beat hard against her neck. What was he talking about?

“Alek didn’t break up with Madison. In fact, he was going to propose to her. And Smiley says you even approved of the ring.”

He couldn’t have shocked her more if he walked out of the pool right now. Her hands were shaking so hard, she nearly dropped the phone.

“I should be mad at you. Especially with the way things turned out with Madison.” Jamie sighed.

“But I’m as much at fault as you. I saw what I wanted to see.

I let her manipulate me.” He pointed the cigar at her again.

“And you, sly sister o’ mine, have always been in love with Alek.

Oh, don’t think I didn’t notice. I did.”

She slunk back against the chaise in astonishment.

He knew!

“Believe it or not,” he continued. “I’m proud of you for taking a risk and going for something. I wish you’d do that more often. You are always so busy trying to make everyone around you happy that I think you forget that you are worthy of your own joy, Sheridan. Always chase your happiness.”

Jamie cleared his throat.

“Things with Madison and I aren’t going to work out.

” He twisted the wedding band on his finger.

“Not for lack of trying on my part. She’s got some things going on that I can’t help her with.

” He looked away for a long moment before dragging his gaze back.

“But I wouldn’t call the relationship a mistake.

It gave me Finn. And we’ll be okay. We’ve got each other. And we’ve got you.