Page 5

Three

A tsunami of memories threatened to overwhelm Alek as he climbed the steps to the Barn Burner bar the following afternoon.

He and Jamie had spent many evenings enjoying life within its doors.

Not that Jamie’s father let them get into too much trouble.

Ed Cobert rode Jamie harder than their coaches when it came to conditioning and training for his time on the ice.

Jamie’s dad toiled for years in the minor league.

He was determined his son would make it to the pros.

As if there was ever any doubt that Jamie would be drafted.

The right winger was a natural talent who didn’t require much training, just an ice rink to showcase his skills.

If that wasn’t enough, Jamie’s smile and “aw shucks” demeanor would put Valentine to shame if the two had ever been on the same team.

Everyone gravitated to Jamie, both on and off the ice.

Coming from Canada, Alek had been grateful to have a New Hampshire local for a roommate.

Their easy friendship was solidified that first day when Jamie showed up in their dorm room with a signed photo of him with Ovechkin and the latest Xbox.

The fact that his father owned a bar twenty minutes from campus was the icing on the cake.

“Are you alright?” his mother asked when Alek hesitated on the final step.

He patted the fingers she had wrapped around his biceps. “I’m good.”

She gave his arm a squeeze, prodding him to move forward. He stalled a moment longer, however.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he told her.

Not that he had any choice in the matter. Peri Bergeron was a force of nature who rarely took no for an answer. A celebrated interior designer, she let her clients think the choices were theirs. But Alek and his dad knew better.

Once she heard the news about Jamie and Madison, she insisted on meeting Alek in Boston and accompanying him to the funeral.

“Don’t you need to stay with Dad?” Alek had protested.

“Your father is still perfectly capable of taking care of himself and will be for a very long time,” she’d maintained. “Jamie was practically a second son to me. I can’t not be there.”

It was true. In typical Peri fashion, she’d taken Alek’s motherless roommate under her wing, cheering as loudly for Jamie as Alek at every game his parents attended. She’d even chaperoned their summer in Europe, attending pro hockey camps following their freshman year.

“And Madison . . .” she continued. “Well, she was important to you both.”

Alek never understood the way his mother always tiptoed around the subject of his ex.

She’d never come out and said it, but he got the sense that both she and his sister believed Madison more guilty of betrayal than Jamie, which was out and out ridiculous.

They were both guilty. But Jamie broke a sacred man code as old as time: Never poach your best friend’s girl.

Still, he was glad to have his mum by his side today.

As Sheridan predicted, coordinating flights into Boston had been tricky.

Alek had to wait at the airport for his mum’s plane to arrive from Ottawa, putting them behind from the get-go.

The funeral service was already underway by the time they slipped into the back row of seats.

At the gravesite, Alek had purposely hung back behind the crowd. He was a little uneasy about meeting Jamie and Madison’s son. Not to mention seeing Sheridan again after all this time.

His relationship with her had been collateral damage from the fallout of Jamie and Madison’s marriage. It wasn’t until Sheridan was no longer in his life that he realized how much having her around had meant to him.

Since Alek had redshirted his freshman year at Dartmouth, he still had two years of eligibility to play college hockey left when Jamie stole his girlfriend and turned pro.

One of his junior league coaches convinced Alek to transfer to Minnesota, where he’d have the eyes of more pro scouts on him.

Given everything that had gone down, transferring was a no-brainer.

He was happy to cut ties with everything and everyone involved with Jamie, including his little sister, who was off to Syracuse for her freshman year of college anyway.

“We don’t have to go in,” his mother said, offering him an out.

He shook his head. Sheridan and Finn were innocent in everything that went down back then.

They deserved his condolences after such a tragic loss.

The pain of losing both parents at such a young age was unimaginable to Alek.

And Sheridan . . . she continued to be the supportive rock he’d come to know, keeping her hand on her nephew’s shoulder throughout the burial.

But who was holding on to her?

That concern was enough to get his feet moving. He held the door for his mother and followed her inside. He wasn’t surprised at the size of the crowd. Everyone Jamie met immediately became a friend.

He was glad to see not much about the Barn Burner had changed since he had been there last. Hockey sticks signed by teammates of Ed Cobert and later Jamie hung crisscrossed on the walls.

Multicolored string lights wound through the glasses lined up behind the bar.

High-top tables surrounded the U-shaped bar, each with a view of one of the twelve televisions mounted from the ceiling.

The doors to the patio, with its outside seating and river views were flung open to accommodate the overflow of guests.

The replica of the Cup gifted to Jamie’s father by a movie production company that once filmed a hockey film inside the Barn Burner still stood in its place of honor next to the beer taps.

And in the center of it all was Sheridan Cobert, doing what she always did, making sure everyone else was being taken care of. She smiled softly at an elderly woman dabbing at her eyes, eventually reaching over to comfort the woman with a pat on her shoulder. Some things would never change.

Except some things about his best friend’s little sister had changed.

Gone was the overdone makeup she wore during high school.

The adolescent chubbiness of her cheeks had disappeared, too.

She’d grown into a refined woman who looked comfortable in her own skin.

Confident even. Her brown hair no longer hung to her waist. Instead, it cascaded softly to her shoulders.

The color was lighter, too, with sun-kissed strands of blond making it shine even in the bar’s low light.

Alek was suddenly desperate to catch her attention. To see if her hazel eyes still had those green flecks that sparkled like emeralds when she laughed. To find out what and who made her happy. To catch up on all the things he’d missed about her these past years.

He edged through the crowd surrounding her, only to be stopped in his tracks with a waist-high body check.

“You came!” a boy cried as he wrapped his arms tightly around Alek.

There was no doubt who the boy belonged to. His blond hair and blue eyes were dead ringers for Madison’s. Anyone looking at Finn would have thought Jamie played no part in his conception.

He gently placed his hand on the boy’s head. “You betcha. I promised I would be here.”

Finn gazed up at him with shiny, red-rimmed eyes and a bashful smile. “Sheridan said you were just being nice, but I knew you’d come.”

Something about Sheridan doubting him didn’t sit well with Alek. He looked up to find her studying him, her expression unfathomable.

“Sheridan, sweetheart,” his mother said as she pulled Jamie’s sister into a hug. “It’s been too long.”

“My dad hung some of your sticks on the wall.” Finn gripped Alek’s hand and began to tug him away. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

“Sure, buddy. Let me say hello to your aunt first, then I’m all yours.”

Alek’s mum jumped in to run interference. “Can you show me where the ladies’ room is, Finn?”

The boy looked like he wanted to refuse.

“I’ll be right here,” Alek assured him.

Finn exchanged a look with Sheridan, who nodded at her nephew. His shoulders slumped as he sighed and let go of Alek’s hand.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s in the back.”

They walked away, leaving Alek and Sheridan staring at each other in awkward silence.

“How are you?” Alek finally asked before plowing his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. That was a ridiculous question. It’s just . . .”

“I’m fine, Alek,” she said softly. “Finn’s emotions have been all over the place. You are the distraction we didn’t know he needed. Thank you for coming.”

A distraction? Thank you for coming? Seriously?

Nope. That wasn’t working for him. He closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body against his. She didn’t resist. She didn’t relax either.

“Sheri,” he whispered against her hair.

His plea seemed to do the trick because the tension seeped from her body, and she rested her cheek against his chest. She gulped a sigh as her fingertips gripped the back of his shoulders. Alek lowered his head and buried his face into her neck, inhaling her floral scent.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He swayed side to side as he rubbed her back.

He had no idea how long they stood that way, and he really didn’t care. Having Sheridan in his arms felt like coming home from a long, stressful journey. Like a missing piece was suddenly put back into its place.

“I’m back!”

Sheridan jerked out of Alek’s arms at the sound of Finn’s voice. The boy stepped between them, grabbing hold of Alek’s wrist again.

“I want to show Alek around,” Finn told Sheridan with a touch of rebelliousness in his tone. “And to introduce him to the guys on Dad’s team.”

Sheridan bore it with another one of her soft smiles as she caressed her nephew’s cheek.

“I’m sure Alek would enjoy that.”

Alek wasn’t so sure. Not if it took him away from her. Except Finn was hurting, too. And if “distracting” her nephew helped them both, Alek would do his part.