Page 9

Five

A road sign announcing the Wisconsin border in thirty-five miles flashed by the window of the leased SUV Sheridan drove. Beside her, Finn bounced up and down in the passenger seat as if their destination was a Disney theme park and not the home of the man his father had betrayed.

Not that her nephew knew anything about that.

Jamie, it seemed, had built up Alek in Finn’s mind so that he was practically one of the Avengers.

No doubt her brother was living vicariously through the hockey accomplishments of his former roommate.

It was also glaringly obvious that Jamie still cherished the friendship he and Alek once had despite the way their relationship imploded.

Sheridan’s stomach churned with the guilt that had been persistently gnawing at her since her brother’s death. She’d honestly thought she was doing the right thing for everyone involved all those years ago. It was true what they said about hindsight being twenty-twenty.

“I can’t believe we are almost in Milwaukee.” He gave a little whoop of excitement.

“Neither can I,” she mumbled to herself.

The past two weeks had whizzed by in a parade of blurry memories. The only part that stood out was the hundreds of times she’d asked herself why she’d agreed to this absurd plan. An entire hockey season living with the temptation that was Alek Bergeron? She needed to have her head examined.

For some reason, she seemed to be the only one who thought the situation was a disaster in the making. Aunt Eileen and Uncle Alan had practically pushed her and Finn out of town.

“We’ll pack everything up and put it into storage for the time being,” Aunt Eileen offered. “You and Finn don’t need the added emotional burden of that task. A change of scenery will do you both some good. Especially if it’s somewhere that isn’t laced with memories.”

“Aren’t you the one who said Finn’s routine shouldn’t be changed?” Sheridan had accused.

Her aunt’s replying smile was a tad patronizing. “Too late now. That horse is already out of the barn.” Her face softened. “And Finn really seems energized by this change. Isn’t it better for him to have something different to focus on right now?”

Do it for Finn.

Sheridan hated how Alek had used those simple words to manipulate her into agreeing to this scheme.

He knew no scenario in this world would have her abandoning her nephew.

Even worse, he had no qualms about hitting her in her weak spot.

Which was how she found herself on the home stretch of a thousand-mile drive west to Wisconsin, where she was going to spend the next months carefully guarding her heart.

And my secrets.

As if sensing her unease, Hattie leaned forward from the back seat and rested her big head on Sheridan’s shoulder.

Biting back a snicker, she recalled the shock on Alek’s face when he realized Finn came with a dog.

His mother had quickly thrown up a smokescreen, cooing and snuggling with the big dog while Alek adopted a poker face.

“You’ve always maintained the reason you aren’t a dog person is because you’ve never really been around one,” Peri had said. “Well, here is your chance.”

Alek responded with an unintelligible grunt, likely trying to figure out a way to retract his offer to take them in. Sheridan was disappointed when he didn’t come up with one. She wasn’t surprised, though. As Jamie said, Alek was a man of honor. He’d put up with a dog invading his space if he must.

Fortunately for him, Hattie’s only care in the world was Finn’s happiness. She would be a good dog. Sheridan would also be on her best behavior. The way she figured it, sharing the same space with Alek would be a whole lot easier if there wasn’t any drama.

“It looks like both of us will be flying under the radar for a while, sweet girl,” she murmured to the dog.

“You’re going to love it, Hattie.” Finn scratched the dog behind the ear. “Alek’s house is a billion times bigger than our old one. And wait until you see the yard. It’s massive .”

“How would you know?”

“Alek gave me a tour on FaceTime.”

Of course he did.

Sheridan didn’t have the heart to take Jamie’s phone away from his son. It was paid through the end of the year, so she’d let him keep it. Not without installing a host of parental protections first, though. As far as she knew, Alek was the only person Finn used it to communicate with.

That makes one of them.

There had been a lot of details to work out between Alek and her these past two weeks.

Sheridan was proud that she’d managed to keep their interactions to the digital realm.

The less she heard his raspy voice or his long Os, the better.

It was bad enough she couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of his arms wrapped around her at the funeral.

Or the sound of his heart beating beneath the cheek she’d had pressed against his chest.

Which made her a fool.

Let me step in as your spare big brother and take care of you.

He’d made it perfectly clear she was nothing more than a little sister to him. Multiple times, in fact. So why the heck wasn’t her body getting the message? If she was going to survive the season, she needed to get a firm grip on her feelings. And fast.

Damn you, Jamie.

This was all his fault. Anger toward her brother was not something she was used to feeling.

She’d thought they were pretty tight. Clearly, she was wrong.

He’d been deliberately keeping things from her.

Life-altering things. Not the least of which was him selling the bar.

His bank accounts were nearly empty. The mortgage on the house was months behind.

None of it made any sense. Where was all his money?

Not that she wanted it for herself. But it would have been a whole lot easier to refuse Alek’s offer had Finn not had to vacate his home. Or walk away from their family’s legacy.

She wished she could talk to her brother one last time.

To find out if this was really what he intended.

Or maybe to strangle him. She couldn’t make up her mind.

Her shoulders slumped as she cursed him again for putting all of them in this predicament.

Alek was as much an innocent victim here as she and Finn.

Yet despite everything, Jamie’s best friend had stepped up, no questions asked.

As her brother suspected, Alek was doing the right thing for a kid he’d never met.

And that should count for something. It certainly made her adore him even more.

The least she could do was get over herself and do her part to make this situation work.

Sure, he’d never think of her in quite the same way she felt about him, but that wasn’t his fault.

And a girl could do a whole lot worse than having Alek Bergeron in her corner.

Finn was the common denominator that joined Alek and her together.

Possibly forever. Friends would have to be good enough for her.

Resolved, she loosened the tense grip she had on the steering wheel.

“Alek even has a gym and a movie theater,” Finn continued to gush.

She glanced over at him. His enthusiasm for their move continued to baffle her. It was as if he’d closed the door on the life he had with his parents and refused to think about it ever again. Her therapist didn’t seem all that concerned about his attitude, however.

“Delayed grief affects twenty percent of kids Finn’s age,” Dr. Rose explained. “He is coping by idealizing this new relationship with Alek to recapture a lost sense of safety or love.”

“It can’t be that simple. Surely, he won’t feel that way forever?” Sheridan had asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. It’s hard to say. Everyone is different. But rest assured his grief will manifest itself in other ways. You’ll have to be ready for them.”

Dr. Rose gave Sheridan the names of two grief counselors in the Milwaukee area who worked exclusively with children.

Sheridan interviewed them both, choosing the therapist who had offices in the hospital where she had taken a part-time nursing job.

She’d be working in the ER of a small suburban hospital near Alek’s home.

Working in emergency medicine was generally not her first choice of assignments but Sheridan needed the hours to keep her license up to date.

Especially since the gig in Spain would be available again next fall.

Her supervisor at the travel nurse agency promised she’d have first crack at it.

By then, she hoped Finn would have had his fill of hockey goalies and would be ready for another new adventure.

Her primary reason for taking a part-time job, however, was self-preservation.

There was no way she could sit around Alek’s house all day.

She’d go crazy. Especially on the days when the Mayhem were in town, and Alek was wandering the halls.

They could be friendly roommates, but there was no reason for her to torture herself.

“Gunner Ferguson said I need to wear one of Alek’s jerseys to the game tomorrow night,” Finn announced. “Isn’t that cool?”

“So cool.”

Alek had somehow finagled to get Finn not only into a private school where some of the other Mayhem players enrolled their kids but also into the same second-grade class as the son of the team’s starting forward.

Gunner’s mom, Claire, reached out right away, suggesting the boys video chat.

Claire was a genius because the boys were instant BFFs after the call.

Sheridan was begrudgingly grateful to Alek for ensuring Finn’s transition to his new school would be smooth.

Claire turned out to be a godsend, too. She not only recommended a pediatrician who specialized in asthma but also offered to help carpool the boys to school. It turned out she was on staff at the same hospital where Sheridan would be working.