Page 54

There were actually a lot of toddlers and little kids running around because most of the guys my age had found wives and girlfriends over the past couple years, and a lot of them started families.

That was great for them, but almost every single conversation these days would work its way back to something their kid said or did, or some “annoying” aspect of their relationship that they secretly loved.

While half the guys on the team were still single like me, I didn’t quite fit in with that squad either. Most of them were young and wild, bragging about their latest hookups or who DM’d them or about how much they drank over the weekend.

Across the yard, Kappy was manning the grille. He had Piper’s arms looped around his waist, her cheek resting against his back. Every once in a while, he’d crane his neck and crack a joke to her, making her shoulders shake with a laugh.

Colt was busy talking with some of the training staff, his new baby boy, Callahan, resting in the crook of his elbow.

I was happy for my friends, I really was, but at the same time, my own self-pity sometimes threatened to swallow me whole.

“You don’t look like a guy who just won the Stanley Cup last night,” Hans said, pulling me from my thoughts.

At about eighty-years-old, Hans was a best friend and role model.

He was the rink manager of Centre Ice Arena back in Michigan where we all grew up.

When Centre Ice folded a couple years back, the three of us guys made sure Hans had a place to land.

He now managed our practice rink, the Coliseum, here in downtown Chicago.

“Just tired,” I said with a grin. “How are you doing?”

“Good.” His bright blue eyes crinkled at the corners with a fond smile. “I was just about to get going.”

“Oh.” My eyebrows pulled together. “Already?”

“Yeah, I’m old,” he croaked. “I need my sleep. Summer hockey camp starts up tomorrow.” He arched a bushy white eyebrow at me. “I need to be ready for the next batch of troublemakers. ”

That had me cracking a grin. “Let me know if you need any help. I’d love to run a couple practices.”

He nodded. “Will do.” His eyes went to Colt and Kappy, then back to me, and his throat bobbed with a swallow. “I wanted to say thanks for inviting me. It means a lot that you boys still include me.” His chin wobbled.

“Hans—”

“It’s okay.” He held up a shaky hand. “I’m okay.” He forced a smile and started shuffling across Colt’s lawn.

“Well, no thanks needed,” I said, walking with him to his car. “We still owe you for being obnoxious assholes back in the day,” I said with a forced chuckle.

“Ah, I’m glad I put up with you three.” He shook a finger at me. “You turned into my best friends.”

My heart expanded in my chest, and I patted him on the back.

“Do me a favor though?” he asked, moving to the driver’s side of his small car.

My eyebrows rose in surprise. In all the years I’d known him, I’m pretty sure he’d never once asked anything of me. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Take a break from the ice for a bit.” His weathered face went serious. “You just had another very long season. I love seeing you at work every day, but you need a break from the place, yeah? Can you do that for me?”

“Oh.” I rubbed my jaw and my eyes fell to the grass. “Yeah, I guess I should probably take a couple days off, rest up a bit.”

When I looked back up, his bright blue eyes held a little spark. “Maybe you should book a vacation.”

I laughed. “And go by myself?”

“Why not?” he asked. “I go by myself to a lot of places.”

“I guess.” I shrugged. “But where would I go?”

“Think about it.” He grinned. “It’ll come to you.”

“All right old man,” I said with a laugh, patting the top of his car. “I’ll think about it. Get home safe now, okay? Or we’ll have to send Kappy to save you. He’s the only sober one tonight.”

He laughed while folding himself into his seat, saying, “Never thought he would turn into my emergency contact.”

His advice echoed in my head while walking back to the party. I mentally kicked around a couple vacation ideas, but I still wondered if it was lame to go by myself. I was about to ask Kappy if he’d want to join, but I got stopped in the driveway .

“Uncle JP will help us!” Lucy called out, grabbing my hand and tugging me to the basketball hoop. “Right?” she asked me with hope in her eyes.

“He’s perfect! He’s a giant !” another tiny kid with glasses and a popsicle stain down the front of his shirt said, making me chuckle.

And that is how I spent the next hour picking up kids and putting them back down over and over so they could “slam dunk” the basketball.

When Colt brought out water guns, they finally lost interest in basketball. I took the opportunity to wander into the garage to play beer pong with some of the guys.

I hadn’t realized how many hours had passed, but it was dark by the time I made my way back to the patio, and I had trouble walking in a straight line.

Plopping my ass on the outdoor sofa, I watched Colt, Mer, and Lucy in the lit-up pool together, cooing over the tiny baby boy in a little floaty device.

“You look like someone kicked your puppy,” Kappy said with a chuckle. “Here.” He handed me a water bottle. “You need this more than I do.”

“I don’t have a puppy.” I shook my head, making my vision swim. “But maybe I should get a puppy. Maybe that would be better than a damn vacation. Should I get a puppy?”

“Stop rambling and drink,” Kappy ordered with a chuckle.

I cracked open the water and guzzled.

Kappy smirked. “You know, you could always listen to my advice and go find her.”

“Huh? Go find who?” My tongue was lagging and I had to blink to refocus my vision. I never should’ve tried to keep up with the young guys. I was going to have the hangover from hell in the morning.

“Don’t play dumb with me, JP. I’ve known you since we were in daycare,” Kappy said, slapping me on the back.

That was true. I knew exactly who he was talking about, but I stared blankly at him anyway.

“C’mon,” he whispered, looking disappointed in me. “Little Al Pal.”

Just hearing her old nickname had my heart picking up speed, but I tried my best to ignore it.

“You should go find her. Piper and I wasted way too much time. I wish I would’ve bulldozed into her life, like, five years ago instead of waiting around.”

I dropped my head. “I don’t need to go find her. I know where she is. She’s not lost.” She just doesn’t want to be here.

He frowned. “Maybe not physically, but she is lost, dude.”

I rubbed my eyes. “Huh? I’m too drunk for riddles, right now, man.”

He leaned forward. “I heard her talking on the phone with Piper and Mer the other night. I wasn’t spying or anything, they were talking in the living room, and Ali sounded so— oh . Oh fuck.” He stood abruptly, scraping his chair back against the concrete.

“What? She sounded so what ?”

“I have to go get my wife before she drinks anymore. Here, watch our stuff.”

“Wife? You have a wife?” I squinted up at him. I was talking to Kappy, wasn’t I?

He laughed as he walked away. “Piper’s always been my wife.”

“Wait, what were you going to say?” I called after him. I wanted to scream at him to finish. Ali sounded so…so what?

A phone ding went off next to me, distracting me.

I searched my body for my phone, but it was missing.

Another ding.

It must’ve been Kappy’s.

Ope.

Nope.

Looking over at their stuff, I quickly realized it was Piper’s phone, and it was open to a text chain with “Al Pal.”

I fully knew I shouldn’t look at their messages.

It was an invasion of privacy, and it wasn’t right.

But it’s not like I opened her phone, it was sitting right there, already open.

And Kappy told me to watch their stuff. So, my eyes were on their stuff, including the phone, watching it. No harm, no foul…right?

Leaning over the phone, I saw a picture of Ali with a couple other girls standing in front of a grey castle with crumbling walls.

The message read: You should come visit!

I’m on the Irish leg of Castle Cruises, and I think it’s my favorite so far.

Bring Kappy if you’re worried about leaving him home.

I know Mer can’t come because the baby’s so young, but I really miss you guys!

“Get JP! C’mon,” someone yelled.

“Huh?” I looked up, feeling caught .

Rossi and Wilson, two of my teammates, were grabbing my arms, pulling me out of my chair.

“Wait, wait,” I slurred while searching for my own phone.

“McQuaid, get your ass over here! We need another player!”

“He’s on my team!”

“No, he’s on mine!”

Apparently, I played a round on everyone’s team.

Because I blacked out.

So, I have no memory of actually finding my phone or of what I did next.

But I woke up in the morning with a confirmation email from Castle Cruise Lines.