Page 86 of Pinch

Knoxey!!! Mom is gonna cry

Knox

Don’t say anything... I don’t want to get her hopes up until I’m sure.

Kimmie

See, this is the kind of thing we share. Girls, we’ll have our own chat for periods. The boys can have their own to discharge their duties…

Sage

KJ saiddoody

Kimmie

Everyone signs off withlove yousand hearts, and I put my phone down, feeling better than I did five minutes ago.

It’s time to check in with Daniel before I leave for the day, but I look up to see Timothy watching me pointedly.

“Everything okay, T-man?” I do my best to be very neutral-friendly, no romance.

He’s practically sneering. “You’re really into that hockey guy, aren’t you.”

“I guess we’re getting to know each other better.”

“You know those hockey guys are all players, right? They call their female fansbunnies.”

My cheeks sting, but I won’t let him shame me. “I don’t know if that’s always true.”

“You deserve somebody who’ll treat you with respect, Haddy. Who won’t run around on you.”

Sitting straighter, I think about the way Gavin reacted to what I said about his past with Karen.

“I think Gav would agree with you.” Timothy’s eyes narrow, but thankfully my computer rings, alerting me of my virtual meeting.

“This is Daniel.” I wave my phone at him, not really interested in continuing this conversation.

It’s none of Timothy’s damn business what I do. Putting on my headphones, I’m ready to talk data.

“I really likethe idea of a cousins group chat.” Gina has Spanky’s leash, and we’re power walking around theneighborhood before the game tonight. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of that before.”

“Same. It’ll help us keep up with each other, especially with Sage and Knox.” I’m carrying Patsy in a doggie backpack I saw online. It has a little “window” she can stick her head through, and I can swing my arms as we walk. “They’re like ‘same planet, different worlds.’”

“Of course, Knox is a quarterback. He’s Uncle Jack’s son. But who knew Sage would turn out to be a cowboy?”

“Uncle Zane loves working with horses.”

“And he’s so funny, I love it!” She cuts her eyes at me, giving me a sly smile. “Speaking of love, are you going to wear Gav’s jersey tonight?”

My stomach tingles at the thought of seeing him play. He’s so sexy on the ice, flying around the rink. Even when he fights, I hate it, but it’s also a little thrilling.

We only go to the games once a month, so I haven’t had a chance to show my support since ourdisagreement. The way he’s keeping me at arm’s length is killing me inside.Is it killing him?

“I don’t know about love, but he needs our support, too. He’s the new guy.”

And it might help smooth things over between us.

“I don’t know about that. He’s getting a lot of support from the fans, the female fans in particular.”