Page 74 of Something to Prove

Two minutes and ten seconds later, the Bears won. 1-0.

The postgame melee was more chaotic than usual.The Smithton Timeswanted an interview, Coach gave his usual speech, and of course Gus was having a party…after we all stopped by Bear Depot to celebrate with the town.

They’d decked out the diner with blue and red streamers. Kids showed up in our jerseys, asking for autographs while their parents took pics. Shakes and fries were on the house and every booth was packed to maximum capacity. The celebratory mood had turned everyone into a hockey fan. Girls I’d never met flocked to our booths, wanting to know everything about us.

I’d called Walker and had sent a fuckload of texts, but I hadn’t heard from him.

Honestly, I was worried and I couldn’t just leave. This was a team event, a community event, and damn it, he should have been here. Everyone knew it. I lost count of how many people asked where he was. I didn’t fucking know.

Someone passed me a beer and another. I pasted a smile on my face, nibbled fries, and plotted my escape.

An incoming call from my agent saved the day. I didn’t question his timing. Toby said he had business in California this week, so maybe he didn’t realize it was almost eleven p.m. here.

“Hi, Toby. What’s up?”

“It’s time to cut ties with the influencer, kid. Do it now.”

I dug my keys from my pocket as I crossed the parking lot. “What are you talking about?”

“The free promo has been nice, but it’s too personal now. Some jerkwad has been calling here asking if I knew you and the Smithton guy were boyfriends. I told him no, obviously. And if that’s not true, I don’t want to know. This is hockey and you’re a fucking rookie. Keep your dick in your pants, got it?”

“Uh…yeah, but?—”

“No buts. I’m not kidding, Ty. Be done with him. He’s no longer useful to us, so if there’s something between you, end it.”

Toby hung up before I could get another word in.

Something must have happened.

Shit.

Walker’s house was dark.

I parked out front, well past caring who might see, and jogged to his porch, knocking and ringing the bell like a lunatic. After what felt like ten minutes, the lock clicked and the door inched open.

“Holy shit, I was really fucking worried about you. Are you okay?” I pushed by him, scooping Mabel into my arms to avoid shaking Walker. I was equal parts pissed off and relieved…and yes, worried. I was still reeling from my brief conversation with Toby too, but I focused on Walker, who if I was being honest, didn’t look good.

“I’m fine.” Walker closed the door, hugging his arms around his stomach protectively. “Did you win?”

For the record, he wasn’t fine. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he was paler than usual. I wasn’t always great at reading signals off the ice, but Walker’s were obvious. He was closed,detached, cut off. Had Toby called him too? No…he would have told me.

“Yeah, we won.”

“Congratulations.” He smiled softly. “You should be celebrating.”

“I tried, but I was a little too fucking worried about you to enjoy it.” I set Mabel down and raked a hand through my hair. “What’s going on?”

His nostrils flared and his jaw tightened. “I…”

Fuck, he was shaking. “Baby, what is it? I just got off the phone with Toby, so I know it’s something. Talk to me.”

Walker didn’t reply. He moved to the living room and burrowed into the nest of blankets in the corner of the sofa.

“I’ve been getting interview requests all day. From big publications and news media. So has my aunt. They say they want a story about my dad, which means everyone knows we’re related. Which is…okay, I guess.”

“Okay…” There had to be more.

“They’re asking about you too.”