Page 210 of The Dixon Rule

“You promised you’d go to Chicago as planned. That you’d excel in your sport. You’re a hockey player, not a babysitter or a box packer or an adequate chef. You need to go play hockey. That’s the promise you should be keeping.” She takes a deep breath, her gaze unwavering. “You don’t belong here.”

I frown at her. “Then why did you let me come home?”

She sighs. “Honestly? I thought you’d get bored after a week or two. Miss hockey and Diana, and go back to Briar. But you’re not leaving. So you’ve forced my hand and now I have to kick you out.”

A disbelieving laugh flies out. “Wow.”

“Your sister and I are going to be fine. You’ve already done so much. Maryanne is back at school tomorrow. I’ve got work. The lawyers have a good grasp on your father’s estate. And you’ve packed up nearly the entire house. There’s nothing for you to do here. It’s time for you to go.”

A tentative smile lifts my lips. “I can’t believe you’re kicking me out.”

Yet her actions—no, her permission, it lifts the weight off my shoulders, replacing it with a newfound sense of hope. I loved being home with my family, but I also hated it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to assume this much responsibility. Taking care of the house, driving Maryanne around everywhere, keeping her busy. I can’t imagine doing all this while also playing professional hockey.

The longer I’m here, the more I realize how idealized my view of life has been. I’ve been injected with a dose of reality. My whole vision about being a young husband, a young dad, and believing I could still give equal focus to hockey, to intensive training and a grueling schedule… I’ve never considered myself to be naive. But…yeah. It’s a challenging balance I’d never be able to strike right now.

Mom’s right. I miss Briar. I miss my boys. And most of all, I miss Diana.

I scoot closer and hug her tightly, grateful for her support and encouragement. She and Dad were always good at that, letting me follow whatever path I wanted, rooting from the sidelines while I did it. They’ve almost got Diana beat in the cheerleading department.

“All right. I’ll head back tomorrow,” I tell her. “Hopefully Coach gives me my roster slot back and lets me play Yale this weekend.”

“He’s an idiot if he doesn’t.”

“Don’t ever call Coach Jensen an idiot to his face. He’ll destroy you.”

“Not if I destroy him first.”

I grin. I hail from a family of psychopaths.

“Do you want to put on a movie or something?” I suggest.

“Sure. I don’t know if I’ll make it through more than half before I fall asleep, but let’s see what happens.”

Chuckling, I reach for the remote, but my hand changes course when my phone lights up on the table. The caller ID displays an unfamiliar number. It’s a Massachusetts area code. Usually I send unknowns to voicemail, but there’s a funny feeling tickling my stomach, and for some reason I pick up the phone.

I answer with a leery, “Hello?”

“Shane, this is Priya. From Meadow Hill.”

A chill runs down my spine. I clutch the phone tighter. “Priya, hey. What’s up?”

“I’m calling from the hospital. An ambulance just brought Diana in. Niall and I rode here with her—”

The room spins for a moment. “What happened? Is she all right?”

“What’s going on?” Mom touches my arm.

“Diana’s in the hospital,” I explain before refocusing on Priya. “Tell me what happened.”

“She’s hurt,” Priya says, her shaky breathing betraying her calm tone. “You should get here as soon as you can.”

I feel the world closing in on me. “Hurt how? Just tell me what happened.”

“Her ex-boyfriend broke into her apartment and beat her pretty badly.”

My entire body is frozen in place.

Beat her?

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