Page 42 of Mine to Take

My mouth dries. “I’m just stating the obvious. He’s the one who has something to be angry about. Maybe at some point, you need to sit down and hash it out instead of constantly getting into fights on the ice.”

That suggestion is met with a scowl. “What happened with Sabrina is ancient history.”

“Clearly, it’s not. It continues to rear its ugly head every chance it gets.”

“We’re not even together anymore,” he mutters, some of his previous anger draining away.

When everything first went down, I thought River stole Sabrina as a way to mess with Maverick, but they were together for over a year before breaking up and going their separate ways in college.

My brother hasn’t been the same since then.

I can admit it, even if he won’t.

“Have you tried reaching out to her?”

His lips flatten as he gives his head a slight shake.

Even though Sabrina and I still follow each other on social media, we haven’t spoken in years. I’ve seen pics of her with a few guys, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone serious in her life.

“Maybe it’s time for you to?—”

“I don’t want to talk about Sabrina.” There’s a brief pause. “Or Maverick McKinnon. Sabrina is part of my past, and nothing is going to change that.”

Even though it’ll fall on deaf ears, I can’t resist adding, “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Yeah, it does. End of story.”

When my fingers brush across my collarbone for a second time and come away empty, I realize that I need to get my necklace back.

The question is how.

14

Maverick

Sweat drips down the back of my neck as I shove into the locker room and throw my stick in the holder near the door. Even though practice ended a few minutes ago, I’m still breathing hard.

It only takes one glance around to realize that I’m not the only one. Coach has been skating our asses off since the loss on Saturday night.

Hey, losses happen.

No one likes it.

But when it’s against our biggest conference rival?

That’s when it becomes unacceptable.

We’ve just given our opponents for the next scheduled game a massive mental boost.

I unsnap the chin strap and yank the helmet off my head before tossing it into my locker and dropping down to the bench to unlace my skates.

Ryder huffs out a tired breath and takes a seat next to me.

As far back as I can remember, we’ve played for the same team. First, house teams, then when we were older, travel teams. I always played up with the older kids, so we were together. The only exception is when Ryder graduated from high school and started college.

I’ve never admitted this to anyone, but my senior season in high school sucked because Ryder wasn’t there skating beside me. When I was on the ice, it felt like a vital part of me was missing. We’ve been teammates for so long that I know the moves he’s going to make before they happen.

Maybe even before he realizes it.

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