Page 46 of Body Checked By the Defenseman

“It’s fine but Hayden is right. I know how to take care of myself,” I tell Macklin.

“Right,” he replies.

“Besides, I don’t think you guys should be scaring off potential mates. I’m at a point in my life that it would make sense to date,” I remind, and Macklin looks a little stunned.

“As long as he’s a nice and respectful guy with good intentions, I’m fine with it,” Hayden explains. I wonder if that would include Macklin. Probably not.

“What he said.” Macklin points at Hayden.

“Okay, can we throw some axes?” Aaron hollers.

We all go back to throwing axes, but the underlying tension is still there between Annie and Cade, who keep side-eyeing each other and me and Macklin, who seem to be doomed.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

What’s the Plan?

Macklin

I’m walking into the house after an exam, feeling drained and tired. Hayden is in the family room with his laptop on his lap, sitting on the couch.

“Hey, bro,” I say to him.

“How did your exam go?” he asks.

“I think it went well. I’m beat. I just want to go crash for a few hours,” I explain. The semester is over, but we have exams before we break for Christmas.

“I have some news,” Hayden says.

“Are you going to share?” I smirk.

He rubs his chin.

“What is it, you ass?” I ask because he is being weird.

“I spoke with my agent, the Tampa Bay Hurricanes want me,” he announces.

“That’s fucking great.”

“Thanks, bro. I’m going to be heading there for the weekend. The coach invited me to hang with the team. They have a home game Saturday night,” Hayden explains.

“Wow, that’s seriously awesome and Florida is a cool place to land,” I tell him.

“At least it’s the East Coast so the plane ride home isn’t too bad,” he says because he is Hayden and he’s probably thinking of Abuela and Ruby.

“This place isn’t going to be the same without you here next year,” I state, feeling emotional about how many things are changing in my life. Hayden won’t be here and I don’t know where Ruby and I stand.

“It feels weird to leave, honestly,” he admits. “But this is what I’ve worked so hard for.”

“Yeah, I get it,” I reply, feeling choked up.

“Will you keep an eye on Ruby?” he asks.

“Of course,” I assure, feeling like a big ass. I’ve been keeping an eye on Ruby. “I’ll catch you later.”

“Yeah, bro,” he answers. He goes back to doing his work and I head up to my room to crash.

There are no games scheduled for us this weekend because of exams. Tomorrow is my last exam and then I’m free, but I’ll wait for Ruby and Hayden to head home to Abuela.

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