Page 75 of Body Checked By the Defenseman

“Why, he didn’t have a different situation than I had. Our parents left the both of us. Doesn’t mean every person on the planet will behave like them,” I counter.

“Not everyone can be as optimistic as you, Rubes,” he replies.

“Nothing wrong with seeing the positive in the world,” I respond to him.

He walks up to me slowly and dips his head close to my ear. “It’s one of the things I love most about you.”

His soft voice on my sensitized skin causes goosebumps to pebble down my nape, but then he walks away.

I head back to the main room. “Aren’t you cute trying to change your brother’s ways,” Riley says.

I don’t answer her because it isn’t any of her business.

“Was Macklin the same?” she asks.

Her question irritates me. I take a change of clothes and head upstairs, figuring I will change in one of the bathrooms upstairs.

“Aren’t you going to answer? I can find out myself,” she calls after me.

Bitch. She was nice for five seconds last night. I had a feeling she couldn’t be trusted. I guess she needed a place to crash so she was being nice for a bit.

I head upstairs to see Abuela watering the plants in the family room. “Good morning, mija. Did you sleep well?”

“All right,” I say. I don’t want to say that Riley slept on the mattress with me because then I need to share about the little party they had in the next room.

“Good. Ready for cooking?” she asks. Abuela was always a beautiful woman with her long raven hair, cut cheekbones, and plump lips. I always thought it was weird I turned out with light skin and hair, even though my mom was Mexican. Hayden is a little on the darker side but not by much.

“I’m going to change for a second.” I hold up my clothes.

“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen, I’ve already prepped the ingredients.” She winks. I head to the bathroom on the main floor and get dressed in a pair of leggings and a long-sleeve waffle shirt. It’s loose and comfy. I can easily push up the sleeves to help while cooking. Abuela knows Macklin, Hayden, and I are not the best cooks, but it is still always fun to hang in the kitchen and be a part of preparing Christmas dinner.

I leave my pj’s on a chair in the family room and head into the kitchen. “Put me to work,” I say.

“I will make the tortillas,” she says because she always likes to make them from scratch. “You can cut up the chicken and grate the cheese.”

We both get to work.

“How was the rest of your semester?” she asks.

“It was busy, as usual. I didn’t do as well on my exams as I wanted to, but I’ll just have to try harder,” I report as I cut up the whole chicken she left on the counter.

“You’ve always pushed yourself so hard, I’ve always told you that you need to learn how to relax a little,” she counsels me.

“Relaxing isn’t going to give me a secure future. I’m not like Hayden and Macklin with all-star careers in my future,” I remind.

“You said on our last call that Charlie was trying out for Team USA, you could do the same,” she suggests.

“I’ve thought about it, but it would be hard to manage my senior year and the team. Besides, I’m not passionate about running like Charlie is. It’s probably why my stats aren’t as good. I’ll just have to work really hard next semester so my GPA doesn’t tank.”

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Abuela says. “Is Campbell Hall ready for move in when you get back?”

Her question throws me off. I don’t know why. “It will be ready but things have changed. Charlie is now seriously dating Finn Heaton, and she wants to stay in the hockey house. There is no way I am going back to the dorms without her.”

“Have you spoken with Hayden about your living arrangements?” she asks.

“He said the guys are cool with me staying until the end of the year. And we are saving so much money by me living with him. It’s a win-win.”

She begins to fry the tortilla batter on a pan. “You know, Charlie isn’t going to be in school with you next year. You need to learn to get by without her.”

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