Page 61 of Game Changer

“Heard my name,” Liam says, stepping into the waiting room and handing me a coffee.

“Appreciate it, Liam.” I yawn again and set it down on the table.

He lifts his chin. “I can fill in whenever, I’m single with no children, so the night shift isn’t inconvenient.”

“He is, however, busy most Sundays. Max and Mila, this is Dr. Liam Ross, a veterinarian and a member of the legacy group.You never know who owns the field in the facilities or the actual team. Liam, this is Max and Mila Steel. Lindsey and Mila were roommates at New Jersey University, and Max and I were also roommates. Mila and Max have a little girl, Saylor, and a son, Jonathon, who is the same age as Lily.”

Mila shakes his hand, “so you’re Riley’s …?”

“Cousin.” He smiles as he shakes her hand. “I believe she’s working at the Brewery today, and Hudson will more than likely be there after practice. You two should stop in while you’re in the area.”

Witnessing what I did today was emotionally draining. Time seemed to slow down, and every sound in the room—the soft hum of machines, the measured beeps of the monitor—suddenly became almost overwhelming. Watching Lindsey’s medical team remove what was a lifeline, keeping her suspended between vulnerability and survival, the silence screamed uncertainty. It was dread and hope in the same strangled breath. Hearing her like that … I will never forget it, and watching them work to reinsert the tubing made me physically ill.

I hit the key fob as I head to my vehicle. Then I see someone step around it. Mitchell Bellemont.

“A little cold for a Georgian to be just hanging outside waiting for me, isn’t it?” I ask as I approach suspiciously.

“The things we must do for the people we love,” he says with that air of conceit I despise. He pulls an envelope from his inside jacket pocket and hands it to me. “There are two other times Lindsey has been hospitalized before this one. The first in her sophomore year of high school when she threatened to take her own life when my father suspected she had an eating disorderand confronted her. The second was about a year ago. Because I did not live at the family home then, I am unsure what was going on, but I was told she made the same threat.”

I try to remain calm when asking, “How long was she in the hospital?”

“Last time, thirty days.”

“So your parents?—”

“Had legal temporary physical custody of Lily, and they are going back to Georgia to make sure they legally still do before they return and take Lily back with them.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Madeline Bellemont is an accomplished and respected woman; she’s been a great mother to my brother and me, but with Lindsey, it always seemed like she was competing against her. I do not want my niece to have the same type of life.” He clears his throat. “And I do love them both.”

“But you won’t fight for her?”

“You did not once hear me mention unplugging a machine helping her stay alive.”

“If we go to court?—”

“If this goes to court, you aren’t going to want me at odds with them; you’ll want me there for Lily.”

“She’s not going back there.”

“Then you do what needs to be done to make it so a judge agrees with you.”

When Sydney, who’s obviously a bit shocked I’m here, opens the door, a million pounds of pressure lifts from my shoulders.

“Hey.” She places her hand on the side of my face, and I lean into that touch like it’s a lifeline and close my eyes. “How did it go?”

“Not like we wanted, but there’s still hope. They had to re-intubate her, and that …” I shake my head. “My stomach isn’t as strong as I thought.”

Her bottom lip pops out. “I’m so sorry.” She steps back. “You sure you wanna chance getting sick?”

“I need my girls more now than ever.” I lean down and catch her eyes. “I need you in a fucked-up rom-commy-reality-show kind of way. You with me?”

She wraps her arms around herself. “Oh boy.” Then she exhales her sweet breath against my face, and I hold steady even though I’d throw just about anything away just to kiss those lips again, but this is too important. “Okay, yeah, sure, I’m with you.”

I grab her up in a hug and twirl her around, and she squeals damn near silently.

“You won’t regret it.” I set her on her feet then look around. “I’ve never seen someones home scream their name as loudly as this place screams Sydney Sparks. It’s perfect.” I look back at her standing there, face red, eyes wide, and a smile creeping up on her lips. “You’re fucking perfect.” I adjust my semi. “We’ll ignore that for now.”

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