Page 34 of Game Changer

“Mom,” I whisper as I walk out and lock Lindsey and Lily’s lake house door, “was Lindsey wearing hers?”

“I don’t know, Sydney, I just don’t know.”

As soon as I’m on the main road, my phone rings. I hitaccepton the steering wheel.

“Hello?”

“Hold on; let me get the girls on the call,” Riley says.

I have a love/hate relationship with conference calls—we always end up talking over each other. I prefer group messaging, but also, I cannot read messages right now while I am white-knuckling my steering wheel, thankful that I know this road because I sure as hell can’t see the lines.

“All right, we’re back,” Riley says quietly.

“How bad are the roads?” Maggie asks.

“I’m just happy the plows seem to be out so I can see the path. They suck. Ten out of ten recommendation for just staying home—all of you.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to cancel school today,” Brooklyn Cohen says quietly.

“God, how I used to love snow days.” London sighs.

“If they do end up closing shop, maybe all the kids can get together and go sledding down by Harper’s place,” I suggest. “I could grab some stuff from the shop to make cocoa and bringsome treats. I think you should ask Beau if he’s okay with that, Riley. It would keep Lily busy.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Izzy yawns.

“Until we know for sure there’ll be a snow day, and then make sure it’s okay with Beau that Lily joins the kids, everybody should go back to bed before they fall asleep. They should pray—pray for Lindsey’s complete healing, and strength for all three of them.”

“That’s a given.” Maggie yawns now. “Anyone see the online articles already out there?”

“Seriously, already?” I grumble.

“It’s tasteful,” Izzy states. “I may have insisted Mom get involved and ahead of it.” She clears her throat then reads, “Local Woman in Coma After Icy Road Crash Following Football Playoff Celebration. Blue Valley, January tenth. A woman in her mid-twenties is in critical condition following a single-vehicle accident on icy roads late Monday night, just hours after The Knights secured a playoff victory.

“According to local authorities, the woman, whose identity has not been released, lost control of her vehicle around elven thirty p.m. on Route 7, a stretch of road notorious for hazardous conditions during winter. The car slid off the icy pavement and struck a tree, resulting in serious injuries. She was transported to St. Joes General Hospital, where she remains in a medically-induced coma. No other vehicles were involved in the incident, and police have confirmed that weather and poor road conditions were major contributing factors.

“Officials are urging drivers to exercise caution, especially after celebrations that saw many fans heading home on slick, untreated streets. The Blue Valley community is rallying behind the woman and her family as prayers pour in from both fans and residents.”

“Isn’t she at Upstate?” I ask.

“No one needs to know that,” Izzy says with the kind of satisfaction outsmarting the media, who will be all over this story when they realize it’s Beau’s … Lindsey.

I give her well-deserved props. “Good job, Izzy Ross.”

“I do what I can.” She yawns.

“All right, love you all, but I’m gonna hang up and pay attention. Riley, I’ll be to you in about twenty minutes. I know the code, so go get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy day.”

“We’ll chat soon,” Riley says.

“Love you all.”

Before I have a chance to type in the code, Riley opens one of the large double doors.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” she says, ushering me in. “It’s cold.”

Inside, I set both bags on the ground, and we hug, and then we both cry.

Riley whispers, “Her little girl needs her. What was she doing out there at that time? None of this makes any sense. Jesus, she had Bossy with her. That’s why Liam got called to the scene. Poor little Bossy has a sprained leg.”

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