Page 23 of The Shots You Take

Riley walked away, and Adam closed his eyes, heart racing. Of course he knew he’d hurt Riley badly, back then, but that couldn’t have been the entire reason he’d left Toronto. It couldn’t have been what had made Riley quit hockey. One drunken mistake couldn’t have been responsible for all of that.

He knew Riley was about to tell him to leave—not just the shop, but Nova Scotia—and Adam needed to think of something he could say that would change Riley’s mind. But there was nothing. Of course there wasn’t. Adam would have no choice but to leave, and that would be it. He’d never see Riley again.

And that was when Susan Tuck entered the shop.

“Thought I’d drop in because I have to go to the credit union to deal with about a hundred things and—God Almighty, Riley. You’ve been busy in here.”

“Just moving some things around,” Riley said.

“I’ll say.” She turned to Adam, and her face lit up. “Adam! Keeping him company, are you?”

Adam hoped his smile looked easy and not full of anxiety. “Just brought him a cinnamon bun.”

“Did you now?” She crouched to give Lucky a scratch. “I’ll bet Riley appreciated that.”

“Yep,” Riley said tightly.

“And how are you today, Adam?”

“Fine. Good.” He wondered how long he would be trapped in this awkward standoff.

And then Susan found a way to make it more awkward. “Lindsay told me about your divorce. I’m sorry to hear it.”

There was a clatter from across the shop, where Riley had apparently backed into a display of sunglasses.

“Uh, yeah,” Adam said. “We’re divorced. But we’re still good friends. It’s very, um, amicable.” This wasn’t how he’d wanted to tell Riley. “We’ve been pretty private about it. No social media posts or anything.”

“That’s good,” she said. “Especially for the kids.”

“It is.” He glanced quickly at Riley, whose brow was furrowed as he gazed at the floor. He could only guess what he was thinking.You threw me away to be with her, and now you’re not even with her.

“Well,” Susan said. “I should—”

“Do you want me to go to the credit union with you?” Riley blurted out.

Susan waved a hand. “No, no. I’ll get through it. But maybe you could come by the house later?”

“Of course. I was going to anyway.”

“Adam, you can come too if you like. It would be nice to catch up more, but I understand if you’ve got better things to do.”

“I, um…” There was no way Riley wanted Adam to accept the invitation, right? “I’d be happy to. If Riley doesn’t mind.” He caught Riley’s gaze, but couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking.

Susan glanced between them, perhaps realizing the tension that was filling the store. “I’ll let you boys get back to work then.”

She gave Riley a quick hug and kiss before leaving. Luckytried to follow her out, then sat and stared through the glass door. After a long silence Riley said, “You’re divorced.”

Adam took a deep breath. “Yeah. For over a year now, officially.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“When should I have told you?”

Riley shook his head. “Never mind.”

Carefully, slowly, Adam walked toward him. “I was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to unload my shit on you right away, y’know?”

“It’s fine. It’s—I guess it’s none of my business, really.” He began straightening up the sunglasses display, as if the conversation was over.

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