Page 42 of Make Your Save

“Good game tonight,” she says as she pulls out of the garage and onto the street. “You played your ass off. You were practically standing on your head tonight.”

I glance over at my sister, pulling my seat belt across my body as I smile at her. “Yeah, well, your guys didn’t make it fucking easy.” I chuckle, reaching toward the screen in the center of the car to change the music. Raven swats my hand away.

“They played well, but not well enough.”

“Don’t be so hard on them,” I tell her, studying the side of my sister’s face. She’s almost two years older than me, although we look more like we could be fraternal twins. Same color eyes, same color hair—she’s just definitely the prettier and more feminine of the two of us. “Look at the team you guys were up against.”

“Jesus, you’re so cocky sometimes, it’s disgusting.” She laughs, shaking her head before looking at me from the corner of her eye. “But you’re also entirely correct.”

“You’ve been doing a great job with the team, so try not to be so hard on yourself,” I tell her, the seriousness hanging in my tone as the atmosphere changes. My sister is one who strives for perfection, which I think contributed to her downfall with playing professionally herself.

She played in the women’s professional league for a few years before it blew up in her face. She was continuously pushing herself too hard and past the limits of safety. After tearing muscles in her thigh and calf, shelied to the team doctors, telling them she felt fine, when she in fact was not fine.

She hid the pain for a few games before she ended up injuring herself past the point of no return. She could have continued to play after rehabilitation, but if she got injured again, it could have resulted in very serious damage. I know it was hard for Raven to make the decision, but she ultimately decided to step down from her pro career and transitioned into a position of coaching instead.

“You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” she reminds me, raising her brows as she pulls up along the street where the restaurant is. It’s a dark, almost black-colored brick building and looks equally as dark inside. She lets out a sigh. “Oh, little brother. I wish I had your attitude and positivity. Unfortunately, I’ll probably continue to beat myself up until the day I die.”

I stare at her for a moment as she kills the engine. “It sounds like it’s pretty miserable to be you.”

She attempts to punch me, but I duck out of the way, her fist meeting the air as I quickly scramble out of the car. I hear Raven laughing, mumbling a string of curses under her breath, before she follows suit and meets me in front of the restaurant.

“I’ve missed you and that black cloud you drag along with you,” I joke, pulling her against my side as I ruffle the hair on the top of her head, pulling pieces from the tight bun she has it pulled back in.

“Pfft,” she says, pushing me away as she attempts to smooth out her hair again. “That fucking thing follows me around.”

“No, it doesn’t, Rae,” I tell her, shaking my head as I pull open the door for her. “You cling to it like a security blanket and refuse to release it.”

Raven cuts her eyes at me as she walks past. “Listen, bro. If I wanted a therapy session, I would have called my therapist, not you.”

She doesn’t comment any further as she steps up to the host and tells the young woman her name before we’re led through the swanky French restaurant, finally reaching a table along the wall. I also don’t bother to say anything else because I’m just glad to hear she’s still seeing her therapist.

We both settle into our seats, retrieving the menus and scanning the words until our server comes over with a bottle of water and two glasses. He pours each of us a drink before asking if we want anything else to drink. We order a bottle of wine before returning our attention back to the menus.

Raven brings up some of the selections and we spend a few moments discussing food. I see the persisting questions in her eyes and I know she’s chomping at the bit to get into the nitty-gritty things right now.

When the server returns again, he pours the wine, takes our order, and disappears again through the restaurant. Raven waits until he’s far enough away that there’s no one who could potentially be listening to our conversation before she dives in without any remaining hesitation.

“I’ve heard the story from Mom, but it’s your turn to explain.”

I’ve been avoiding this conversation with my sister since I told my mom about Lucy. I told her, knowing she would inform the rest of the family, even my brother who’s currently in a rehabilitation facility. There were no secrets in the Taylor family, and I’ve been able to starve Raven of any additional information, telling her I wanted to talk to her in person instead.

Well, here we are in person now.

My movements are deliberately slow as I take a sip of my wine before diving in. I give her the entire story from start to finish and I’m left winded after I get it all out. I will say, there is a bit of relief that comes with getting it all out in the open like that.

Raven stares at me. “Jesus fucking Christ, Rowan.”

“I know,” I agree, bowing my head at her as I let out a sigh of relief, but it’s also a bit exasperated. “I know, it’s a lot.”

“I don’t even know what topic to touch first.” A wave of emotion washes over her expression. “Like, do we talk about your surprise baby or the fact that you’re engaged to our brother’s ex-girlfriend?”

I blow out a breath through my nose. “I mean, I don’t even know.”

“Does Beau know? Does he know about you and Hadley?” She stares at me, her gaze burning through mine. “I didn’t even know you were seeing her.”

I don’t know how far to take this lie. Raven lives in a different city. She’s always been the one person I’ve trusted with my entire life. The one I could always confide in. It just feels wrong to lie to her, so instead, I decide to water it down a bit.

“It’s new,” I tell her, shrugging my shoulders. “I told Mom we had been dating for longer so she would be on board with the engagement. When Hadley and I found out about Lucy, she understood the importance of me gaining custody of her.”

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