Page 89 of Crossing Lines

“Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?” I pursed my lips, the conference room table blurring. My whole life was going to shit. Well, all of it except for Jonah. At least I still had him.

“Yes, talk to you soon. I’ll text you the day and time of my appointment. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom. Bye.” I ended the call, then stood up. How the fuck was I going to face the coaches? And what aboutthe team? Gritting my teeth, I strode out of the room, down the hallway, passing a few players along the way, then ducked into the office.

“Everything okay?” Finley peered at me

“Uh…” Did I tell them about my mom? Not yet. It was still too fresh and the last thing I wanted was to break down like a baby right now. I shifted my stance and glanced at each of them, all in the same positions like they’d just stood there and waited for me to come back. “Yeah, all good.”

Bumping off his desk, Patterson said, “We need you, Gibson. Your contribution to the team, short as it’s been, has been instrumental in getting us to this point. Carlson and Hodge have found a groove under your guidance, and we need you right now.”

I stared at him. Had I really made that much of a difference? Sure, I’d brought some more advanced techniques with me, but damn. “Thank you.”

“But I’m afraid I’m going to have to take some action here. Normally, we’d recuse you from your duties, but as Finley stated while you were gone, you’re not technically coaching Boehm. And for Christ’s sake, the season is almost over.” Shaking his head, he rubbed his temple.

“What does this Owen person want? Maybe you can talk to him.” Finley tensed his mouth. “If you reason with him about the situation, would he back off?”

“I don’t know.” The guy was a fucking psycho as far as I was concerned. “I’ll try. Give me a few days.” Though I’d blocked him, I still had his phone number. Heat sparked inside me. If I saw him, I might beat the crap out of him. And Jonah? Shit, I’d never be able to keep him off Owen.

“Okay, so for now, let’s keep this quiet. The team doesn’t need to hear about this.” Patterson’s gaze landed on Hammett, whose jaw was clenching. “Right, Hammett?”

“Yeah,” he gritted out, then flicked a glare at me. “Let’s get this shitshow on the road.” He stomped out of the office.

“I’m sorry.” Hanging my head, I bit my lower lip. I’d jeopardized the whole team.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. Hammett can be a hot head, but it doesn’t last.” Finley patted my shoulder, then walked out.

Nodding, I followed him.

I’d keptmy distance from Jonah during practice and focused on my guys. Now more than ever, I needed to act professionally. Afterward, I gathered my things from my office and strolled down the long hallway to the parking lot.

As I walked through the glass doors, my gaze snagged on Jonah, standing by my car. Shit, should I tell him what was going on? If I did, would it make everything worse? Forcing my pulse to slow, I strolled to him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He eyed me up and down. “What’s wrong?”

Shaking my head, I unlocked my car. “Nothing, why?” Fuck, I shouldn’t tell him. I needed to deal with this on my own.

He stepped next to me, grabbing my arm and yanking me to face him. “Don’t bullshit me. I could see it all through practice. Even Archer confirmed it for me in the locker room. Talk to me.”

With a scowl, I took a quick look around us. Owen could be anywhere. My gaze wound to his. “Not here. Come back to my place, and we’ll talk.” I had to tell himsomething.

“Okay.” He freed my arm and stepped back. “See you over there.” He touched his nose, then mouthed,Love you.

My eyes stung. What the hell was I going to do? If I told him about Owen or my mom, would it affect his playing? I didn’t want that. With my heart sinking, I climbed into my car.

Soon after enteringmy apartment and setting my laptop bag on the kitchen island, my door clicked and Jonah walked in.

“Hey.” He strode to me and wrapped me in a fierce hug, breathing me in and kissing my hair. “Whatever this is, we get through it together. Okay?” He freed me, his blue-eyed gaze locking on mine. “Okay?”

My vision blurred, and I winced. Fuck, I was going to lose it. “Yeah, okay.” Sniffling, I grabbed his hand and led him to my sofa. We both dropped down, facing each other. The last time we’d been here together it had been so different. We’d had so much hope for the future. Now, I had no idea what it held. I squeezed his hands and rested them on my thigh. “Jonah? My mom’s sick again. Her cancer came back.” I’d start there. A lump crawled up my throat.

“What? Holy shit.” He widened his eyes. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. She’s seeing her oncologist next week, and we’ll learn more about it then.” I lifted a shoulder. “It might be easy to deal with, or it might not.” I inhaled deeply. “In any case, I’ll be on a FaceTime call with her when she’s at her appointment. She has a friend going with her too.” I tilted my head. How much did Jonah know about things like this? Probably not a lot. “It’s important to have someone acting as a patient advocate through things like this. There’s a lot of information to process, and she can’t do it alone.”

Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I hear ya.” With his throat dipping, he said, “So, are you going home after the championship?” His brows knitted.

I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “Yes, I probably should.” I was supposed to have gone on some scouting trips, but who even knew if I’d still be working for ASU by then?

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