Page 93 of Crossing Lines

“But you can stay until after the championship?” Hammett’s gaze softened.

“Yes, I can stay. I’m hoping they’ll take me back in the juniors’ league.” Pressing my lips together, I stared at the table, my mind filling with Laurent’s words,Come home to me. It wouldn’t be so bad to go home, especially if I had Jonah by my side.

Finley focused on me. “Hey, Gibson, I have a friend who coaches over at the University of Toronto.” He glanced at Patterson. “I can see if they’re looking, and if they are, maybe we can put in a recommendation for you?”

Nodding his head and with a slight smile, Patterson said, “Yes, I’d be more than happy to recommend you.”

“Plus, if we win the championship, you’d have that on your resume.” Hammett smirked at me.

Warmth crept through my chest. Even with all the bullshit, these guys had my back. Just like when Patterson first recruited me and understood my need to help Mom through her cancer treatments before coming here. “Thank you all. I’m, uh…” I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“Don’t get too excited, Gibson. You’re still leaving an NCAA Division One school.” Hammett blew out a breath. “It sucks it had to go down like this.”

“How do we know Owen won’t file a complaint even with your resignation?” Patterson narrowed his eyes at me.

I couldn’t tell them my threat of not quitting if he did that. “We don’t, but by then, it will be over. The season will haveended, and I’ll be on my way home.” My throat constricted. There would be so many things to figure out to make it happen. “We shouldn’t post my resignation until after the championship game.”

“I wasn’t going to anyway. We don’t want anything hanging over the team. The players need to be focused on winning and only winning.” Patterson’s gaze hardened as it roamed the room. “Right, everyone? Not a word of this leaves this room.” He tapped the table with his index finger. “Not a word.”

“You got it, Coach,” Finley said,

“Yeah.” Hammett’s gaze met mine. “I want a full analysis of the players I sent your way before you leave.” He smirked. “I do still value your opinion.”

A grin teased my lips. My reputation wasn’t completely ruined. “Of course.”

A few days later,I waited in my apartment for Mom’s oncology appointment phone call, pacing past the patio doors, overlooking another sunny day. I’d taken the morning off from work. I glared at the time on the screen. The appointment should have started twenty minutes ago. Should I call her? But maybe the doctor was running late?

I dropped onto my sofa and stared at my phone, willing the call to come through. After waiting a few more minutes, I scowled. “Fuck.” I’d call her. I dialed her number, putting the phone on speaker, and it rang once.

“Oh, Ryan. I’m so sorry. We forgot to call you,” she said.

“Mom, how could you do that?” My chest squeezed. I was under so much pressure already, and now this?

“I’m sorry. We were distracted by… Oh, it doesn’t matter. We have everything written down. Kathy took good notes.”

“Can you send them to me? Maybe take a picture of the notes and send them over.” I rubbed my brow. I should have known.Kathy was a good friend but a little scatterbrained at times, and the two of them together? Who knew how they got anything done.

“Sure, honey,” she said.

“Tell me what he said, anyway. What’s the treatment?” I braced myself. Against my better judgment, I’d Googled all sorts of articles on lymphoma to the point of making myself sick. Of course, I’d kept most of this from Jonah. He needed to focus on the championship and getting through his finals.

“I’m going to have radiation, followed by chemotherapy,” she said with a huff. “I wish they’d just cut it out of me like they did for my breasts, but it’s not the best option in this case.”

“Okay, so when do you start and what will it do to you?” I breathed through a hitch in my chest. I couldn’t believe we were back here again. I mean, I always knew it was a possibility, but…

“I go in for a bunch of imaging tests next week, then I think after that we’ll start the radiation treatment.” She sighed. “It won’t do anything to me besides make me tired. It’s the chemo I’m worried about. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Okay.” I threaded my fingers through my hair and pulled on it. There was nothing more to be done here. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Yes, I’ll call you if there’s any news, and in the meantime, I hope you pull off the win.” She chuckled.

“Yeah, thanks, Mom. Love you.” I sank into my sofa and spread my legs out in front of me.

“Love you too, dear. Bye.”

“Bye.” I hung up the call and huffed a ragged exhale, my mind racing. I had to get through these next games and then I could plan out what was left of my future, and hopefully, Jonah would still be in it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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