Page 68 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
“So, Kyle,” Joni says loud enough for us to hear, “Sofia said you’re in Finland coaching hockey. What is it you do in Minneapolis?”
Kyle’s knife slices through a mushroom. He places the chanterelle in his basket. “I’m currently looking for a job there. My old agent mentioned a few opportunities he’d heard about, and I’ve been looking into them.” He avoids eye contact with me when he says it.
“Are they all in Minneapolis?” Joni glances at me for a second before returning to his task.
“No,” Kyle says, “They’re all out of state.”
The ache in my chest becomes heavier, like a broken-down bus has parked inside the space.
I glance away, not wanting either guy to see the pain in my eyes. And that’s when I realize the truth I’ve been ignoring for the past few weeks. What I feel for Kyle has nothing to do with our friends-with-benefits arrangement. Bit by bit, ever since the day at the amusement park, I’ve been falling for him. I’ve known from the beginning that what we have between us might not go beyond our time here. But hearing that Kyle might be leaving Minnesota only confirms it.
Blinking back the tears, I grab another mushroom. A sharp pain slices across my index finger. “Ouch!”
“Fuck!” Kyle says as blood appears along the thin wound and drips to the ground. “I’m sorry, Sofia. I didn’t see your finger there.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Let me see it.” Joni kneels next to me and removes his backpack. He drops it on the ground and examines my finger. “It doesn’t look too bad.” But despite that diagnosis, he glares briefly at Kyle, then rifles in his bag and pulls out a small first aid kit.
He opens it, then proceeds to clean the wound with an antiseptic pad, and covers the cut with a bandage.
A small laugh bubbles inside of me and bursts free. “I guess I’m not going to die after all.”
“Hopefully there was nothing on the knife that could cause an infection.” Joni checks the contents of Kyle’s basket. “You only cut these mushrooms, right? You didn’t cut anything else?”
Kyle nods. “Yeah, just these.”
Joni visibly relaxes at Kyle’s answer. “Just to be safe,” he says to me, “you should work on those mushrooms over there with me.”So your boyfriend can’t hurt you worse than he’s already done.He glares at Kyle one more time.
A shriek fills the air, startling us and a crow in a nearby tree. It takes flight, cawing. I don’t see where it goes. All I see is Aino hunched over Muumu’s body on the ground.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Kyle
At the sound of Aino shrieking, we all look over to see what happened. No one dares to move for the briefest of moments as we piece it all together. Sofia’s grandmother is lying on the ground, clutching her chest.
Sofia is the first to come alive. She scrambles up and races to her grandmother’s side. Joni and I are right behind her.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, voice shaky.
Aino speaks. “She’s having a heart attack,” Joni translates.
A sob breaks free from Sofia. “We have to do something. Please, Joni, do something.”
He crouches next to Tuuli and speaks to the woman in a soothing tone. I join Sofia on the ground. My leg isn’t impressed with all this up and down stress placed on it. I push past the pain and rest my hand on Sofia’s lower back, letting her know I’m here for her.
Joni pulls his phone out and inspects it. “Vittu!”
“What?” Sofia asks, voice splintering. “What’s wrong?”
Joni rips his hand through his hair. “There’s no reception here.”
“Mikä hätänä?” Aino strokes the side of Tuuli’s face, attempting to comfort her. Joni talks to her, and the tears she was holding back break free.
“We’ll have to drive her to the hospital,” I say. “Do you know where it is?” I ask him.
“No, but my grandmother does. She can direct me.”
