Page 41 of Vital Blindside

“Cheap beer and expensive wine stolen from your parents’ cellar. Those were the days.” Tyler sighs.

“You know, somehow, my father always found out about the missing wine. It was never the party he cared about or the puke in the backyard. It was that damn wine where he drew the line.” I laugh. “Thinking back on it now, that’s definitely why I kept offering it to everyone like it was water from the tap.”

“Of course that’s why. Your dad was just as big of a prick back then as he is now. Honestly, we should have just drained the whole cellar while we were at it. The asshole deserved it.”

“You’re right,” I agree.

“Speaking of the wrinkled fuck, have you talked to him recently? Are your parents coming to the fair?”

The fair is a yearly event put on by WIT at the end of each hockey season to celebrate the successes of all my clients. We rent a couple of carnival rides, hire performers, and pig out at the food stands. Brielle has done the majority of the planning this year, with it set to take place on the last weekend of July.

“Hopefully not. There’s no reason for them to show up,” I say.

A high-pitched scream sounds in the background of the call before Tyler yells, “Oliver! Did you really just put gum in your brother’s hair? Right in front of me? Where did you even get gum?”

“Mommy’s purse,” the six-year-old replies sheepishly.

“Are we supposed to be digging around in Mommy’s things, Oli?”

A pause. “No, Dad.”

“Go apologize to your brother while I find and tell your mom why we need to shave Jamieson’s head.”

“You good, man?” I ask once the call goes silent.

He snorts a laugh. “I thought one kid was hard. Oh, how naive I was.”

“At least Oli has a friend to grow up with.”

“Yeah, so instead of one devil, I get two—ow!” There’s a rustling noise in the speaker before Gracie’s voice greets me. “Yes, Tyler. Go get the razor, and then you can try your best at shaving our poor two-year-old’s beautiful head of curls.”

“Me? You mean us, right?” Tyler asks in the background.

Gracie scoffs. “Oh no. I mean you. I’m not going to let him hate me for this.”

“But you’ll let him hate me?”

“I would prefer him to hate neither of us, but if those are my only two options. Sorry, babe.”

I bite my lip to avoid laughing and pull the phone from my ear before turning it to speakerphone and placing it on my desk. It’s still hard to believe that just ten years ago, Tyler was pretending not to care about Gracie while she was blatantly pining over him. It was the typical brother’s best friend drama that kept them apart but with some bad-boy commitment issues thrown into the mix.

They’re both the most stubborn people I’ve ever met, but somehow, it worked out in the end. A happy marriage and two beautiful children can account for that.

“Adam?” Gracie calls.

I lean my elbows on the edge of my desk. “Hey, Gray.”

“Oh, please don’t call me that. I found a grey hair this morning. Luckily it was only one, but I’m forever scarred. I’m being aged right before my own eyes.”

“Did you rip it out?”

“I did. Imagine if Oakley had seen it. I would never have lived it down,” she guffaws.

The devil on my shoulder grins wickedly. “Actually, I have it on good authority that your brother pulled out his first grey hair last year. Ava swore me to secrecy, but I’m willing to take a risk here.”

“That dirty cheat. He told me just the other day that he was positive he would never go grey.”

I click my tongue. “Naughty boy.”

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