Page 28 of The Long Game

“No, I’m okay. I just needed a second.” Jack sat up with Grady’s help, a hand on Grady’s shoulder to steady him.

Grady undid Jack’s chin strap, plucked the helmet off his head, and ran his fingers through Jack’s hair, checking for lumps or blood. He flashed back to waking up with Jack tucked against him, thick, silky hair tickling his nose.Was that only this morning?

“Still good?” Grady asked.

Jack looked bemused and only then did Grady realize he was still carding his fingers through Jack’s hair in long, soothing strokes.

Grady smiled apologetically and stopped molesting Jack. He turned to the two boys kneeling next to them and found a face he never thought he’d see again staring at him in horrified wonder.

Grady’s heart lurched to a stop. “Holy shit,” he whispered.

The boy looked like he’d seen a ghost and Grady knew just how that felt because he would swear to fucking god he was staring at his brother. Except his brother would be almost forty now, and this boy was named Colt. Colton…

“Colton Michael?” he asked, his voice hardly more than a rasp.

“You’re dead,” the boy squeaked back. “They said Grady Samuel wasdead.”

5

There was absolutely no mistaking this sixteen-year-old boy and Grady were related. Jack couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it right away. He’d thought Colton looked familiar, but Christ, he could be Grady’s son.

And while that brought up a raft of questions, Jack was more concerned that Grady looked so shaken. Gone was his steady, calm friend, and in his place was a pale face and too-wide eyes. He felt a tremble go through Grady where he still gripped Jack’s arm.

It struck Jack that he’d probably looked much the same the night before, and this time it washisturn to go full action hero.

Or at least try.

Using his grip on Grady’s shoulder, Jack climbed to his feet, manfully resisting the urge to rub his numb butt. “Let’s take this to the locker room and give everyone else the ice.” He offered Grady his hand to help him stand. Colton’s eyes widened as Grady straightened to his full six and a half feet—plus skates—above them. Jack put himself in front of Grady to meet Colton’s eyes. “Colton, Grady is my friend, and I can promise he would never hurt you.”

Colton eyed Grady. “Okay. That’s not what I’m worried about…now.”

Jack nodded. “Good. Do you want Christian or someone else with you in the locker room? Gabriel, maybe?”

Colton glanced at Christian, then up at Jack. “Will you stay?”

“If you want me there.”

“Yes,” he said.

Christian gave Colton a couple of encouraging bumps on his shoulder then went to join the rest of the clinic. Jack waved to his team to assure them all was fine and led Colton and Grady down the tunnel to the deserted locker room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Colton spun on Grady. “What do you mean you were disowned?”

Grady sighed as he took off his helmet and sat on the nearest bench. He looked exhausted. “They told me I was no longer a member of the family and to leave and not come back,” he said. “So I did.”

“Why?” Colton whispered, holding perfectly still. “Why’d they do that?”

“Because I’m gay.”

Colton wavered on his skates. Jack jumped forward and urged Colton into a folding chair facing them, then slid onto the bench so his shoulder pressed to Grady’s.

Grady flashed him a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Jack hesitated, then went with his gut and took Grady’s hand. Tomorrow they’d go back to not touching any more than strictly necessary. Right now, touching Grady,supportingGrady, felt imperative, and holding hands had made a huge difference for Jack the night before.

He considered Colton, struck again by the obvious similarities. “So, you two are brothers?”

Grady let out a quick laugh and even Colton smiled.

“Cousins,” Colton said. “Though, you look just like my brother. Taller, I guess. But your face…”

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