Page 114 of Time to Shine

Casey found him, after that. After the press had left, and Landon was alone in his stall with his feelings.

“Hey,” Casey said softly. He’d stripped from the waist up, chest still glistening with sweat, his hair a damp curly mess. Landon wanted to pull him into his lap.

“Hey.”

Casey tapped Landon’s calf with the side of his ankle. “Best game ever.”

Landon nodded as the lump in his throat came roaring back. He looked away, blinking. It really had been the best game ever; the best weeks ever, and he didn’t want them to be over.

Casey squeezed his shoulder. “Let’s get cleaned up. Our families are on their way down here.”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay.”

“But Landon?”

When Landon turned his gaze back to Casey, he was shocked to see tears in his eyes too. “Yeah?”

“This is only the beginning, okay?”

God, Landon wanted to believe that. He wanted to shake the feeling that tonight was the end of everything: his time in Calgary, his NHL career, living with Casey, being with Casey.

He managed to nod, even if it felt like a lie. Then, Casey surprised him by kissing his forehead. It wasn’t a particularly remarkable thing for a hockey player to do to his teammate, but Landon knew it meant something. He knew it was a placeholder for the kiss Casey really wanted to give him, and he tried to focus on that so he wouldn’t think about how much it felt like a goodbye.

Much later, he and Casey left the locker room and found their families waiting for them in the hall. Casey ran for his, practically jumping on them as he hugged all three people at the same time.

Landon approached his own parents more calmly.

“Our son the superstar,” Dad said, then hugged Landon tightly.

When Landon turned to Mom, she looked like she was going to burst with excitement. All she said was, “Landon!” and then she wrapped her arms around him.

“Did you guys have fun?” Landon asked.

“Oh my god,” Mom said. “I won’t lie—I think my heart stopped a dozen times. But we are so proud of you.”

“Landon,” Casey said excitedly. “Meet my parents! And Grandma! Guys, this is Landon. He’s awesome.”

And then Landon was being approached by Dougie fucking Hicks. “That,” Dougie said, “was some of the best goaltending I’ve ever seen. No joke.”

“Th-thank you, Mr. Hicks.” Landon awkwardly extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Dougie to anyone my son likes this much,” he said as he heartily shook Landon’s hand.

“Dougie,” Landon repeated. “Hi.” Oh god, what had Casey told his parents about him?

Dougie Hicks was still an attractive man. He’d kept in shape, still had a thick head of dark blond hair, and exactly the right amount of dark stubble. And he had the same blue-green eyes as his son. “This is my wife, Michelle.”

Casey’s mother—short, blond, and stunning—went for the hug over the handshake. “We’ve really been looking forward to meeting you, Landon. And we love your parents already. We’re so glad we’ll all be spending Christmas together.”

“It was really nice of you to invite us,” Landon said earnestly. “Thank you.”

She stepped back and smiled at him, and Landon saw where Casey got his dimples from. “The more the merrier, right?” she said.

“This is Grandma,” Casey said, looping his elbow with the short woman wearing an Outlaws jersey with her grandson’s name and number on it.

“Hi, um.” Landon wasn’t sure what to call her.

“Eleanor,” she supplied. “I like your goaltending style. Old-school and a little scrappy. I especially enjoyed that double pad stack in the third against Beaumont.”

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