Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Legally?” I whisper more to Jukes than M.
“Bes’ not to ask when it comes to Hot Rocket or Dix.”
“You do know how dirty that sounds, right?”
“Def Leppard would probably take an EP credit.”
“The press,” my brother announces louder to recapture our focus, “is aware that you are taking a leave of absence from the season; however, Ramirez, the Octotwat that she is – Hennington’s words – has already taken it upon herself to speculate rumors regarding you sleeping with my wife instead of my sister.”
The gasp out of me propels me forward. “No…”
“Yeah, not my favorite headline to read after getting my ass handed to me by the owner of my franchise for putting my personal feelings before the boys, but,” he tosses a hand in the air, “that’s how the puck dropped.”
“Oh…M…”
“The boys have your back and their Slayers are at the helm, ready to do anything, buy anything, deliver anything needed, and so forth.”
Jukes politely nods. “Appreesh.”
“Now, as the brother of the Slayer you have…” M suddenly sits up a little higher, t-shirt covered torso noticeably straightening, “I wanna extend my apologies for your suffering.” A sympathetic head shake is given. “Losing someone you love is not the type of shit you’re ever prepared for even when you’re theoretically given time to become prepared for it.”
“It really ain’t.”
“And I also wanna apologize for what I said to you. About you. How I said it. Treated you. The sitch. Th-”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t.”
M and I swiftly cut our stares over to the smiling, weary faced individual sitting next to me.
“Look, Coach-”
“Mil,” my best friend casually corrects.
Thayne tilts his head to the side in question.
“When we’re off the ice and not in the barn and don’t have crests on our chests, call me Mil, like my fam does.” He folds his hands together on the counter space in front of him. “And I’ll call you Thayne like my sis does.”
“She calls me Jukes,” he teasingly announces and shoots me a wink, “but the rest of your fam calls me Thayne.”
His eyes relocate to me. “Our entire family knows?”
“Yeah…” I guiltily confess. “Mom and Dad found out first.”
“And they managed to keep this shit a secret?!”
“Impressive, right?!”
“For Dad, especially! You remember how hard it was for him to keep even Christmas presents a surprise?” Post us sharing in laughter, a feeling I have admittedly missed and one I need now more than ever, M questions, “Now, why don’t you want me to apologize for being a fucking pheasant? You wanna drop the gloves? Sort it out that way?” His shoulders innocently shrug. “We can.”
“No.” My finger point is immediate and firm. “No.”
“Nah,” Jukes sweetly brushes off at the same time he gently pulls me closer by my shoulder to resume being in his arms, “one tilly a season’s plenty for me.”
“Then…what?”
“Ain’t no need to apologize ‘cause despite bein’ a coach now, you’re a d-man.”
M’s mouth slightly cracks in response.
“And you’ll always be one at heart.”
My brother fights the urge to grin.
“That’s all you were tryin’ to do for your sis, and I can’t hate on that even if I do wish you would’ve given me a little more Aretha.”
“What?”
“Respect,” effortlessly gets interjected by me.
“Ultimately,” Jukes continues, thumb stroking my shoulder in approval of speaking his language, “I knew your ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ Judas Priest style wasn’t really about me. It was about feelin’ like you failed the job of keepin’ your baby sis away from buds like me, but I swear, I ain’t like any of the pylons that might’ve made a move in the past. I’d rather slice out my own heart with my blades than ever hurt her. And while the d-man in you screams she needs someone to protect her, the truthskies is…Gillybean stays on her Gloria Gaynor shit.”
“’I Will Survive’,” I inform just in case the reference missed him.
“You really do know a shit ton of music. Why did I think coffee was all you knew?” mutters M before getting back on the topic at hand. “But yeah. You’ve got a gino. I wasn’t pissed it was you. I was pissed it was any pylon who puts on skates. I always wanted better for her. She always deserved better. The best, ya know?”
“Yeah, except it’s not your call who that is, M,” defensively leaves me.
“Yeah, I…” his lips momentarily pull to one side of his face, “I…get that now. And I guess I never realized how much I make everything about me. Or how much you’ve sacrificed for me. Or keep sacrificing. Or how much I don’t make the same plays for you.” Sadness leads to him bouncing his shoulders once more. “I need to do better. You deserve better.”
“She deserves the best,” Jukes lovingly insists.
“And between you both, I’ve got it.”
Thayne leans over to plant a sweet kiss on my cheek, washing away the last of the animosity lingering in my system.