Page 23 of Pucked Into Position

Hope blooms in my chest, small like daisies, but it’s there.

I scoff and choke back another sob. Bitterness coats my tongue like a milkshake gone sour. “And what if he doesn’t? Then what?”

Guilt washes down the bitter taste and I scold myself for feeling a seed of hope that he might try and fix things.

“Trust me, girl. You've got him wrapped around your little finger from what you’ve told me. He'll come running for you. Just give it time.”

Chapter Seven

Ryan

I can’t stop pacing. The hardwood floors feel worn thin beneath my bare feet. Just over an hour ago, we’d been playfully working through her homework, and now…

Hi, this is Lana. I’m probably busy with homework or stealing my brother’s LEGO sets while he’s away. Please leave a message—

I hang up the phone again. If I wasn’t so worried, I’d probably be able to laugh at Lana’s voicemail greeting, even if it is the twenty-first time I’ve heard it.

I remember when Lana used to take apart Tucker’s Lego sets to build something new for us to test out—like the bridge for our army men when she was six, or the phone holders for our first cars when she was seven. She’s always been inventive, always wanted to be an engineer, and I wanted to help her reach that goal. Instead, I’ll have to watch from afar while she succeeds without me. My heart clenches at the thought of only ever seeing her wide brown eyes and beautiful smile through a screen.

I need her here, by my side, bright with excitement as she tells me about her day.

I sigh and set the phone down on the counter before I do something stupid, like throw it at Tucker’s head. It slams down a little too loud and I groan, rubbing my hands hard against my face. Lana has every right to ignore me right now, and she did at least tell Tucker she was safe with a friend. But she wouldn’t tell him where they were.

The pale, shattered look on her face before she stormed past us is burned into my memory. I know I fucked up. I should’ve just told Tucker what was going on. Instead, I let my desire to keep her to myself cloud over what she needed to hear me say.

“Fuck,” I grumble, and start pacing the kitchen again. I have to figure out how to live with the fragile reassurance that she’s at least safe somewhere else for the night. Cause she certainly isn’t coming back here.

Tucker comes up behind me and sets a beer down, the glass clinking against the granite countertop. I lift my head and he stares at me with an expression I know all too well. Here comes the lecture.

“If you continue to wear a hole in the floorboards where my sister is supposed to be living, I’m going to have to break your jaw.” His voice is low and gravelly, vaguely threatening. I’ve only heard him talk like that once before, and it was when he hit someone in high school who was talking shit about Lana being our shadow.

His beer bottle rests loosely between his fingers, and his arms are crossed. He had been watching me pace like a caged animal with the cool, calculating intensity of a military drill sergeant. He’d make a good hockey coach with that dead-eye stare.

“Now come sit the hell down, and tell me what the hell is going on. She’s not going to answer her phone tonight.” Tucker nods toward the couch.

I let my shoulders drop, grab the beer he opened, and walk to the living room. I drop heavily onto the couch, and he sits at the other end. A movie plays in the background, barely audible, forgotten.

Tucker leans forward, and I watch the condensation from the bottle drip over his knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” I finally choke out around the lump in my throat. “I broke her heart, Tuck.”

“You did,” he confirms.

“I feel terrible. It wasn’t my intention. I was just trying to protect…” I take a swig of the beer, but barely taste it.

“What were you trying to protect, Ry?” Tucker’s tone is tense, but calm. He’s still mad, but I can tell he wants to hear me out.

“Everything. Her. Especially her. What makes it ten times worse is that everything I said to you about it was a complete lie.”

I wait for Tucker’s fist, but it never comes. With a shaky breath, I meet his eyes.

“It wasn’t fake at all. At least…not in here.” I point to my heart. “I’m completely and utterly in love with her.”

Tucker doesn’t even flinch, he just rolls his eyes and takes a slow, deliberate sip of his beer, then sets the bottle on the coffee table. “I know.”

My brows shoot up.

“I’ve known you since we were eight years old, Ryan. I know all your plays on the ice, and I know all of them off it. But if you don’t start telling me the whole truth right now, I swear to god, I’ll make sure Lana wants nothing to do with you for the rest of your life.”