Chapter 42

Forty-Two

Kyleigh

I sit down in my seat, waiting for my dad to join me.

"Holy shit. Did you see that?" someone behind me says.

"What?" another guy says.

"Conor Nilsen just chest-bumped Rowan Landry onto the ice. And now it looks like…oh man, they're fighting."

My gaze flies to the rink. Sure enough, Rowan has Conor by the jersey and is punching his side. The fact that Conor is in full gear gives him the advantage, especially since Rowan doesn't even have his helmet on yet.

I can't see Conor's face, but Rowan's red, and he's clearly pissed off.

Tweetie gets between them, but they somehow fend off every other teammate trying to get them to stop. I bang on the glass, but that's useless. They're not paying one lick of attention to me, only each other.

I cringe, watching two men I love so much being so violent toward one another. The fear inside me that I'll have to choose between them rises to the surface. What if Conor never comes around?

The fans around me are cheering and yelling, laughing, thinking this is entertainment. It's sickening.

Shouldering my way through the crowd, I watch Conor take off his helmet. Rowan doesn't come to his senses but waits for Conor to remove it before they start up again, which pisses me off.

The coaching staff come out onto the ice and the players divide into two groups, one pulling at Rowan and the other at Conor.

I run up the stairs and try to make my way to the locker rooms. I stop and talk to a security guy standing by the entrance, telling him who I am, but he looks at me as though I'm trying to pull one over on him.

My phone rings in my purse, and when I pull it out, I see that it's Rowan. Thank God.

"Rowan," I say purposely loudly so the security guy can hear me, but he rolls his eyes as though I'm playing some game.

"It's Henry. Rowan is in Coach's office getting his ass chewed out. Listen, I was talking to Tweetie?—"

"Get your ass in here!" Tweetie shouts in the background.

"I'm trying to, but no one will let me through." With narrowed eyes, I glance at the security guy.

"Hold on." It's muffled, but I hear Henry telling someone to come get me and bring me to them. "Okay, a guy named Ron is on his way. Meet him by the front entrance at the bottom of the stairs."

I nod even though he can't see me, and I start walking. "Are they okay?"

"If you're asking if they're injured, another black eye apiece, but no broken bones or anything. Probably some bruises you can nurse back to health. On Rowan, not Conor. Obviously."

I grit my teeth. "Obviously."

"Well, the rest of us have to go back to warm-ups. I expect they'll be out by the time you get here. I hope you can talk some sense into them. We've tried everything on our end. Good luck, Kyleigh."

Henry hangs up, and I feel as though he's sent me on a mission he doesn't think I can accomplish. Not that I blame him. These two men are some of the most stubborn alive.

I go down the steps to the front entrance, and a lot of fans are just now coming in. I watch families and smile at every Landry jersey I see, then scowl at the Nilsen ones, although it's always weird seeing people wearing my brother's jersey.

"Kyleigh?" a man says softly from next to me. He's shorter than I was expecting, with thinning dark hair and a kind smile. "I'm Ron."

"How did you know it was me?"

He looks at my jersey. "It's my job to know." He nods toward an elevator. "Let's go."

I follow him to the elevator and down a long hallway. He doesn't say much except how exciting the first game of the season is. He doesn't say anything about the fact my brother and boyfriend are ruining everyone's big night.

He opens a door for me, and I step into a small room with a couple of tables and chairs. Rowan is on one side. Conor on the other. Neither is looking at the other.

Rowan's gaze drifts up, and instead of his usual smile, he looks like a scolded child. Coach Buford must have done a number on them.

"Thank you, Ron." I give him a weary smile.

"My pleasure." He shuts the door behind him when he leaves.

I stand with my arms crossed, my gaze drifting from one to the other. "Hello, boys. And I say boys because you're acting like twelve-year-olds on a playground."

"He tried to take me down," Rowan says louder than necessary.

"You're embarrassing me by acting all cute with her." Conor nods at me.

"She's my girlfriend."

"Okay. For the next five minutes, neither of you can talk. You're both going to listen. Understood?" Neither of them says anything. "I'll take your silence as a yes." I slide onto the table. "Conor."

He glances up, but the annoyed expression on his face tells me I might not get anywhere with him. And I realize I won't—unless Rowan isn't in the room.

I hop down from the table. "Actually, Rowan, I need you to give us a second alone."

"No."

I set my gaze on him, trying to convey nicely that he needs to do what I'm asking.

"Is this how your relationship works? It's a dictatorship?" Conor adds his two cents, and this is exactly why Rowan needs to go.

I walk across the room and put my hands on Rowan's shoulders. "This is a brother-and-sister thing. Wait outside, and I'll come get you when I'm done."

He looks at me as though he's trying to see if he should listen to me or not. Ultimately, he kisses my cheek and walks out of the room.

Once the door is shut behind him, I go over to a chair by Conor and sit, crossing my legs. "I'm not sure how much clearer I have to be, Conor. I love him, and he loves me. And I get that you've seen a side of him I never did. I understand that when you were in college, both of you," I lean down to grab his attention, " both of you never had a serious relationship and probably took advantage of being the big guys on campus."

He rolls his eyes. His own reputation isn't exactly squeaky clean.

"But he's not that guy anymore. He's sweet and kind and caring. Especially with me. Neither of us thought this would happen. We thought we'd…okay, you're not going to want to hear this, but we used each other for sex. But during that, a friendship formed, then our hearts got caught up in it."

Conor scowls at me, arms still crossed. "You're in no place for a relationship."

"I agree with you. I wasn't in a place for a relationship. Finding Mom crushed me on a level I never thought was possible, but Rowan built me back up. He allowed me the freedom to explore what makes me happy. I'm even sketching again now. You think I'm all broken pieces that he's taking advantage of, but he's been picking up the broken pieces slowly, putting them back in place. And if you'd spend any time around us without being so bitter about us, you might see that for yourself."

His eyes don't stray from the carpeted floor. "I get that I'm overprotective, but I've heard guys say so much shit in locker rooms about the girls they're seeing. The idea of my sister being the subject of some of those conversations." His hands clench into fists. "Some of them discard the women and…I just know that if he hurts you, I'm going to destroy him."

I smile at him, although he hasn't looked at me yet. "What if he doesn't?"

"Doesn't what?"

"What if he never hurts me? What if we get married and have kids and are happily married until we die hand in hand at the same time? Well, I get to die one minute before him, so I never have to live on this earth without him."

He chuckles—despite himself, I think.

I knock my foot into his calf. "You like Rowan as a friend, right? Like, he's always been a good guy to you?"

"Until now."

I roll my eyes. "If I wasn't your sister, what would you tell him?"

"I don't want to play these games."

"Just tell me."

He seems to think about it for a beat. "I'd probably think it was cool how you guys got together. That he found someone, if that's what he wanted."

"And if he wasn't your best friend, and you never played hockey with him?"

"I get it, okay? I get it, but I still don't like it."

I stand, pick up my chair, and put it right in front of him. "Look at me."

His gaze floats up to meet mine. Finally.

"I'm all grown up, Conor. You can't protect me from everything. I'm going to make mistakes. I don't think Rowan is one of those, but if something changes, and he breaks my heart, I'll put on my big girl pants and deal. Sure, it will hurt and that will suck, but I'll get through it. You don't have to worry about me. But this thing between you and Rowan is not only ruining our sibling relationship, it's ruining a friendship between the two of you and destroying your entire team. Is it really worth that?"

He sighs and lets his head rock back before meeting my gaze again. "He's good to you?"

There's so much worry in his eyes that it melts away some of the irritation I've been feeling toward him.

I nod. "The best."

"And you're good?"

I laugh. "The best, and I'm not buying a bar, so you can relax about that too."

He lets out a big breath. "It will take some getting used to."

"I know."

"But I'm kind of sick of being mad all the time." I laugh, and he tips his head back. "Call the bastard in here."

I stand and hold out my hands. "Not until we hug this out."

He stands, and I press my cheek to his chest, wrapping my arms around him although he's still wearing his pads.

"I love you, Conor. Stay out of my personal life."

He chuckles. "Point made."

I pull back and cross the room, sticking my head out into the hall when I open the door. Rowan is leaning against the wall, and I tell him to come in.

He walks in, and Conor stands and puts out his hand to him. "You hurt her, and I give you two black eyes and a knee to the crotch."

"What do I get if I don't hurt her?" Rowan asks.

My brother looks at me when he answers. "An amazing woman to love."

Tears well in my eyes.

"Deal." Rowan shakes Conor's hand, and they both kind of crack a smile.

It might be a longer road than I hope, but this is a step in the right direction.

Conor walks out of the room, leaving me alone with Rowan.

"What did you say?" he asks.

"I have magical ways, you know that."

He bends down, and when he's mere inches from my lips, he says, "You know your brother will never get a chance to knee me in the balls, right?"

"Duh, I'm the only one who can touch your balls now."

He chuckles. "Damn right."

He kisses me. After, we walk out into the hallway and find Ron at the end, waiting for me.

"You'll get her to her seat?" Rowan asks him.

He nods. "That's my job."

"Thanks, she's really special." Rowan looks at me, and more pieces of my heart lift from my chest and float into his hands. "See you after the game?"

"I'll be waiting."

Our eyes stay on each other.

I push at his chest. "Go score some goals." I wink.

"Oh, I plan to. Gotta impress this woman in the stands."

"Really?" I ask, playing along with his game.

"I'm thinking about making a deal with her."

My head tilts. "What would that be?"

"If I score a hat trick tonight, she moves in with me." He places a chaste kiss on my lips. "Wish me luck."

I watch him walk down the hallway toward the ice, Landry in big white block letters across his back. I'm certain one day we'll share that last name and, if we're fortunate, see a smaller version of ourselves do the same. I can't wait to see what the future holds.