Rhodes
Family dinner Sunday. You in? Say you’re in. I need some hang time with my best guy.
I grinned down at the screen. Shep’s sister, Rhodes, had done her best to pull me into the Colson crew, a family whose ties were a mix of blood, adoption, and foster care, but whose bonds of love were stronger than any I’d ever witnessed.
Me
We’d love to. Ask Nora if I can bring dessert.
Rhodes
I know we’d all love that. Plus, it’ll save us from Lolli volunteering her “brownies.”
I chuckled as I beeped the locks on my small SUV. Rhodes’ grandmother was notorious for trying to sneak special ingredients of the marijuana variety into her baked goods.
Me
I promise to save everyone from the munchies.
I headed toward the SUV’s back hatch as Luca climbed into his booster seat, but my gaze couldn’t help but zero in on Roman’s name. I didn’t know how he kept finding my new numbers, no matter how often I changed them. I kept telling myself we were safe as long as he didn’t know where we were. But that didn’t stop the dread I felt from pooling in my stomach at each new message.
Unknown Number
Come on, Blue Eyes, help me out. For old times’ sake. Once this debt is settled, we’ll both be free. xx Roman
The only problem was that Roman’sdebtwas tens of thousands of dollars, and that was with the Petrovs alone. Who knew who else he’d borrowed and begged from or promised to repay? All I knew was that even if I had that sort of money, the payoffs would never end.
I shoved the phone into my pocket and lifted the back hatch. Out of sight, out of mind. I grunted as I hoisted the massive duffel bag inside. If a seven-year-old’s gear was this heavy, I could only imagine the weight of an adult’s.
Shutting the hatch with anoomph, I headed for Luca’s open door. He knew the routine. While he was allowed to buckle himself in, I always had to check. I gave the seat belt a quick tug as I scanned the booster seat and latches. “You’re good to go.”
“Duh, Mom.”
My lips twitched. Seven going on seventeen. “All right, Superstar. Off we go.”
I climbed behind the wheel as the sun beat down on us. It felt all sorts of wrong to be heading to a hockey camp in the middle of July, but I was grateful for the childcare. Summer meant camps for Luca because I still needed to work. Thankfully, he was always excited about them, and none more so than the one focused on his obsession.
I turned right on Cascade Avenue, the main street through town that housed a total of three stoplights. The buildings were mostly made of aged brick with an Old West vibe that gave them a different sort of character than Baltimore had. The fact that the town made it a point to have flower beds at each corner, and businesses decorated with window boxes and pots, meant Sparrow Falls had a charm you couldn’t beat.
Pair that with the natural beauty that surrounded it, and I knew I’d never leave if I had a choice. The Monarch Mountains were to the east, four peaks still coated with snow in the middle of summer. To the west was Castle Rock, a series of golden rock faces that were aclimber’s dream. The area called to outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds. But that wasn’t what it gave me. For me, it was one thing and one thing only…
Peace.
After everything that had happened in Baltimore: the attack, the months of recovery where Marilee slept on my floor to help care for Luca while I recovered from what we’d told him was a car accident while I was in a taxi, the fear that clogged my throat every time there was a knock at the door… I’d needed that peace more than air.
“Mom, did you know The Reaper started playing when he wassix?” Luca asked, cutting into my spiraling thoughts.
“You might’ve mentioned that,” I said, trying to swallow my laugh. Thanks to Luca, I had memorized just about every fact about his favorite hockey player on our closest team, the Seattle Sparks.
“He had the third most goals of any player in the whole league, Mom. I’m gonna be just as good as him. Watch. And I’m gonna be fierce, too. He slammed one guy into the boards so hard he broke his arm.”
I winced. “Hurting people isn’t a good goal, Luca. And I don’t like hearing you talk like that.”
My son let out a huff of air. “He wasn’ttryingto break the guy’s arm. But the guy did a dirty hit on The Reaper’s teammate on purpose. Teddy got hurt pretty bad. And Reaper was just trying to protect his bro.”
His bro?
I shuddered at the facts Luca had laid out. “This doesn’t sound like the best sport for you to take up. What about soccer?”
