I nudged him back. Adulting was hard sometimes, but if I wanted to prove I was my own person, not manipulated by my mother, I had to do it. Because Katie was going to learn that things weren’t ending the same way this time.
Fitch drove me into practice and I met with the trainers. My knee was only sprained, and already a lot better. They worked on it and I was allowed to do some weights, not stressing my knee, and watched the rest of the team practice on the ice.
Coach was pissed about the game from last night, so I didn’t mind being in the stands as much as I would have another time. The guys were winded and dragging by the time they got off the ice.
I waited till everyone was cleaned up and heading to eat. Then I joined Cooper and Barnes and Mitchell again. Fitch followed me, but that was okay. The four of them had gotten me this far with Katie, so I hoped they could help again.
Cooper grinned when I sat down. “Need more advice?”
“Kinda.” My mother was always going to be part of my life. And I hoped that Katie would be as well. There were a million jokes out there about people not getting along with their in-laws, so this had to be a problem most relationships dealt with. “Do your girlfriends or wives have problems getting along with your mothers?”
Mitchell looked at Barnes, eyes wide. Barnes gave himself a shake. “You don’t ask the easy ones, do you?”
“That’s a yes, Ducky,” Fitch said.
I knew it.
Mitch held his hands up. “My mom and Jayna get along great.”
“Lucky bastard. My mom is barely polite to Mya, and her mother hates me.”
Yikes. I wanted to ask why, but Cooper started speaking.
“I can’t help you from personal experience. Callie is an orphan, and she probably gets along better with my family than I do, which still isn’t great. But you told us your parents—your mom and Katie’s folks—were the ones who pushed you into breaking up with Katie. Are those issues still there?”
“With my mom, yeah. And I need to be prepared in case her parents are still the same.” There was no longer a problem about Katie picking a school because of me, or not going to school. But that might have been an excuse.
“That’s a tough one.”
I rested my head on one hand. “So what do you do to fix it?”
Barnes burst into laughter. Cooper and Fitch held it back, but they were grinning.
“There’s no easy fix. There might not be any fix.” Cooper shrugged.
Some families all got along. Mitch said his did. Surely there was something I could do. “But then, like, do they fight forever?”
“Do Katie and your mother fight?”
I frowned. “Not before. But when I told Mom I met Katie again, she assumed Katie was only with me for my money.”
Cooper leaned back. “Does Katie want you for your money?”
I shook my head. “No, she doesn’t. You can kind of tell, you know?”
Barnes nodded, but Fitch rocked his head back and forth. “Not always.”
“Is it likely your mother will change her mind?” Cooper asked.
“I hope so, but I don’t know how.”
Cooper cocked his head. “Hmmm. Katie’s pissed that your mother wanted you two to break up?”
I frowned. “She must be, but she didn’t sound angry this morning when she talked about Mom, did she, Fitch?”
Mitch’s eyes went round, and Cooper and Barnes smirked.
“She came over yesterday, to help me since—” I pointed at my knee. “She fell asleep and I didn’t wake her up. Nothing happened.”
