The Keeper: Chapter 21

“Hell-o lovah . . .” Everly whispers as she walks into my condo. “Seriously, you didn’t say that man was panty-melting hot. How is Easton okay with protecting you? Isn’t he worried about your body and his body . . . you know?”

“You’re crazy. You realize that, right?”

Kenzie tosses me my coat and looks at her watch. “She knows. We all know. Now let’s move it, ladies. I can finally catch one of my brother’s games, and I don’t want to be late.”

“Me either. Have you seen the way those men stretch on the ice? I swear my TikTok feed is filled with hot hockey boys lately. It’s like the sports gods know how over football players I am by this point in the season.”

I slip my arms in my coat and grab my purse. “It’s a good thing you’re not allowed to date any of the Kings players then, isn’t it?”

“Who’s dating one of my teammates?” Callen asks, having caught the end of the discussion when he and Maddox walked through the door.

Evie stomps her feet. “Why are dumb and dumber here?”

“Play nice,” Kenzie tells her as she takes my hand. “Now let’s go.”

My family purchased the Philadelphia Revolution from my oldest brother Max’s wife’s family years ago. And one of the first things he did was institute the same rule here that Scarlet has at the Kings stadium. We have two box suites. One is for the family to enjoy themselves. The other is for VIP guests, who we’re expected to mingle with.

If you’re one of my brothers, sisters or me and you’re at a game, you’re expected to pop into the VIP suite at some point and make nice. But as we pass it tonight, I can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t be better off staying in there with my friends instead of going into the family suite.

I know Max and his wife, Daphne, will be here because I spoke with him earlier to make sure there was room. Most of my nieces and nephews are teenagers and rarely come to the hockey games. It’s hard to make them all when there are so many more hockey games than there are football games. Home football games get the majority of us there, most of the time.

“Easton told me Becket and Jules were coming with Blaise, which means there’s a good chance Lenny will be here too,” I tell Kenzie. “Am I awful that I’m hoping Mom and Brandon skip this one?”

“No, you’re not awful. But you have to face her soon, Linds. It’s almost Christmas. You don’t want to let this ruin your holiday.”

I square my shoulders and walk into the suite, taking a quick glance around.

I see Max and Daphne. Jules and Becks. I was right—Lenny and her husband, Bash, are sitting with them. And India is here with the kids. Okay, I can handle this.

“Lindy,” Becks is the first to see me, and the smile on his face does me in. He wraps me up in a big-brother bear hug, and it’s like I can finally breathe. Jesus. I forgot how much I miss my family.

“Hey, Becket.” I squeeze him back and kiss Jules on the cheek when she joins us.

“So, kid. Does this mean you’re my daughter-in-law and my sister?” Becks jokes, and Jules smacks his chest.

“Don’t let anyone hear you saying that, Becket. It makes us sound like the Clampetts.”

“I’m just teasing her,” Becks chuckles and moves on to Kenzie, not making a big deal out of anything. Okay. New favorite brother.

Everly walks over before I even take my jacket off and hands me a glass of wine. “Here,” she whispers. “Take the edge off. You’re practically vibrating with nerves.”

She taps her glass to mine. “Salut.”

“Salut.”

“You know, according to the Kroydon Kronicles, you shouldn’t be drinking.” Lenny eyes me as she and Max make their way over to me.

Max shakes his head. “Like she’d be the first of us to be pregnant before she got married, Eleanor.”

His wife, Daphne, shakes her head. “Whatever, Maximus. Like you were the one who had to carry around a bowling ball for nine months.”

I sip my wine while Everly laughs quietly. “I always forget how crazy your family is.”

“Uh . . . guys?” I hold my glass up. “I’m not pregnant. Promise.”

Lenny leans in and kisses me. “Good. Enjoy all the fun you get to have with him before you have a baby. Now is when you get to screw on every surface of your home without having to worry about waking the kids up.”

Max gags and walks away, while Everly taps her wine glass to Lenny’s beer bottle.

“You know, Everly, there’s always this weird line where I want to say these things to my little sister but somehow still feel weird about saying them in front of you.”

Evie and Gracie grew up with Lenny basically as a member of their family. Their parents are close. Lenny’s husband, Bash, is Evie’s godfather.

“It’s not like I’m a blushing virgin, Len,” Everly swallows her wine, and Len scrunches her face up.

“So.” Len turns back to me. “Have you talked to your mom yet?”

Jules and Kenzie turn toward our conversation, and I suddenly feel bad. I’m not happy with my mom, but it feels weird talking about her with everyone.

“No. Not yet,” I admit.

“You need to call her, Lindy,” Len lectures gently.

“She hasn’t called me either,” I defend.

“Sweetie.” Jules takes my hand in hers. “If you want to be treated like an adult, you’ve got to act like one. And sometimes that’s realizing this is your mother, and you owe her your life. Literally.”

“If I say I’ll call her, will you all let me watch my husband warm up?”

“She called him her husband,” Jules snickers to Lenny. The two of them have been best friends forever. And in moments like these, I see it.

“She did. Our little girl grew up,” Lenny adds.

“You guys . . . Ugh.” I walk away, laughing, and move to the glass to find Easton. He’s skating lines in front of his goal. And damn, my husband is hot.

I promised Easton I wouldn’t wait for him after the game. He wanted me to go home with Crew and my friends, since we’re subtly trying to avoid the media until some of this firestorm settles down. That means I’ve got time to kill while I wait for him on the couch, snuggled up with Myrtle later that night.

I stare at my phone, trying to decide whether I want to call my mom or not.

I almost do it too. Until I chicken out and call Brandon instead.

“Hey, shortcake. I was hoping we’d hear from you soon.”

Damn it. His voice wasn’t supposed to make me cry. This is why I didn’t FaceTime.

“Hey, Brandon. How’s everything?” I ask and feel like a complete asshole.

“Gonna ask me how the weather is next, kid?”

I pull my chunky white-knit blanket around me and kinda wish I was sitting next to him right now. Brandon didn’t come into my life as a stepfather until I was fifteen, and he’s never treated me any differently than my little sister, Raven. “No. How is she?” I ask instead.

“There’s a lot of shes in this family, Madeline.” His voice is firm. Protective. He loves me, but there’s no one in this world he would choose over my mother.

“Mom. How’s Mom?”

“That’s a loaded question. Might be better off if you ask her. How are you?”

“I’m happy. Everything in my life is great, if I ignore the fact that my mother wants me to stay a child she can control forever,” I grumble, frustrated. “And I’m pretty sure I sounded like a petulant child the way I said that.”

“Kid. Your mom is hurt. She loves you, and you threw her a Hail Mary, expecting her to catch a pass she didn’t know was coming. She dropped the ball, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be recovered.”

“There’s my favorite football coach,” I tease. He tried being an analyst for a season after he retired, but it wasn’t for him. Now he’s the offensive line coach for the Kings, and he’s great at it. But . . . “Can you translate that to layman’s terms, big guy?”

“You threw her for a loop, kid. She wasn’t expecting you to come home married. She wasn’t expecting you to end up on every gossip rag there is. We don’t even know whether the news is true and we’re going to be grandparents or not—”

“You’re not,” I confirm. “I mean, maybe one day. Eventually. Many, many, , years from now. But not yet and not in nine months.”

“Then you fired your security. She’s been worried about you.”

“I fired my security because he wasn’t mine. He was theirs. The family hired him. I hired someone new today. He works for me and answers to me. I’m not trying to be irresponsible. I just need her to let me breathe a little.” I run my hand over the soft fur of Myrtle’s head and try to see this from their perspective, but it’s just so damn hard.

“Any chance she’s going to be around tomorrow night?” Maybe it’s better if I just rip this Band-Aid off.

“Not tomorrow. She and Raven are going with Jules and Blaise to see some Christmas show tomorrow night. But you could come keep me company if you want to.”

“Big guy, if I come and hang out with you before I talk to Mom, you’ll be sleeping on the couch for a week.” My tone is teasing, but I’m pretty sure I’m not wrong.

“Shortcake. Don’t ever make Easton sleep on the couch. Argue about something if you have to, but put it to bed before you go to bed. Life’s too short to be that angry.”

“How’d you get so smart, Brandon?” He’s always been this person—the one who gives the best advice.

“I’m surrounded by smart women. I pay attention. Now call your mother.”

“I will.” I yawn and slide my head down to the couch. “I love you, big guy.”

“Love you more, kid. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He always used to tell me he loved me more. One day, I asked him why he always had to outdo me, and he laughed and told me, “I don’t love you more than you love me, shortcake. I love you and Raven and your Mom more than anything else in the world. More than anyone else ever will.”

It might have been true back then, but I think I found someone who loves me more now. A different kind of love. I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be.