“What’s going on, sweetheart?” Avery turned to see her mom come in from the hallway. “Benjie looked like he had a storm cloud over his head just now.”
“He wanted Kenton to come to his game tomorrow.” She slid a tea pod into the Keurig and grabbed her mom’s favorite mug to put beneath the spout. “I told him no.”
“Why?” Her mom pulled the sugar from the cupboard. “It’s been awhile since he and his brothers have attended a game, right?”
Avery kept her back to her mom as she finished getting her tea ready. Now she was presented with a second opportunity to talk about what had happened, and while she was a bit more reluctant with Benjie, she didn’t have quite the same reticence with her mom anymore.
After giving her mom the cup, Avery took hers to the small breakfast nook on the other side of the island counter. She waited until her mom sat down, praying that the conversation wouldn’t reveal just how involved her heart had actually become with Kenton.
When her mom gave her a questioning look over her mug, Avery said, “Things kind of got a little complicated earlier this week.”
“What happened?”
After a deep breath to help keep her emotions in check, Avery explained what had gone down at the gym with Kenton. To her credit, her mom didn’t interrupt, nor did she immediately jump in with her opinion on Kenton when Avery finally got to the end.
“Do you think he’d be like Julian?”
It had been a long time since they’d talked for any length of time about Julian. She hadn’t told her mom about his pending release either. So many secrets. “I’m not sure, but I don’t feel like I can take the chance. It’s not just me now, it’s Benjie too.”
Her mom’s look was contemplative as she continued to sip her tea. “I know I wasn’t Kenton’s biggest fan, to begin with, but honestly, I think maybe he’s not as bad as I thought he might be.”
“Seriously, Mom? A few presents and you’re his biggest fan?”
“Avery Elizabeth. You know I’m not swayed by things like that. However, I was touched by the fact that he took the boys out to shop for us even though I didn’t feel that way at the time.”
Yeah. Avery had been touched by that too. Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know, Mom. I’ve got some other stuff that’s going on right now too that’s making me cautious.” She hesitated. “Max Zevardi contacted me to let me know that Julian is due to be released in the next couple of months.”
“What?” Her mom’s mug hit the table with a thud, tea sloshing over the edge. “Already?”
“It’s been ten years, Mom. Max said it’s actually a surprise that he’s been in this long, given who he is and who his family is.”
“He should have been in there forever for what he did to you,” her mom replied with a scowl. “How did Max know about it?”
“Did you know that Dad treated Max’s daughter, Maya?” When her mom shook her head, Avery continued. “I guess they made some sort of connection, and Dad shared with him about what had happened to me. My scholarship wasn’t really a scholarship. It was more Max funding my education. When Dad was killed, Max made the decision that he was going to look out for us as best he could. Apparently, that meant getting me a job and having a lawyer keep an eye on Julian.”
“So what does that mean for you and Benjie? Julian being released?”
“Max is going to have his lawyers get a restraining order against Julian so that he can’t come near me. I want Benjie included in that order, but I also don’t want to alert Julian to his presence. For now, I think the order will just be for me, but should he find out about Benjie, I hope that it won’t be too difficult to get a restraining order for him as well.”
“I’m so glad that we made the decision to put the boys in the smaller private school. You might want to speak to staff there again to remind them of who is allowed to pick Benjie up.” She paused, taking a sip of her tea before continuing. “Maybe it’s time you talked to Benjie about it, so he’s aware of the situation. You don’t want Julian somehow getting to him first and giving him a tainted version of what happened.”
“And when he asks how I managed to stay pregnant through the attack, what do I tell him?” Avery swallowed hard. “I don’t want him to find out that he was conceived that night.”
“I don’t think that he’ll even think about that,” her mom said.
For a moment, Avery wondered what it would be like to face all of this with Kenton by her side. Or if that was even where he would have wanted to be.
There was every possibility that the story of the attack would be resurrected with Julian’s release even though it was a decade old. It wouldn’t surprise her if the media decided that they wanted an update on her life. On what had happened to her since the attack. While she was happy with her life, Avery had no desire to share any part of it with the media.
That was another reason she should probably keep her distance from Kenton. He was definitely a high-level public figure. If people did any research on him, they’d find her if she allowed their lives to become associated in any way but a professional one. Maybe when she was feeling stronger emotionally, she could use that as the reason to keep her distance from Kenton when she finally gave in and talked to him.
Because sooner or later they would have to talk.
It wasn’t going to happen just yet, however.
On Monday morning, Avery was surprised to see Kenton’s car parked at the house. During the previous week, his car hadn’t been there when she’d arrived or left. That hadn’t been unusual previous to their falling out since he had always stayed at the gym to work with Hunter. She had anticipated things staying that way, so seeing his car at the house was a bit disconcerting, and she had butterflies in her stomach as she made her way around the veranda to the therapy room.
She’d been thinking and praying a lot about the situation with Kenton, but she still didn’t feel at peace about talking with him. Her heart still felt too vulnerable, longing to see if there could possibly be something more than just friendship between the two of them in spite of what had happened. With the news of Julian’s pending release, there was even more reason why things couldn’t work out for them. However, her heart wanted to believe that love could overcome it all.
Once inside the warmth of the therapy room, Avery took off her coat and hung it up. Anxiety was knotted between her shoulders, pressing down on her as she sat at the laptop to read the latest reports on Emily. She suspected that soon the doctor would be okay with lessening the sessions she and Rowena had with the woman. Since setting her mind on her recovery, Emily had made great strides with her rehabilitation from the effects of the burst aneurysm.
Avery wasn’t sure what she’d do once the sessions were limited. At some point, she needed to focus on what she was going to do with her future. She, of course, wanted to continue on in her field, but working like this with Emily had spoiled her. It was a blessing to be able to just focus on one person and their needs. She liked being part of a team…kind of how it was with Kenton too. It would be nice if she could just work privately, one on one with clients, but she wasn’t sure she would be able to do that just yet—especially since she was just starting out in her field.
Avery was startled as the door to the therapy room opened, jerking her from her thoughts. Bracing herself, she turned to see who had come in, hoping and praying that it wasn’t Kenton. Relief flooded her when she saw that it was Emily with Steve close behind her.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile, acutely aware of the fact that these were Kenton’s parents and wondering how much they knew of what had happened.
Steve helped guide Emily to the exam table, lowering it so she could sit without difficulty. He straightened and turned to her with a smile. “How are you doing today, Avery?”
“I’m good. Wishing it were a little bit warmer outside but grateful to have a warm environment to work in.” She returned Steve’s smile, reminding herself that she had no issues with these two p
eople. “How’re you both doing? I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you. We’re so happy that Sammi had a safe delivery, and that baby Ella is here safe and sound,” Steve said, a beaming smile on his face. “And Emily has been able to move around much more confidently on her own, so we’re definitely grateful for that.”
“That’s great to hear,” Avery said as she turned her gaze to Emily. “You’re not going to need me much longer at the rate you’re going.”
“About that,” Steve began, and Avery’s heart skipped a beat. Were they going to fire her because of what had happened to Kenton? “We—the doctor and Emily and I—are aware that she is progressing well enough to lessen the time you spend with her. However, at Emily’s request, we would like to keep things as they are. She has expressed a desire to keep working with you as she has been. I only want what will give Emily the most peace as she continues to heal, so as long as you’re okay with it, we’d like to keep your work routine with her the same.”
For the second time in just ten minutes, relief filled her. “That’s perfectly fine. I enjoy working with you, Emily, and would love to continue to be part of your recovery.”
“Great!” Steve looked at her then Emily, leaning over to give his wife a gentle kiss. “I’ll leave you two to it.”
Once Steve had left, Avery moved to where Emily waited, and they began working together.
They were about halfway through their session when Emily said, “Kenton went to LA.”
Avery glanced at the woman, dread in her heart. “Did he go back to stay?”
Emily’s brow furrowed. She sometimes still had an issue with her short-term memory, and it looked like this was one of those times. “I don’t know.”
It had been over three months since the surgery, so it was possible that the team wanted to assess him for themselves. There had been talk of him going back for a few days. That talk had even included her accompanying him, but that wouldn’t happen now. She didn’t want to think about him returning to LA permanently. Her mind said it was for the best, but her heart…her heart mourned the news that he was gone.
She could see that the idea that Kenton had returned permanently to LA also upset Emily, so instead of continuing that discussion, Avery turned the conversation to what they were doing. But the thought had obviously taken root in Emily’s head since, for the remainder of their session, she was distracted and didn’t approach the exercises with the same enthusiasm as she had for the first part.
Avery couldn’t blame her. Kenton’s departure had distracted her as well. Thoughts of how she should have answered his text or agreed to meet with him went around in her head. The war within her raged strong, and she couldn’t seem to shut down her mind’s caution or her heart’s desire.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As Kenton headed through security, his only attempt to hide his identity was his ball cap. He also wore a pair of faded jeans and a Kings sweatshirt. There wasn’t much chance anyone would recognize him since most people wouldn’t be expecting him to actually wear team merch if he was trying to go incognito. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder which was his only luggage for the flight. He’d still had clothes at his condo in LA, so there hadn’t been a need to bring a lot of clothing with him.
As he settled into a seat at the gate, Kenton pulled out his phone and bent over it. He felt a burning need to contact Avery to talk to her about the meetings he’d had with the medical team. She had played such a large role in getting him to this point in his recovery, it felt wrong not to talk to her about it. But maybe if a phone call was out of the question, a text would be acceptable.
He glanced at the time on his phone screen and calculated the time difference. It was eleven a.m. LA time, so it would be one o’clock in Winnipeg. His flight to Chicago was scheduled to leave at noon, so he’d be boarding soon, then he had an hour and twenty-minute layover there before finally arriving back in Winnipeg at ten that night.
Deciding to just go for it, Kenton began to type out a report of his time in LA.
Team dr and training staff were extremely pleased with the progress we’ve made. They mentioned how impressed they were with your willingness to follow the program they set out and for reporting so well on my progress. Thank you so much for your help.
He’d hated to break it to the training staff that Avery wasn’t working with him for the time being. Perhaps it stemmed from his own hope that all was not lost with her, but he’d kind of made it sound like her departure from his training program was temporary. Hunter had stepped in to cover for Avery, taking over the exercises that she had been focused on. The reality was that he hadn’t needed Avery on a daily basis anymore, but he’d kept her on for the simple reason that he enjoyed having her around as part of his team.
And he really wanted to have her back.
Kenton looked up from his phone and stared unseeing out the window as he considered whether he should mention the talk he’d had with the one person he trusted on the team above all others—his coach—about the HGH. Given the fact that the NHL hadn’t taken a firm stance on the drug yet or actively tested for it, the coach had expressed a disappointment in his decision but hadn’t threatened to share that information with the team management. No doubt Kenton’s decision to not go forward with further injections had helped the coach keep the matter to himself. Even without an official course of action for the use of HGH, Kenton could still have faced some sort of internal repercussions if he’d continued to use it.
He’d been honest with the coach about all the thoughts that had been running through his mind that had led him to make that fateful decision. Since their relationship spanned years, and Kenton hadn’t caused any other issues during his time with the team, the coach had accepted his word that he wasn’t going to use HGH anymore.
In the end, Kenton decided not to address all that with Avery yet. He’d just pressed send when he heard the announcement for first class boarding. After finding his boarding pass on his phone and pulling his passport from the front pocket of his backpack, Kenton got to his feet, slinging the pack over his shoulder.
He showed his boarding pass and passport to the gate attendant then walked down the jetway to the airplane. It didn’t take long to find his seat and sink down into it, putting his backpack under the seat in front of him. The first-class section of the flight wasn’t the most luxurious he’d ever traveled in, but it would suffice. All he really hoped for was a seatmate who didn’t want to talk his ear off for the entire flight from LA to Chicago. He had his Bluetooth earbuds in place, just to be safe, even though he wasn’t listening to anything.
Once he’d settled into his seat and buckled up, Kenton checked to see if Avery had replied to his message. He realized that she might still be working with his mom—or maybe he was looking for any reason why she might not be replying. Any reason that didn’t include her just not wanting to interact with him.
Finding no reply, he lowered his phone and stared out the window at the activity on the tarmac. He felt movement in the seat next to him but didn’t turn to see who it was. It made no difference. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation with anyone. Everything over the past couple of weeks, including the most recent conversations he’d had with the coach, the staff, and Vlad, weighed heavily on him. He planned to make use of the hours he had between LA and home to think through it all.
Home?
The word caught him off-guard because it wasn’t in reference to LA. When had he started thinking of Winnipeg as home? That was not a good thing because LA still had to be home for another year and a half, at least. Was it because this was the first time since he’d left for the NHL over a decade ago that he’d spent any length of time there? Winnipeg had been home to him for the first nineteen years of his life, and obviously, his family still lived there, but he hadn’t thought of it that way for a long time. He didn’t want to think he was feeling that way again because of Avery.
A light touch on his arm drew hi
s attention from the window. Seeing a flight attendant standing in the aisle, he tugged one of his earbuds free.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, her smile bright.
“I’m fine for now, thank you,” he said with a quick smile before reaching up to replace the earbud. His gaze happened to land briefly on the young woman sitting next to him. He gave her a single nod before looking back out the window.
At any given time, flying out of LAX—especially in first class—could result in your seatmate being an actor, model, sports figure, or television personality. His quick glance at the woman seated in the aisle seat hadn’t brought recognition, but it had been enough to register that at one time, he would have been happy to find himself beside a well-dressed, beautiful blonde with interest in her eyes.
This time, however, all that went through his mind was that her hair was too blonde, her eyes didn’t have the lovely mix of blue and green that Avery’s did, and her perfume was too heavy and floral. Definitely all wrong.
Yeah, he was in a bad way. Much worse than he’d originally thought.
He looked back down at his phone, willing a text to appear before they had to switch to airplane mode. When nothing did, he switched his cellular data off and kept his gaze out the window as the plane began to taxi down the runway.
Once they were in the air, he was able to log onto the plane’s Wi-Fi, and he sent a message to his brothers.
So which of you lovely gentleman is going to pick me up at the airport tonight? ETA is 10 pm.
Gabe: Not it!
Mitch: Not it!
Bennett: Not it!
Kenton gave a scoff as he stared at his phone.
Tristan: Not it!
Seriously dudes? I’m supposed to ask Dalton to meet me at the airport at 10pm on a school night?
Gabe sent him back a laughing emoji with tears followed by I’m sure he’d love to do it, especially if he gets to drive your car.
Oh no…that’s not gonna happen.
Crossing Center Ice: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 5) Page 28