Jaime sat still as a statue.
“Not at all.” It was perfectly clear to Cole. “If we’d just hung out at his place and had a bonfire like Jaime asked, Booker would be playing hockey right now. I’m the one who brought us to my dad’s cabin.”
“Right, but what I’m saying is we never did that. We never just sat around a bonfire and shot the shit.” Declan looked a, Jaime for confirmation.
“It’s true. That’s not who we were.” Jaime’s relief was palpable. “Within five minutes of hanging out, someone would suggest we go dirt biking or rappelling or… Fuck, man, anything. That’s who we were.” His tone grew stronger with each word out of his mouth. Clearly, he’d been carrying just as much guilt as Cole had.
“Yeah, so call Booker,” Declan said. “Talk to him. Even if hedoesblame you, give him the chance to get it off his chest. Have the conversation, and then let it go. It’s done. We’ve all moved on.”
“And then,” Jaime said, “when you get tired of the big city and you’re ready to come home, you can help us build the team.”
That wouldn’t happen for a long time. He owed it to the city and his teammates. “All right, I’d better get back.”
As they got up, Jaime chuckled. “So, you and Hailey Casselton. How’s that working out?”
“Better than I expected.” And worse. Because he wanted her even more than he had back then. “She’s actually civil to me.”
“Still got a thing for her?” Jaime asked.
“Hey.” A young, fit man jogged over, giving Cole a chin nod. “How’s it going?” He reached out his hand. “I’m Mark.”
“Cole Montgomery.”
“He’s our team doc,” Jaime said.
“Listen, I’m going to take Lukas to get an MRI. His shoulder’s still giving him trouble, and I want to see if there’s a tear.”
“Okay,” Declan said. “Let me know what you hear.”
He nodded, then gave Cole a chin nod. “Nice to meet you.” He gestured to Cole’s knee. “You taking care of that?”
Fear squeezed the base of his spine. “Of what?”
“Your knee. I saw you walk in and the way you got up just now. It’s giving you trouble.”
“I twisted it.”
“Yeah? When the little girl knocked you on your ass and gave you a concussion?” Jaime teased.
“No, it happened when I heroically saved a small child from being crushed under the weight of two big, bad hockey players.” Cole turned back to the doctor. “It’s fine, though. Just needs rest.”
Mark held his gaze a little too long for the situation. “Okay, then. Well, I’m off.”
“Hang on,” Jaime said. “If Doc’s noticing it, there’s got to be something going on.”
“The way you’re walking, and the pain I see on your face, I’m going to guess you tore your meniscus,” Mark said. “And if you continue to play on it, you might miss more than a couple of games this season.”
“It’s that bad?” Declan checked him out, as though assessing his pain level.
He wasn’t going to lie. “Yeah, it hurts when I go up and down the stairs. With everything that’s happening with the girls, I haven’t had a chance to rest it.”
“It is getting stiff?” Mark asked. “Swollen?”
Cole gave a curt nod.
“I’d check your ACL, make sure it didn’t tear, too. But also, if the torn part breaks off, it can get lodged in the joint, and then you’ll have much bigger problems. But you know all this. Look, I’m headed to the hospital right now, and I can get you an MRI.”
He knew the doctor was right, but fuck. If they found something wrong…