Hero's Risk: A Second Chance Hockey Romance (Tennessee Thunderbolts Book 5) by Gina Azzi

Author:Gina Azzi [Azzi, Gina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781954470262
Publisher: Three Cities Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-01-04T18:30:00+00:00

Halfway through dinner, my eyes burn with unshed tears. Everyone, save for Gran, who is single-handedly carrying the conversation with some help from Bodhi and Bea, is uncomfortable. The tension is thick, lingering over the table like a thundercloud ready to burst.

My heart races, my hands feel clammy. Twice, I drop my fork. Both times, Cole winces. Both times, Beau ignores me.

What the hell happened to you?

I want to scream the words, but nothing comes out. Gran must sense it too because she doesn’t put me on the spot with any of the direct questions she hurls at Bea.

“When’s the grand opening of Humble Bee’s again?” Gran asks.

Bea gives Gran an exasperated look. No doubt because Gran already knows the opening date of Bea’s new store and is trying to fill the silence with safe conversation.

“November 18th,” Bea replies.

“And your uncle and cousin are coming to it?” Gran waves her fork in Cole’s direction.

Cole wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Yes, ma’am. Uncle Kirk can’t wait to meet Bea, and Jamie wouldn’t miss the opening.”

“I look forward to meeting your uncle. Good man,” Gran says with a nod of approval.

I glance at Beau who is doing his best to ignore me. In the past, this is the part where our eyes would meet, and we would have a silent conversation. With a few facial expressions, Beau would fill me in about Cole’s family and I’d give a little nod of understanding.

He doesn’t spare me a glance.

My tears come unbidden, burning behind my eyes and causing my throat to tighten.

Why won’t you let me in?

Instead of hurling that at Beau’s face, I politely excuse myself from the table. Bea gives me an empathetic look as I push back my chair and make my way to the bathroom.

I’m washing my hands when there’s a soft knock on the door.

For a second, my heart swells with hope that it’s Beau but when I open the door and see Bea, my shoulders slump.

“My brother’s an idiot,” Bea declares, pushing her way into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. She leans back against it, crossing her arms over her chest. Her expression is stern although her grey eyes are soft with understanding.

I plop down on the closed toilet lid and sigh. “I don’t know why he’s shutting me out. Not like we’re best friends or anything but the last time we hung out…” I trail off, hoping Bea will read between the lines and not make me say it.

“He got too close,” she says.

I narrow my eyes.

“He fucked up at practice yesterday too. Cole told me he got into it with a guy on his team. The biggest guy on his team. Swung at him.”

I swear. “That explains his swollen eye.”

“Yeah.”

“But, that’s so unlike Beau.”

Bea shakes her head. “He’s different now, Celine. He’s…haunted by things that happened in Afghanistan. He won’t open up to any of us about what happened. Cole’s been trying to get him to talk to a therapist.”

“The one that helped get Cole involved in the youth rehabilitation programs?”

“Yeah.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.