“That’s great.” Jeremy pulled his phone from his pocket as it vibrated with a low buzz and sucked in a little breath when he looked at the screen.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. My dad texted from a port. I guess it’s the first time they’ve had a signal. Just checking in and saying they’re having a good time.”
“Right. Very…civil.”
Jeremy was quiet, and from the corner of his eye, Max watched him staring at the message. Max turned down the screeching guitar on the radio. “Sorry. You okay?”
After a long exhale, Jeremy said, “Yeah. It is, though. Civil. Polite. Not like my parents would ever be rude—they hate that. But I looked at that text and part of me was hoping it would say they love me the way I am and everything’ll be okay. That everything will go back to normal. I—”
Jeremy broke off and stared out the window, his knee jiggling as he fidgeted. “Part of me was relieved they went on this cruise because it took me going home for Christmas out of the equation. Because I’m afraid they would have told me not to come.”
Max gripped the steering wheel again as he slowed for the tree farm. He had a lot of choice words for the Rourkes, but he wouldn’t do Jeremy any favors by calling his parents selfish assholes. That would make Max feel better, but this wasn’t about him. He asked, “What about summer?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. I assume I’m going home, but I guess I could register for a couple of classes and stay on campus. Assuming they’ll still be paying my tuition and res. Or I’ll have to get a loan.” He shifted restlessly. “That’ll be a lot of debt.”
It was like Max could see the anxiety gathering force like a tornado about to touch down. “Don’t think about that right now. Valerie would tell you not to borrow trouble, and she’s right. Whatever happens, you’ll figure it out. For now, your dad texted you and that means he was thinking about you. So you should reply. Focus on what you can control right now. You don’t know exactly what the other team’s strategy is, so think about yours.”
“Are you going to start talking about touchdowns and tackles?”
Max laughed as he turned into the drive, passing under a huge banner advertising the holiday open house. “I might!” He was relieved to see a little smile tugging on Jeremy’s lips. “We have to take this one game at a time. Leave it all on the field.”
“Give a hundred and ten percent?”
“Now you’re getting it. There are no easy games at this level. Put pressure on the defense. Make plays on both sides of the ball. Go out there and execute.”
“Aye-aye, captain.” Jeremy gave him a salute.
Max saluted back and they burst out laughing. He navigated the winding, snow-covered drive. The snowbanks here from the plow were even higher than at home. “You want help with what to text back?”
“I’m just going to go with a ‘Have fun! I’m at a Christmas tree farm.’ Then send a pic?”
“I like it. Show them you’re not sitting around feeling ashamed of yourself, waiting for their crumbs. There’s a great spot where you can see the trees into the distance. I’m sure Nick won’t mind.”
“Awesome.”
They reached the farm and parked. Ella the beagle raced over to investigate, snow flying up from her paws. She reached Jeremy first, and he crouched, murmuring a greeting as her tail wagged violently.
Jeremy started petting the dog, and damn if Max didn’t want to pet him. Jeremy’s toque was still in the truck, and his ginger hair was gorgeous. Max looked down at his head, fingers itching to comb through.
“Ignore her!” Nick called, striding over from the barn past the rustic chalet house with big windows. Both the barn and house were decorated for the holidays with fresh garlands and wreaths and tons of lights. Max bit back a laugh as Nick got closer. Nick wore his typical plaid work wear—plus an extremely uncharacteristic pink toque with a wobbling pom-pom.
Hunter came out of the house, zipping up his jacket and pulling a hat over his blond hair. “Why would they ignore the cutest dog in the world?”
Nick looked like he wanted to argue—which seemed to be his usual expression in Max’s limited experience—but grunted. He extended his hand to Max, and damn, he really was a big daddy lumberjack. Max was pretty big himself, but Nick had this intimidating aura. Even with the hat.
They made introductions, and Hunter was his usual smiling, energetic self. He and Nick seemed like polar opposites, but Max supposed that was what made them work. Hmm. Were he and Jeremy opposites? Maybe a little. Jeremy was anxious and unsure and pocket-sized. Max—
He realized everyone was staring at him. “Hmm? Sorry, Ella’s just too adorable for me to concentrate on anything else. Aren’t you?” He crouched to pet her, and she eagerly soaked up the affection like a dry sponge.