Page 34 of Cheap Shot

He and Thad weren’t friends, exactly, but they were buddies. They’d had drinks a few times at O’Neill’s, shot the shit over a beer and played pool. So although Luke had just finished working out and he was ready to hit the shower, he didn’t mind the question.

“Sure, what’s up, man?” he asked.

“Do you remember the little girl you took the pics with and signed the stick for a few weeks ago?”

Luke frowned at the reminder of Sebastian’s niece. “Sure. The one with the sign saying I was her favorite player, right?”

Thad nodded.

Luke always wondered what the hell was wrong with the parents of kids who were a big fan of him. No one that young should look up to him. But, well, it was aweirdworld they lived in now.

“She was sick. Or, she had the mask on anyway,” Luke added. “And her sign said she was a fighter like me, so I kinda assumed …”

Plus, there was what Sebastian had told him, but he wasn’t fucking mentioningthatto Thad.

“Yes,” Thad said with a nod. “And sheissick. She has something called PHACE syndrome.”

Luke stared at him blankly.

Thad waved it off. “Basically, she’sverysick. All kinds of heart issues along with a bunch of other stuff.”

Luke frowned. “Sounds awful. You know this how?”

“Oh. Well, someone in the media department spoke to her and her uncle after the game.”

“Is she dying?” Luke asked, swallowing hard, because fuck, there was nothingworsethan knowing that some of the sick kids at the children’s hospital where the team volunteered might not make it another month, another week … and this kid? Damn that sucked.

“Not actively, no.”

Luke shot him a confused look. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Oh. Just that it’s not a terminal illness. It’s life-threatening though.”

“So shecoulddie from it?” Luke guessed. “But it’s not killing her right now?”

“Yes. Exactly. It sounds like she’s getting great care, but things can go sideways and …”

“Damn.” Luke stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

“Yeah.” Thad adjusted his Harriers cap.

Luke stared at him, waiting for him to get to the point. Thad must have picked up on that because he cleared his throat and said, “So it sounds like she’s been on the Make a Wish Foundation’s list for months to have a wish granted.”

Luke nodded. Lots of kids wished to spend a day with the team or meet a player.

Thad kept talking. “Anyway, Janine from the Harriers Foundation handles all those charity things and saw the pics online, put the pieces together, and is working with Make a Wish to arrange something ASAP. I was talking to her about it this morning and she said she needed to touch base with you about it.”

“Okay,” Luke said slowly.

“I told her I was heading down here for some other media duties and that I’d pass that along.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, still slightly confused. “So, what does she want, exactly?”

“To spend the day with you.”

“Fucking weird kid,” Luke said with a shake of his head.

Thad laughed. “I know, right? You’d think she’d have better taste.”