Page 80 of Ethan

NHL’s a business, Eth. go tell Charlie to take you home. you gotta ice those bruises.

And like Avery had sent something very similar to Charlie, he popped up less than a minute later, right in front of Ethan.

“You ready to head home?” Charlie asked him.

“Yeah, sure,” Ethan said. He was still mentally chewing over what Avery had said. What hehadn’tsaid, too. “Is Max coming with us?”

“He’ll catch a ride later,” Charlie said, and Ethan wasn’tthatsad about it, because he couldn’t ask Charlie what he wanted to with Max in the car.

He did text Hank, though,on my way home. call in twenty?

Hank sent back a thumbs-up, and, that settled, Ethan turned to Charlie, who was pulling out of the parking lot.

“Do you think Avery’s going to leave the Mavericks?” he asked.

Charlie jerked, gaze flying to Ethan before returning to the road. “What? Why do you ask?”

“Dom was telling me how Niko wasn’t just trade bait generally, but that he thought Inverness was using him as trade bait forAvery. And when I asked Avery—”

“You asked Avery?” Charlie interrupted.

“Well, it wasweird. I’m so tired of everyone justassuminghe wants to play here. Maybe he’s happy in LA.”

“Is anyone really happy in LA?” Charlie asked, which didn’t answer the question at all.

“Come on,” Ethan insisted. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid or a kid. Is it getting serious? Are they really gonna trade him?”

Charlie didn’t say anything for a long moment, which again, his brothers were idiots if they believed that changing or avoiding the subject was not going to tell Ethan everything he needed to know.

“I don’t know,” Charlie finally said, tapping the wheel with impatient fingers as they stopped at a red light. “The Mavs’ GM keeps pushing him to commit, and he won’t, which heshouldn’t. He doesn’t want to waste his prime and maybe even his whole career playing for a team that’s not gonna make it.”

“They could be better this year,” Ethan said optimistically, even though he could already tell that was probably more credit than the Mavs deserved.

“They keep doing this rebuilding shit, over and over again. Getting rid of good pieces and getting a bunch of mediocre crap in return. They did it to Hayes Montgomery, and now they’re probably gonna do it to Avery, too.” Charlie glanced over at Ethan right as the red light changed the green. “And if they do, he should come here. Heshouldplay with us, Eth. You know it.”

Ethan didn’t know what he’d expected. Sure, they’d always said it. Been saying it since they were kids. Since they were barely old enough to understand the NHL at all.

But he’d never expected it to happen. Even when he’d been drafted to the same team as Charlie, which had only fueled the rumor mill more, he’d still not ever really expected it.

“And you wouldn’t mind that.”

“Are you kidding? Avery’s a generational talent d-man. He’d bring another level to this team.”

Ethan didn’t think it was accidental that Charlie focused entirely on Avery-as-a-hockey-player, not on Avery-as-the-eldest-Barnes.

“Yeah, he would, but it would be a lot, you know? I’d love it. Heshouldbe here, with us, but I don’t know . . .” He shot Charlie a semi-concerned look. How would Charlie handle that? He was used to being nearly the sole focus, and the good and bad that came with that. Max was the captain, sure, and he was popular and a great player, but he wasn’t the lightning flash that Charlie was, and he wouldn’t ever be.

But Avery was a big fucking deal.

And all of them on the same team? Dom hadn’t been lying; it would be a fucking circus.

“Don’t know what?” Charlie prompted.

“Just . . . I kinda hope it doesn’t happen. That Avery stays with the Mavs.” Ethan looked out the window, lights flashing by. “Don’t tell him, okay? He’d probably think I didn’t want him here, and it’s not that—”

“No, I get it,” Charlie said, and there was a soft vulnerability to his voice that hadn’t been there before, which told Ethan he’d been right. Charlie wasn’t sure he wanted it, either. Not with everything Avery would bring with him. “But think of how good it would be to have V not just in our same time zone, but our same city? It’s so good in the summers, and it’d be even better if it wasallthe time.”

Ethan couldn’t disagree with that, either. Itwouldbe good.