Page 108 of Rookie Moves

My jaw drops, and my voice comes out choked when I ask, “What?”

“Tyler, I might not have been the best brother to you over the years, but I really do love you. I want you to be happy. I want you to succeed in whatever it is you choose to do in life. So let me help you. I owe you this. It’s the least I can do.”

Is taking money off my brother worse than relying on Colby? I have my first paycheck, but it’s not enough to cover a flight and whatever else I need to pay for until I can find another job.

My head is screaming that I need to figure this out on my own, but my heart yearns to be with Colby again, and if that means swallowing my pride and accepting help from Joey, then I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.

“I don’t know how much I’ll need or where I’ll end up, but as soon as I figure that out, I’ll find a job,” I say, swallowing hard to try and hide how much my voice is shaking.

“I’m not going to come and chase you down. I’ll be here to help you until you can get on your feet.”

Dropping my chin to my chest , I squeeze my eyes closed as a wave of emotion washes over me.

Fuck, I can’t believe he’s willing to do this for me.

“Will you still come and visit sometimes?” he asks when I don’t reply.

Laughing softly, I lift my head to look over at him. “Joey, I’m not moving to, like, Switzerland. Of course I’ll come and visit, and maybe you can use some of your PTO for once in your life and visit me.”

“Okay, you’ve got a deal.” He cracks a smile. “Want me to talk to Dad?”

“No, I’ve gotta do it. This is my shit to deal with, but maybe we can go for burgers later?”

“Yeah, okay. My treat.”

He stands from the desk and closes the distance to me. Pulling me up from the couch, he wraps his arms around me in a hug.

“I truly am sorry I failed to notice how unhappy you were, Tyler. Your happiness is so fucking important to me, and I’ll do anything for you if it means you’ll be happy.”

My eyes burn with unshed tears as I tighten my arms around him.

We might have had our differences growing up, but knowing I have my brother in my corner means more to me than he’ll ever know.

“You know I love you, right?” I mumble.

“I do, and I love you too.”

Letting him go, I take a step back to stare up at the ceiling until I feel my eyes dry out. I leave Joey in his office with the promise of grabbing burgers later, then head back out into the bullpen to sit at my desk, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to focus on work now.

Opening my desk drawer, I take out my phone and open up my text thread with Piper. She’s in the process of moving to New York after getting drafted to the PWHL, but she’s been visiting her mom since I’ve been back. She took one look at me and saw right through me. Without giving away Colby’s identity, I told her what happened and how I was desperate to make things right.

“You’re an idiot sometimes, Tyler Beckmann,” she sighed with a roll of her eyes. “A lovable idiot, but an idiot all the same.”

It was the truth, but she understood the reasons behind my decision.

And now I get to finally send her the text I’ve been hoping for.

Wanna help me find some flights?

Piper

OMG! YES!

Tell me when and where to, Ty-Ty!

Grinning, I tell her I’ll call her later, and when I check my dad’s schedule, I see he has a fifteen-minute gap before his final meeting of the day, which happens to be with Joey.

Picking up my phone again, I fire a quick text off to my brother, warning him I’m going to speak to Dad and apologizing if he’s in a bad mood.