The house smelled amazing, a mix of freshly cut grass and Italian food.

“Brett can show you to your room. We’re having lasagna for dinner. Obviously, you don’t have to join us, but we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to all these years. It’s not often one of our favorite players comes to visit,” Lily said as she moved further into the house, to where I expected was the kitchen, leaving me and Brett in the hall.

Sometimes it was strange to call my old coach and mentor by his first name, but he insisted. He was pushing his mid-sixties but didn’t look a day over forty. He and his wife had the market on an incredible gene pool. Lily looked no older than the first time I met her.

“You’re in here.” Brett opened the door and ushered me inside. “We weren’t sure how long you were staying, but you know our house is yours.”

“I don’t want to be in the way. I just need to figure out a few things and lie low.” With the settlement fresh off the printing press, the false claims made against me were still hot news. And the official mention of my retirement only added fuel to the fire. There were also a few personal things I needed to discuss with Brett, but I wasn’t ready to delve into any of it yet. I wanted to pretend I had no worries for at least a few days.

“You do what you have to. Lily is thrilled to have someone to cook for. I’m usually holed up in my office or on the road. She always thought of you like another son.”

That’s what I loved most about making this trip. Both Brett and Lily treated me like they did their natural-born children. I was just another addition to their brood. We talked every week like a real family or at least the kind I imagined growing up.

“The feeling is mutual.” Eyeing the room, I wondered if there would be enough space for some workout equipment. But it was too small. At most, I could add some dumbbells. The town was sure to have a gym, though.

“You actually gave me an excuse to install a gym in one of the kid’s bedrooms. Lily finally caved when I told her you would probably want to continue your workouts.”

“That was really nice of both of you. But I’m not sure I need to keep up with my old routine.”

“Sure, you do. Just because you have considered no longer playing doesn’t mean that’s the final straw for you. Once a hockey player, always a hockey player. It’s in our blood.”

The coach stood just inside the room, leaning against the threshold. His impressive arms bulged against the thin material of his shirt. I sent a silent prayer out into the universe that I have his physique when I reach his age.

I homed in on his eyes. They were staring at me with worry and intrigue. Like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me and the situation.

“You have something up your sleeve.”

Standing to his full height, just a few inches shy of my six-foot-six, Brett released his arms and rubbed his hand nervously along the back of his neck.

“Maybe.”

Chuckling, I tossed my phone onto the bed, then settled next to it to listen to his proposition.

“Get on with it, old man.”

“Old man? I could still kick your ass if I had to.”

“No doubt.”

“Fine. You know we have a recreational hockey team. All different ages from little ones just learning to skate up to old men, like me. And if you’re interested, I’d love to have you join us. Even if it’s not to play, I’m sure all the players could use some words of wisdom.”

I didn’t want to make any promises, especially if I didn’t stay long in Ashfield. The house I saw earlier was the only thing that sparked my interest in the small town. But I wanted back in the game, somehow. My agent emailed this morning stating that I impressed a few news agencies with my guest spots and they were considering bringing me on full time. They also wanted to try me as a host of a baking and cooking show. I just wanted to do something to keep myself busy. I didn’t do well with idle time and this town had it in spades.

I thought back to the woman from the store. She was also an intriguing option to spend my time with here. That is, if I could find her.

“I’ll think about it. My agent sent me some things to consider. I need to return to New York in a couple of weeks for some test spots, but I’ll be back. I just don’t want to make any promises, you know?”

“I know, kid. I always admired that about you. Can’t break a promise if you never made it in the first place. Anyway, I’ll help you with your bags and let you relax for a bit. Later I can take you to the high school if you’re up for watching some unruly teens practice.”

“Sure thing, Coach,” I replied as I stood from the bed and followed him back out of the house toward my truck.

It didn’t take us long to bring the few bags inside. I never needed much. Something I learned as a foster kid. Another point of contention between myself and Nina. She wanted the world to know how much she had and could afford.

I unpacked what I could into the dresser the Chisolm’s provided, then scrolled on my phone for a bit before deciding to reply to my agent. I let him know I had found a place to lie low and to send over any potential contracts that came his way. In the meantime, I would read over the scripts he provided in his email this morning.

But that wasn’t going to be today.

Ducking out of my room, I noticed the bedroom across the hall had been converted into a gym with all the equipment I’d need to stay in shape. I bet if I asked Brett, they’d let me use the rink at the high school when I needed to be on the ice. Which was something that was a necessity almost daily.

“Hi, Lily. I’m going to walk around and check things out if that’s okay,” I said to Brett’s wife as I walked through the kitchen toward the back door.

“Sure thing, Colton. I’ll holler for you when dinner’s ready if you’re not back before then. Make sure to go to the farthest part of the yard. I know Brett is waiting for you. Just past the tree line.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Chisolm.” She shook her head at my response. I knew she hated when I called her by that name. That Mrs. Chisolm was her mother-in-law was always her response. But the manners remained.

I strode through the back door and onto the porch that filled the expanse of the back of the house. Last year, Brett had installed a fire pit in the center surrounded by built-in benches. It was a place for him and Lily to relax with their grandkids. He’d sent me the mock-ups in a text a year prior as a surprise for his wife.

Stepping off the deck, I crossed the large backyard. A new swing set sat in the same place as the older one that I remembered from a video call with them a few years ago. Seems they sprung for another gift for their grandchildren. Next, I expected they’d have a pool.

Brett and Lily were suckers for their grandkids.

If I ever had a family, I wished my kids would have relatives like those two. Instead, they would be stuck with me and whatever family their mother had. The closest thing I had beside the Chisolms, the foster mom that taught me hockey, had passed away when I was in high school at sixteen. I may not have lived with her any longer, but I tried to contact her as much as I was allowed.

Or I’d remain single the rest of my life, just like Nina had threatened. Apparently, my heart was as cold as the ice I skated on. Lily said differently when I retold them the story over the phone, but the mental and emotional damage had been done. I had a fairly hefty ego, but it was fragile just the same.

I continued my trek through the meticulously cut lawn, piles of leaves surrounding the parameter under the tree line. The smell of fall was in the air. Sometimes it just smelled like cold and wood. And the season was approaching fast.

Finally, I came to the part of Brett’s lawn that Lily had mentioned. Beyond the farthest corner, about twenty yards through the forest, there was an opening where an old pond sat. I knew it wasn’t forgotten as a brand-new deck jutted out into the water with a tackle box and fishing pole resting on the slats.

“Figured you’d make it out here soon,” Brett’s deep voice called out from my right. He sat on a bench with a beer in his hand and a cooler at his feet.

It was colder in this part of his property, most of the treetops shading the land below, and the sun rarely shone through. But enough of the lingering day lit up the water on the pond.

“She made it no secret that I would enjoy this area.” It surprised me he had never mentioned the quiet spot before.

“I just had her restocked, too. For your visit.”

I shuffled over to the bench to sit by my friend and the closest thing I had to a father figure. The denim of my pants felt cool against my thigh as I sat down.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Like I said earlier,” Brett began, as he reached down into the bright red cooler with the white top and handed me a beer. “You’re just the excuse to get some of the manly things updated around here. If it were just for me, Lily would have nixed it immediately. But for you, I got the go ahead.”

“Go figure,” I mumbled as I took my first sip of the chilled beverage. The heavy wheat beer tasted thick on my tongue, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

“Have a few tosses while the sun is still shining. Once it goes down, it gets mighty dark back here. I still need to install a light across the way for some night fishing.”

Nodding, I collected my beer and headed toward the dock where I baited my hook and tossed out the line like it was second nature. Muscle memory is what Brett used to call it. We stayed silent, me throwing out my line every couple of minutes and Brett watching. Occasionally I’d snag a fish and he’d take a picture with his phone before I lobbed it back into the water.