The Goalie Bet novel · Chapter 8 of 32

Chapter 8: The Apology

My mother was on the porch when I pulled in.

She had a duffel at her feet and a coffee in her hand and she'd driven down from Duluth without telling me.

"Mom."

"Hi, baby."

"You didn't call."

"I called. You didn't answer. So I drove."

I got out and hugged her and she held on a second longer than usual.

"You look thin," she said.

"I look the same."

"You look thin and tired."

She picked up the duffel and I took it off her and carried it in.

The house on Bryant is a duplex, upper unit. Two bedrooms, a kitchen with a window over the sink.

I'd lived there since August with a roommate who'd moved out in March.

It was all mine now and I couldn't afford it and I was keeping it anyway.

Margo sat down at the kitchen table and looked around.

"Where's the roommate?"

"She left."

"Left left?"

"She graduated."

"Mm." Mom took a sip. "So you've been rattling around in here by yourself all spring."

"I've been busy."

"Busy."

"I've got a placement."

"I know what you've got."

I put the kettle on because I didn't want to sit down yet.

She watched me do it.

"Anything you want to tell me," she said.

"No."

"Okay."

The doorbell rang.

I looked at the clock. It was 6:20.

I opened the door and Logan was standing there with a grocery bag.

He had on a plain white tee and jeans and he'd gotten a haircut since the rink.

"I brought stuff," he said.

"You brought stuff."

"You said your mom was in town."

"I said that in a text at five."

"Right."

"Logan."

"Right, and I brought stuff."

He held up the bag. I could see a baguette and a bottle of wine and something in a plastic container.

I stood in the doorway.

"Let him in," Mom said from the kitchen.

I let him in.

He walked into my kitchen and set the bag on the counter and put his hand out.

"Logan Rusk."

"Margo Kline."

She shook it and looked at him the way she looks at everybody.

"You're the goalie," she said.

"I'm the goalie."

"The one on the poster."

"That's the one."

"He's hurt," I said. "Groin strain. Two weeks."

"Three," he said.

"Three now."

Mom looked at him for a long second.

"Sit down," she said. "You brought wine, you might as well drink it."

We ate on the porch because the evening was warm.

Mom made him tell her about Duluth, which he knew nothing about, so he asked her questions instead.

She talked about the hospital. He asked what floor.

She talked about the drive down and the construction on 35.

He asked if she'd stopped in Hinckley for the bakery.

She had. She looked at me over her glass.

I hadn't told him about Hinckley.

At some point he got up and cleared the plates and washed them in my sink.

Margo watched him do it with her chin on her hand.

"He doesn't do that at home," she said.

"He doesn't live here."

"He's got a whole apartment of his own and he's standing at your sink."

"Mom."

"I'm just saying."

Logan came back out and sat down and Mom asked him about his parents.

He said his dad sold farm equipment in Mankato and his mom taught fourth grade and he had a sister at Iowa State.

He said it easily. He didn't fidget.

Margo finished her wine and stood up.

"I'm going to bed," she said. "I've been driving since two."

I got up. She kissed my cheek and held my face for a second.

← Chapter 7 · All chapters · Chapter 9 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend