Read Losing the Ice (Ice Series #2) for Free Online Page B

has.”
    “Does he think there’s any chance he won’t recover it?” I gripped the edge of the granite island.
    Em stopped in the middle of gathering ingredients from the fridge and came over to touch my arm. “He’s been playing for so long. I know it’s going to come back to him.”
    “I think it’s really stressing him out, and that’s just making things worse,” I said.
    “The doctor did say stress can lengthen the recovery, so anything you can do to get Josh to relax would be a huge help,” Em said.
    “We tried to focus on all the positives with him, but he was pretty wound up at the doctor,” Sergei said.
    Josh had been so moody the past week that I didn’t know if anything could relax him. And from the tense look on his face as he descended the stairs, spending time with the jabbering twins wasn’t the answer.
    “Coco, come finish the game,” Quinn said.
    “You play too, Josh.” Alex tugged on his hand.
    Josh loved playing with Quinn and Alex, but probably not so much right now. They weren’t exactly the best medicine for a headache.
    “Josh needs to rest, so I’m gonna bring him home,” I said.
    “You’re sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Em held up a package of tortillas. “It’s taco night.”
    “Thanks, but I am kinda tired,” Josh said.
    “But we have to finish the game,” Quinn whined.
    “I’ll take Court’s place.” Sergei stretched his long legs over the carpet. “Which marker is hers?”
    “She green,” Alex said.
    I turned to Josh. “I just need to get my bag upstairs.”
    “Your bag?”
    “I figured I’d stay over since we’re driving to my parents’ tomorrow morning.”
    He ushered me away from Sergei and the twins. “I’ve told you I don’t sleep well. I’m up and down all night.”
    “I don’t mind. I’ll take a restless night of sleep if it means being next to you.” I fiddled with the zipper on his jacket. “I miss you.”
    He avoided my gaze and hesitated a few moments. “Okay.”
    A little jab nicked my heart. I’d never thought I would have to talk Josh into letting me spend the night with him. I knew he wasn’t himself, but it was still hard to feel him being so distant.
    I hurried to my room and back before Josh could change his mind. He was silent all the way down Route Twenty-Eight, his head back and his eyes closed. When we reached Hyannis Port and I drove onto Mrs. Cassar’s quiet street, he finally came alive.
    “I have to get back on the ice soon if we’re going to make it to nationals,” he said.
    “We have two months. That’s definitely doable.”
    “But we don’t have two months. Even if I’m cleared to skate next Friday, Em and Sergei said I can’t until they get back. That means the earliest I could start is almost three weeks from now.”
    I pulled into Mrs. Cassar’s double driveway and shut off the engine. “We’d still have enough time to get ready. Don’t start stressing yet.”
    His anxiety-filled silence showed he was continuing to worry, though. We walked around the main house to the backyard, and once we were inside he said, “You know Em and Sergei aren’t going to let me do any of the hard stuff right away, so we’ll really have a month at best to fully train our programs.”
    “We’ll take it one day at a time.” I set my bag beside Josh’s big keyboard in the living room. “Making sure you’re healthy is the most important thing.”
    He tossed his jacket over the couch. “We can’t miss nationals. Not after all the work we’ve put in.”
    “Stressing yourself out isn’t going to help you get better.” I put my hands on his shoulders and felt just how tense he was. “You’re all knotted up.”
    He let out a long, slow breath. “Playing the piano always helped.” His eyes flashed sadly at the keyboard. “Can’t do that anymore.”
    I took both his hands in mine. “Come sit.”
    I brought him to the sofa and turned him so I could sit behind him. Returning my hands to his