Read On Thin Ice (The Baltimore Banners Book 8) for Free Online

sister's eyes.
    "Where are you going?" There it was again, the little girl whine that made Lauren grind her back teeth.
    "I'm going to go take a shower then read for a little while then go to bed. Is that okay with you?"
    "You don't have to get snippy with me, I was just asking."
    "I wasn't snippy. I'm just—" Lauren took a deep breath then let it out. "Did you need anything else?"
    "No. But you spend too much time at home. We should go out. Together. I'll show you how to have some fun."
    Not in this lifetime, Lauren thought. "No thanks, I'm fine."
    "But you're not. You don't do anything fun."
    "Lindsay, enough." The last thing she needed was her irresponsible sister giving her advice on how to live life and have fun. And how could her sister could go from being upset about possibly being asked to move out to trying to liven up Lauren's life? That should be enough right there to convince Lauren to change her mind, to convince her she wasn't doing anything to help her sister by giving into her. Again.
    But she wasn't in the mood to deal with anything else tonight, not when she knew she'd probably never have it in her to do what needed to be done. So she shook her head and tossed a small wave over her shoulder, heading down the hall to her bathroom.
    "Lauren?"
    She stopped, wondering what her sister could possibly want to say now. Lindsay was leaning over the arm of the sofa, her long hair pushed behind her ears, the expression in her wide blue eyes more serious than she thought her sister capable of.
    "Thank you. For giving me a chance."
    Lauren nodded then kept going without saying anything. She couldn't, not around the sudden lump forming in her throat. Did Lindsay mean it? Yeah, probably. For this moment in time. But even Lauren knew that could—and probably would—change in five minutes, depending on what her sister wanted next.
    She stopped at the door to her room and looked back without knowing why, without really thinking about it. Lindsay was still curled up in the corner of the sofa, hugging her knees. And she looked so…lost. Sad. Lauren paused, indecision warring within her. Before she could stop herself, convince herself she was making a huge mistake, she walked back to the living room and leaned against the corner of the wall.
    "Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"
    Lindsay started, surprise on her face when she faced Lauren. "Nothing definite, why?"
    God, she was making a mistake, she just knew it. "I have an extra ticket to a Casino Night. Did you want to go?"
    "What's that?"
    "It's a charity thing that the Banners do each year. They have food and drinks and casino games. You don't play with real money, but it's still fun. And you get the chance to meet the players."
    "Who are the Banners?"
    Lauren closed her eyes and took a deep breath, silently counting to five. "The Baltimore Banners? The professional hockey team? Ice hockey?"
    "Oh. Um…with you?" Lindsay looked away, a frown on her face, and Lauren realized she was already hoping her sister would say no. But then Lindsay smiled and nodded, excitement suddenly replacing the sadness Lauren thought she had seen just a few minutes earlier. "Yeah, I think I would like to go. That'll be fun. It'll be just like when we were kids, just the two of us."
    "Okay. Great. Yeah, no problem." Lauren forced a smile to her face, not wanting her sister to see that she was already regretting asking her. She nodded, the stupid smile still in place, then headed back to her room.
    Fun? Like when they were kids? Lauren certainly hoped not because even as a kid, Lindsay had been a little spoiled and determined to get her own way, no matter what. Back then, it involved Lindsay following her around, tormenting her and whining until Lauren or Dale gave in.
    It couldn't be any worse than that, could it?

Chapter Six
    Lauren moved to the bar, walking faster than she should in the heels she was wearing. The last thing she needed was to trip and fall and attract unwanted