Page 143 of Ethan

“Barney,” Max inserted gently, “it’s fine.”

“Is it though?” Charlie challenged. Not Ethan, though,Max. Which was really the only shocking thing—okay, maybe the only shocking thing after Ethan had decided to make this entire thing public—about the whole situation.

Charlie never disagreed with Max. Hank had never personally witnessed it, anyway. It was kind of a whole thing:Charlie-and-Max-and-all-their-joint-fucking-decisions.If Max was the team mom, then Charlie was the dad—or vice versa. Hank still wasn’t quite sure which went where, but even though they weren’t the oldest guys on the team or the only guys who wore letters, that was how it was.

“Yes,” Max said, equally as softly. He didn’t touch Charlie, but the single word felt like a reassuring pat to the head.

Except that Charlie didn’t seem reassured. He was still frowning.

Hank had worried, at first,of course, that Charlie wouldn’t like it if Hank was obsessed with his youngest brother. He’d worried about it for practically a whole fucking year. But over time, that fear had melted away, because while Charlie gave Ethan crapabout it, he seemed to alternate between gentle ribbing and outright acceptance.

Just when Hank was about to need to speak up and say, “I’m sorry, did Imisssomething?” in a way that he really didn’t want to, because the whole team didn’t need to be involved in this, a dozen or somorevoices joined in the conversation that should’ve stayed private to begin with, Avery spoke up.

Avery hadn’t said much in the locker room. Sometimes Max would ask him something directly. Sometimes Charlie would pull him in, deliberately. But otherwise, he kept to himself. Quiet and focused, gaze locked on to his skates as he sat there, getting ready for a game or thinking about the game as it was happening. Hank had heard the Mavericks had wanted to make him the captain when their C finally retired, but from what Avery had showed in the room so far, Hank wasn’t sure that rumor was actually true.

But Avery was the one speaking up now.

“Charlie,” Avery chided, even more gently than Max, “it’s alright. We can watch the Sea Monsters game. It’s on late. Sea Monsters versus Oilers. Who’s got the best power play, huh? I bet it’s Liv’s.”

If Hank was surprised, his own astonishment reflected back in Ethan’s face and maybe a few other guys on the team, then Charlie wasshocked.

Max’s expression hadn’t so much as twitched, though.

“What?” Charlie asked, bewildered.

“Davo and Drai have nothing on Livvy, right?” Avery said, still casual, like he wasn’t picking his way in through the rubble and attempting to defuse a bomb.

Okay, maybe Hank had been wrong, and in fact, Averywascaptain material. He was sure showing it now.

This was Max’s only blind spot when it came to his own leadership—Charlie and how deliberately careful he was about him.

“It’s fine,” Max said, cutting in now. He shot Ethan a reassuring smile and then turned it to Hank—who wasn’t surehowhe was supposed to feel right now. “We’ll watch the Sea Monsters game, yeah, Barney?”

“Yeah,” Charlie muttered and finished shucking off his equipment, heading to the showers without saying another word.

Hank might’ve thought that was the end of it, except for, naturally, Danny, who gave Ethan a not very subtle high five as he too headed towards the showers.

But then Avery came up to him, just as he’d finished stripping down to his base layer.

He and Avery hadn’t had very many conversations. Hank wasn’t dumb enough to think he had anything to say toAvery freaking Barnes. Never mind that Avery was also Ethan’s big brother. And Hank had stupidly thought thatCharliewas intimidating.Ha.

“Don’t let Charlie get to you,” Avery said quietly.

Hank’s mouth dropped open and then he snapped it shut again because he probably looked dumb as hell. “What?”

Avery huffed out a little laugh. “Don’t let him intimidate you. He’s just . . . well, you and the rest of the world know what kind of baggage Charlie has—or else everyone thinks they know what kind of baggage he lugs around with him. But he’s a complicated person.”

“No shit,” Hank said and then wished he’d kept his fucking mouth shut.

But Hank jolted as Avery’s laugh deepened. He reached over and gave Hank a reassuring pat on the knee. “I like you, Tuck. You’re not freaked out by all this.”

That was absolutely not true, because Hankwas, but the reality was Ethan was worth all the Barnes bullshit.

“Would you be pissed off if I said yeah, I actually am, but Ethan makes me want to deal with it?” Hank admitted.

Avery’s smile softened even further. He was a gentler, easier combination of his two younger brothers. Hank hadn’t seen it before but now he did. Wondered if Avery ever wanted to be seen apart from them, as entirely his own man, but had given that up a long time ago as a pipe dream.

“Told you I liked you, Tuck. Don’t worry about Charlie, okay? I know it seems like he doesn’t—well, that he might not like you and Ethan together, but that’s not true. It’s not about you at all. Not Ethan either.”