Summary:

I know Hayden speaks to Shane at the end of the book but there is no way Jackie didn’t help him get there. “So I have something to tell you that I have permission to tell you but you can’t tell anyone else okay?” Hayden said to his wife. Jackie turned to him on the sofa and put her arms on the back, fully showing that she was locked in to whatever information her husband was about to reveal. “Okay? Is someone hurt or in danger?” “What no!” Hayden said, eyes going wide. “No no nothing like that. It’s about Shane. He told the team something today and asked us to keep it to ourselves but he gave me permission to tell you.” Jackie nodded “Shane can trust me to keep a secret” Hayden nodded in agreement. “Yeah he knows that. And he knows I have to tell you or I’d go insane.” Jackie smiled with fondness both at her husband and at Shane for knowing him so well. She reaches out to take Hayden’s hand. “So what is it Hayd?” Hayden took a deep breath and squeezed Jackie’s hand. “Shane is gay” Jackie wished she could say this information shocked her. But the life of being a hockey wife meant a lot of time in a room full of rowdy men where she got to just observe them and notice things. She had noticed Shane. A little quieter than the rest, only ever dated one woman publicly and that lasted all of two weeks. And he never seemed that happy with Rose. She has also noticed the way he played. Specifically whenever they played Boston, he was always smiling more on those game days. And sometimes a few days after. And he played like he was on fire the whole time. It could be explained away as him delighting in facing their rivals, but she noticed the smile didn’t even fade on the days that they lost. She realized she hadn’t said anything to this big news for a couple of seconds and snapped back to it. “Oh wow.” She said, trying to play a bit surprised. “I know right?” Hayden said, as if this information was in fact a shock to him. “I can’t believe it” “Oh yeah?” Jackie asked, trying to gently prod her husband for more information. “I mean yeah. He dated Rose fucking Landry. And before that, I never told you this, but I saw his phone once or twice and he was always texting this girl named Lily. She must be from Boston because every time we played there or they played us, Shane was nowhere to be found and one time I even told him I knew he was hooking up with Lily.” This new piece of information felt like about a million things clicking into place in her head. “So wait.” Jackie said, shuffling a little closer to Hayden and putting a hand on his knee. “So every time you guys played Boston, Shane went to see Lily but kept it a secret and told no one?” She asked. Hayden looked a little confused but nodded “I mean yeah-“ “But Shane is gay, so it’s reasonable to think that maybe secret Lily wasn’t a Lily at all, that maybe it was a guy.” That thought seemed to strike Hayden and he nodded again. “Well yeah I guess that does make sense.” “Mhm” Jackie said, trying to gently lead Hayden to a conclusion she knows he doesn’t want to draw. “Hey didn’t Shane also just start a charity with Ilya Rozanov?” She asked, this seemed to confuse Hayden a little more. “I mean yeah-“ he said, and she didn’t want to give him time to confuse himself more. “The same Ilya Rozanov who just requested a trade from Boston to Ottowa?” She prompted. “How do you know that?” “I’m a hockey wife I know things, I have networks.” She explained with a wave of her hand. “I mean yeah I had heard about the trade too. Why are we talking about Ilya Rozanov right now?” Jackie put her head in her hands and groaned. “Oh my god Hayden.” “What?” Hayden asked. Jackie looked up and shuffled closer, putting her hands on Hayden’s shoulders. “Shane would secretly meet up with someone in his phone as Lily every time you played Boston. He was happy even when you lost. He is gay. He is now publicly friends with Ilya Rozanov who just left his very successful team for one in Canada that is conveniently 2 hours away from Montreal.”