He drove to Duluth two days prior to New Year's, alone, in the truck that his father had purchased for him during his freshman year as a sixteenth-round wager on prospective NHL earnings — a fact that once instilled a sense of gratitude in Cole and now increasingly rendered him feeling like a mere investment property.
Reese's house was nestled on a peaceful street by the lake, modest yet well-maintained, featuring a single-car garage and a basketball hoop that had clearly enjoyed its glory days long ago. Cole lingered in the driveway for a full minute, gathering the courage to step out. He mentally ran through the familiar threat assessment he applied to every situation, but this time, the stakes felt different. It was about a man he had never met, who would be deciding whether Cole was w
