Page 15

Chapter fifteen

Rebecca

“Earth to Rebecca.” Sutton waves her hands in front of my face.

I force myself to stop staring at where Holt disappeared into the hallway with Wes.

“Sorry.” I give her a small smile.

“Where’d you go?” Sutton asks.

“Nowhere. Sorry.”

Ansley chuckles from the other side of me. “Interesting. Care to share?”

“No. I think I’m going to get a drink.” I stand, grabbing my empty cup from the coffee table, and make my way into the kitchen.

“Doc, Doc,” Wes calls from where he’s peeking his head out of a door down the hall.

“What?”

“Come here,” he hisses, waving me over. “I need your opinion about something.”

“You’re not going to have me check out . . . something private, are you? Because I’m not that kind of doctor.” I take a few tentative steps toward him.

He barks out a laugh. “No, it’s a book.”

“Oh-kay,” I draw out, walking over to him. “What’s up?”

“What do you think this means?” He pulls said book out from behind his back.

I gasp when I read the title— What to Expect When You’re Expecting .

“Where did you find it?” I ask, glancing back down the hallway to make sure we’re still alone.

“In the bathroom.” He tips his chin toward the counter. “It was sitting there.”

“Well,” I drawl. “I don’t think we should jump to conclusions.”

“Who’s jumping to conclusions?” Holt says from behind me.

“Holy shit.” I put a hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. “No one,” I say over my shoulder.

His nostrils flare as he glances between me and his teammate. I look at Wes, who’s standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back.

“Fine. Sorry to intrude,” Holt says, and I hear the jealousy in his voice.

“I was asking Doc’s opinion about this.” Wes shows Holt the book.

Holt whistles, and the guys seem to have a silent conversation.

“There you are,” Hunter says, coming down the hallway.

“Oh, shit,” Wes mumbles.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asks, coming to a halt and staring at the three of us.

“I swear I wasn’t snooping, Cap,” Wes mumbles, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Hunter narrows his eyes, and I see it when he registers the book in Wes’s hand.

“Fuck,” he hisses. “I meant to put that away.”

“Does that mean you are?” Wes asks, shaking the book.

I take a step away from them, this is a very private conversation between these guys who are more like brothers than friends, and I’m intruding.

Hunter puts a hand on my arm. “You don’t have to leave.” He turns back to Wes. “Yeah, we are.”

Wes pumps his fist. “Ye—”

“It’s early,” Hunter rushes out.

Wes slams his mouth shut.

“What’s going on guys?” Madison asks, coming down the hallway, Hadley and Aubrey trailing behind her. “I thought you were coming right back. ”

“Sorry, sweets.” Hunter says.

I peek over at Wes, but the book that was in his hands is nowhere to be seen. I’m not sure how, or what he did with it, but at this point, I don’t want to know. He slips around me and follows Hunter and the ladies down the hallway, leaving me alone with Holt.

“I was on my way to get a drink, and he told me it was important.” I bite back the chuckle that wants to escape. “I’m learning I should keep my guard up around him.”

Holt throws back his head and laughs, a deep sound I’ve never heard from him before and one I instantly like. “Yep. You learn quickly. At least he didn’t try to show you something else.”

Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “I told him I wasn’t that kind of doctor.”

He grins at me. Full-on grins, his eyes twinkling with happiness. And I swoon. I want to make him smile like that more. Laugh more. If he was anyone else, I’d be asking him if he wanted to ditch the party and go out for a drink. Or what he was up to after the party and if he wanted to. . .

The sound of Hazel crying interrupts my thoughts, jarring me from my daydream.

The daydream that can never come true. Because he’s one of my patients, a coworker, plus he’s a dad.

Which is the final nail in the coffin because I’m not meant to be a parent even if I really want to be.

It’s a vow I made to myself when I was younger, after everything happened with my brother and my mom.

I shake myself out of my thoughts and head back into the kitchen while Holt goes to get his daughter. Before I can spend too long dwelling on everything, Hunter yells that the food is ready and that we should come and eat. It’s chaos for a few minutes as everyone gets food.

As the meal is winding down, Hunter stands, clearing his throat.

I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling at the way he commands the room.

Just him getting to his feet has conversations dying and everyone turning their attention to him.

The more time I spend around the team, the more I realize exactly how much the guys respect him.

He glances around the room, his eyes stopping briefly on his half brother, Elias, before he focuses on the group at large .

“Thank you all for coming today to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. I know this is an event Caleb used to host every year, so it’s an honor to be the one organizing it, even if I’m not the captain.”

“Yet,” Wes yells, and everyone laughs.

Hunter shrugs, and then his gaze lands on Madison. He gives her a small nod, and she gets up and walks over to him. He wraps his arm around her.

“One more quick announcement.” He pauses, leaning down to kiss Madison’s cheek before continuing, “The Rhodes family will be welcoming a new member come summer.”

I think you could hear a pin drop for a moment as everyone absorbs the news, and then Elias says, “I’m going to be an uncle?”

At the same time, Coach Weaver says, “I’m going to be a grandpa.”

Suddenly everyone is hugging and congratulating the parents to be. I hug both of them before making my way out onto the back porch, needing to get away from the celebration.

The celebration of a couple announcing they’re going to be parents. I’m happy for them, but I’m also sad. I’m sad that I will never make an announcement like that because I will never let myself be fully responsible for someone else.

Not when I have to live with the fact it’s my fault my brother became an addict.