Page 14

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

KAMRYN

T hanksgiving dinner last night was potentially the most awkward dinner of my life. We were pissed at Quincy, yet he was hosting it. The guys are all a little protective of him, so it was tense between all of us. Quincy was pissed at his parents for some unknown reason. They seemed oblivious to all of it. Ripley was on the verge of tears the whole time. June, who’s usually laid back, was hovering over Ripley, clearly worried about her daughter.

Bailey and I just sat back, drinking as much wine as humanly possible to get through the evening. I was stuffing my face senselessly until it hit me that I must be getting my period, which came as soon as I got home. My form of PMS is eating everything in sight.

As we were walking into our apartment, Justin appeared. He said that he thought we were his food. The poor guy was ordering takeout on Thanksgiving. We invited him to hang out in our apartment while he ate his meal…and I ended up eating my second of the night .

We’re now in Ripley’s apartment as June finishes packing the last of Ripley’s things.

I hug June. “Take care of our girl.”

She nods before pulling back and giving me a forced smile. “The St. James women are strong.” She turns to Ripley. “We’ll be just fine, right baby?”

Ripley stoically nods. “Umm hmm.”

It’s been a long two weeks for her, full of tears and self-doubt. I hate him for what he’s putting her through. I honestly don’t see how we will possibly be around him ever again.

Our groups hang out so much. I have no clue what it will mean for that, but that’s the least of my concerns. Ripley’s mental health is more important than anything right now. I hope June can give her the help she needs.

Ripley sighs as she pulls Bailey and me into an embrace. “I’m sorry to throw a wrench into our plans. I’ll miss you guys. So much.”

Bailey and I hug her. I croak out, “We’ll miss you too.”

Bailey adds, “We’ll come and visit as soon as the baby is born.”

Ripley pulls away and rubs her nonexistent belly. “I’d like that. Love you guys.”

We help them to the car and return to our apartment with a huge sense of sadness and uncertainty. Will Ripley ever play again? Will we achieve our dream of playing in the Olympics together? Most importantly, will she be okay? She’s not okay right now. I’ve never seen Ripley like this.

Bailey and Ripley are the caregivers of our foursome. Arizona and I are the ones they care for. Seeing Ripley so vulnerable is heartbreaking.

Bailey makes me a bunch of snacks, knowing I need them this week, before we plop onto our sofa and turn on a movie.

I notice her fidgeting before she finally mentions that Tanner invited her to go skiing in Colorado for the holiday.

Well, that kind of worked out well. I tell her about what Cheetah asked and how torn I am about it since we’ve never been apart like this before.

She pulls me close. “You should definitely go, and so should I. This could be good for us, Kam. We’re too old to have never spent time apart. We’re eventually going to have to learn how to do that.”

My eyes fill with tears. “You’re my soulmate, Bails. You jump, I jump.” The thought of being on a plane without her swirls around in my head. “I’m sweating just thinking about it.”

She squeezes me back. “I know. You’re my soulmate too, and I’m equally nervous, but we need this. We both know it’s time. It’s probably way past time.”

We’re both sobbing when Bailey’s phone pings with a notification of a FaceTime call.

She looks at it and pinches her eyebrows together. “It’s Daddy.”

Weird. We talked to him for a long time last night before we left for dinner.

I wiggle my eyebrows. “Which daddy?”

She rolls her eyes at me and accepts the call. “Hey, Daddy. Is everything okay?”

I hear his shakier-than-normal voice respond, “Is your sister with you?”

I move until he can see me on the small screen. “Your favorite daughter is here, Daddy.” I smile but he doesn’t return it like he usually does. My face immediately falls. “What’s wrong?”

Tears fill his eyes. “Girls, I’ve run your mother back and forth to the doctors a bunch over the past few months.” He pinches his lips together. “We just received some news. It’s not good. Her liver is beyond repair. It’s failing her, and we can’t do anything about it.”

Without any expression, I ask, “How long does she have?”

His shoulders fall. He’s starting to look so much older than his fifty years. I suddenly realize just how much his dark hair is graying. The wrinkles around his eyes are deepening .

He answers, “About a year.”

Bailey starts sobbing. “We…we…we should come down. Right away.”

I’m about to interrupt to say that there’s no fucking chance of me going when he sadly admits, “She…umm…doesn’t want to see you. She said you never cared about her in life, and it would be disingenuous if you came to her now.”

Once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit.

He continues, “She’ll change her mind. I know she will. Give it a little time. I think she’s in shock about her prognosis.”

Bailey is crying. I swore I’d never allow another tear to drop for that woman and I won’t. Wrapping my arm around Bailey, I say, “Thanks for letting us know. Why don’t we talk later after we’ve had the chance to digest this?”

He nods with a solemn expression on his once-handsome face. “I’m sorry, girls.”

We end the call, and Bailey cries into my chest. I simply stroke her hair. Part of me needs to get out of here to get some fresh air, and part of me wants to be here for my sister.

“It’s not like anything changes for us, Bails. She’s not in our life.”

She looks up at me with her tear-stained face. “Didn’t you always think we’d eventually reconcile one day?”

I shake my head. “No. I didn’t.”

Suddenly I’m feeling light-headed. I need to stand.

I do, but it doesn’t help. My mind is racing. I can’t let her see me like this. I can’t be here while she mourns a woman who doesn’t deserve it, a woman who was prepared to throw her to the wolves.

“Bails, I’ve got plans. I need to go.”

Her face scrunches. “What? Where are you going?”

“Umm, friends. Out.” I grab my jacket. “Go see Tanner. I’ll check in on you later.”

I practically sprint out of our building. I’m the worst sister ever, but I can’t sit there and watch her shed tears for that woman. I know she’ll go to Tanner’s, and he’ll console her the way she needs it. I can’t give that to her right now.

For over an hour, I walk aimlessly around the city in the cold of the night. Without even realizing I was walking his way, I wind up at Cheetah’s building. Evan smiles as I approach. “Did you have a good holiday, Ms. Hart?”

I plaster on my best fake smile and lie. “I did. How about you?”

“I most definitely did. I got to see my grandson take his first steps.”

I give a genuine smile. “That’s awesome. I hope you got it on video.”

He taps his head. “I got it up here. That’s even better. Your generation likes to run to the camera. Mine prefers the memories to be stored the old-fashioned way.”

I nod. “I suppose you’re right. I’m going to head up to Cruz’s place.”

His face falls. “Mr. Gonzales is out for the evening.” He places his hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright? You look upset.”

“I just received some…concerning news. I didn’t realize he had plans. I’ll head out.” After the weirdness of last night and dealing with Ripley today, I haven’t spoken to him all day. I didn’t know he had plans.

I start to turn away, but Evan wraps his arm around me. “Nonsense. I know Mr. Gonzales would insist that I let you into his apartment to wait for him. I’ll have the concierge fetch you some hot chocolate. Dark chocolate, right?”

I pinch my eyebrows together. “How do you know that?”

He gives me a small smile. “Mr. Gonzales has had a steady stream of dark chocolate deliveries made to his place since you’ve been in the picture.”

“Maybe one of his other women likes dark chocolate.”

Evan tilts his head to the side in a bit of bewilderment. “He’s never brought a woman here until you.”

What?

CHEETAH

“Hey, Daylen, how does a Camel find a sheep in long grass?” I ask.

Daylen twists his lips. “How?”

“Rather enjoyable.”

Daylen lets out one of his house-shaking laughs as he folds his hand of poker by tossing them on the table.“Oh shit, that’s funny, Cheetah. You’re the second funniest person I know.”

I’m sitting in Tanner’s basement man cave with Layton, Vance, and Daylen. Tanner constantly runs upstairs for unknown reasons. Vance asks, “Where does he keep going?”

I shrug and joke, “He’s probably got Bailey tied up to his bed.”

Vance chuckles. “Maybe you’re right.” He stares at the big pile of chips in the center of the table. “How much is the pot right now?”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Fuck. You’re dumb for a QB. I thought it was supposed to be the smartest position on the field. You can’t even do simple math.”

He gives me his trademark scowl. “I know math. What’s sixty-nine and sixty-nine?”

“One thirty-eight,” I answer quickly.

The corner of his mouth raises slightly. “No. Dinner for four.”

My mouth widens in shock. “Vance McCaffrey, did you just make a joke?”

His scowl falls back in place. “Don’t tell anyone. I have a rep to protect. ”

Layton smiles. “Do you know what comes after sixty-nine?”

I twist my lips. “Seventy suddenly seems like the wrong answer.”

He smirks. “Mouthwash.”

We all laugh as Tanner returns from whatever it is he was doing upstairs. Again.

We all lift our beers and offer our cheers to Daylen, who just signed a huge contract extension. I’m happy for my friend and certainly ecstatic that he’ll continue playing in Philly for the foreseeable future. Daylen is such a genuinely good guy.

I say to him, “With all that money, think of all the hookers you can now afford.”

He nods enthusiastically. “I know, right? What’s the best part of having a hooker die on you?”

“What?”

He bites back his smile. “The second hour is free.”

We all burst out laughing. “Oh fuck, that’s a good one.” I pull out my phone. “I need to text it to Gemma. She’ll want to use that one in a book.”

I look down at my phone and realize that I have no service. I forgot that there’s none in the man cave.

As I head upstairs in search of better service so I can send Gemma the text, I suddenly receive a bunch of notifications on my phone. All my messages from the past few hours come flooding through all at once.

I ignore most until I see three from my doorman. That’s odd. He doesn’t reach out to me unless it’s important. I click on our text chain.

Evan: Sorry to bother you, but Ms. Hart stopped by.

A few seconds later, he sent:

Evan: She was rather upset so I let her in your apartment.

An hour later there’s another text from him.

Evan: I’m suddenly anxious that I shouldn’t have let her in. Let me know if it was the right thing to do. I can ask her to leave if you’d prefer.

Technically they’re not allowed to let anyone in. He could be fired for doing so but I’m obviously happy he did. Especially if she’s upset.

Me: Sorry. I had no reception. Thanks for letting her in. It was the right thing to do. I’m on my way home.

I immediately leave and head home. After Evan nervously fills me in that she was practically shaking when she arrived, I again assure him that she’s always welcome. He also informs me that she asked him to make a fire, which he did. She loves fires. She has me make one every time she stays over. She sits in front of them and works on her laptop while I’m asleep.

I walk into my apartment and see a makeshift fort. It’s not as good as mine, but she clearly tried hard to craft a good one.

I poke my head into the fort opening and see her in panties and a small midriff-baring T-shirt, lying on a bed of pillows. “Want to play haunted house? I’ll scream when I’m inside you.”

She sleepily smiles and stretches her arms. “You’re back.”

“I am. And I’m not happy with your wardrobe. My adult forts are nudist forts. You know the rules.”

She sighs. “It’s shark week for me. I tried to respect your rules, but this is as naked as I’m getting. ”

Ah, she has her period. Maybe she’s just hormonal and that’s why she’s upset.

I wiggle my eyebrows. “I happen to love sharks. I’m an expert fisherman.” I flick my tongue suggestively at her. “I’m all for a rainbow kiss.”

She holds up her hand. “Not happening. My inner shark is a Great White and she’s a ruthless bitch. We’re talking Texas Chainsaw Massacre -level shit going on down there.”

I chuckle. “That was bizarrely and disturbingly illustrative.” I nod toward her cotton panties, not as sexy as her normal thongs, but still adorable. “I like the cute little bow on the front of your panties.”

She looks down at them. “A bow on women’s panties is a memorial to all the faces that have been buried there.”

I can’t help but laugh. She’s so damn funny.

I start to unzip my jeans. “I’ll match your wardrobe choice then, but I don’t have a bow. I’ll look into it though. I’m sure boxer briefs with bows on the front are all the rage.”

I strip down to my undershirt and boxers before crawling in and lying down next to her. Rubbing her leg, I ask, “What’s ailing you, Kam bam? Tell Dr. Gonzales. He’s the master fixer.”

Staring into the fire, and without an ounce of emotion, she says, “My mother is dying. They gave her a year to live. Before you ask, she doesn’t want to see us. She’s dying and hasn’t spoken to her daughters in ten years. You would think she’d gain a little perspective, but not Beverly Hart. She specifically requested that we not come see her.”

I maneuver her so her head is resting on my chest. “I’m sorry, babe. That sucks.”

“I don’t care for me. She’s been dead to me for eighteen years. I feel bad for my sister. I think she’s always hoped for a reconciliation and now she’ll never get it.”

I run my fingers up and down her arm, hoping to soothe her. “A year is a long time. Maybe she’ll change her mind about seeing you guys.”

“Maybe. For my sister’s sake, I hope so. I don’t think I could go back there, but Bailey should go.”

I think Kam might need it too but isn’t ready to admit it.

She traces her finger along my chest and looks up at me. “I’m sorry that I broke into your place like a psycho stalker.”

“Have I told you about the romance book I’m reading right now?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“She stalks him and,” I bite my lip, “it’s so fucking hot.”

She giggles. “No way that’s true.”

“Okay, he stalks her, but it sounded more thematic the other way around. The stalker trope is huge. People love it. I think I’m turned on that you’re stalking me.”

“You get turned on when the wind blows.”

“If it blows your scent my way, I most certainly do.”

She sighs. “Honestly, I didn’t set out to come here. I couldn’t sit there and watch my sister shed tears over that woman. I was walking around aimlessly and just kind of ended up at your front door.”

“It’s fine. I’m glad you came. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Were you on a hot date?”

“You wish. I was with the boys. We were celebrating Daylen’s big contract with a little poker.”

“I want to come to your poker game one day and kick everyone’s ass. I never lose. Counting cards is second nature to me.”

“Hmm. I need to test this theory.” And I want to help distract her.

I carefully place her on the pillows and sit up. “I’ll be right back.”

I gather a bunch of candy and a deck of playing cards before returning to the fort. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Hart.”

She smiles as she makes a grab for the candy. We sit up and cross our legs, facing each other, as I shuffle the deck and she unwraps the dark chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups I now keep on hand.

I quickly throw out about forty cards, one at a time. She can see them as I throw them out, but only for a second as the next card covers the last very quickly. I’m now holding twelve cards in my hand. Looking up at her, I ask, “What am I holding?”

She takes a bite of her Peanut Butter Cup. With a mouthful, she happily answers, “An ace, two queens, two tens, a nine, and six lower-numbered cards.”

I turn them over and examine the twelve cards. She was dead accurate. I breathe, “What the fuck?”

She chews the chocolate with a huge smile. “Told ya so.”

“Let’s do that again.”

I shuffle the cards, and we go through the same process with the same exact result. I run my fingers through my hair. “What in the actual fuck? You’re Rain Man .”

“I’m fucking smart. That’s what I am. It’s not that hard to do. I can teach you. In the most simplistic form, you can assign values to certain cards like plus one, minus one, and zero. Then you keep track as you see them. The way I do it is a little more complicated than that because of my photographic memory, but almost anyone can learn what I just explained.”

She tries to teach me for an hour. I improve a little, but I am nowhere near accurate, and certainly nowhere near as good as her.

I shake my head in disbelief. “Let’s go to Vegas.”

She twists her lips. “I’ve been banned from Vegas. Long story. ”

“What about Atlantic City? It’s only, like, an hour away.”

She nods “I would do that sometime. Just know that as soon as I start winning, they’ll kick me out. Every casino does.”

I fall back onto the pillows. “I need to figure out how to harness your powers to my benefit.”

She lets out a laugh. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.” She looks down. “I..umm…spoke with Bails. Before we found out about my mom. If you still want me after the whole stalking thing, I’ll go home with you for Christmas.”

I sit back up in a bit of shock. “Really?”

She nods. “Tanner invited her to come to Colorado with them for the same week. Harper is bringing a friend, and he allegedly needs the extra help.” She air quotes needs. “The timing works out perfectly.”

Not only did I already tell my mother that Kamryn was coming with me, but I told her that we recently got engaged. I don’t think I’ll tell Kamryn that tidbit until I’ve already got her in Texas, but my mother is now freaking out about meeting her and welcoming her to the family properly.

Frankly, I assumed Kam wouldn’t come and I’d just tell my family that my fiancée was with her own family.

This should make for a fun Christmas.