Page 35 of One Good Puck (Denver Bashers #5)

Abby

I sit up in Emma’s bed once she’s asleep, kiss her forehead, then quietly walk out of her bedroom.

I close the door behind me and walk across the house to the kitchen. I yawn, exhausted.

This is day three of taking care of Emma while she’s been sick with the stomach flu. She finally stopped throwing up last night and has been able to keep down soup and juice all day today. Now she’s just dealing with the massive fatigue that comes with a stomach bug.

I’ve been cleaning up vomit, doing laundry, disinfecting her bedroom and bathroom, and making sure she’s taking in liquids every few hours.

I check the time and see that it’s mid-afternoon. My stomach rumbles. That’s when I realize I haven’t eaten all day.

Since I’m a teacher, my days are pretty scheduled out. But I called in sick today to take care of Emma, and I haven’t been able to eat at my normal time.

When I walk into the kitchen, I spot a note from Gavin on the island .

Hey,

I stocked the fridge with your favorite takeout so you don’t have to worry about cooking while you’re taking care of Emma. And I ordered some chicken soup for her and some sports drinks to help her stay hydrated. Hope she feels better soon.

-Gavin

I smile at the note, my heart doing funny things in my chest at how thoughtful and helpful he’s been these past couple of days.

By the time I got home with Emma on Saturday, he was gone for the rest of the weekend for an away game.

He’s been texting me to check on her, and he arranged for groceries to be delivered to the house so I wouldn’t have to leave and could just focus on taking care of her.

He got back late last night and was gone again early this morning, so we haven’t seen much of each other.

I open the fridge and see three big containers of takeout, along with the soup and sports drinks he ordered for Emma. I grab the takeout boxes and open them. I smile when I see that he ordered me pineapple fried rice, a burrito bowl, enchiladas, sesame chicken, egg rolls, and wonton soup.

My heart skids in my chest. He remembered all of my favorite takeout meals. I mentioned it months ago.

I warm up the pineapple fried rice and soup, then put everything else back in the fridge. When I dig into the fried rice, I moan at how good it tastes. I inhale it and the soup in less than ten minutes. I instantly feel more energized.

I grab my phone from the pocket of my hoodie so I can text Gavin.

Hey! Thank you SO MUCH for the takeout you ordered for me! I could have cried when I saw the pineapple fried rice, I was SO hungry haha. And thank you for ordering soup and drinks for Emma. That was so sweet :)

I’m downing a glass of water when he texts me back.

No problem at all. I figured you’d be pretty focused on taking care of her. I wanted to make sure you were taken care of, too.

My heart bounces around in my chest. I still can’t get over how perfect Gavin is. Not only is he a demon in the bedroom, he’s the most thoughtful and kind man I’ve ever met. He genuinely cares about me and my daughter. And he goes out of his way to make sure we have everything we need.

I think back to the night we spent together. The single hottest night—and morning—of my life.

My skin flushes hot at the memory. He was so sweet and so filthy. I didn’t think I had a thing for dirty talk, but I love it when Gavin does it.

A shiver runs through me, aching for one more night with him.

I told myself just once, nothing more. But since we hooked up, I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s been the star of my fantasies every night since then…I’ve practically worn out my vibrator thinking about every filthy thing he said and did to me…

My phone buzzes again, this time with a text from Dakota.

Dakota: Hey! I saw you called in sick today to take care of Emma. How’s she doing?

Me: She got hit with a stomach bug :( I think she’s on the upswing now though. She hasn’t thrown up all day and has been able to keep some bland food down. She’s been sleeping a lot too. I think one more day at home should do the trick, then she’ll be all good to go back to school.

Dakota: That’s great to hear! You must be exhausted though

Me: Yeah, but that’s mom life. Taking care of your sick kiddo is part of the deal.

Dakota: Want some company? Sophie, Ingrid, Maya, Bella, and I could come over and hang out for a bit. I know you’re busy taking care of Emma, but it might be nice to have a quick little hangout while she naps.

Me: You really want to do that?

Dakota: Yeah! We’d love to see you!

I smile down at my phone, my chest warm at how Dakota and the girls are.

Me: That would be amazing. Thank you :)

Dakota: We’ll stop by before we head to the Bashers game. And we’ll bring wine!

Me: I’m dying for a glass of wine, THANK YOU

Dakota: No problem! Need anything else? Like food or takeout?

Me: It’s okay, Gavin stocked the fridge with my favorite takeout and soup for Emma, so we have plenty to eat.

Dakota: Aww, that’s so thoughtful! And kinda romantic ;)

Me: It was :)

Dakota: Hmmm…is there something going on between you and Gavin??

A cheesy grin splits my face as I type on my phone screen, then delete what I wrote. I can’t tell Dakota that there’s nothing’s going on. She’s my friend, and I don’t want to lie to her…But I also don’t want to gossip about what Gavin and I did. He seems like a pretty private guy.

Dakota: I’m going to take that silence as a yes. Get ready to spill all the details when we come over!

I groan-laugh at the same time at how I just outed myself to Dakota.