Page 39 of Sweet Thing (Chicago Players #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rebel sources tell us Theo Kershaw has been placed on IR with a lower body injury ahead of tonight’s game against Tampa.

Given the Rebels’ poor results after Nyquist’s unfortunate suspension, Coach Graham will be hard-pressed to adequately stock the lines on a team with such a shallow defensive bench.

Will he put the terrible twosome, MacFarlane and Nyquist, on the same line?

Maybe these two can work out their differences in a more productive manner on the ice.

Then again there’s that saying about pigs and their ability to transcend the usual laws of physics.

- @RebelsInsider

Lars

I had to tell Kershaw.

Last night with Adeline, I’d felt so close to her.

Like I was finally where I belonged, with the right person in the right moment.

I couldn’t imagine my life without her, which meant I had to take action to make it happen.

It would be rough for a while. Theo would probably pummel me to a pulp, Hatch would join in, and Elle would stop speaking to me.

(I suspected I might have Aurora and Tilly on my side.) Most of all, the team dynamics would suffer.

But it was early in the season—we might recover.

Ahead of the home game against Tampa, the press was loving this new angle of me forced to play with my sworn enemy, almost daring me to lash out at Coach or make some crack about how much I hated MacFarlane.

Stuck on IR, Theo was watching up in the box and God help us, Dex O’Malley had been given the captain’s band.

Me and MacFarlane as partners? O’Malley in charge on the ice? The end times had arrived, it seemed.

It didn’t start well. Your own teammates weren’t supposed to be chirping away but this dick had decided getting under my skin would somehow contribute to our on-ice partnership.

“Aw, you miss your bestie?”

“Screw you.”

He grinned behind his mouthguard and skated off.

Ten seconds later: “So sad.”

“Get fucked.”

Boden called out from goal: “Aren’t you guys on the same team?”

Tell that to my so-called partner on the defensive line.

At the end of the first period, as I accepted the skate guards from the assistant, MacFarlane bumped shoulders with me. We were one goal down, owing to some miscommunication between me and my new buddy.

He offered a parting shot. “Maybe pay attention the next time I call for it.”

“Eat shit, asshole.”

Real mature. We were losing this game for sure.

I headed down the tunnel. Theo was waiting for me outside the locker room in his game day suit, his face grim. Fuck, he’s found out.

But he wasn’t coming toward me, ready to fight. This was something else.

My heart crashed, instant awareness hitting me. “Is Mabel okay?”

“She’s at the hospital with a fever. Elle just called.” He pushed me into the locker room. “Get changed and I’ll drive you.”

I slammed through the ER doors and barreled up to the nurses’ station.

“My daughter is here. I need?—”

“Lars.”

My gaze snapped to the source of the voice. Elle and Adeline were seated in a cluster of chairs near a vending machine. Rushing over, I tried to get the words out.

“Is she okay? Tell me she’s okay.”

Elle squeezed my arm. “She threw up at the house before the puck dropped. And then she threw up again about ten minutes later.”

“Lars, the doctor’s assessing her now.” Adeline’s expression and soft voice beseeched me to be calm, but how could I be? “She went in about thirty minutes ago and they’re running some tests.”

“I need to speak to someone in charge.” I looked over my shoulder. Theo was chatting with the nurse behind the desk.

Elle guided me to a seat. “All my kids had bouts of this. It’s usually a viral infection, like gastroenteritis. It looks more serious than it is because a baby vomiting tends to be dramatic.”

I placed my head in my hands and leaned my elbows on my knees. I wanted to bow to Elle’s experience here but what if she was wrong?

I looked up at Adeline. “What happened?” Right now, she was the one person I could trust not to sugarcoat it.

“She seemed a bit fussy before I took her over to Mom and Dad’s. A little high in color, too. But she ate well, and I thought she’d be fine. Then she threw up. We didn’t want to risk it—” She broke off and shot a glance at her mom, then back at me.

“You did the right thing. I’m just—just worried.”

Ten minutes later, a doctor appeared disguised as a pimply kid. “Mrs. Kershaw?”

Elle rose to greet him. “That’s me. This is Mabel’s dad, Lars.”

The doc’s eyes went wide. “Lars Nyquist? Wow.”

“How’s my daughter?”

“She’s doing okay. Basically, it’s a bad stomach bug. We’re hydrating her and keeping her under observation.”

Theo clapped me on the back. “See? Usual kid stuff.”

“Can I see her?”

“Sure. Come on through.”

I took a couple of steps, then turned back to Adeline.

“Come with me? I think she’d be more at ease with a face she knows.

” Suddenly I felt like I knew nothing about parenting.

If I’d been there, what would I have done?

What if it happened at night while I was asleep or …

having sex? I could have slept or fucked my way through her choking to death.

Adeline closed the gap. “Of course.”

We headed into the bowels of the ER, past curtained cubbies with people moaning and monitors beeping.

They must have placed Mabel at the end because this walk seemed to be taking forever.

She was in the last cubicle, half-sitting, red-faced, a baby-sized drip attached to her arm.

A nurse stood at the end of the bed with a clipboard.

I could’ve sworn my baby’s eyes lit up at seeing me.

“Mabel, sweetheart.” I leaned over her and kissed her on the top of her head.

“Mr. Nyquist, Mrs. Nyquist. Mabel’s doing fine. Just a touch of stomach flu, nothing she can’t handle.”

“Why is she hooked up like this?”

“Just keeping her hydrated. It’s easier than hoping she’d hold it down. Once the bug is out of her system, she can go back to ingesting fluids the usual way.”

“Can I sit with her?”

“Of course.” She nodded at the seats, then left to attend to another patient.

I took one and looked up at Adeline. She was wearing one of those Theo’s Tarts jackets that all the Kershaw women sported for the games. “Will you stay?”

“Are you sure you want me here?” She looked teary-eyed. “I was so scared for her.”

Pulling on her hand, I brought her down to the seat beside me. “Of course I do. No one I’d want here more.”

“She looks better than before. Not so flushed and hot.”

I clasped Adeline’s hand to mine. “You took good care of her.”

“Thankfully Mom was there. She knew exactly what to do. If I’d been on my own?—”

“You would’ve known too. You have all the right instincts. If it had been me or happened when I was asleep or occupied, I don’t know if it would have turned out so well.”

“Lars.” She cupped my jaw and brought my face close. “You would have handled it like a pro because you’re her dad. And this dad knows how to look after his daughter.”

“Sometimes I don’t know. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t be doing this at all.”

She held my chin tightly. “So your dad was a dick. He hurt you. You thought you could hold that inside, but you don’t have to.” She placed a hand on my chest, above my heart.

I didn’t push her away or deny what she said. I listened, as if every word she spoke had the potential to heal. Give me the answers I sought.

“The scars he left don’t make you a failure. They mean you overcame obstacles that no one should have had to face. They’ve given you a perspective, a way of seeing things like no one else can.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m going to be a good dad. Or a person.”

“Doesn’t automatically disqualify you, either.”

I searched her face, looking for evidence she was blowing smoke up my ass. She was so damn sincere it scared me.

“You’re the best person I know, Adeline.”

And I love you. So fucking much.

Her eyes welled and I kissed her, taking some of her sweetness for myself. It mixed with my sharpness, my doubts, creating a brand-new flavor that was only us. Surely Theo could see what I did. Could recognize how amazing we were together.

The curtain behind us swished, and with it came a sound like a tiny gasp. I looked over my shoulder at the swaying fabric.

“I think someone just came in.”

She blinked. “A nurse?”

“Not sure.”

The tension was broken when my little girl went “Yabby!” I reached for her and squeezed her little finger, the one on the hand with the IV. I hated seeing her in such discomfort.

Adeline stood. “I’ll go check on my parents, let them know Mabel’s looking better.” She leaned over and gave my girl a kiss on the forehead. “Be good, Mabel. I’ll see you soon.”

I took a second to try to process my feelings. Mabel’s health scare was surely playing havoc with my emotions, but I knew this much. Tonight I was prepared to tell Theo that I wanted Adeline. That I was in love with her.

This woman was my rock, the one person I could trust to have my and Mabel’s back.

I loved having her around. I loved her smell and her curves and how she didn’t let me get away with anything.

I loved how she felt in my arms and wrapped around my body.

I loved being inside her and I loved sitting on the sofa with her in quiet moments where neither of us had to say a word.

To be honest, it would be better if I wasn’t in love because I was the worst person for her. I’d eventually hurt her, no doubt about it. And that was before I factored in the atomic bomb that would explode when Kershaw found out.

But for now, Mabel was on the mend, and I had finally stopped fighting my feelings for this wonderful woman. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

Adeline

You’re the best person I know.

It was a lovely thing to say, but it also sounded final.

A kiss-off. My mind was whirling as I headed out to the waiting room.

I was in love with Lars but did he feel even a tenth of what I did?

I desperately wanted to think so, but I also understood he was in a weird place right now.

Nothing like a sick baby to send your head spinning.

On reaching the waiting room, I found that several of the team had arrived. My dad bounded over. “How’s Button?”

“She’s okay. They’re hydrating her and keeping her for observation. I’ll probably stick around for a while if that’s okay.”

“Of course! Lars needs you right now.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “The team wanted to help.”

“They’re good guys.” I flicked a glance at my mom and that’s when I knew.

She had seen me with Lars.

She was trying her best, but her face said it all. My dad headed off to give the team an update.

My mom took his place and rubbed my arm. “You okay? I know you got a fright there.”

“I did. I’m just crazy about her.”

She nodded. “I know. I think I’ve always known. Not sure it was a good idea to push you into this.”

“It was my decision, Mom. I made the call.”

“Right, but it’s certainly … complicated.”

We were talking about something else. Someone else.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Mom. I know what I’m doing.”

Tiny tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, Mom.” I pulled her in for a hug, then steered her to a quieter corner near the snack machine. I checked the offerings, looking for a Twix but resolved to settle for a KitKat. “It’ll be okay.”

“Is it serious?”

If my mom thought I was in love with Lars, she would insist I come clean to Dad. The fallout would be catastrophic. I needed more time. More space to think it through.

“Lars needed someone to be his support at this time?—”

“And you were there to give it?” Fury sparked in her eyes. “I can’t believe he took advantage.”

“He didn’t. I seduced him.”

She looked supremely skeptical. Thanks, Mom.

“Honestly. He wouldn’t have made a move if I hadn’t gone there first. I’ve always had a crush on him.”

“Well, I knew that.” Oh. Who else did? Not my father. He would never have encouraged me to become Mabel’s nanny if he had an inkling. “I just can’t believe he’d go there.”

“I’m not a kid who can be taken advantage of, Mom. I’m a grown woman.” Was it any wonder I couldn’t tell my parents about Greece? They still saw me as the na?ve innocent who had things happen to her instead of the other way around.

“I don’t want to see you hurt, sweetie.”

I looked over her shoulder to my dad, who gave me a big smile. Guilt shuddered through me.

“Don’t tell Dad. It was just a short-term thing, and he’d just worry.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s not really how my marriage works. I kept a lot of secrets from your father when we first started out. It almost broke us.”

She was talking about her sketchy family’s history. Her con-artist parents had long retired from their schemes to Costa Rica. We rarely saw them, but I understood my mom’s concern. Secrets and lies tended to break the murky surface eventually.

“I don’t want you to lie, but if it’s not serious, how would it help?” I lowered my voice even further. “Dad would blow up with Lars. Their partnership on the team would be destroyed.”

It wouldn’t matter that I was crazy about Lars. My father would never forgive him, and a part of him would always blame me for coming between them. For destroying the team in this important year.

I couldn’t be responsible for that. Yet I couldn’t give Lars up, not yet. There had to be a way.

“Your father won’t be pleased, whichever route we take here.

But …” She looked over at him, watching as he corralled his teammates into a huddle and led with the purpose he’d always shown.

“Knowing you and Lars were … it wouldn’t go down well.

If you two were committed, then it might be worth it.

It would still be rough, but we’d get through it. ”

We’d get through it. That was the problem: my relationship with Lars wasn’t just our business. It was everyone’s.