Page 39

Chloe

I make it through the night somehow.

It kind of passes in a daze.

Necessity made me focus, and I did my absolute best.

The night was a success, but it’s soured by the weight of the letter in my hands.

Gunner gave it back to me at the end of the night before he took off.

Of course, being the good guy that he is, he didn’t actually leave.

And when I walked to my car nearly an hour later, he was sitting in his truck next to my car.

I waved at him, and he nodded at me and then proceeded to follow me home.

Now, it’s Sunday morning, and I need to pull myself together and make something to take over to Grandma May’s.

As tired as I am, I’m excited to see her and spend the day with her.

I climb out of bed and make a cup of coffee and get to work.

I end up making one of her favorites—chicken and rice soup.

I make a mental note to pick up some bread on the way over.

I’m nearly done with the soup when my phone dings with a text.

Gunner- what time are you going to Grandma May’s?

Chloe- about twenty minutes

Chloe- why?

Gunner- I'll take you

His words surprise me, and it takes me a minute to know what to say. Before I can reply, he texts again.

Gunner- is that okay?

Chloe- sure but you don’t have to

Gunner- I know. I want to

Chloe- okay see you soon

After a moment, I text him again.

Chloe- Grandma May will be thrilled to see you

Gunner- g ood

I don’t dwell on why Gunner’s coming with. Instead, I finish the soup and then shower and get ready to go. Since it’s a chilly day, I dress in jeans and a warm sweater. Because Gunner’s already seen my crazy hair, I don’t bother drying and straightening it. Instead, I leave it curly and put in some hair product to keep it from getting too frizzy. A knock at the door lets me know he’s here. I open the door to let him in and shiver in the chilly morning air. “Come on in.” I step back, so he can join me and take a moment to appreciate the casual look he’s got going today. Sweatpants and sneakers, a black zip-up sweatshirt, and his usual black ball cap. “I just have to grab my stuff, and I’m ready to go. Do you mind carrying the soup?”

He heads right to the kitchen. “Smells good.”

“It’s one of our favorites—chicken and wild rice. If you’re good, you can have some with us.”

He smirks. “I’ll do my best.” I grab the other bag of food and my bag and purse and follow him out. Minutes later, we’re settled in his truck.

“Thanks for driving. Do you mind if we stop for bread really quick?” He nods. “I’m going to need to start a log for the gas money I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” He glances over at me and smiles softly. “I like your hair.”

“I didn’t really do it.”

“I like it anyway.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. It quickly drops when I remember last night and what I wanted to talk to him about. “About last night.”

“What about it?”

“I thought we decided the whole fiancé thing was over.”

Without looking at me, he says, “You decided.”

“And you agreed,” I point out. “Why did you make it sound like we were still together last night when we were talking to Knight.”

Gunner’s hand tightens on the steering wheel. “It was the best play for a guy like him.”

“Well, that may be, but we need to let it go. We’re no longer fake engaged, so no more using that. And I can take care of myself. I had him handled just fine last night.”

He doesn’t say anything, and the tension rises. I pull out my phone and check our socials from the event last night. There’s a lot of really good ones that are circulating from last night. One of my favorites is the one with Gunner and Trystan, the kid he’s going to be working with. I look through several more and then one catches my attention. It’s a photo of Gunner and me. I didn’t even know it was being taken. I’m talking with one of our sponsors for the night, and Gunner is next to me. My hands are up, like I’m explaining something. Gunner stands next to me, his attention fixed solely on me. And while he’s not smiling exactly, he’s doing that sexy smirk thing he does.

“What are you looking at?”

Gunner’s question pulls me from my stupor. “I’m just looking at pictures from the event last night. There’s one of us that popped up on social media.”

“Yeah?”

I turn it to him, so he can see when we sit at a stoplight. He looks at it and nods and then faces the front again. I spend the rest of the ride posting pictures and thanking everybody that needs to be thanked for a great night last night.

After a quick stop for bread, we head for the nursing home. I slip my phone in my pocket and grab my purse and the food bag while Gunner slips my laptop bag over his shoulder and grabs the soup. When we get to Grandma May’s room, Sue is just coming out. “Chloe, it’s good to see you.”

“Hey, Susan.”

A look crosses her face, and I know exactly what she’s going to say. “Chloe, we need to talk.”

Gunner steps close. “I’ll head inside.” Sue opens the door for him, and he steps inside. When he’s gone, Sue turns back to me. “She needs to move to the other side.”

My stomach tightens. “Did she fall again and not tell me?”

“No, she didn’t fall; but she needs more care than what she’s getting on this side. I really think it’s time.”

A million things go through my mind, but I stay calm. I’ll process everything later when I’m alone. “Okay. What needs to be done?”

She talks me through the process. It’s pretty simple. I basically sign paperwork saying that I will pay for her care and a few other papers, and then the process will start. I’m feeling completely overwhelmed when Sue leaves me after telling me I’m making the right decision. I lean my head against the wall a moment and take a calming breath. I have no idea how I’m going to pay for the care she needs. Panic threatens to take over for a moment, but I push it aside. I’ll figure it out, just like I always do. Worst case scenario, I’ll move to a smaller, cheaper apartment. Of course, with the rising costs in apartments, that may not even be a cheaper option. I will figure this out. I take one more calming breath and then step inside and plaster a smile to my face. I close the door behind me and take in the scene before me. Gunner’s sitting on the loveseat, while Grandma sits in her favorite rocker. They're talking like they’re the best of friends.

I put my hand over my heart and rub at it for a moment.

Gunner looks up and catches my eye.

His look conveys so much, and I feel myself lost in it for a moment.

“Are you going to just stand there all day and stare?”

Grandma May’s voice snaps me out of my daydream.

A genuine smile lifts my lips.

“Hey, Grandma May.”

“How’s the other half of my favorite couple?” she asks.

I lean down to hug her.

“We’re no longer a couple, Grandma May. See?” I flash my bare hand at her.

“And yet, you’re both here,” she points out.

“Yes, that’s because Gunner offered to come with today. For some reason, he wanted to see you,” I say with a smirk.

“Oh, pfff. He just wanted to spend time with you.”

I shake my head but don’t argue with her.

The more I fight her on this, the more obnoxious she’ll get about it.

“I made soup for today. Are you hungry?” I head into her tiny kitchen, so I can heat it back up.

“What kind is it?” she calls out.

“It’s not that nasty broccoli one, right?”

I groan.

“One time. One time I accidentally burned the soup on the bottom of the pan, and I never live it down.”

“It was terrible. It had that burned taste to it,” I hear her tell Gunner.

“And you’ve never eaten my broccoli and cheddar soup again. Yes, I know.” I pull out two bowls and two spoons and open the Italian loaf of bread I bought.

I fill two bowls and carry them over, being careful not to spill.

Gunner stands when I come close and reaches out to take a bowl from me.

“Actually, can you grab that tv table?”

He brings over an ancient tv table she’s had forever and puts it in front of her chair.

I put a bowl of soup down and hand the other one to Gunner.

“Thanks.”

“I’ve got bread and crackers.” I bring those over as well.

“What are you going to eat?” Gunner asks quietly.

“I have a simplified version that I can eat.” I take out the container of soup I made for me and walk back over.

Gunner moves his legs, so I can sit next to him.

“I can’t believe Thanksgiving is this week,” I say after a bite of soup.

“It’s going to be a lousy Thanksgiving,” Grandma May mumbles in between bites.

"I know; I’m sorry.” We have a home game on Wednesday night but have to leave on Thursday for our away game on Friday night. So, it’s going to be a dud for Thanksgiving this year; I told Grandma May that as soon as the schedule came out for the season. “We’ll just have to make up for it with an extra special Christmas.”

“Bah-humbug,” she mumbles. I laugh, and Gunner smirks beside me.

I take a few more bites of soup and then set my bowl aside. “Want to see some pictures from last night?” I connect my phone to her tv, so she can see clearly. I show her the collection of pictures I saved that I think she’ll enjoy. I don’t show her the one of Gunner and me, hoping she won’t notice.

“Why aren’t there any of the two of you?”

“We didn’t take any together.” I shut down the connection between my phone and the screen.

“Why not?”

“Because, Grandma May, we’re no longer pretending to be together, remember?”

“Well, that’s just stupid. Whose bright idea was that?”

I try not to get exasperated. “Not taking any pictures together?”

“No, not staying together.”

“That was Chloe’s idea,” Gunner contributes to the conversation.

“We both decided that, remember?” I say pointedly.

He meets my gaze head-on. “You decided that, and I went along with it.”

“I feel like we’re splitting hairs here.” Turning back to Grandma May, I say, “Like I said earlier, we no longer need to pretend to be engaged. The issue has been handled. Coftman here went against what I advised and talked to the crazy woman. While I don’t condone his actions, I have to admit, it seems to be working. So.” I face Gunner. “Good job, Coftman.” Turning back to Grandma May, I add, “It is finished.”

“Wrong holiday,” she mumbles to me.

I stand up and toss the remote control to Gunner. “Do you mind putting on a hockey game? Grandma May, I’ve got to go check on something. I’ll be right back.” I kiss her forehead and turn to Gunner. “You good for a few?” I mouth. At his nod, I head into the hallway and make my way down to the main office.

A few minutes later, I make my way back to Grandma May’s room. I don’t go in right away, because I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the information I now know.