20. Chase
Chase
The Rogues just won their first game in the regular season ever and instead of celebrating, I’m pacing our hotel suite.
The girls are in bed. Candace is asleep but I’m not sure about the twins.
And there’s no way I can go to bed yet. Gem isn’t here.
Whatever went down with Cami after the game tonight wasn’t good. All I know is what Whit told Cass and Stell.
Cami collapsed in the hallway leading to the visitors’ locker room.
That’s where Gem is. I think. I do know wherever she is, she’s doing what she does best, fixing things, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I want to be with her.
I offered to take care of Whit because Bex is also there—with Cami—wherever there is, except Dana and Fenton Barnes, Cami’s mom and dad, took her back to their room. And as much as I wanted to ask Whit for more information, she was visibly upset, and I didn’t want to cause her any more distress.
Despite what was happening, everyone was ushered back to the hotel after the game to celebrate our win in the first round of the season as planned.
No one was surprised we won. We’re playing stellar hockey right now and I don’t see that changing. The mood at the hotel was jubilant to say the least. Rogues’ staff and players and families, all piled into multiple rooms with food and drink and replays of the best plays of the game rolling on screens spread throughout the rooms.
I did my best to enjoy the moment, to celebrate with the team—the girls. But there was no stopping my gaze from searching out Gem. I saw her a few times. Fleeting glimpses that did nothing to soothe the agitation of not knowing what was going on.
Surprisingly no one other than a select few seemed aware there was an issue. And with Oakley, Blake, and Gem making appearances it looked as though nothing was amiss because Cami rarely attends any Rogues events.
The coaches were tight-lipped too, and I’m positive Bran knows more than he said but I’m not going to force him to break confidence with his wife because I can’t stand not knowing what’s happening or where Gem is.
Or Cami.
To anyone looking in on our celebration they wouldn’t see a problem, wouldn’t notice the owners flitting in and out in an attempt to hide the situation. And they succeeded. Most in attendance were clueless to the drama unfolding behind the scenes.
But I knew.
The girls knew.
Their concern, for their friend, for Cami, for Gem’s absence, showed on their faces and in their searching eyes. It was torture for all of us to pretend we weren’t worried, so I made excuses about the girls’ bedtime and brought us up to our suite.
It took forever to convince the twins to go to bed. And in the end, I resorted to bribery. A day out to do anything they want, go anywhere they want.
We’ll probably end up in New Orleans. We haven’t ventured that far from home yet and I know they’re keen—I’m keen—to explore more of our new home state.
They wrangled an extra promise to take Whit with us too.
I smile despite the tension holding every muscle rigid.
Cass and Stell have blossomed into confident young women in recent weeks. And it’s not only the move that has been good for them, allowing them to come into their own.
It’s Whitney Higgison.
It’s their relationship with Pa.
It’s the found family the Rogues have given us.
I might have had a small bit of doubt over the move. A teeny-tiny niggle of regret in not keeping us in our family home. But I can’t argue with the way we’ve all come out from under the cloud of grief.
Yes, we miss our parents. Every day. But Gem has helped with our sadness by talking about them, by hanging their pictures on the walls of her house— our house.
There’s no denying her house is now our home. We’re more comfortable there than we were in the last few months we lived in the home we’d grown up in.
I’d go as far as saying the girls love it in Baton Rouge. Love Gem.
Fuck, after what I let slip the other day, I think I’m in love with her!
She fascinated me from the beginning but after my chat with Lindberg, my subconscious must have been pulling all my emotions together and forming a conclusion I’ve been too blind or stupid to see.
I’m falling for Gem.
Maybe I’ve already fallen.
The anxiety I feel right now could only be because I love her. It’s the same way I feel when any of the girls has an issue. Cass usually. She’s been the one to struggle the most with my parenting, at least outwardly.
Not that we’ve had a lot of issues, just the occasional explosion of emotions when she doesn’t like what I’m telling her to do.
It’s expected, and if Gem wasn’t living with us, I’m sure things would be worse. She manages to calm us all when things get unsettled. Just her presence, her clear?—
The beep of the door lock has me spinning around and lunging for the handle. Yanking the door open, I stare at the woman using her keycard to get in.
“You’re here.” The relief I feel is bone dissolving. And I’m helpless to stop myself from reaching out and pulling her inside—into my arms.
“What—?” Air bursts from her when she slams against me.
“You’re here,” I repeat, whether for her benefit or mine, I’m not sure.
“Chase?” She tries to pull free, but I don’t let her and a second later she sighs, her body relaxing against me. “Damn. I didn’t know I needed this.”
I don’t know how long I hold her. Long enough to reach out and shut the door then slowly shuffle us backward to the sofa.
When I have her back to the couch, I ease up my grip and lower her to the cushion. “Do you need a drink? Water? Wine?” I ask, slipping to my knees in front of her.
“No. I’m—” I unbuckle one shoe. “What are you doing?”
“Taking your shoes off. You don’t have to go back out, do you? You’re home now, right? Finished for the night?”
“No. Yes, I’m done for the day, but I’m expecting a call at some point.” She glances around the room. “I need to charge my phone.”
With her second heel removed, I hold out my hand. “Give it to me, I’ll plug it in.”
Pulling it from her pocket, she holds it out but doesn’t let go when I grab it. “Are you taking care of me, Chase?”
“Yes.” I give the phone a tug. “Now give it to me.”
“I don’t need taking care of.”
“I know you don’t. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it, or you should stop me from doing it.”
“I can take care of myself.”
I don’t know why the sudden stubborn streak to be an independent woman, but she’s not alone, not anymore. If we’re going to take care of my sisters together, then we’re a team. “You can. And you will. But I’ll also do things to make sure you’re looked after. It’s what people do when they’re partners.”
She eyes me suspiciously.
“I swear, I don’t want anything.” I do. I want her to fall for me like I’m falling for her, but I can’t tell her that. “All I want is to give you a few minutes where you don’t have to think, don’t have to be the one in charge, getting everything done.”
Closing her eyes, she leans her head back on the couch. “God. That would be nice.”
“Then for the next ten minutes the only thing you have to worry about is if you’re hungry or thirsty, telling me what you want so I can get it.”
“I want a cheeseburger.”
Her words have me going still. “That’s very specific.”
“They were on tonight’s menu except with everything going on I didn’t get one. And I really wanted one.”
“I’ll order one now. Water or wine?” I ask because I know they’re her usual choice.
“If I have wine, I’ll fall asleep. And now that we’re talking about food my stomach is rumbling, and my mouth is watering. I really want that burger.”
“I’m on it.” Tugging the phone from her grip, I stand and head for the desk where my phone is currently charging. Switching the devices then picking up the hotel phone, I glance back to see Gem hasn’t moved.
If it wasn’t for the continuous tapping of her fingertips on her thigh, I’d think she was asleep. Those tapping fingers tell me she’s still thinking, probably worrying too.
“Room service.”
The voice in my ear snaps me back to what I’m doing. “Yeah, can I get a cheeseburger? With fries.” Gem might not have asked for them, but I know how she feels about eating a burger without fries.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, Mr. Redding, we’ll have that up to your room in ten minutes.”
“Ah, thanks.” I lower the phone to its cradle and contemplate Gem’s last name.
I know she didn’t change it when she married her ex. And I suspect she won’t change it when she marries me. Except now all I can think about is making her a Hawkins.
If this thing between us was real, if she had feelings for me like I do her, would she change her name if we got married? It would make taking care of the girls simpler if they shared a last name.
I want to ask her to do it. It’s dumb, I know that. We’re getting married on paper only—if we do—and we’re not telling anyone…
Yeah, dumb. Changing her name would be a huge banner proclaiming we were married.
We’ve spent weeks getting to know each other, sharing care of the girls, the joys of a winning season so far, and neither of us has mentioned her original suggestion until the other day.
Since then, it’s all I’ve thought about. If we go through with it, do I stand a chance of getting her to fall for me? In all the years she was married to her ex she never fell for him.
Then again, from what I know, they never lived in the same house, barely stepped into the same room together.
“What are you brooding about over there?” Gem’s voice jerks me out of my thoughts.
“What happened tonight? I know it had something to do with Cami.”
“Fucking motherfucking reporter.” Her words are soft, no force in them, which shows how tired she is and makes me more determined to take care of her.
“Eh…”
She lifts her head, her gaze locking with mine. “Remember the guy who outed Whitney?” I nod. “Well, it seems that fucker isn’t happy with the drama he already caused. A few days ago, someone broke into Cami’s apartment, the night she went home with Beckett and we had Whitney, and the police believe it was him.”
“Sounds like it was a good thing she didn’t go home that night.”
“Definitely. But tonight, he attacked her.” Her voice has gotten stronger—more fierce—with every word, the anger simmering inside her firing up again.
“Attacked her? I thought she collapsed on the way to the locker room.”
“She did.” Gem pushes herself off the sofa. “Let me get out of these clothes, get a quick shower before my food gets here, then I’ll tell you everything.”
“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” I mutter.
“Then come with me, I’ll tell you while I shower.”
I choke on my own spit.
She glances over her shoulder, her forehead scrunched in concern. “You all right?”
Shoving my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants, I pull them away from my groin in the hope of hiding the insta-boner I’m now sporting. Clearing my throat, I say, “Um, yeah.”
“Hmm…” It takes her barely a second to decide not to question me more. “Can you get me some ice water?”
“Sure.” The switch in subject gives me a reason to turn away and more time to mentally think of the most disgusting diaper Candace has ever produced to rid myself of my unwanted erection.
It’s not the first time Gem has had my body reacting this way. Although it is the first time it’s happened so quickly and right in front of her.
By the time I have two glasses of ice water in hand, I can hear the shower running in her bathroom. We’re in a three-bedroom suite. The twins have one room, me and Candace are sharing another, and Gem has the master with the attached bathroom.
Entering her bedroom, I ignore the open bag in case her underwear is visible and place one of the glasses on the bedside table.
I can’t ignore the open bathroom door though. And in spite of every breath I take being filled with the scent of Gem, I somehow don’t walk through it.
Instead, I lean on the wall beside it and take a moment to get myself under control.
“Can you hear me clearly?”
How the hell does she know I’m standing here? I haven’t made a sound she could hear over the running water.
“Yeah.”
“What we know so far is Cami and her dad were walking through the public area of the arena when someone pushed her from behind. Video footage shows it was the reporter who outed Whitney.”
“Didn’t they have security?” I ask, my voice raised a notch higher than normal so it travels into the bathroom.
“Yes, they had an escort. After Cami almost fell, security hustled them into the restricted area. What nobody knew until she passed out and we re-ran security footage, was that she wasn’t pushed, she was stabbed with a syringe.”
“What the fuck?” I jerk off the wall, take a step forward only to stop when I remember where Gem is. “ Shit! ”
“I’m waiting on a call from Ray. He, along with Beckett and our medical intern, have taken Cami to a private hospital he has access to in an attempt to keep the media from getting a whiff of what happened. The last thing we need, or Cami would want, is for this to be splashed across the country’s tabloids.”
The water switches off as she speaks the last few words and my imagination pulls up vivid images of naked, dripping wet Gem. And my dick decides that’s the cue to rise again.
Clenching my jaw, I try to focus on the conversation. “What was she injected with?”
“We think a sedative. I’ll know for sure when Ray calls.”
There’s rustling on the other side of the cracked door and I’m so tempted to push it open wider that I need to move away.
Several steps back don’t curb the urge, so I call out, “I think room service is here,” and make a hasty retreat to the living room.
I glare down at my hard dick. If I’m going to have this reaction to Gem from now on, it’s going to make our marriage of convenience very uncomfortable.
Maybe I need to get laid. Take up one of the many offers from the bunnies who hang around after an away game. I can’t do it at a home game. Too many people to see, and more importantly, I have the girls to take care of.
It’s a good idea even if I’m not feeling it. At all. In fact, my dick has deflated.
“Huh.” I stare at my groin.
I guess the easiest and quickest way to get rid of an unwanted erection inspired by Gem is to think about fucking someone other than her.
“What are you doing?”
I jolt straight. “Shit!” Spin around. “I didn’t hear you.”
One eyebrow is cocked—no, arched, it’s arched. I don’t need to be thinking about anything cock related right now—and she’s looking at me with concern. Again.
“Sorry. Was thinking. About tonight. The girls. You and me.” I’m not lying. Those have all crossed my mind in the last few minutes. The context of those thoughts isn’t something I plan to reveal though.
“Yeah.” She tugs at the oversized Rogues jersey she’s wearing over leggings. “Tonight has been something else.”
“If Ray hasn’t called before you finish eating, will you wait up?”
“I’d like to say yes, but I’m exhausted and will probably nod off if I try.”
“Want me to wait up with you?”
“No. Go to bed. Get some sleep. Candace will be up in a few hours, and we all need to be up early for our flight home.”
She’s right. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to argue. I manage not to voice my objections and take a seat on the couch instead.
I’ll sit up with her while she eats, then go to bed.
I doubt I’ll sleep, there’s too many thoughts swirling in my head for that, but I’ll at least lie down and pretend. Gem doesn’t need to be worrying about me too.