Chapter 23
Connor
I dropped Duffy off at the emergency room entrance, then pulled my car around to the parking garage. I was grabbing a ticket from the machine when Brian called.
“What’s up?” I answered, dropping the ticket on the dashboard as the arm raised and I headed in search of an available spot.
“Just checking in,” my agent’s voice sounded through the car’s speakers. “Any new buzz from the locker room?”
“Nope,” I said, wondering if I could squeeze my car into compact parking. “Not a word.”
“What are you doing right now? Want to meet for a beer?”
“Can’t,” I said. “Duffy’s dad is having a medical issue and we just got to the hospital.”
“Oh shit. Is he going to be okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, probably,” I said, even though I didn’t know the details. I turned down another row.
“And you’re sticking around? At the hospital?”
“Of course,” I said, a little surprised he’d even ask. “Like I’d leave her alone to go get a beer.”
“Yeah, no, I get it,” Brian said. “I wouldn’t want you to. Anything I can do to help?”
“Nah, but I need to go,” I said, anxious to get inside and find her.
“Okay, we’ll talk later,” he said, and as he hung up the phone, I found a spot.
When I got to Duffy and her brothers in the ER waiting room, she already looked a lot better.
The bad news was that Tony had a collapsed lung, but the good news was that the repair was easy.
They were going to keep him in the hospital for a day or two for observation, but the doctor seemed completely composed about the situation.
“No offense, but I can’t look at you like that, Cunningham,” Ty said, shaking his head as he eyeballed my lederhosen in disgust. “Way too much fucking leg showing.”
“I think it looks great,” Matty said with a smirk. “Like you’re the Ricola guy.”
“The who?” Joey asked.
“The shepherd dude with the big horn from the lozenge commercial.”
“Ah,” Joey replied, nodding. “I can see that.”
“Leave him alone…” Duffy said, narrowing her eyes.
We all looked at her, surprised.
“…I mean, he probably misses his sheep and that leather has to be chafing him somewhere. Give the mountain man a break.”
“There she is,” Ty laughed.
Her eyes met mine and even though she shot me a genuine smile, the small crinkle of worry in her eyes made me want to wrap her in my arms and protect her from all the bad shit.
We went to see Tony a few minutes later, who was of course being very Tony.
“Why the hell are you dressed like that?” he asked me from his bed.
“We were going to New Ulm,” Duffy answered for me.
“For Oktoberfest? Then why the hell are you here?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, they brought you here in an ambulance so it seemed like the place I should be,” she deadpanned.
“What are you going to do for me here?” he snapped. “Are you the doctor? You gonna fix me?”
Duffy just rolled her eyes.
“Go drink some beers, for God’s sake,” Tony said in disgust. “I’m fine.”
Duffy opened her mouth to retort, but I quickly put my arm around her and asked, “Do you want to get some air?”
“Yes,” she said, looking up at me. “Because if I stay in here, I might kill my father with my bare hands.”
“You got your nails done this week so that’s total bullshit,” Tony said, waving her off. “No way would you pay for salon tips and then do something that would ruin them. You’re too practical for that.”
“Thank you…?” she said sarcastically.
“You’re like your mother that way,” he said with a shrug.
Duffy looked down and swallowed. I gave her arm a squeeze and led her out of the room.
She didn’t talk the entire walk down to the lobby.
I knew she was freaking out inside because her dad was her whole world (whether she admitted it or not), and when we got outside, I couldn’t stop myself.
I wrapped my arms around her, needing to pull her closer and make that eyebrow wrinkle disappear.
I felt her body relax into me, and I kissed the top of her head.
“Thanks for bringing me here and for being so understanding,” she said, and I could feel the vibration of her voice against my chest. “I’m sorry to have ruined yet another attempt at a second date.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal with that?” I teased. “It’s like the universe is conspiring to keep us in the friend zone.”
As I said that, I realized how strange our situation was. I was at a hospital, worried about her worrying about her dad—who I’d hung out with multiple times—yet we still hadn’t been on a second date.
We weren’t technically…anything yet, so why did she feel a lot like everything?
Movement caught my eye, and then I saw the guy with the camera. He didn’t have creepy paparazzi vibes—he wasn’t hiding in a bush and he looked more like a professional photographer than anything else—but there was definitely a guy standing in the parking lot taking a picture of me and Duffy.
“I hate that they’re here,” she said, scowling in the photographer’s direction. “My dad would hate it if people found out he’s sick. How do they even know where to find you?”
“I have no idea,” I said, but then I realized, I just fucking knew, that Brian had probably called someone. “I don’t think they follow me, I think people just get lucky.”
“Well, he definitely got lucky,” she said, sounding amused despite her annoyance. “Not only did he score a picture of Connor Cunningham, but he scored a picture of Connor Cunningham wearing slutty leather short-shorts. He might win the prize for this one.”
“You think they’re slutty?” I asked.
“You know they are,” she said with a grin.
Her brothers had to get back to work, so Duffy and I stayed at the hospital until they got her dad situated upstairs. When we were about to leave, the old guy dropped a bomb on her.
“You’ve got to cover practice for me in the morning.”
“What? Me?” she asked, sounding outraged. “Why can’t one of the boys do it?”
“They’re all busy and the kids like you better anyway,” he said.
“No, they don’t,” she argued. “And what are they busy with?”
“It’s an hour, Duff,” Tony said. “You can’t give up an hour of your time to help your dad? To be nice to some kids?”
“Don’t play me like that,” she said. “I bet you didn’t say that when Ty said no.”
“Come on, kid,” he said. “Let me rest, knowing it’s handled. Don’t you want me to have peace?”
God, Tony was good.
“Fine,” Duffy said with a groan. “I’ll do it.”
“Such a good girl,” he said.
“Don’t patronize me,” she said, shaking her head.
“Just make sure you wear good shoes,” Tony said. “It’s supposed to rain overnight and you know how shitty that field is.”
“Oh, God,” she said. “Not again.”
“What’s this about?” I asked.
“I coach a flag football team one weekend a month, when my buddies can’t do it. Sometimes Duff helps me.”
“Is that right?” I said with a grin. Somehow I could absolutely picture her coaching a little kids’ football team. She probably busted their asses, too.
“She has no patience for their shit, but they love her anyway.”
“What time is practice?” I asked, loving everything about this.
“Eight in the morning, because my dad’s a sadist.”
“I don’t get on a plane until later in the afternoon tomorrow, so I can help if you want.”
Tony grinned at Duffy and said, “I knew there was a reason why you were wasting your time being single all these years. You were waiting for a good one.”
“Oh, my sweet Lord, are you for real right now?” she said, making a face at her dad. “Connor offers to stand beside me during a practice and you act like he’s turning water into wine. He could be the worst boyfriend in the world for all you know.”
“But he’s not,” Tony said. “I can tell.”
“Oh, you can tell,” she said with an eye roll.
“He sent flowers, ordered in dinner for us, brought you to the hospital, and volunteered to help with practice. After putting us up in the suite. Tell me what about that isn’t a good boyfriend.”
She looked over at me and opened her mouth to respond, but paused because she didn’t have a good answer.
I shot her a triumphant smile. Point goes to Cunningham.