Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
CHASE
I groaned, stretching out and cringing at the sharp pain that shot down my leg. Fuck, I was going to pay for this today.
“Morning, sweetheart!” my mom called from the kitchen, poking her head into the pass-through window. “Did you sleep okay? How was the couch?”
“Great,” I said, wincing as I stood.
Her brow creased, her lips pulling down in a frown as she looked me over from head to toe. “It doesn’t sound great. I feel just awful about you staying out here, especially when you’re paying for the renovations! You should take our room tonight, and your father and I can—”
“I’m not taking your room, Mom.” I slowly made my way into the kitchen, dropping a kiss on her cheek and accepting the glass of orange juice she handed me.
She wore an apron with Queen of the Kitchen printed across the front, her hair—more gray now than blond—pulled back in a ponytail, a scowl directed at me. “Well, that couch can’t be good for you, especially your knee. You’re a growing boy and—”
“I’m thirty,” I said dryly. “I’m pretty sure I’m done growing.”
Ignoring me completely, she continued, “Your body needs certain conditions to be in optimal working order. And you’re supposed to be healing!
If only we’d known you’d be coming home now.
We could’ve—” She furrowed her brow, her train of thought shifting in an instant.
She was definitely who I had to thank for my ability to do that on the ice.
“Carl! Can we postpone the contractors? Maybe have them come back in a week or two?”
“What?” my dad yelled from his office—aka the twins’ old bedroom before the two of them had headed to college this past August.
“The contractors!” Mom repeated at a decibel everyone in Starlight Cove could probably hear. Jesus Christ, I’d forgotten just how loud it was in my childhood home. “Can we postpone—”
“Mom,” I said, raising my voice enough to be heard over hers. “You’re not postponing the contractors. It’s taken me seven years to get you to agree to this in the first place.”
“Well, after all you’ve done for your sister—for this family…” She huffed and shook her head. “It’s too much. I should’ve waited another seven.”
That was a bone of contention between us.
My parents never missed an opportunity to voice their gratitude for the monetary help I’d provided thanks to my first pro contract after my sister Morgan had gotten sick.
And I never missed an opportunity to tell them that wasn’t something they ever had to thank me for.
It was just money, and I’d do everything all over again.
“And that’s exactly why you’re not calling off the contractors,” I said. “You’ll come up with all kinds of excuses to postpone again.”
“Well, I don’t like you cramped on that couch… It’s not good for you or that injury you’re supposed to be healing while you’re home.”
“I know. My furniture should be delivered by the end of the week, and then I can stay at my place. I’ll figure out something until then.”
“Like what?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I’ll ask Levi if I can crash in his old room at the resort.”
Mom’s brows flew up. “Levi, huh? So your staying there wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain spitfire who runs the whole ship?”
I took a sip from my orange juice, not going anywhere near that bait. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mhmm.” Her teasing tone was gone in a flash as she frowned at me. “Well, I don’t know if I like you so far away. You haven’t been home in more than a year, and I’ve missed you.”
I walked over and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, tucking her into my side and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“I’ve missed you, too, but it’s five minutes away.
I can be over any time you want me to—especially if there’s a roast involved.
And I’m going to be in Starlight Cove for a hell of a lot longer than I usually get to spend at home. ”
She blew out a heavy sigh. “I guess that’s true. I just wish we hadn’t converted all the bedrooms into something else—Morgan’s is full of exercise equipment, your dad’s office is in the twins’ old room, and yours—”
“Is a plant nursery. I know. It’s not a big deal, Mom.”
“What’s not a big deal?” my dad asked, walking straight to the coffeemaker to get a refill.
His dark hair streaked with gray was swept neatly to the side, his face freshly shaven, save for his signature mustache, and he wore a dress shirt paired with fish-patterned boxer shorts and black socks hiked up to his knees.
The picture of professionalism. Since he’d begun working from home, he’d been in heaven.
He gave me a once-over, his brow pinching when he saw how I was standing.
“That couch wasn’t good for you. You take the bed, and we’ll—”
“He’s already got it handled, Carl,” my mom cut in as if she hadn’t been trying to figure out the same exact thing.
With a pat to my stomach, she slipped out from under my arm and walked to the pantry.
“Let me get you some breakfast, and then I’ll whip up some banana bread for you to bring to Levi.
As a thank-you for letting you stay at the inn.
And for helping your dad move all the furniture around in here to get ready for the contractors. ”
“He told me you already filled his freezer with meals as a thank-you for that.”
She waved her hand through the air. “That was nothing. I was making those dinners anyway. And what are your father and I going to do with all that food? Now that the twins are off to college and you and Morgan are out of the house, we’ve got more than enough.
And anyway, where else is he going to get a nice home-cooked meal? ”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about at the diner they own? His brother is a literal chef, Mom.”
“Beck’s food is very good, I’ll give him that. But it still doesn’t have that mother’s touch.”
I knew there was no arguing with her, and from the way my dad subtly shook his head, he thought the same.
While my mom gathered the ingredients she needed, muttering to herself the whole time, Dad leaned back against the counter beside me. Keeping his voice low so my mom wouldn’t hear, he murmured, “Your knee hurts like a bitch this morning, doesn’t it?”
I breathed out a laugh and scrubbed a hand down my face. “More like a motherfucker, but yeah.”
His brow furrowed as he regarded me seriously.
“You sure it’s good for you to be back here instead of with the team?
They got you whipped back into shape in no time after your knee surgery in July.
Seems to me you’d want that with this new injury, too.
Especially when Starlight Cove can only dream about the kinds of resources they have. ”
Was it probably better for my recovery to be there?
Maybe. But I didn’t care. In one way or another, this injury had kept me away for far too long because I’d let it dictate my life for the past year—had to let the medical team dictate my recovery, too.
This had been one thing I wasn’t willing to bend on.
If they wanted me to take four months to rehab my knee instead of allowing me to have the surgery I wanted, I was damn well going to do it on my terms, and that meant being near my girl.
“It’s fine, Dad. Between the calls, video chats, and coordination with the medical team and the physical therapist here, I’ll be good. Back in playing condition in no time.”
I hoped. Because God knew I had no idea what I’d do otherwise.
“Yeah, well, you’re my kid before you’re a professional hockey player. It’s my job to look out for you, no matter how old you get. Just make sure to take care of yourself first and foremost.”
“I am, Dad.” I held up my fingers in the sign for Scout’s honor, even though we both knew damn well I’d never been a Scout. “Promise.”
“Good, good.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and took a sip of his coffee. “So, when’s your next check-in with the team?”
“I’ve got a video call with the rehab coordinator tomorrow.”
He held up his coffee cup as if to cheers. “Love those video calls.”
I raised a brow and pointedly glanced down at his ensemble. “I can see that.”
“Oh shut up, you little shit.” He pushed off the counter and headed toward his office. “If you didn’t have to wear pants, you wouldn’t, either.”
With a laugh, I headed back into the family room, leaving my mom to her favorite thing—cooking. I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Levi to make sure I could stay there this week.
Chase:
I know the resort’s booked, but can I stay in your old room until my furniture gets delivered?
Levi:
Marianne isn’t treating you right? Told you she liked me better.
Chase:
I’m on the couch, and it’s a fucking nightmare.
Levi:
That’s what happens when you won’t give her grandkids. She becomes a plant grandma and turns your old room into a literal nursery for them.
Chase:
She told you about that, huh?
Levi:
Gave me a tour and everything.
Chase:
Of course she did. Can I stay there or not?
Levi:
Yeah. When do you want to head over? I’ll meet you there.
Chase:
I’ve got appointments up the ass today. And I need to wait until your fresh baked banana bread is ready.
Levi:
Marianne’s fresh baked banana bread, all for myself? I rest my case.
Chase:
Fuck off.
See you tonight.