Chapter 18
RAIN
What am I doing?
None of this made any sense. Tyler Griffin was downstairs in the lobby waiting for me.
I tried not to rush as I got ready, because when I did, I got worked up and forgot something, and I couldn’t let that happen. Cool, calm, and collected. That’s what I needed to be.
I was having a heart attack.
He wanted me to go to the hospital with him. Why? I should get out of it, make something up.
I didn’t.
I finished showering, dressed in black leggings, my little sneakers, and one of my favorite hoodies.
I didn’t want my usual purse, so I put a few things in a crossbody bag.
I’d never been one to spend an hour on my hair.
Put in some product and it would dry just fine.
I was lucky in that aspect. A little makeup, and I was ready to go.
My palms were sweaty as I rode down the elevator, questioning everything all over again.
His sister would be there. His niece. And he wanted me with him?
I couldn’t make sense of it. God. I knew his sister had suffered a brain injury, and I knew how she’d gotten it.
I didn’t think that was common knowledge.
I should not be going with him. Anyone but me.
And yet—I laughed, feeling a little unhinged as the elevator doors opened—here I was.
I stepped off and turned toward the lobby.
Tyler was there, surrounded by a bit of a crowd.
He was signing autographs and chatting, but as soon as he saw me, he excused himself and pushed through the group to head my way.
As soon as he was beyond them, he dropped the public smile and his face hardened.
He nodded as he passed me. “Ready?” His knuckle grazed my arm, sending a tingle through me.
I croaked out, “Ready.”
If I was going with him, it should be in business mode, but I glanced at him sideways as we walked to the parking lot.
I considered that, tried summoning the professional inside of me, and it wasn’t there.
A part of me wilted, or melted, because that was gone.
I wouldn’t be able to go back to being his sport psychologist. Then again, maybe I never had been, from the beginning?
Our past had already condemned that, even though he hadn’t a clue about how intertwined our lives had been at one point.
I could consult with him, be his equal, but even before accepting this job, I knew Tyler Griffin didn’t need any help from me.
He already knew how to win. No. I was here in a totally different capacity, one a lot more private and personal, and my mind was yelling that I should stop and go back to my hotel room.
But my body had no intention of turning around. We were going with him.
“Is this a rental?” I asked as we settled into his truck, my voice cracking a little.
“Mmmm? Oh, no. It’s mine. A buddy drove it out for me.”
“That was nice of him.”
He pulled out of the parking lot. “Yeah,” he said.
After that he was quiet, focused on merging onto the interstate.
He drove fast, but he was controlled. My brothers used to drive like bats out of hell. Daniel had been the worst, and if I cringed, he’d ridiculed me. It’d been hell anytime I needed a ride from him. I learned how to use the public bus system as soon as I could.
I stiffened, being in a vehicle with Tyler now. I couldn’t help it. Some memories would probably never leave me.
Tyler didn’t seem to be paying attention to me, though, so the closer we got to the hospital, the more I relaxed.
He finally looked over at me before getting out of the truck. “What are you wearing?”
I looked down. It was my favorite football team. “I’m pretty sure this is a sweatshirt.”
He rolled his eyes and reached into the backseat, producing two different sweatshirts. He pushed one against my chest. “You can’t wear an NFL sweatshirt.” He shrugged out of his jacket and put on the other one.
“Why not?”
“Because hockey is better.” He said this as if explaining basic math to a two year old.
I flushed. “I worked with this team. There’s nothing wrong with this sweatshirt.”
“And the optics? You’re with me. There are Grays fans here. They will notice. You know the sport. You know the fanbase. They’ll blow a gasket.”
I groaned. He was right. I wasn’t going to say hockey fans were entitled, but they weren’t not entitled. The nicer way to say it was that they were passionate.
Very passionate.
I rolled my eyes, but changed, trying to ignore how the sweatshirt smelled like him. I eyed the hoodie he was now wearing. “You can’t wear that either.”
“What?” He looked down and cursed.
The one I wore was a Grays sweatshirt, but his was from his New York team. The fans would’ve been more upset about him wearing that than me wearing a football hoodie. I had to laugh.
He scowled. “Shut up.”
But his mouth twitched as he looked through the other sweatshirts in the back. When he was still looking a minute later, I sighed and tugged off the one I was wearing. I shoved it at him and reached for my original one.
“No.” He caught my hand, stopping me.
“It’s better if I wear a football hoodie than you wear your past team’s, and you know it.”
He growled as he let me go. “Swear to God, first thing I’m doing is filling this fucking truck with Grays apparel.” He yanked on his sweatshirt and glared as I finished, pulling my hair out and smoothing it down.
I paused. “What?”
He continued scowling, his eyes flicking to my sweatshirt. I started laughing again as understanding dawned. “I didn’t take you for a hockey snob.”
“I’m not.” He shrugged, his jaw still tight. “I like football, but I’m hockey.” He came around the front to where I’d gotten out. “You’re hockey too.”
“For now.”
He scoffed, turning toward the hospital. “Someone can’t skate like you do and shoot the way you do and not be hockey. You’re hockey.”
“Football’s been good to me,” I said simply. “Hockey hasn’t.”
“It will be.”
He sounded so confident, as if he just knew. But he didn’t. Hockey had been good to him. He couldn’t know the future.
He glanced back and stopped to let me catch up.
I found myself holding my breath, a part of me waiting for him to get mad that I’d made him wait, but he didn’t. He turned and kept going. He went at my pace the rest of the way.
Once we got to the lobby, the doors slid open for him. Tyler walked briskly past the front desk and pushed the button for the elevators. He glanced over at me, giving me space. He didn’t crowd me. He wasn’t trying to guide me. The elevator arrived, and we stepped on.
A few other people got on with us, a mom and two teenaged boys. Tyler lifted a hand to the small of my back, but he didn’t actually touch me, just directed me over slightly.
One of the teens sucked in his breath, recognizing Tyler. He elbowed his friend.
“Ouch. Wha—” The kid shot his friend an irritated look, but quieted when he looked over at Tyler.
“Guys.” The mom shot them a look before her gaze followed theirs.
I didn’t know if she recognized Tyler or if her breath just shortened because of how hot he was. I couldn’t blame her. They were supposed to get off on the second floor, but when we got there, they didn’t move.
Tyler moved me closer to the side of the elevator, his hand now touching my back.
The doors began to close again before the woman reached out to stop it. “Guys.”
“Mom.” One of them swung his wide eyes pointedly toward Tyler.
She gentled her voice, giving us an apologetic glance. “Let’s go, boys.”
“Mom…” He tried again.
“Tate, get off this elevator now.”
He let out a dramatic sigh, his shoulders bunched as he followed his friend off the elevator. The mom turned back. “I’m so sorry about them. They’re fans. Good luck tomorrow night.”
The doors closed, and we were both quiet until we got to the fifth floor.
“Does that happen often?” I asked quietly as we emerged into the hallway.
There was a nurse’s desk ahead, but only a few people sat behind it. The hallway was mostly empty.
Tyler shrugged. “People know I’m here.”
That told me nothing.
He took the lead, going to the desk first.
“Tyler.” One of the nurses greeted him with a warm smile. She was slender. Warm brown skin. Almond eyes. Her smile tightened when she saw me step to his side. “Your sister is beside herself. She’ll be happy to see you.”
“Is Zoey—is she…?”
The nurse’s smile widened. “Why don’t you go see for yourself?”
He continued down the hall and paused just before he could be seen through a window. I realized he was nervous. I laid a hand on his arm, and I could feel his pulse racing. He exhaled sharply and turned back to face me. “What if…” He couldn’t finish that statement.
“Want me to scope it out first? I could walk past, peek in, and tell you what I see?”
His gaze clung to mine for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. That’d be nice. Help me know what I should prepare myself for.”
This was a big moment. His niece was awake.
I squeezed his arm once before I did a casual walk by. The door was open, but my shoulders deflated because the curtain was pulled so no one could see in from the hallway. Then I heard laughter.
Two feminine voices—one older and one younger, more raspy.
I backed up to Tyler. “She’s awake. They’re laughing.”
“Did they see you?” he asked.
I shook my head. “The curtain is pulled, but I heard them.” I nudged him forward. “Go. I’ll…” I looked around. “I’ll get some coffee and come back. You want some?”
He was already looking toward the room and gave me a distracted nod.
“Uh, yeah. That’d be great. Thank you.” He stepped forward, but suddenly whirled and caught me, pulling me into a hug.
He wound his arms tight around me and dipped his head to my neck.
His lips grazed my skin. “Thank you. Thanks for coming. It means a lot.” He took the back of my neck in his hand and gave my forehead a quick kiss.
Then he was gone, and I was left dazed, my skin tingling.