Chapter 68
HAYDEN
Ijump a fucking mile when Hailee screams. I’m not exactly a small guy. I thought it would be more than obvious that I was sitting here waiting for her. In fact, I was considering getting out to start searching because she was taking so long.
I could only assume that she was somewhere freaking out about the drive home. I wanted to find her and reassure her, but I risked missing her and ended up stranded in San Diego.
It was safer to wait her out. I knew she’d come back eventually.
“Fucking hell, Hayden,” she squeals once she’s caught her breath. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Her hand is still resting over her heart, and her breathing is erratic as she stares at me with wide eyes.
“Why aren’t you on the bus?”
“Because I sweet-talked Coach into letting me travel back with you. I think the stitches helped him feel sorry for me.”
She wants to argue, I can see it in her eyes, but mostly, I see relief.
“I owe him,” she says finally.
“He’s a good person.”
“The best.”
“So, are you ready to head home, baby? I’m dying to watch you handle this thing.”
She studies me for a beat before she looks at the wheel. “Or you could show me how you handle it,” she suggests.
“Can’t, baby. I’m injured.” I point at the bandage on my cheek and pout.
“You can’t pull that card after going back out on the ice,” she points out with a laugh, although she presses the start button as she does.
“Damn, you look hot right now,” I muse, watching as she sits wearing my jersey, her bare legs stretched out in front of her and her delicate hands on the wheel of this beast.
“That’s better than so terrified I look like I’m going to vomit in my own lap.”
“Nah, you’ve got this, baby.”
I sit quietly as she puts the car into drive. After taking a deep breath, she pulls out of the space, and then soon after, the parking lot. I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh, hoping my presence gives her the confidence she needs.
Hell, she doesn’t need me. She got here all by herself. I like to think I’m helping, though, so I squeeze gently and let her do her thing.
“I’m excited for our first road trip,” I say, speaking for the first time once we hit the highway.
“I’m not sure I agree. But if I were doing it with anyone, I’d want it to be with you.”
“We need snacks,” I point out as I pull my cell from my pocket and connect it to her car. “Snacks and a killer playlist.”
Ignoring all my notifications, I pull up Spotify and begin searching for the perfect playlist to get us home.
Hailee laughs. It’s like music to my ears, hearing her relaxed enough to find humor in my words. “We can get you snacks.”
I’m not sure how I’m actually going to eat any of them. Just talking hurts, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe I need to limit it to protein shakes and a straw.
“You’re a really good driver. You know that, right?”
“It was never about my skills. My issues are all in my head.”
“Have you ever seen anyone about it?”
“No. I shoved it all in a box while I was ordering an Uber.”
“We’re gonna work through it. We’re gonna get you driving again, baby.”
“Looks like I already am.”
“You absolutely are,” I praise.
With my chosen playlist filtering from the speakers, I sink into the seat and rest my aching head.
I had some pain relief before leaving the arena, but it’s safe to say it hasn’t kicked in yet. I guess that’s my own fault for refusing any anesthesia when Eddie stitched me up so that I could get back on the ice.
Fuck. That hurt.
Worth it, though.
A smile curls at my lips as I think of our game tonight. It wasn’t easy. Hell, it was far from that. But we deserved that win.
“I can’t believe you drove all this way for me tonight, Hails,” I say, my voice soft and exhausted.
As the adrenaline ebbs away, the tiredness and pain are slipping in.
“I’m learning that there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you,” Hailee confesses, my chest compressing.
“Yeah. Same.”
She risks a glance over before focusing back on the mostly empty road ahead of us. “What you said earlier…”
“Meant every single word of it. You’ve been it for me for a while, baby.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “It’s all been so fast. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve rushed through it all.”
“Does it feel rushed to you?”
She thinks for a moment before slowly shaking her head. “Everything has felt right, natural.”
“Then you need to stop worrying about how others might view it. Yes, it’s been fast compared to others. But there will be plenty of couples out there who’ve done it even faster. Hell, look at Bea and Rett—they were already growing a small human this fast into their relationship.”
“There was no relationship when that happened. She despised him at that point.”
I can’t help but laugh. “He won her over eventually. But that’s my point. There are no rules here. We did it fast. Bea and Rett did it backward. We’ve gotta do what feels right for us. And I don’t know about you, but everything in my life feels better when you’re involved.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I don’t think I really had a life before you. You’ve made me see things differently, and I’m so grateful. These past few weeks have hands-down been the best of my life.”
“Just think about all the good times we have ahead.”
“I’ve never been overly excited about the future before, but now, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.”
“Same, baby.”
She falls quiet again, but as she thinks, her grip on the wheel tightens.
I don’t push her to talk. If she wants to, she will. If she doesn’t, then that’s okay too.
Minutes tick by, and I think she’s going to keep her thoughts to herself for now when she finally speaks.
“I emailed my lawyer earlier,” she starts, her fingers wringing the wheel.
“I told her I wanted to serve Brandon with divorce papers again, only this time, the only thing I want out of the marriage is for him to permanently delete those videos.”
My heart slams against my ribs at the thought of her being free of her past.
Free to start her future.
“Is that what you want?” I ask. We’ve talked about this quite a bit since she told me about her past, her marriage.
When she first filed for divorce, she was bitter and wanted every single thing she deserved after years of dealing with Brandon’s shit.
So to do a one-eighty on that and to ask for nothing but some footage to be deleted is huge.
“Yes,” she says confidently. “I don’t want or need anything from him. Any money I received from him would be tainted. I’d never use it. Hell, I probably would have given it all away just to spite him. But now, I don’t care about any of it. I just want it over. I want to move on.
“I want everything you said back at the arena.”
“Yeah?” I ask, lighting up.
“Yeah. Although the ten kids will be up for discussion. I’m not sure I want to birth that many babies. Listening to Bea talk about having one is scary enough.”
“We can take it one baby at a time. But not yet. I want to enjoy having you to myself for a while first. It’s taken me so long to get you to notice me.”
“I noticed you,” Hailee argues.
“Mmm. You never really thought about me, though, did you? Not the way I was you.”
“No.” She laughs. “I do now, though.”
“Oh yeah? I want to hear everything you think about me while I’m away. It’s when you’re naked, right?”
“You’re a nightmare.” She laughs.
“Yep, but I’m your nightmare. Oh, are we stopping?” I ask when I spot a gas station sign ahead.
“Yes, we’re stopping. We need snacks.”
With more food than we could possibly consume during the drive home, we set off again.
The more we drive, the more relaxed Hailee gets, and I start to believe this could be the start of a whole new her. I just need to find as many excuses as possible to get her behind the wheel. She’s proven she can do it. Now she just needs to get used to it until it becomes as natural as breathing.
“I’ve got a confession too,” I admit when we’re getting closer to home.
“Oh?” she asks, more than a little intrigued.
“Before Rylee died, we started planning a foundation that would support children fighting cancer.”
“Hayden, that’s incredible.”
“I haven’t done anything with it yet. But I’ve started thinking about it more and more recently. I think I’m ready to start making moves to get it happening. Would you…would you help me?”
“I’d be honored. Although I must admit, I don’t exactly have any experience with that sort of thing.”
“But you know people who do, right?”
“Uh, yeah. I could introduce you to some people.”
“I’ve got money aside to get it started. Rylee planned it all, even down to the kind of events she’d like to have to raise funds. I just don’t really know how to get it all started.”
Dropping one of her hands to mine, which is still resting on her thigh, she twists our fingers together and squeezes tight. “I’d be honored to help with it.”
Emotion crawls up my throat at the thought of bringing Rylee’s foundation to life. We spent so much time discussing it, and I made her a promise that one day, it would raise hundreds of thousands of dollars and help thousands of kids who are forced to fight the same fight she did.
“I wish I could have met her,” Hailee whispers. “I bet she was amazing.”
“She was,” I force out.
“Your parents are awesome.”
“They love you. I know thirty might be a bit old to gain a set of parents, but you know that’s what’s happened, right? You’re one of us now.”
“I don’t think you’re ever too old to find your family. You’ve been proving that to me every day since Linc and Parker’s wedding.” She pulls to a stop at a red light and looks over, taking in the state of my face. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m…I can’t wait to get into bed,” I confess.
“Not long.”
“Are you still going to wear nothing but your jersey for me?”
“Who says I’m not already doing that?” she teases.
“You said you had panties on?” I breathe, my heart rate picking up.
“Maybe I took them off in the restroom at the gas station.”
My breath catches.
“Did you?”
She shrugs. “Guess you’ll have to find out.”
“Fuck, Hails. I love you,” I say, gripping her hand and pulling it across the center console so I can kiss the back of it.
She doesn’t say it back; she’s not ready. But she doesn’t need to. I see it in her eyes every time she looks at me, in everything she does. Like right now, facing her fear just so she could get to me.
I will never forget what she did for me tonight.
Only a few minutes later, she pulls up in her underground garage and we both climb out.
I leave my stuff in the trunk to deal with tomorrow. Instead, I grab her hand and drag her to the elevator, desperate to discover if what she said about her panties is true. The second we’re inside, I back her up, and as soon as the doors are closed, I hike her thigh up and discover the truth.