Chapter 6
SIX
PEARCE
I agreed to hang out with Eddie and Lottie until their flight. We spent our time the way we usually did when in my town—went to my place and shot hoops with the two of them.
Perhaps it wasn't what some would call the most exciting way to spend my time the day after a big win, not just for the team but for me, but honestly, I didn’t want to do anything else.
“I'm going to sit this one out. You guys are getting all sweaty and gross.” Lottie scrunched her nose, letting us know just what she thought about that.
Eddie shot me a smirk, and we played some one-on-one.
“What are your plans when you get home?” I swooped around him with ease and scored a point.
“Not much.” Readjusting his cap, Eddie got back in position. “I have a couple of meetings. Lottie has her school camp soon, so I need to get whatever gear she needs for that at some point.”
I laughed. “I bet she's looking forward to that,” I said, knowing she wasn't a fan of school trips at all.
“You know it.” He shadowed, just a few inches between us. “It was only the promise of last night's game that stopped her sulking and agreeing to go with no fuss. I swear she plays me something fierce.”
I dodged right, but he was on me immediately. “It's her job to keep you on your toes.” I twisted, found my opening, and landed another point. “She's a kid who knows her own mind. That's a good thing, right?”
A warm smile tilted his lips. “Yeah, it is.” Eddie passed me the ball. “She knows when to push it and not to. She can also handle me saying no without too much fuss.”
Bouncing the ball, I nodded. “She’s an awesome kid, and you're an amazing dad.”
At my words, he beamed at me, a touch of pink touching his cheeks. Rather than call him out, I changed the subject. “So, home alone when she’s at camp? What are your plans?”
“Other than watching you in the finals, you mean?”
I smiled, excitement springing to life, right alongside hope that we got that far. “Obviously,” I said.
“You know me, tucked in by ten most nights.”
I chuckled. “There's nothing wrong with that.”
“Says the twenty-nine-year-old whose idea of an early night is before midnight.”
It was true. I was usually a bit of a night owl, but I could sleep pretty much on cue.
“That doesn't mean I don't appreciate a chilled night at home.” I didn't add that if it was a chilled, or even better, an early night snuggled in bed with him, I'd be more than up for it.
Such comments pushed the friendship boundary a shit ton too far, so I wisely kept them to myself.
Dribbling the ball, I paused at the sound of Lottie calling for her dad. The voice sounded off and had both of us whipping our heads in the direction of the house. Zeroing in on Lottie's small frame in the open garage doorway, I started to move, Eddie a couple of steps in front of me.
“What's wrong, baby?” He went down to his knees as I reached his side.
Pink-cheeked, Lottie's bottom lip wobbled as she clutched her stomach. “My belly really, really hurts.” A pained groan escaped her, tears tracking down her cheeks.
“Hurts as in a tummy ache and too much ice cream?” Calm bled through Eddie's words while my gut clenched. With sweat beading Lottie's brow, this looked so beyond a sugared-up belly ache.
“No,” she sobbed, the sound tearing through me and shoving me into action. “I’ve been trying to ignore it.”
I needed my keys. Something wasn't right. I had no idea how I knew that, but for one, Lottie was not a complainer. Sure, I knew she didn't want to go home, but this was so much more than that.
“Let me get my keys and get the car started.”
Eddie peered up at me, wide-eyed and letting me see his worry.
“She's burning up,” he said, and I noticed his palm on her forehead. “Something's not right.”
I got moving, calling over my shoulder, “I'll meet you in the car.” Taking action, I raced into the house, collecting my wallet, keys, and phone.
I tore my sweaty tee off when I stepped into the laundry room, tugging on a fresh T-shirt and swiping Eddie one too.
By the time I reached my SUV, Eddie sat in the back, strapped in, Lottie snuggled into his side.
Our eyes met, and I pushed every ounce of emotion I could into trying to reassure him before I settled behind the wheel and headed toward the local emergency room.
We rode in silence, the speed of the last ten minutes running on repeat in my head. Add in Lottie seeming A-okay first thing this morning. A glance in the rearview mirror reminded me that I wasn't overreacting. Hunched over, Lottie sniffled quietly, the occasional whimper and groan escaping her.
Eddie whispered against the top of her head, stroking her sweaty brow.
My gut clenched, hating this. The speed, the adrenaline, the unknown. And fuck, I could only imagine how Eddie was feeling.
Traffic, thank God, wasn't horrific. There were two hairy moments, but I tried my hardest to keep my cool. In under fifteen minutes, I pulled up outside the ER and jumped out, opening the rear-side door.
Ashen-faced, Eddie all but stumbled out, reaching in and tugging his girl into his arms. Our gazes connected, and hell if my heart didn't lurch.
The man screamed lost. Panicked. Rather than scooping them both up in my arms like I wanted, I ushered them toward the entrance, more than aware that it was likely my car would be towed.
The fuck if I cared. Not when Lottie and Eddie needed me.
The next fifteen minutes were a whirlwind. And right or wrong, I was relieved when the receptionist recognized who I was and raced us behind an examination curtain practically in moments.
Another thirty minutes was all it took for a scan to reveal the problem. Appendicitis. Eddie sagged at my side. “She complained this morning and I ignored her.”
Somewhere in the last half hour he'd held my hand, clinging tightly, his other hand holding Lottie's. I squeezed his palm. “Hey, you couldn’t have known. She said an ache, not full-on pain.”
“But I should have—”
“Nope. Let’s focus on what’s happening now. Everything else is insignificant.”
The look on his face almost brought me to my knees. “Okay, you’re right.” He returned his attention back to the doctor, saying, “You can sort that, right? Appendicitis?”
“We can. We'll get her to surgery,” the middle-aged doctor explained. “We just have more paperwork to complete, but we'll make sure Charlotte is well taken care of.”
A rush of breath escaped Eddie, and he hung his head low. Certain there were more questions to add and confident Eddie needed a moment, I asked the ER doctor, “How long will the surgery take?”
The doctor gave a reassuring smile, gaze dipping momentarily to our joined hands. “She'll be out within a couple of hours at the most. As soon as she's in recovery, we'll reach out and let you see your daughter right away.”
I nodded, not feeling the need to correct her, especially if it meant I wasn't going to be cleared out of the ER anytime soon.
“And healing? She'll be okay? Not in too much pain?” A rope tightened around my heart at the thought of Lottie in prolonged pain. Hell, in any form of suffering. I wished like hell I had the power to take it away from her. I’d take it on myself twofold if I could.
“She'll be sore for a while and need to take it easy. But we’ll go in laparoscopically, so it should mean healing time is faster. Normal activities should be fine in maybe two or three weeks.”
Already my brain was going over her recovery, working out what would be best for her.
There was no way they'd be able to head home, go on a flight.
Was it bad I liked the thought of the two of them in my space way too much?
That I liked the idea of keeping as close an eye as possible on Lottie while she was healing?
Paperwork signed, explanations given, I white-knuckled Eddie's hand, not quite sure I was doing a great job at being supportive, not with the way my heart slammed in my chest and sure if he let go, I'd sink to the ground.
And all this for my best friend's kid.
With a farewell of false smiles, we walked with Lottie as far as we were allowed.
“You know she's going to be okay, right?” I managed, knowing I really needed to step up. This was ridiculous, right? This type of operation was as common as scoring a three-pointer. If only my common sense would let my worried heart know. But at least I tried.
“I know.”
“Give it three hours and she's going to be asking for her cell and looking at rankings and ratings and making predictions for the playoffs.”
When Eddie snorted, warmth bloomed in my chest. I grinned over at him. “And you know, two or three weeks at my place means she's going to be absolutely in her element and lapping up every moment of her recovery.”
“What? But we c—”
The shake of my head cut him off. “Just think how happy she'll be recovering at my house. No school.” The leap of my heart as I waited for his response was as ridiculous as it was dangerous.
A few weeks in a shared space was my idea of bliss. Obviously, the reason wasn't ideal, but if it made me an asshole that I was happy about it, I'd wear a pin with pride.
“You sure?”
My nod was immediate. “Of course. You know you guys are always welcome.”
“What about your schedule?”
I mentally went over my next few weeks. “I’ve got five days before our first playoff game. It’s at home. All the rest after the first round depends on if we win—”
“You’ll win.”
My heart flipped at the steel in his voice. Fuck, I hoped we did, but we were playing the second seeded team, so who the hell really knew what would happen?
“Well, when we do play away, it won’t be for long before I’ll be home again for two or three days. You being at the house for me to come home to? Hell yes! There's not a lot of hardship in that. It’ll make up for you guys not being able to watch in person.”
And I meant every word. Eddie's gaze roamed my face, his attention drifting between my eyes. Whatever he saw seemed to make him relax.
“Okay, yeah. Thanks.”
“It’s more than okay.”
I led him away to the private waiting room, still gripping his hand. From the way he squeezed and didn't let go for pretty much the whole two hours of waiting, I was more than happy to pretend this was normal, and that both Eddie and Lottie were mine to take care of.
The problem was, after two or three weeks, how would I let them go?