Chapter 10
Friday morning, Doc had picked up Ember at the hotel and they’d gone on a long, leisurely run.
She’d complained good-naturedly about the heat, even at six in the morning, and he’d given her shit for being a baby.
Afterward, they’d made out in front of her door at the hotel, then agreed to meet at her new apartment again at eight-thirty.
Commander Robinson had given the team the morning off, but they all had to be back in the office after lunch to continue discussing the situation in Afghanistan.
She’d picked a good complex. Doc had been ready to encourage her to move if he found out her apartment wasn’t one of the safer ones in the area, but there’d been no need.
She’d done her research well. There were security cameras in the parking lots and sprinkled around the complex.
There was a pool, workout room, and a ton of lights.
He knew about the lights because he’d driven around the entire complex last night, after he’d dropped Ember off, just to check it out.
He couldn’t help but feel a pang in his chest when he thought about her moving into the apartment, instead of his house.
She’d probably paid both first and last month’s rent in deposit, not to mention the monthly maintenance fee the complex added.
It seemed…permanent. At least in the short term.
After all, no one would pay that much money, then decide to move in with him a few months later.
And just thinking about her moving in with him was crazy. Wasn’t it? If he asked Brain—or Oz, or Lucky, or any of the guys—they’d say absolutely not. But he knew pretty much everyone else would disagree.
It was just that he and Ember felt so right. He couldn’t imagine living apart from her for months, let alone possibly years. The thought of dropping her off and leaving her behind every night, for months on end, wasn’t a good one.
“Hey, Earth to Craig!” Ember teased as she walked toward him.
Doc realized that he’d been standing by his car looking up at the apartment for so long, she’d been able to sneak up on him without his noticing.
“Hey,” he said, opening his arms as he stood up straight. It felt good when Ember walked right into his embrace without hesitation. Inhaling deeply, Doc said, “You smell good.”
“Thanks. That happens when you shower,” she quipped.
Doc leaned back and looked at the woman in his arms. She was wearing a purple tank top and a pair of khaki cargo shorts.
She had on the same shoes she’d worn for their run.
Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and a hat was hanging from one of her belt loops.
She was ready to work—and a bolt of lust hit him out of the blue. He wanted her. Hard. Fast. Slow. Now.
Ember stared up at him with her huge brown eyes and visibly swallowed. It was as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Doc licked his lips, and she mirrored the movement. Dragging out the anticipation, he slowly leaned toward her.
“The truck’s not here yet?” a loud voice called out.
Doc froze, staring at Ember’s lips in frustration and desire.
She grinned. “Cockblocked by your friends,” she said softly.
“Fuck,” Doc grumbled.
The giggle that came from Ember was carefree and happy, and Doc wanted to hear it every day for the rest of his life. With a sigh, he turned to greet Trigger.
“Hey,” Doc said, giving his friend a chin lift.
“Hey. Good to see you again, Ember. Welcome to Texas.”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry Gillian couldn’t come this morning. She’s meeting a new client and couldn’t postpone,” Trigger said.
“It’s okay. I’m looking forward to meeting her tomorrow.”
“So is she. She’s over-the-moon excited about the party, but beware—she and the other women are gonna give you the third degree. I heard her talking with Kinley on the phone, and they’ve got a list of famous people they want to know if you’ve met.” Trigger winked at her and grinned.
Doc, however, stiffened…but when Ember merely chuckled, he relaxed.
“I’m afraid they’re gonna be disappointed. I mean, I spent most of my time training, not going to Hollywood parties.”
“They won’t be disappointed,” Trigger said.
“Believe me, they’re excited to meet you.
And I hope you don’t mind, but Doc told us a bit about what you’ve got planned for our little city, and I told Gillian.
She’s already all fired up about fundraisers and getting the word out to help you find kids who might be appropriate to participate. ”
“Wow! Thank her for me.”
“You can thank her yourself tomorrow,” Trigger said with a smile.
“Yo! Let’s get this show on the road!” Lefty said as he approached. He was accompanied by Brain and Aspen, the latter holding their son against her chest. Chance was fastened in by some complicated-looking device with straps going every which way around Aspen’s body.
“Hi! I’m Aspen. It’s so good to meet you!” She held out a hand toward Ember.
Doc let his arm drop from her waist and watched as the two women met.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Ember said easily.
“Don’t believe a word these guys say,” Aspen returned with a smile. “They’re all full of shit.”
“Language, Aspen,” Brain chided.
The woman rolled her eyes. “Chance is like two seconds old. I don’t think he’ll be mimicking my bad words anytime soon,” she told her husband.
Then she turned to Ember and leaned in, adding in a stage whisper, “My smarter-than-the-average-joe husband is afraid Chance is going to start talking at three months. I mean, I know he hopes he’s passed on his language savant ability, but that’s pushing it a bit. ”
Doc smiled. Brain was paranoid that his son’s first word was going to be a swear word. But Doc figured it would be some obscure Russian term or something that he picked up from his dad.
“Am I late?” Lefty asked. “It’s good to see you again, Ember.”
“You’re not late, we’re waiting on the truck. And thank you,” she told him.
“Kins is working this morning, so she couldn’t come, but she said rabid stray hippos couldn’t keep her away tomorrow,” Lefty said.
Ember laughed.
Oz, Lucky, and Grover arrived then and joined the group huddle. Logan walked alongside his uncle, and Devyn was there as well.
“I hope no one minds that I brought Slugger along this morning. Riley, Bria, and Amalia are having a girls’ morning. Not to mention, Riley wants to work on a new book she got last night to proofread,” Oz said.
“More hands is always a good thing,” Ember said. She crouched down on the balls of her feet and greeted Logan. “I hear you’re quite the baseball player.”
Logan blushed and looked down at his feet for a second. He seemed to find his courage, looked up at Ember for a split second—then practically threw himself at her.
Ember’s eyes widened as she caught the little boy and hugged him back, grinning.
“Thank you so much for having Shin-Soo send that box! It was amazing! It made my day! All my friends are so jealous, and I can’t believe I have a mitt that he actually used!
It’s too big for me right now, but Uncle Oz says my hands will grow into it.
I can’t wait! I’ve got the pictures and poster up on the walls in my room, and I’m gonna put one of the signed baseballs into one of those plastic box things so it’ll never ever get messed up. ”
Ember smiled wider as Logan finally stepped away from her. “You’re very welcome. I was happy to talk to my friend and ask him to send it to you.”
“I’m gonna be famous one day, and I’m gonna send boxes like that to my fans. Because I know how much it meant to me, so I want to do that for someone else.”
“Good for you. I love your confidence. You know that’s the first step to becoming a champion, right? Believing in yourself?” Ember asked.
Logan nodded. “That’s what Uncle Oz says.”
“Your uncle is a very smart man,” Ember agreed.
“Not as smart as Brain, but that’s okay,” Logan said with a completely straight face, and everyone laughed.
Ember stood and Devyn stepped forward. “Hi. I’m Devyn. It’s very good to meet you. Congrats on being in the Olympics. That’s impressive!”
Ember smiled. “Thanks.”
That was another thing Doc liked about Ember. She didn’t shrug off Devyn’s congratulations. Didn’t hem and haw and say she didn’t compete as well as she would’ve liked, or that she was “only” fifteenth. She’d made the team; that said a great deal about her abilities.
“Hi, Ember,” Lucky said, reaching for her hand.
Ember shook his and Grover’s hands. “Thanks for coming to help me,” she told everyone. “I told Craig it wasn’t a big deal, that I don’t have all that much stuff, but he insisted.”
“As well he should’ve. This is kind of our thing. Helping people move in, then helping them move all their shit out not too much later,” Trigger joked.
Doc glared at his friend.
The others all grinned.
“I don’t understand?” Ember said, throwing a questioning look at Doc.
“He’s kidding,” he told her.
“Actually, he’s not,” Aspen said with a smirk. “It seems like the second we help someone move into a new place, we’re turning around and helping them move again. To their man’s place, to a bigger house…something.”
Doc groaned. “Can we change the subject, please?” he begged.
A large moving truck pulled into the parking lot just then, and Doc was relieved that this conversation could be over.
“A few things?” Grover asked, one brow raised. “That looks like more than a few things.”
“It’s not all mine,” Ember reassured the group.
“When someone can’t fill a truck, they put several people’s things in.
It saves money and cross-country trips. I was shocked when the truck backed into my driveway in California, since I didn’t have enough stuff to fill it.
Then relieved when they explained my stuff would be at the back, and the first to be unloaded. ”
While everyone was preoccupied watching the truck driver maneuver to get as close to the entrance as possible, where they’d be bringing in Ember’s belongings, Doc leaned down. “You good?”