Holding Huck's Heart (Marco's MMA Boys #3)

by S. M. Donaldson

  “Because he’s a greedy asshole. When I was messing around with Liz’s mom, I loved her, probably the only woman besides Elaine that I’ve ever loved. To Haas, she was a possession. He might have loved her at some point but after a certain point in their marriage, she became an accessory to his career. She could dress right and act the part.” He puts the bar back on the rack as we switch places. Grabbing the bar, he starts. “Trust me, he had other women, too, but to him she betrayed him and she should know better. He scolded her like a child, he had me transferred and I didn’t hear from her again.” He releases a breath as he pushes through this set. “Pavel seems like the same kind of guy, he wants it all.”

  I help him place the bar back on the rack. “Yeah, it seems that way.”

  He sits up, wiping his face with a towel. “So we are planning a small wedding/honeymoon all in one.”

  That catches me off guard. “Okay. So have you and Elaine set a date?”

  “Yes, we are getting married in a small ceremony at a resort in Clearwater on the beach. It’s at the end of next month. We want all of you to come.” He pats me on the back.

  I reach over and give him a one-armed guy hug. “I wouldn’t miss it, man. I’m happy for y’all.”

  “Thanks, son. I appreciate it. Liz is special to me, don’t get me wrong, and I love that girl with all of my heart, but you boys have been my world for over twenty years now. You have a special place. You know?”

  I wipe my face with the bottom of my shirt. “Yeah, you’re kinda special to us, too.” I start toward the door. “Now, no more of this Lifetime shit. We might end up on the same menstrual cycle or something.”

  He laughs, flipping me a bird as I leave the room.

  I walk into our little break room/nursery. My brother is in there. “Hey, did Marco talk to you about the wedding?”

  I nod. “Yeah, he just told me about it.” Some smell hits me. “Oh God! What in the hell is that? Did you shit your pants, man?”

  He turns around. “No.” He walks over to the pack and play where Krista is. “Oh my god! It’s everywhere.”

  I walk over there knowing I’m going to regret it. “Holy mother of Joseph! How did she do that?”

  She starts crying. “Man, I need you to help me.”

  I gag. “I don’t know, man.”

  He reaches down and grabs her up under the arms. “Grab some towels.” I hand him a couple of the towels we use in the gym. He grabs the snaps on the shoulder of her onesie and pulls it off her body. Then pulling the diaper off, he wraps a towel around her. “I’m going to take her to the shower.” He grabs the diaper bag. “Put all of that,” he motions toward the pack and play, “in a garbage bag and take it to the dumpster. I’ll buy new stuff. Take the pack and play outside and I’ll hose it off.”

  I gag again. “You fucking owe me.” Krista is still crying. I manage to bag up almost everything in the pack and play, pulling it behind me outside. I hose it down, spraying it with cleaner and leaving it to dry in the sun, then throw the bag in the dumpster.

  Now I feel really dirty, I’m gonna go shower. Going into the locker room, I hear Krista crying. I go to the sink and wash my hands, then walk back to the stall where Sly is with her. He’s sitting on the bench, water going over him clothes and all. “Dude, she’s really sick. I don’t know what’s wrong. She’s shitting and throwing up everywhere. I think I need to take her to the hospital or something.”

  “Wait, let’s call Kara and see what she says.” I don’t want him to panic.

  “They are in some classes today. I can’t get her on the phone until later, but she’s thrown up and crapped more than I remember her eating. I don’t want her to get dehydrated.” He’s steady washing her off. “They say it happens quickly with babies and she feels hot.”

  I nod. “Okay, well let’s get a diaper on her and go.” He’s probably right, I glance at the shower floor and see the mess. “Just leave the shower running I’ll get someone to come in here and rinse it out.” Grabbing a towel, I scoop her up and dry her off. “You got clothes for you, man?”

  He nods. “Yeah, I’ll change real fast, just get her diaper on her quick.”

  I do and then grab one of her onesies out of her bag to slide on her. Handing her back off to Sly, I grab a stack of clean gym towels to take with us. “Here, you ride in the back with her and keep that towel close by.”

  Walking through the gym, I call out to Marco about the shower and he nods. “Call me when you find out something about that baby.”

  We both call back with a, “Yes, sir.”

  “Are you sure we don’t just need to take her to the pediatrician’s office or something, man?” I ask, walking out to the truck.

  “No, let’s go to the ER. I don’t want her to have to wait and the pediatrician’s office is always swamped. Hopefully at the hospital Elaine can get us in sooner,” he says, climbing into the backseat and strapping her in the car seat.

  “All right.” I back out of the parking spot. “You better at least text Kara. She’s gonna be mad if you don’t.” Krista is still screaming. She doesn’t want juice or her pacifier.

  “You’re right, man.” He tries to text with one hand and sooth Krista with the other.

  CHAPTER 21

  CHELSEA

  It’s been a long week. Gwen, one of the day shift girls at the hospital, has been out with the flu. I’m sad for her but glad for me. That means I’ve gotten to work doubles all this week, so no working at the club. That makes me happy.

  “Chelsea!” I look up to see Sly rushing through the doors with Krista in his arms and Huck following behind them.

  I jump up. “Oh my God. What’s wrong with her?”

  Huck steps up as Sly tries to soothe Krista. “She just started crying about thirty minutes ago and she crapped all over the place, then she started throwing up everywhere. She won’t stop crying and she feels really hot.”

  “Where’s Kara?” I ask, looking at the screaming baby.

  Sly looks up. “She’s in a class, I’ve sent her a text.”

  I can tell he’s scared half to death. “Okay, well let’s get her checked in.”

  Sly looks over at Huck. “Man, she’s shit again. I need to fill this stuff out. Can you change her?”

  Huck just nods and takes the baby, about that time she throws up on the floor.

  “Oh my gosh, that poor baby. Hold on.” I turn and grab the phone on my desk and call triage to let them know I’m sending someone back. I send Elaine a page to come down to the ER. “Just go through the doors right there, Huck, into triage. I’ll get someone to clean up the waiting area. Sly, go in there with him, we have her records from when she was born a few months ago. I’ll come by and update them. Elaine is on her way down.”

  Sly sighs. “Thank you, Chelsea.”

  Elaine comes running down the hallway. “What’s wrong?”

  “The boys brought Krista in, she’s sick. I sent them to triage, I’ll update the paperwork once they get the baby seen. She’s throwing up and stomach issues bad. I think they’d feel better if you were in there.” I sigh. “The baby won’t stop crying.”

  Elaine hugs me and I realize I’m rambling and shaking. “Shh. Chelsea, it’s okay. Babies get sick. I’ll go check on them though.” She strokes my hair. “You’re a sweet girl to worry about them. Thank you.”

  “No problem. The guys were just freaking out.” I laugh.

  She shakes her head. “Those boys,” she says as she starts down the hall.

  A little while later, Huck shows up in front of my desk. I look up, “Hey. How’s the baby?”

  “The doctor said she has some little viral infection.” He winces, “They hooked her up to an IV to keep her hydrated. I can’t look at that.”

  “Awe, the big bad fighter can’t handle seeing the needles.” I make a fake pouty face.

  He looks perplexed. “It’s just that IV is huge looking in her arm. She’s so tiny and she’s sick.”

  I feel bad for him n
ow. He acts like he’s scared to death. I finally nod. “It’s okay, I probably couldn’t stand it either.”

  He sits down in the chair across from my counter. “She’s just so pitiful looking.”

  I frown. “Did he get up with Kara?”

  “Yeah, she called us a little bit ago. Doc’s letting her leave the class early, so she’s on the way now. They are going to keep the princess overnight. Since she’s a baby, they want to watch her. They’re moving her up to the pediatric floor now,” he says, leaning back in the chair and putting his fingers together at the tips.

  God, those fingers, those hands, that mouth. How can I be so pissed with someone and so hot for them at the same damn time? I need to stop this.

  “Um well, I’m about to break for lunch, so I guess I’ll check in with you guys later.” Damn it. I meant to sound more confident.

  He gives me his signature smirk. “Funny, I was just about to ask you if you’d like to grab something to eat on your break. Perfect timing I guess.”

  FUCK! SHIT SHIT SHIT. I’m not prepared for this.

  “Sure,” I stammer out, “just let me tell my supervisor,” I say timidly. Letting Lisa know I’m going, I grab my purse from my locker and meet Huck at the elevator.

  We sit across from each other in the little sandwich shop off of the lobby of the hospital. “Chels, things got out of hand the other day. I said some shit I shouldn’t have said and I’m sorry.”

  I nod, taking a sip of my drink. “Yeah, it got kind of crazy. I’m sorry, too.”

  “Thanks.” He sighs, taking a bite from his hoagie style sandwich.

  I clear my throat. “Did Pavel drop the suit?”

  “Yeah, his attorney contacted mine. They let me know the other day,” he says gruffly.

  “I’m glad,” I say nervously, thinking about my conversation with Pavel.

  “Pavel, you need to drop this suit. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

  I hear him sigh through the phone. “I’ve missed you, krasavitsa.”

  “I’ve told you not to call me that. This has nothing to do with us, this has to do with you being an asshole. We are nothing to each other anymore. I don’t want a married man. Now, drop the suit or I’ll call Theresa.”

  “We are something and threats do not go over with me, Chelsea. You would be smart to remember this.”

  “Why can’t you just go find someone new? Just leave me alone, Pavel.”

  “I will drop the suit on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Come see me, next month. Theresa is going out of town with the children. It’ll give us time to meet.”

  “If I meet with you, you’ll leave me alone?”

  He sighs loudly, clearly annoyed. “Yes, if that’s still what you want.”

  “Fine.” I agree, even though I really have no intentions of meeting with him.

  He clears his throat, breaking me from my thoughts. “Look, we both got a little…upset the other day,” he says, looking at the table. “I think we should go back to the being friends thing. I’m going to be honest, the whole Pavel thing gets to me a little and I’m not sure I can keep from blowing up about him again.”

  I nod, looking down at my barely touched sandwich and thinking about the meeting next month. “Yeah, I see what you’re saying. We should just go back to nothing more than friends.” Will I ever escape this shit with Pavel? He’s really cost me so much more than he ever gave me.

  “Yeah, I’m always going to feel something special for you, but I can’t handle anything to do with him. The things he said about you, I- I just can’t deal with it.” He sits there for a minute likes he’s looking inside my soul. “The girls kept me in my room against my will after our argument and they made me see things from your side. I still can’t say I agree, but I’m moving past it. I hope we both can. I really want to be there for you.”

  I give him the best smile I can make happen. “Yeah, I’d like to move on past it all.” Reaching down, I wrap up my sandwich. “I’ve got to get back, I’m only taking a half hour. I’ll finish this later.” I stand, quickly packing up everything and disposing of my trash. “Keep me posted on Krista.”

  He gives me a short nod for an acknowledgment as I walk away.

  Finding the nearest bathroom, I lock myself in and sob. I’ve ruined my life. I could really want something more with Huck, but I don’t even get to explore the option. I’m being punished for the evil I’ve done.

  I hate Pavel for taking all of this from me. I hate myself for the dumbass decisions I’ve made in the past few years. Especially when it comes to men.

  CHAPTER 22

  HUCK

  Sitting in our conference room at the gym, James, our agent from Bellator, is talking with us about public relations and how we need to improve them.

  Lox speaks up, “We offer self-defense classes for women and free ones for children. Huck is in the process of starting youth classes, so they learn some defense and have an outlet. We are really involved in our community, so I’m trying to understand what more they want.”

  “Given some of the recent publicity, or the twins and yourself at the match last year in Jacksonville, we think you guys should do something charitable in the public eye. You guys are great guys and in my opinion all that you’ve done was warranted, but some people don’t feel that way,” James says stoically. “So it’s more about public view right now.”

  Sly glares at him. “I’m not all about a dog and pony show here.”

  My thoughts drown everyone out. I think about Pavel, Chelsea, her mom, her dad, and then an idea hits me. “What if we hosted a huge match up where all the proceeds go to a local person? A person who is sick, but their family saved one of our own.”

  Everyone looks at me and realization dawns on my brother. “Yes.”

  James, Lox and Marco look at me curiously, “Okay, so when the guy attacked Kara last year, she dealt with one detective a lot. He was later killed in the line of duty. His widow has cancer and is fighting it. Her chemo is expensive and his benefits don’t cover all of it. So what if it was for her?” I ramble out.

  James nods. “Sounds good. You guys have a personal investment with this family, we can spin it as he saved Sly’s girl and baby, so you guys are trying to save his wife since he’s not here to do it.” He’s scribbling stuff down on a pad as quickly as he can. “We can get the company to cover the expenses, it’ll look like a grassroots type thing for us.” He looks up at Marco and the rest of us. “Let’s get to work.”

  Chelsea can quit that damn club.

  Marco looks over at me. “Bring Chelsea and her mom in. I want to talk to them about this. Sly, have Kara there and explain it all to her.”

  We nod and go with our assignments.

  ~*~*~

  A couple of days later, we’re sitting in the conference room again except this time Chelsea and her mom, Jenny, along with all of our families are in here. Kara tries to talk but gets choked up and can’t so Marco starts to explain our plan.

  Jenny begins to cry and so does Chelsea. Jenny is wearing a face mask to cut down on the likelihood of germs since she’s taking treatments so you can’t see all of her expressions, but her eyes say enough. She jumps up and hugs Marco. “Thank you so much. I know that Chelsea has been working herself to death and I just don’t want her doing that.” She gives an uncomfortable glance to Chelsea. “She’s not supposed to be taking care of me, it’s supposed to be the other way around.”

  Marco smiles and pats her on the shoulders. “Huck deserves most of the credit. He’s the man behind the idea. Although, we were all immediately on board. Leroy did so much for our dysfunctional family, we hate the idea that his is struggling when he can’t be here.”

  Chelsea stands up, making her way to me and burying her head into my chest, sobbing. “Thank you so much.”

  All I’m able to do is wrap my arms around her and stroke her hair. I want to show her so much more, but this isn’t the place. Her scent washes
over me. I need her, I thrive on her. I never wanted to feel like this.

  After everyone finishes hugging Jenny and Chelsea, Marco goes over the marketing and schedule. The company wants to do it soon so it’ll be the weekend before Marco and Elaine get married. Maybe I can talk Chelsea into going with me to the wedding. That way I won’t be the odd guy out.

  Chelsea stands around while everyone else leaves the room. Once it’s just us, she walks over to me again. “Huck, thank you again. You just don’t know how much this all means.”

  I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I hope this’ll make it so you can quit that damn club.”

  She looks up at me with a softness in her eyes. “I hope so, too.”

  I can’t help but draw her in closer, placing my lips on hers slowly. It’s not our normal kiss, it’s soft and sensual. It’s filled with emotions that normally we fight.

  She pulls back. “I need to go. I do actually have to work at the club tonight.”

  I tug her a little closer by the hand. “Be careful.”

  She nods and quickly leaves the room. I sit down in one of the chairs as Sly walks in. He drops into a chair beside me. “So are you going to get off your ass now and get the girl?”

  I shake my head. “Man, I don’t know. I’ve never been so confused in my life. I can’t deal with the whole Pavel thing, he’s doing his best to drive her crazy. Liz told me that Chels has had to change her number again and everything. I also heard from Liz that the alarm went off at her place the other night, but they never found anyone. It just gives me a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

  “Then you need to be looking out for her, man. You want her to be your woman, it’s your responsibility.”

  “She’s told me she wants me to stay away.”

  Sly rolls his eyes. “She did not tell you to stay away. I know she didn’t.”

  Running my hands through my hair in frustration, I say, “Well she might as well have. She said something about space and us being friends, understanding that I couldn’t handle all the shit with Pavel. So I’m seeing it as her way of asking me to stay away.”