by Amber Lynn
Nelson threw one of his pads at his usual defense partner. Tyler tossed it back and laughed.
“I insulted your friend, not you, idiot.”
“I know that, but he’s busy trying to get back to Casey, so he’s not thinking about defending himself.”
“And with that, I’m out of here. Go ahead and keep talking about me like I’m not in the room. It might work better if I’m not actually in the room.”
“You better hope your girl doesn’t have working sinuses, because she’s going to run the other way when she smells you coming.”
Dylan ignored Doug and headed for the door. Before he could open it, it opened outward and Dylan came face-to-face with Holcomb. The man was a hard read, but Dylan didn’t think he was going to immediately strangle him.
“Just the person I was looking for. Since you’re leaving, do you mind walking and talking?”
His voice sounded pleasant, but maybe a little concerned. After hearing Holcomb fairly carefree the night before, the trepidation was surprisingly easy to pick up.
“I don’t mind at all. I’m meeting Casey so I can drive her home. Did you hear what we found when we went to pick her car up today?”
Dylan walked out into the hall and Holcomb let the door close behind him. They started towards the elevator before Holcomb replied.
“Casey called me while she was waiting for the game to start. It would’ve been nice to hear about it a little earlier, but it sounds like you’ve gotten things taken care of.”
“As much as I can. There seems to be a slight issue tracking down the culprit, but I’m keeping my eye on Casey until we’re sure she’s safe.”
“Do you really think she’s in danger? I’ve taught Casey to take care of herself, and I like to think she’s pretty good at it,” said the man who’d been concerned about an ex showing up to cause problems.
“I’m sure she is. I just know how irrational women can be sometimes. I wouldn’t have tabloids calling me a sex freak if someone hadn’t decided to get back at me and tell lies.”
Dylan didn’t really care about his own reputation, but he worried about what being connected to him would do to Casey’s. That hadn’t stopped him from dragging her around to different home décor stores to find the perfect cushions for her house, but it did make him stop and think about the crossfire he was potentially putting her in.
Holcomb hit the button that opened the elevator doors, and then put his arm out to hold the door open as he directed Dylan to enter. Even knowing the man a little better, Dylan was worried about spending time in a closed space with him. Dylan figured he didn’t have enough fingers to count the ways Holcomb could kill him with his bare hands.
Holcomb stepped in after him and hit the button for the first floor. That meant the ride wasn’t going to last too long, so the chances of Dylan’s immediate demise were small.
“I got the feeling my daughter was being a little irrational yesterday, and it worries me.”
Dylan halted breathing as soon as he heard those words. Since Holcomb had set them up, Dylan thought it was okay to show Casey a good time. He tried to remember overstepping any lines, but they’d kept things PG all night.
“I’m not exactly sure how to answer that. I didn’t see any signs of irrational behavior, even when I thought punching Steph would’ve been a smart move.”
Holcomb laughed, that deep laugh of his that made Dylan’s bones rattle a little. He could probably fend off enemies with it if he kept it up long enough.
“I’m not talking about how she responded to the tart who kissed you.” The elevator doors opened, and Holcomb stepped out to look at the crowd of people rushing out of the arena. “I’m talking about the fact that I think she was recently diagnosed with cancer and she hasn’t told me.”
Dylan had to swallow his tongue to keep from saying anything. Holcomb hadn’t specifically said he knew, just that he thought, and chances were he knew his gut instincts were better than most.
“What do you mean? She gave that speech last night about not knowing and how hard that is for her.”
Casey was supposed to stay put and meet him where she’d watched the game, which meant Dylan needed to make it up to the second level of seats. Holcomb didn’t seem like he had a specific direction he wanted to go, so Dylan took over the lead. It would’ve been nice for her to appear in front of them, so Dylan could find a way out of the conversation.
“You’re not very good at portraying surprise. You’re ‘what do you mean’ lacked a certain level of authenticity. I won’t quiz you to find out what you know, but you really need to get better at your inflections if you’re going to try to hide something from me.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you. I haven’t known Casey long enough for her to reveal anything that personal. If there was anyone she’d tell, I’m pretty sure you’d be her first option.”
Dylan tried to cover whatever Holcomb had picked up from him with logical points. If the man wanted to know what was going on with his daughter, he needed to ask her himself.
“I doubt it. She’s always put a shield up when it comes to her health. The only reason I know something is up is because she’s had two doctor appointments in the last week. Usually they’re twice a year, so either she’s started having an affair with one of her doctors, or she got some news that required a follow up.”
“I again find myself not sure what to say. I haven’t seen anything that indicated Casey was hiding something, and we’ve spent a full day together.”
Dylan didn’t want to ask how in the world Holcomb had seen through whatever method Casey used to hide her appointments. For Casey’s sake, he wanted to know, but coming right out and asking seemed a little suspicious.
“Maybe she isn’t hiding anything from you, and if that’s the case, I’m happy to hear it. I’d like you to let my daughter know that being in the dark is even harder than sitting with her through the decisions.”
“I can relay the message, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in the last twenty-four hours, it’s that your daughter is pretty stuck in her ways. I assume she gets that from you.”
Holcomb chuckled again. “I think bringing you together was one of the smartest moves I’ve made. You treat my girl well, Dylan. She’s stubborn as hell, and there will be times you want to throttle her, but I think you can weather the calm and the storm.”
“I assume since we’re talking about someone stubborn, you’re talking about me. You’re not trying to scare him away, are you, Dad? Before the game, we were talking about me finally using up some of my vacation and taking part of next week and the following week off, so we could hang out and get to know each other better when Dylan wasn’t busy on the ice. I know it’s weird to do it during the season, but I’m constantly working ahead and I think I can work it out.”
They’d stopped in the doorway leading to the staircase Dylan planned on climbing as soon as he could get rid of Holcomb. Dylan faced the hallway, so he hadn’t expected Casey to sneak up behind him, nor did he expect those words to come out of her mouth.
Holcomb gave him a quick, knowing look before he smiled at his daughter. “A vacation would be perfect for you. Your calendar has been so full these past few weeks that I’ve been a little worried about you.”
“Someone’s got to get everything set for playoffs. If Dylan would just play crappier, I wouldn’t have to work as hard.”
Casey glided over and grabbed Dylan’s right hand, squeezing slightly. Dylan squeezed back, anxious to tell her she hadn’t been as careful as she thought she’d been about covering her tracks.
“I’ll leave you two to discuss Dylan’s skills on the ice. Have a good night, and a nice rest of the weekend. I’m hoping you can keep yourselves off the front page of the paper.”
Dylan wasn’t sure what he meant, but he waved as Holcomb took off back towards the elevator. They were all going to the same place, so he wasn’t sure why he didn’t wait for them to tag along.
“That
was probably the second most interesting conversation I’ve had recently.”
“Really? I didn’t hear it all, but it sounded like he was warning you that I was hard to get along with.”
“Yeah, right after he told me he thinks you have cancer.” Dylan looked down at Casey as he spoke to watch how she took the news.
At some point during the game she’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. It was cute, but he liked seeing her long tresses so he could think about running his fingers through them.
“What did you tell him?” Her hand tangled with his squeezed a little tighter.
“Absolutely nothing, other than I was sure if there was anyone you’d tell, it’d be him. I really didn’t know what else to say. He kind of hinted at how he came to the conclusion, but I thought it’d be weird if I dug too deep for information. He claimed he knew you’d been to the doctor twice in the last week, and evidently that was good enough for him.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I know he has access to my calendar, but I had legitimate meetings down for those appointments, and I doubt he had someone tailing me.”
Dylan wasn’t sure he put that past Holcomb, but he deferred to Casey’s opinion.
“Are you ready to get out of here? I’m starving, and I thought picking up a few steaks on the way to your house sounded like a nice dinner.”
“That’s assuming I’m going to let you in. I didn’t see you scoring any goals tonight, so I’m hesitant to even be seen with you.”
“You keep that up, and you’ll find out just how your taunts affect me. I’m cooking you dinner in your little tiny kitchen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Casey laughed, thankfully a much different sounding one than her father’s. Dylan leaned down and kissed her forehead before he dragged her off to his car.
A part of him was happy that her father had somehow connected the dots. It was a load off his mind that someone else knew, just in case something happened. He’d do everything in his power to make sure it didn’t, but he wasn’t a doctor, so there was only so much he could control.
“I’m sure there’s all sorts of things I can do about it, but I need your help bright and early tomorrow morning to start working on the stairs. I’m scared to let you anywhere near my drill, but I imagine you do a fine imitation of a clamp.”
“Very funny. We should probably swing by my place so I can pick up a few things.” Dylan wasn’t going to start moving everything in, but a few outfits would come in handy.
“You mean you aren’t trying to turn me on with the onion perfume you’ve got going on? I would’ve waited while you took a shower.”
“I find I’d much rather hang around you while I showered than my teammates. I doubt we can both fit in your shower, but you can watch to make sure I get soap in all the right places.”
Casey smacked him as he opened the car door for her. Dylan wasn’t usually the first person to leave, but it looked like most of the other cars he recognized were still in their spots, including Holcomb’s with no sight of the man.
“There’s a part of me that wants to have one last hurray with my original equipment, but at the same time, I don’t want you to get used to them when they’re getting ready to disappear.”
“Watching me shower doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex, Casey. I’m not trying to rush things here, which may sound weird, because I’m planning on practically moving into your place, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking for anything more than a kiss and a hug here and there.”
He’d told her that before. She just didn’t trust his motives, which he could understand. Actions spoke louder than words, so he planned on showing her exactly what a relationship meant for him. The time in his life where he was just another playboy was long over.
Chapter Sixteen
The days before the surgery went by faster than Casey imagined possible. Instead of spending every second scared, Dylan kept her busy making her house more accessible for her recovery. He had no clue how to do construction, but he was gung ho to do any task she asked him to do, some just took a little extra explaining. It was too bad most of them were simple things, like how to use a saw without cutting your fingers off, but he was easy to train.
The house looked amazing after the improvements, even if she’d never admit it to her partner in crime. He was a little cocky about everything, especially his idea and execution of the second loft. Casey had been hesitant to put it in, because it cut the openness feel of the main level, but Dylan was terrified of hurting her after the surgery.
They’d slept together for six nights, and not once had he crushed her. The third night was the first time she even noticed him coming into contact with her while they slept. After that, there had been a lot of spooning going on. Casey had never slept a full night with someone that close to her body, and she was surprised to find she didn’t mind it.
Between her working, hockey games and his practices, they’d spent every free second they had removing the storage boxes she had on the wall and reworking them into storage stairs leading up to the main loft, making sure the chairs could still fit into them. The smaller loft, which they ended up finishing just before they’d both crashed for the night on Wednesday, was only big enough for a twin bed width-wise, like a tiny shelf instead of a loft. Casey couldn’t believe Dylan actually fit in the space, but he’d demonstrated that he could make it work, without turning into a pretzel.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve never been more afraid of something in my life.” Casey shared Dylan’s thought, but she wasn’t willing to admit it.
He was sitting next to Casey in a kind of holding room, waiting for someone to come get her. They’d shown up thirty minutes early, even after he’d tried to slow her down a little. Casey had already switched into her beautiful hospital gown, and she was ready to get the show on the road.
Finding things to talk about before you went back and had part of you cut off was hard. She wanted to make tasteless jokes, but Dylan was already freaking out. If she didn’t have a firm grip on him, he would’ve been pacing the room, driving her completely crazy.
“You don’t have to be here for this. All they’re going to do is mark me up a little and then put me to sleep so they can play with my boobs.”
“You honestly think after the week we’ve had that I have anywhere else I’d rather be right now? The only way I’d be anywhere else is if you weren’t getting ready to go through the surgery. Are you sure I can’t go back with you? I hear surgeons like worried friends and family in the operating room.”
“Sorry, but we have the rule about you not seeing what’s being cut off, and it’s going to be hard for you to look at anything else. Once I go back, it’s going to be at least three hours before they let you in to see me. You should go get some breakfast and see if there’s any hot nurses to talk to while you wait.”
The humor was coming out even if she didn’t mean for it to. Suggesting Dylan go find a nurse to spend time with was the furthest thing from what she wanted, but it still rolled off her tongue.
“You just don’t want me to meet the guy doing the cutting. It’s probably better that I don’t. We need him to have a steady hand.”
“That would be nice. I’ll be out of it, so I won’t be able to keep an eye on him.”
Dylan switched the hand that was holding Casey’s and wrapped the other arm around her, pulling her close to him. She’d gotten used to whatever cologne he always wore. It was a little bit like sandalwood, and she found she fell asleep even faster when it was heavy in the air. She’d never had specific problems sleeping, but just him being there with his calming scent made it seem simpler.
“I’ll have to see if I can find one of those hot nurses you mentioned to keep an eye open for any signs of tremors.”
“I’m taking back what I said about the hot nurses. You’ll see my flat chest after surgery and run off with them anyway. Let’s try to keep you around for a couple more weeks, because otherwise I lose my chauffeur a
nd have no one to feed me.”
Casey had her car back, but she hadn’t driven it anywhere other than to the place it sat in her yard. There was no reason to with Dylan always around. When it was time for her to go to work, he was up and ready to spend a little extra time at the rink. Knowing he was around was a little distracting, but she’d been able to keep herself busy enough that she didn’t go looking for him.
“You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me and the nurses. I don’t know how long it’s going to be before someone comes in to start drawing on you, but I want to make sure that you know I love you, and only you. No matter how much that hurts your ears to hear. I don’t expect you to be able to say the same. We both know you haven’t spent months fantasizing about me.”
Dylan leaned down and kissed her head, placing his chin on top of it after he did. It was a weird situation for her, because she knew she felt something for Dylan, but wasn’t sure it was love. She didn’t know how the emotion was supposed to feel when it came to someone who wasn’t family.
Even thinking back to Jimmy, she didn’t think she’d ever been in love with one of the guys who called themselves her boyfriend. There was a little youthful folly in the relationships, but no deep emotions. With Dylan, there were emotions and feelings, she just didn’t know how to label them.
“I love the gold flecks of sparkle in your eyes, and it’s hard not to be in love with those abs of yours.”
He scoffed playfully. “I’ll take it. It’s a lot better than you claiming I have no place in your life.”
“You’ve got your own loft in my house now, I think that means I’m making a little room for you.”
“And I’ll take that too. Are you sure it’s okay if I call him when they take you back? I feel like I browbeat you into letting me, but he really should be here so he knows what’s going on.”
Dylan was good at subtly getting his point across. Hearing that her dad was already on to her secret had made it a little easier to lift the decree that he wasn’t allowed to know until after the operation. Dylan was supposed to call and tell him that it was happening.