by Amber Lynn
She’d had very little contact with her dad over the week, and the few times he’d cornered her, she couldn’t bring herself to confirm his suspicions. He’d looked at her expectantly, even though he tried to hide it. She wished it had been as easy as telling Dylan. She told herself it was like a bandage, and she just needed to get it done, but when he was there in front of her, she couldn’t.
“It’s bad enough you’re going to scare Steve. Can you imagine what someone would do if they had to deal with both of you at once? I’d go in for my mastectomy and come out missing a leg.”
“I’m hoping Steve is the elusive surgeon. I know he is, but since I haven’t met him, I consider him a ghost.”
A knock at the door kept Casey from responding. “Come in.” Dylan moved to stand, but Casey kept ahold of him. The door opened a little, and she saw Steve’s eyes peek in, not fully sure if she was ready for him to come all the way in. “I wouldn’t have told you to come in if I didn’t mean it. We were just talking about you.”
“I find that happens often right before I walk into the room. As always, it’s nice to see you, Casey. I can’t say we’ve met before, Dylan, but I sort of expected you to be here.”
Steve walked in, studying Dylan with every step. Casey didn’t turn to look, but she suspected Dylan was doing the same.
“I figured Katherine would’ve started spreading rumors. I was a little sad that I didn’t see you at the ball this year. You could’ve stood next to her and questioned my sanity.”
“We commiserated over the morning newspaper on Saturday, knowing how much you’d enjoy the attention. I was actually there, but I ran behind and you were already in slow dancing mode by the time I walked in.”
Casey had found and gathered as many of the papers as she could and burned them. Since she hadn’t been officially told until around ten o’clock that night, when she and Dylan were at the grocery store, there were sadly a lot of papers that didn’t have charred edges.
The ball had never received front page publicity before, but a picture of her and Dylan slow dancing, along with an inset of Steph getting to first base were front and center. Then, of course, there was a picture of Casey’s vandalized car, all under the title of “A Fairytale Ball of Back-Stabbing.”
Before Steph went missing, she’d shared a tale with one of the newspapers less known for getting both sides of a story. It didn’t paint Casey in a very good light, but additional money did come in for the charity after Casey quickly penned an op-ed rebuttal in one of the classier newspapers. Casey had a great track record for making lemonade out of lemons.
Steph hadn’t shown back up, but Nelson confirmed that she’d checked in with their parents, and according to them, she seemed fine. There was no real indication of where she’d gone to, and as long as she wasn’t bothering Casey or Dylan, they didn’t care.
“You should have tried to cut in,” Casey suggested in jest, trying to move away from the fact that he’d brought up the newspaper article.
“I make a living using my hands, so I thought better of that idea. I’ve seen Dylan fight before, and I bleed easily.”
“Then I guess I don’t have to give the macho boyfriend threats I’d planned. You’re going to take good care of my girl, right?”
Steve hadn’t walked too far into the room, but he went ahead and took a tiny step back when he heard the tone of Dylan’s voice. Casey assumed the two men would try to shake hands, which is why she’d kept a grip on Dylan. She wanted to make sure his threats didn’t transfer into a cramped hand for Steve.
“I’ll have her back in your hands by noon. I know Casey could practically perform the surgery herself, but I can go over the procedure if you’d like.”
“Please don’t. He’s quizzed me over every last detail, and since I knew the answers, I told him everything. I think he even spent time doing his own research to make sure I wasn’t lying to him.”
Most of their interactions didn’t include the doctor smiling, but a very large grin spread across his face.
“You’ve gone from refusing to tell anyone, to sharing all the details. I’m glad someone finally got through to you.”
Steve stepped over to the exam table in the room and motioned for Casey to take a seat. Dylan squeezed her hand quickly and gave the top of her head another kiss.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave. I’ll be there when you wake up.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll see if they can’t transfer me to another hospital, maybe I’ll finally be able to get rid of you.”
“Nothing you’ve done so far has worked, so it’s probably best if you just stop trying.”
Dylan stood up and led Casey over to the doctor. She could feel his hesitancy to let go of her. It really was amazing to her how much they’d bonded in a short amount of time. It was something that had taken absolutely no work on her side, which was weird, because Casey had always assumed relationships were all about making sacrifices and overlooking flaws.
Before they’d even met, she’d been pointing out his flaws on the ice, so things weren’t overlooked. If Casey didn’t like the way he did something, she told him. That didn’t mean he was going to change what he was doing, but there wasn’t an extra weight of keeping something a secret from him. All those little secrets had to add up into a big ball of hate eventually, and Casey was trying to keep her ball to a minimum.
“Stay away from the hot nurses and try not to worry.” Casey made her voice forceful, but she wasn’t sure how strong she’d stay without him around.
“Yes, honey.”
Dylan exited the room quickly, so Casey couldn’t find ways to delay things any longer. She stared at the door even after he was gone.
“I have to say, I expected you to let your father in, not the star hockey player, who I wasn’t even aware you knew.”
“Telling Dylan was one part he was a complete stranger, so he shouldn’t care, and one part I was trying to scare him away. Turns out he’s harder to get rid of than the ivy growing in my backyard.”
“It sure didn’t look like you wanted him to leave just now. We’ve known each other for years, not necessarily outside of our appointments, but I like to think I know you fairly well. I’ve never seen you with the look I saw in your eyes while he was in here. He makes you happy.”
“He makes things interesting. I’m still not sure it will last, but I think I’ve decided to go with the flow before he moves on.”
“There’s the girl I know, never believing things will go her way. That’s one of the reasons I was always surprised that you waited until there was something to cut out to go through with things. We are going through with things, right?”
“Yes, we’re going through with things. Is it time for you to work on your artistic skills?”
“If you’re ready. Go ahead and open up your robe.”
Casey did as instructed and sat up straight as a black marker made lines on her chest. She didn’t look down to watch. She’d made that mistake once before. At that point, it wouldn’t have mattered if she chickened out, like she had three years prior. The cancer had to go, and the sooner the better.
While she waited for the drawing to be done, she hummed mindlessly, and thought that the room could’ve been a little more cheerful. Something other than just plain white walls would’ve made getting ready to be knocked out and cut into a little easier.
“Isn’t that the song they play after a goal’s scored? I always get it stuck in my head the rest of the night. It drives my wife crazy.”
Casey stopped when she realized he was right. Before taking her job, she’d hated the song. It didn’t even have real words that she’d been able to find. It was nothing but loud, catchy notes stringed together.
“Is there a part of my brain you can remove so the ability to get a song stuck in there goes away?”
“I’m not a brain surgeon, but I can ask around. You ready to go get an IV in? I’m told the drugs you get are a lot more enjoyable than having me draw on
you.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Your artistic skills are top notch. I’m ready to get this show on the road, though. The sooner the boobs are gone, the sooner I can flash my scars and cuts at Dylan in hopes they’ll scare him away.”
“You’re evil, Casey. Pure evil. Let’s turn you over to Pamela. She’ll probably enjoy your evil plans.”
Steve led her out of the room, to another room just as boring. In the new room, she was directed to sit on a gurney. A nurse she vaguely remembered seeing before stuck a needle in her arm to start the IV. Pamela wasn’t as talkative as Steve, but she was quick about her work.
Casey wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she knew the medicine was supposed to relax her, or if the medicine was fast-acting, but not long after the IV was in, her worry went down a notch. She didn’t believe in magic, but it took a little to decrease the anxiety that had built in her since she’d woken up that morning.
“We’re all good here. We’ll do the general when we get in the room.”
Casey heard the woman’s voice, but once the numbing of her brain started, she’d closed her eyes. She could tell the gurney was on the move by the loose wheel that made way too much racket as they zoomed down a hall. Casey could imagine the wheel fidgeting in her mind. She saw the shopping cart she somehow always managed to pick transformed into the taller and longer gurney.
With little other noise to focus on, her brain was really stretching. When the surgery was done, she was going to make sure to provide a list of things that could make the experience more enjoyable. Color, soft music and drugs before the drawing was started were all on the list.
“Okay, Casey. I’m going to put something on your face and I want you to just breathe deeply and relax.”
“Already have the relaxing part down, Pam.”
There was a soft chuckle, and then the promised mask-like thing was put over her face. Casey cleared her mind of everything. She could hear Pamela counting, but she concentrated on breathing in and out. That was something that was easy for her.
She couldn’t tell how long it took, but it seemed like only seconds before her brain started shutting down. She felt a little like a computer – go to the menu, select shut down, and wait for all the processes to stop. Maybe having the IV with drugs in it earlier wasn’t the brightest idea.
Chapter Seventeen
Waiting around to hear Casey was out of surgery was tougher than Dylan anticipated. It wasn’t open heart surgery, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be complications. Even meeting the surgeon personally hadn’t made him feel any better, not that he’d spent a lot of time with him.
At least he wasn’t waiting alone. When he’d called Holcomb, the man just said he’d be there in ten minutes, and sure enough nine minutes and thirty-three seconds later, Holcomb was in front of him. Dylan hadn’t expected the hug the other man immediately gave him, and he wasn’t sure whether it was to comfort him or Holcomb.
They sat there, discussing everything under the sun to pass the time. Dylan had parents and a little brother who he visited in the off-season, but they weren’t extremely close. Time and miles between them had caused a distance with his family members. Within the three and a half hours he talked with Holcomb, the man knew more about Dylan than any of his actual family.
When the doctor finally came and told them everything had gone as expected, a giant weight was lifted off Dylan’s chest. They just had to wait for the anesthesia to wear off, and then they’d be able to see her.
“I knew Casey was too hard-headed to let surgery give her any problems, but it’s good to hear from a doctor that I was right all along.”
“I hate to tell you this, Holcomb, but no one’s right all the time. I’m ecstatic to hear this time things worked out. I told her I loved her before I was shooed out of the room, but I still feel I’m proving that to her.” For Dylan, it was important that Casey knew his feelings. He knew she didn’t understand them, he wasn’t sure he really did, but the talk about him running off with nurses had to stop.
“Patience is key when it comes to my daughter. She’s used to people leaving her, starting with me. There were times when she was growing up that I was off for six months to a year. She never said anything, but I know she didn’t believe I was coming back for her.”
“Maybe that’s why I haven’t let her out of my sight since the day we met. I want her to know that I’m not going anywhere.”
“I like to hear that, but I’m still kind of curious as to why that is. I wanted Casey to have someone to keep an eye on her for a night, and you’ve gone above and beyond that duty. You’re sitting here in a dreary hospital waiting room, waiting to check on a woman you’ve known for less than a week. Most people would’ve sat this one out at home.”
Dylan had thought they weren’t going to broach the topic of him being there. Holcomb had already told him that he was happy Casey had someone there, but they hadn’t discussed why it was him.
Dylan looked at the institutional-style carpet squares that tried to liven up the waiting area. His eyes had been drawn to them many times, and the more he saw them, the more he couldn’t stand them. There was a television, tuned to some news program, but he didn’t want to watch it, or read any of the magazines covering the tables around him.
He just stared at the tiles and promised himself he’d figure out a way to make sure he didn’t have to see them again. That meant making sure Casey stayed healthy, which was something totally out of his control.
“I’ve already told her this, not that she was thrilled to hear it. The first time her taunts made it to my ears, I knew she was the girl for me. For most of my adult life, people have always said things to please me. You get yourself on the cover of a video game, and all of a sudden it’s hard to tell who’s really your friend. With Casey, I don’t have to wonder if she’s shining me on. She tells me almost every mistake I make, even off the ice. It’s a refreshing change.”
“I’ve seen quite a few players come through who didn’t realize what it means to be a celebrity. You’ve had your fair share of headlines, including the one that roped Casey into the fun.”
Dylan cringed at the reminder. “Yeah, and her reaction to that helped increase our bond. I’ve dated women who thrive on that kind of attention, wanting to go out and be seen all the time. Frankly, that’s exhausting. I spent the last week helping Casey renovate her house, so she could get around easier without full use of her arms, and that wasn’t as tiring as being on all the time for reporters and photographers.”
“I’m surprised you convinced her to change anything. That house is a lifelong dream for her. We moved around so much when she was young, that we never had roots anywhere. I think the longest she was in a single place was when she was off at college. Having roots is important to her. She’s got land and a home that she built with her two hands. That’s basically all she’s ever wanted.”
“And she’s told me that dream never included sharing it with someone.” Dylan had heard Casey say that at least ten times.
“Nope. You’re a wildcard. She doesn’t really talk to me about this stuff, but I have the scary ability to be able to read between the lines when it comes to my daughter. As she’s gotten older, she decided the only reason to let a man into her life was to get married, and that involved having children. I’m sure you know she’s not willing to have kids, so she’s taken herself out of the game.”
“I’ve noticed she’s got a few defense mechanisms set up.”
“A few? I’m still not sure how you managed to get through the mountain she puts between her and everyone else. How soon did she tell you she had cancer?”
Dylan hesitated a second before answering. He felt bad that he’d know before Holcomb, but it wasn’t up to him to share the news.
“She’d known for days that the results came back positive, so it wasn’t like she ran out and told me the second she knew. When we were getting ready for the ball, she wanted to try to ensure I didn’t get an
y ideas that the date was anything more than a setup.”
“I suppose that makes sense, since you said you’ve spent about a week renovating. If she wanted to recruit someone to help, she’d have to give a reason good enough to make a complete stranger stick around.”
Dylan looked away from the floor, over to the other man. He didn’t appreciate that he implied Casey was using him.
“Casey didn’t have any plans of making the house more accessible for her. She thought she could get by climbing that ladder every day, but I saw the problem with that the moment I walked in the door. I recommended we make legitimate stairs and a second loft area for me to sleep in. You don’t know how much I had to fight to get that loft put in.”
“Calm down,” Holcomb said, reaching a hand over to put on Dylan’s shoulders. “I’m a father, so I’m just testing you to see where your head is at. I’ve been testing you all morning, and you’ve passed with flying colors. We both needed something to keep our minds occupied, so I thought quizzing my daughter’s boyfriend seemed appropriate.”
Dylan had known Holcomb was trying to gather as much information as he could. Thankfully before he could tell Holcomb he only cared about the tests Casey had for him, a nurse in colorful scrubs appeared in front of them.
“She’s awake and asking for you.”
The nurse’s eyes were on Dylan, but with Holcomb there, he thought maybe he should go back to see her first. A few minutes to unwind from the inquisition would’ve been useful. Holcomb had a way of grilling you that made it so you didn’t notice, a fact Dylan was just beginning to realize.
“Did you tell her that her father is here? I’m sure she’d like to see him first.”
Even after the week they’d had, Dylan thought Holcomb rated a little higher than he did.
“She requested the one with hair, so I assume she knows there’s more than one of you out here.”