“That’s long shot,” Jarrett said.
“Either way,” Thor said. “Bryant’s got this.” And it was true. He might even be a better enforcer than Thor. Bryant fought when he had to and backed off when he didn’t. Thor fought when he could because it felt good.
“So,” Mikhail said, “now that you are the true Fair-Haired Child, what do you hear about this Massachusetts move?”
“Honestly, I don’t have any inside information. I didn’t know until Packi told me a few minutes ago who the prospective buyer might be.”
“Blackstone,” Bryant said.
Thor nodded. “The night the news broke about our marriage—and before we had had a chance to tell them—Pickens threatened me that he was definitely selling but contingent on the new owner refusing to renew my contract. But it didn’t mean anything. I don’t think he wants to sell, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.”
“Then why?” Robbie, who could never conceive of doing something he didn’t want to, asked.
“I think it’s just like he says. He has too much going on.” He wouldn’t bring up Pickens’s potential health issues. That wasn’t his to tell.
“I don’t think it will happen,” Sparks said, ever hopeful. “I think we will win the cup and he’ll have a change of heart.”
Thor exchanged glances with Mikhail and Glaz. He saw that they, too, knew this was not their year.
“If he sells, what will you all do? Will you go?” Thor asked.
“We don’t have a choice,” Bryant said. “But I don’t like it. Gabriella has been offered a chance to buy a share in the bakery in Beauford where she has been doing her apprenticeship. She loves it there and she’s established. But right now, we’re on hold. We have to wait to see what Pickens is going to do before Gabriella makes a career decision.”
Emile shrugged. “I do not like leaving Nashville. We have our new house. But if we move, we move. Amy says we just need a roof over our heads and a fence for our dog. It doesn’t matter where it is.”
“Amy’s a Southerner,” Sparks said. “She doesn’t know what it’s like to live up there in the cold.”
“Neither do you,” Robbie pointed out.
“But I’ve traveled there,” Sparks said. “That’s more than enough for me.”
“It would be hard,” Jarrett said. He’d been engaged to Merry a matter of weeks. “Merry has another year of law school at Vanderbilt. She can’t leave. There would be a lot of commuting back and forth, but we will make it work. If we have to.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad for us,” Mikhail said. “Sharon’s parents are in Boston, so that would be good. That said, we don’t want to uproot the kids from the only home they’ve ever known, plus Sharon’s real estate business is doing well here. But I have to play hockey, and I have to go where the hockey is.”
“I won’t go,” Glaz said.
“What?” was the chorus that radiated from the group.
“I’m not going to Massachusetts.”
“You’ll ask for a trade?” Robbie asked.
“No. I’m not going anywhere. My Noel is a very fine artisan and she is established in Beauford. People come from all over the country to visit her quilt shop. And we have made a home there. We have friends. It’s where we want to bring up Anna Lillian and—hopefully—perhaps a brother or sister for her.”
“But you wouldn’t be playing hockey,” Emile said.
“That’s right.”
“What would you do?” Jarrett asked. “You can’t just do nothing.”
Glaz shrugged. “I will do what I would have done after retiring in a few years. Maybe help my Noel in her shop.”
That got some laughs.
“She would run you into the street with a pair of scissors,” Emile said.
Glaz smiled. “Possibly. Maybe I would become a waiter at Cracker Barrel.” Thor wasn’t sure he was kidding. Glaz loved Cracker Barrel and was known for being frugal. Maybe Cracker Barrel waitstaff got discounts. “Maybe I would coach, maybe establish a junior team here.” He looked at Thor. “Maybe Thor and I could start a business—maybe a car wash, a taco truck, or one those pedal bars that tour Nashville.”
Thor laughed along with everyone else, but it all raised an interesting question. What would he do? He might be an old man in the NHL, but only there. He couldn’t spend the next fifty years idle. He just couldn’t see himself dispensing beer to bachelorette parties from a bar hooked up to bicycles.
Tradd sat in a chair in the music room while her sorority sisters held hands and circled her as they sang. The smell of the candles and the gardenias they had piled on her lap was making her queasy.
This was actually a combination of the engagement and wedding rituals and it was sweet of them to do it, but she really needed some food. She tried to catch the eye of each woman and smile as they circled around her, but watching them spin was making her dizzy. She finally had to close her eyes. But once she couldn’t see, the smell of the candles and gardenias became stronger.
Finally, it was over. Her sorority sisters were laughing, applauding, and closing in on her. Someone took her hand to admire her rings.
And that’s when the lights went out.
Tradd wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she felt a cold cloth on her head and heard someone say, “I’ll get her husband.”
That brought her out of it. “No! Don’t get him.” She opened her eyes to see concerned faces staring down at her. She was lying on the silk upholstered sofa in the music room. They must have carried her there. She tried to sit up. “I’m fine.”
“Lie back,” Kelsey Lamon said. “Let me look at you.”
That’s right. Kelsey was a doctor—a pediatrician, if Tradd remembered correctly.
“Val.” Kelsey said over her shoulder. “Will you get my bag from my car?”
Some things never changed. Kelsey and Valerie were still joined at the hip.
“Don’t let anyone see you bring it in,” Tradd said.
“Quiet and be still.” Kelsey began to take her pulse. Satisfied with that, she inundated Tradd with questions: When had she last eaten? What had she had to drink? Was she sleeping? Was she stressed?
Once Valerie returned, Kelsey took her blood pressure and did a blood sugar test.
“All that looks fine,” Valerie said. “When did you last see your ob-gyn?”
She thought back. “Monday. Five days.” How was that possible? So much had happened since then.
Kelsey nodded and put her equipment away. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think you need some food and something to drink and some rest. But you need to call your doctor and tell him what happened. He’ll want to look you over. And if you faint again, you need to go to the ER.”
Tradd nodded obediently. Kelsey hadn’t told her anything she didn’t already know.
Kelsey stood up. “And, Tradd, I know this has been an exciting time, but you need to slow down now. Reduce the stress. Now, you stay there. I’m going to go find you something to eat.”
“Do you want me to go?” Bibi offered.
Kelsey laughed. “No, Bibi. She needs some protein and healthy carbs. You’ll come back with a plateful of chocolate.”
Carson pressed a glass of water into her hand. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get Thor? Or your mother?”
“No! And please, everyone. Don’t tell anyone.”
“But you’ll do what Kelsey asked?” someone said.
“Absolutely.”
“You look tired,” Thor said as they entered the condo.
“I am tired, Lars. It’s late. It’s time to be tired. Aren’t you tired?” She laid her purse on what he’d come to think of as the purse table and ran her fingers through her hair.
He spread his hands. “Look, I want to call a truce. I still don’t feel good about you taking this trip, but I don’t want you to leave with things tense between us.” He had taken Packi’s advice to heart. Besides, the two of them being at odds couldn’t be go
od for Tradd.
She looked at the floor. “I don’t want that either.” She bit her bottom lip. “I have an idea. You could fly out for the last couple of days. You could see me perform and maybe we could spend a few extra days in California—that is, if you want.”
Calm settled over him. Yes. If the tour was nearly over, everything would be fine. He would concentrate on that.
“I would like that,” he said. “And you won’t be taking another trip until after September?”
“No,” she said. “My plan is to hire a stylist, write some songs, get back in the studio—and get ready for the baby. September will be here before we know it.”
He nodded. September meant preseason games, but The Sound would likely be gone, so he would be watching on television. But in September the baby would here and his worries could cease.
“Why don’t you get into bed? I’ll be in soon.” He wanted to shave so he wouldn’t chafe her skin when he made love to her.
But he needn’t have bothered. By the time he slipped into bed beside her, she was sound asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tradd woke up feeling at the top of her game. She didn’t even feel like she needed the tea and toast that Lars brought her, but she ate it anyway. They had ended on a fairly good note last night.
Things would have been so much simpler if she had not fallen in love with him. It had been a gradual realization, but there was no other explanation for her irrational feelings when he didn’t say the right thing to her. The old Tradd was no stranger to irrational behavior, but it was usually anger. This was very different. It hurt her when he didn’t respond as she would like. She just needed to get past caring that he didn’t return her feelings.
She would have so much more than most people had—her career, her baby, and a hot, decent man for a husband. What did it matter that he didn’t love her, that they would have never landed in this place if not for his miracle child? If she could just calm down and concentrate on what she had and not on what she didn’t, this relationship would endure.
Lars had already proven he would do anything for this baby. Staying married would be best for the baby. Having an amiable relationship would be best for the baby. So that’s what Lars would do.
“Do you want something more to eat?” he asked as he took the plate and cup from her.
“No.” But then she remembered the night before when she hadn’t eaten enough. And she had a lot to do today. She and Carson had discussed it and decided on simple performance clothes—jeans and, since it was a college tour, a T-shirt from each school. She’d just have to be sure not to wear the wrong shirt at the wrong school. Jackson’s manager, Ginger, was arranging to get a shirt from each school on arrival, but she needed to shop for more jeans and a couple of just-in-case dresses. And there was packing to do. “Maybe I would like something more to eat.” She got out of bed. “But I’ll make something for both of us.” She wanted to please him. Then she had another thought. “What would you think of planning a trip to see your family? As soon as the baby is old enough to travel?”
“But that would be in the middle of the season …” His voice trailed off as he remembered the season wouldn’t affect him. “Sure. That would be great.”
“So how do you like your eggs?” It struck her odd that she was married to a man and she didn’t know how he liked his eggs.
“Over easy,” he said.
It was almost noon on Monday. Time to take Tradd to the airport, but she hadn’t returned from her last-minute errand—though where she’d gone he didn’t know. She’d been vague and insisted it wasn’t something he could do for her.
Someone from the Beauford organization had picked up most of Tradd’s luggage early this morning, but her small carry-on waited by the door. Thor gave it a hard stare. Maybe if he hid it, she couldn’t go.
But too late. She came rushing through the door.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know it’s time to go.”
“We have time. I doubt they will leave without you.”
“Ha! Don’t be too sure.” She was excited and happy. He wished he could catch it, but he couldn’t.
“I need to pee,” she announced, just as the phone rang. She hit the answer button and said, “Hello?” as she walked toward the bedroom.
“Hi, Tradd. This is Kelsey.” The phone was on speaker. “I just have a second but I wanted to check in and make sure you talked to your doctor about fainting Saturday night.”
Fainting? Saturday night? Tradd looked up and met his eyes.
“Uh, Kelsey. I did. All is well. Just like you said.”
Fainting? Saturday night? There was a tornado in his head.
“Good. You take care of yourself. Be sure to eat, drink, and get enough rest.”
Fainting Saturday night? The tornado moved to his gut.
“Kelsey, I have to go. I’ll call you soon.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Then Tradd turned, walked out of the room, and into the hall bathroom. That was fair. She’d said she had to pee.
He didn’t move, but let her find him exactly where he’d been when she went to restroom.
“So you fainted Saturday night? I assume at the party from hell?” he said.
“Yes.” She looked sheepish.
“When were you going to tell me?”
“I wasn’t.”
“You weren’t? You don’t think as your husband and the father of the child, I had a right to know?”
She lifted her chin. “No. I did not. Because it was nothing. I was stressed out, tired, and I hadn’t had enough to eat or drink. Then my sorority sisters took me into that room for the ritual—”
“What ritual?”
“The engagement and marriage ritual, though it was sort of mishmashed together. I can’t tell the particulars. It secret.”
“I give not a damn about little girl secrets as long as they were not things that would harm my child. Now, on to the fainting.”
Her face turned scarlet. “As I said, we were in the room—the music room. There were candles and flowers. The smell got to me. It was hot. I got dizzy watching them dance around me. And I fainted. That’s all. It could have happened to anybody.”
“Anybody? And you didn’t think this was worth mentioning to me?”
“No. I did not. Kelsey was there. She’s a doctor. She said I was dehydrated and needed to eat and rest.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a smart woman. And you intend to do that how, as you prance up and down the length of California?”
“They have food and water in California, Lars. And beds. I intend to take care of myself.”
“Just like you took care of yourself on Saturday. This Dr. Kelsey. She said something about seeing your doctor. And I suppose you ignored that, as you ignore me.”
Her face got mean. “As a matter of fact, I did not. I called him and went to see him this morning. He agrees that I can make this trip as long as I eat, drink, and rest as I should.”
“Then he is a fool!”
“And I suppose he would be a genius if he agreed with you.”
“Tell me, Tradd, did you find the only doctor in Nashville who agrees with you? Who believes it’s all right to put a career ahead of your child?”
“What did you say?” She was breathless and her eyes were North Pole cold.
Fine. He stood by his words. He didn’t mind repeating them. “I said—”
“Stop.” She put a hand up. “I heard you and how dare you? If I had wanted to put my career ahead of this child, I could have had an abortion and you would have never known a thing about it.”
The thought made him lightheaded. It must have shown.
“Yeah,” she said. “Let that sink in. I know you love this baby and wanted him from the second you knew, and a lot of men wouldn’t. But you have no right to assume you know how I feel. If I thought for one second I was putting my child in danger, I wouldn’t go on this trip. But I know my body. I know I am fine. And what’s more,
medical professionals agree with me.”
She backed up and dropped into a chair. She didn’t look so angry anymore. She looked heartbroken. He wanted to go to her but knew better.
“This isn’t going to work.” She said it like she had just made a brand-new surprise discovery, and she seemed to talking more to herself than to him. “I thought it would be okay, but you only care about the baby. You don’t care about me at all.”
“That’s not true.” If you lose the baby, you will have no reason to stay with me. I will lose everything.
“I know I have no right to expect you to love me. Why should you? It was just sex. I thought I knew the rules and it would be okay. But it won’t.” She stood up with a very resolved air about her.
“What are you saying?” he asked. This was going too fast with all this talk of love. She had never mentioned love.
“I’m saying this won’t work. You and me. Oh, don’t worry. I won’t try to deprive you of this baby. No matter what you think of me, that’s not who I am. Joint custody all the way. But I am jumping off this sham of a merry-go-round marriage. It’s best that you don’t join me in California. And it’s best if you don’t drive me to the airport.” She walked to the door and picked up her bag. “Don’t be here when I get back. In fact, don’t be here an hour after I leave. It’s not like you don’t have anywhere to live.”
And she slammed the door before he could say another word.
He’d been wrong. He wouldn’t lose everything if she lost the baby. He already had.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tradd sat alone in the middle of the plane. San Francisco and Berkeley were in the books. Now they were headed to the southern part of the state. They would have a one-day break. Then they’d play LA on Friday, Santa Barbara on Saturday, and San Diego on Monday. Then home—but to what?
She hadn’t heard from Lars. She’d begun to text him a few times but deleted the messages instead of sending them. He’d been right about one thing: this was hard. But she’d been careful to eat healthy and drink plenty of water, and she’d bought a monitor so she could check her blood pressure.
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