Ryker

Ruby’s forearm is broken so badly it’s almost bent in half, with the top of her hand lying near her elbow.

Nausea hits me so hard I almost lose my postworkout protein shake, but my hand immediately comes up to the side of Ruby’s face to shield the view from her. I don’t need her seeing that again.

Over the next thirty minutes, it’s a circus of activity around my daughter. An IV is started and she’s given pain medication that almost knocks her all the way out, which I’m grateful for. There’s no rubbing dirt in an injury like that. X-rays are done, but they only confirm what the doctor tells me…that it’s a break that’s going to require surgery.

He puts a request into the pediatric orthopedic surgeon on call and estimates that they could book an OR for late afternoon, but that the ortho would make those arrangements. Before he leaves the curtained room, he shakes my hand and says, “You won’t be making the game tonight.”

The game?

Fuck, I’d completely forgotten about it, and as I glance at my watch, I see that I’m supposed to be at the arena in a little less than an hour.

A quick glance over at Ruby, and I see she’s sleeping. I step out of the curtained room, take a deep breath, and make a phone call to Coach Pretore. He doesn’t answer, so I leave him a quick message. I continue through my list of people who need to know what’s going on. I can’t reach our assistant coach or even Alex, although I do reach Sutton. Not much she can do, but she assured me she’d keep trying to reach Alex and would let Kate know so she could handle Violet.

Finally, I call the one person I really don’t want to talk to.

Our assistant GM, Frank Lessier. I’d much prefer to call Gray, because not only is she just nicer to deal with, for some reason I know the sound of her voice would comfort me. But she’s at the MIT conference and can’t be bothered.

I grimace when Frank answers on the second ring. “Lessier.”

“Frank…it’s Ryker Evans.”

“What’s up?” he asks in a clipped tone. For some reason, he doesn’t like me either.

“I’m at the hospital. My daughter has a broken arm and is going into surgery in a few hours. I’m obviously not going to make the game.”

I don’t know why I expect it, but I do. I expect the fucker to show an ounce of sympathy. I expect him to ask details of what happened, and offer to help in any way. Instead, he’s grouchy when he says, “You can’t get someone to come sit with her? Maybe Kate or something?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I growl at him, not giving a shit that he’s one of my superiors. “Are you seriously that much of an asshole?”

Frank is stunned silent, which is a good thing. No telling what else I’d say to him. Instead, I say, “You better contact Max and give him the news. He’s going to want time to prepare.”

I hang up the phone, stuff it into my pocket, and scrub my hands over my face with exhaustion. Did Frank just now represent to me the philosophy of this organization? That a win is more important than our families?

Shaking my head, I start pacing the length of the emergency room. There’s no way. I know without a doubt Gray wouldn’t expect me to be there, even if we were in the final game of the championship.

I stop and pull my phone out. Speaking of Gray…

I send her a quick text. Ruby broke her arm. Bad. Having surgery. Max will be in for me.

I know she’ll text me back as soon as she can. Or call. Yeah, she’ll probably call.

I know this because over the past month since we spent Christmas Day together, things have actually sort of progressed with us. I’m not foolish enough to think I charmed Gray—literally—to the point she’s giving this a real chance. But I do think she’s taken with the feelings that come with being with someone you care about while rocking it between the sheets. The intimacy is new to her, scary at times, but mostly she’s entranced by it.

She’s an honest and up-front woman. She told me as much.

While we still very much need to hide our relationship, we strive to see each other as much as we can. Even though it’s risky for her to come to my room during away games, we still do it. And it’s not just to have sex. There have been a few nights we’ve been so tired because of our schedule we merely lie in bed, cuddle, and talk until one of us falls asleep. It’s always nerve-racking, though, when it’s time for Gray to make her escape.

The easiest way for us to be together has been Gray coming to my house during the day while the girls are at school. I might fix us lunch and we’ll sit and talk, or sometimes we just fuck hard and fast. One day I was up in the management offices to get a copy of a product-endorsement contract and I stopped in briefly just to see Gray. I only intended to say hello, but she beckoned me in and I shut the door behind me.

That led to a quick make-out session that left us both feeling itchy and unsatisfied.

Past that, we talk on the phone a lot. Or text. It’s a daily thing now, and it’s not only habit to include her in my day in some way, but it’s becoming almost a necessity. I think the mere fact that I see Gray as a source of comfort today speaks volumes.

Still…that’s about as far as it goes right now. We can’t go out in public, so I can’t take her out on a date. We can’t see each other on the weekends because I have the girls. While these are things I would do in a heartbeat and say fuck the consequences, I will never push Gray to give me that. I would never do something that could harm her or her career in any way.