Holding Huck's Heart (Marco's MMA Boys #3) (11 page)

CHAPTER 20

HUCK

A fucking week. It’s been one damn week since I’ve laid eyes on her and I can’t get her out of my head. I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I think about her. I’ve never had to deal with this shit before, girls come and they go. They always leave satisfied, but they never get inside my head. She has gotten inside of my head for the second time in my life.

The door to the weight room opening interrupts my thoughts. Marco comes in to work out. “So, the attorney’s office called and said that Volkov dropped the lawsuit.”

I lift again. “Yeah, I think Chelsea asked him to do it. I think that was his plan all along, to get her to contact him.”

He nods as he starts lifting. “Probably. Guys like him get off on that shit.”

I shake my head, lying down on the bench for him to spot me while he’s in here. “Yeah, I don’t get it. He’s married and from what I’ve googled about him, his wife is drop dead gorgeous. Why does he have to harass the hell out of Chels? Why can’t he just leave it alone?”

“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 now. 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.