Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) (56 page)

Her mom.

After learning of her new diagnosis, which was a very mild case of hypercalcemia, Lacey walked with Rachel to the car in silence. There was so much information that Dr. Bellows had overloaded her with, and while she was glad it wasn’t cancer, hypercalcemia seemed like a pain in the ass. A manageable pain in the ass, but a pain nonetheless. She was going to be fine though, and she was thankful for that. Just a new morning med and blood work every month to make sure her levels were good.

“That was intense, but I am so glad you are okay,” Rachel said, wrapping her up in a tight hug.

Smiling, Lacey hugged her back tighter. “Me too, thank you for coming and driving me insane.”

“Anytime. I’m sorry I had to be your stand-in for you husband,” she said, and the way she said it was almost like a jab. Or maybe she was being paranoid like Karson. She wasn’t sure, but one thing was for certain, she didn’t like the way Rachel said that.

“No reason to drag him all the way here for nothing. I am fine.”

“You didn’t seem fine. I’m pretty sure you thought you had cancer, but it’s whatever. It’s over with.”

Lacey looked away as she shrugged. “You’re right, it is over with. Got my prescription and I’m ready to get my levels all normal. Thanks anyway for coming.”

“Anytime. I’ll call you. I gotta go meet Zander for lunch.”

“Give him a kiss for me,” Lacey said, expecting Rachel to turn to leave but she just kept grinning at Lacey. “What?”

“I love this. I love having you home.”

Lacey smiled as she nodded. “Yeah, but it’s only for six more days. Then I’m off to go back home.”

Rachel’s brows furrowed as she shook her head. “No, this is your home.”

“No, my home is where my husband is.”

Rachel looked down as her shoulders fell. “I thought being here would remind you that this is your home.”

Lacey’s heart picked up in speed. “What does that mean?”

“I just thought being here would help make you want to stay.”

“Is Karson here?” Lacey asked, her blood pressure rising. “Because last time I checked, he lived in Nashville, which means I live there too. That’s my home.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, and something inside Lacey broke. How dare she!

“So what, you were playing me? Just trying to get me to come back? Ugh! Karson was right,” she yelled roughly, throwing the door open to her car.

“Whoa, what? What is Karson right about?” Rachel said, taking ahold of Lacey’s arm.

She jerked her arm away, glaring at Rachel as she yelled, “That you were just being nice to me to try to manipulate me to come back!”

“Whoa! Never, not at all, Lacey. I meant every word! But I did think that if you came home earlier and stayed for a while, you might not want to leave,” she said ashamedly.

“Why would you think that, though? Or hope it? Would you leave Grady if the roles were reversed?”

Rachel shook her head quickly, a perplexed look on her face. “No, hell no.”

“Exactly. I’m married now. I live in Nashville with my husband. I love being here with you and my family, but Karson is home.”

Rachel slowly nodded. “You’re right. I was wrong to think that. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Lacey said, her heartbeat slowing a little. Her face was still hot with anger, but she could see that Rachel meant it. “I love him.”

“I know. I just thought you loved us and here more.”

“Don’t put that on me; that’s wrong. Don’t make me choose.”

Rachel nodded again. “I don’t mean to, it’s just hard. I wish he were here so you could stay.”

“That would be ideal, but it’s not the case.”

“Maybe one day,” she said with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, maybe,” Lacey agreed, but she’d never admit how she wished that would happen. She would love to move back to Chicago, but only if Karson were with her. She doubted he would ever move to the Hawks, but she couldn’t help but wish he would. It would make the issues in her life disappear, but then he wouldn’t be happy, and she didn’t want that.

“I’m really sorry, Lacey. I don’t know what Karson said, but I have a feeling he doesn’t trust me because of your dad. But I promise, I have your best interests at heart,” she said and Lacey shrugged.

“It’s just hard right now with us being apart. He knows you are a good person,” Lacey said, letting out a breath. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Wrapping her arms around Lacey, Rachel hugged her as Lacey squeezed her back. “I’m glad you are okay.”

“Me too,” she whispered, hugging her best friend tighter. “Okay, go on, Zander is waiting.”

“All right, call me later,” Rachel said with a grin as they parted, getting her keys out of her purse.

“Will do,” Lacey agreed before getting into her car and shutting the door. Leaning the back of her head against the headrest, she closed her eyes, letting the weight of the world fall away. She had been so nervous, scared, and mad that her life could be turned back upside down. Thankfully, it was something mild and manageable, but the fear she had been trying to keep in check all weekend still burned in her chest.

“Well, that was a tense couple hours,” she said to herself before opening her eyes and turning the car on. As she pulled out of the parking spot, she picked up her phone and headset to call Karson. She really should tell him about everything, but then she thought it would be better to tell him in person. Even though there wasn’t anything seriously wrong, she knew he would be upset that she hadn’t told him, and she wanted to be there to assure him she was okay.

When he answered, she smiled. “Hey lover,” she cooed.

“Hey baby, what were you doing?”

“Just a checkup at the doctor, no biggie. Had to change everything over, and I got a referral to a good doctor in Nashville,” she said brightly.

When he paused, she knew he thought the worst and immediately said, “I’m fine, Karson, I promise.”

“Okay, cool, that’s good you got a doctor in Nashville.”

“Yeah, I’m good with it,” she agreed. “How’re you holding up? How’s JT?”

“Funny you should ask. He’s as angry as ever and going to have another surgery in the morning.”

“Oh crap,” she said, her heart aching for him.

“Yeah, me and a couple of the guys are flying back to Nashville today to try to raise his sprints before flying back out here.”

She paused. “So you’ll be in Nashville?”

“Yup, in a matter of hours. Fucking sucks you won’t be there.”

“Ugh, yeah,” she agreed, her heart sinking. “Now I wish I would have just stayed home.”

“Yeah, but you’re having fun, and I won’t be there but for two hours,” he said, and she wasn’t sure who he was trying to console—her or himself. “I couldn’t cheer JT up and then lay it on you in that small time frame.”

She giggled, her heart skipping a beat. “Yeah, it would take more than two hours to make JT feel better.”

Karson laughed. “This is true, but I was thinking I needed way more time with you.”

“I agree. You would,” she giggled as she turned onto her street. “I still wish I was home.”

“Me too. I’ll see you very soon, and then I am going to need two days to make up for all the sex I’ve deprived you of.”

Oh God, the next six days were going to drag.

And they did.

She was miserable when she was alone, but when she was with Rachel or the girls from the shop, she was actually okay. She didn’t want to ball up and cry because she missed Karson. They distracted her, and she was thankful for that, but she knew that she couldn’t do this every time Karson had to leave. She was going to have to get used to being without him, and that didn’t sit well with her.

When they were younger, she thought she would have this in the bag. She had been ready to be a hockey wife, and she probably would have been already if she had been with him, but being apart for those nine years really hurt them. Now she wanted to glue herself to him and never let him leave. She couldn’t get enough and she knew that it would get better, but in a way she didn’t want it to. She liked that she was so engrossed in him and that she missed him to the extreme. It meant she loved him, and the fact that he felt the same way was refreshing.

They had an all in kind of love and she treasured it.

But her family. Well, that was another story.

“Are you sure you have to leave?” her father asked as he handed her a mimosa. They were at her old family home for brunch before she flew out in a couple hours to be there when Karson got home. To say her body was shaking with anticipation was an understatement. She couldn’t wait to see him. Wrap her arms around him and get lost in his kisses. Not even her family could bring her down. She was finally going to have her husband back.

“Yeah, Dad, I am very sure,” she said with a bright grin. “I get in a two, gives me time to clean before picking Karson up at four. I am very excited.”

She saw Rachel make a face along with her father, and she hated how much it bugged her. When Grady met her gaze, he said, “That’s great. I bet he is excited to see you too.”

Surprisingly enough, Grady was actually being nice about Karson. It was extremely weird, and Lacey wasn’t sure if he was being genuine or not, but she took it and ran. “Yeah, he is. Two weeks is too long without your spouse.”

Grady nodded as he took Rachel’s hand in his. “Yeah, it is.”

“I don’t want you to leave, Lacey,” her father said then. “But I guess every parent has to let go of their child. You’ll be doing the same one day.”

No, she wouldn’t, but she appreciated her father’s sentiment nonetheless.

Smiling at her, he cleared his throat before saying, “Let’s hope he doesn’t mess up and lose you again.”

Biting the inside of her cheek, she shook her head. “He won’t.”

And while she was completely confident in that, she hated the way her family looked at her like she was the dumbest person on earth. As if they all knew that Karson was going to break her and leave her in his dust. She knew he wouldn’t though, and she didn’t care what they thought.

Karson loved her and she was going to see him in a matter of hours.

Karson’s leg hadn’t stopped bouncing since he left Minnesota.

He was ready to get off this plane, away from his teammates, and into Lacey’s arms. It had been a long fourteen days without her, and he was ready to be home with her. He had to leave again in four days for a game in Florida, but he’d only be gone for two days. He wasn’t in the least bit worried about that trip because Lacey was going to go with him. It was going to be great. He was going to get her in a little bikini and throw her in the ocean.

That was his plan.

When they got back though, their families would be flying in, and then it would be time for their first holiday together. While he was excited for their first milestone together, he sure as hell wished they could do it without her family. He still didn’t trust them. Especially since every time he talked to her, she would say how much fun they were having and how they were all spoiling her. He knew what they were doing. Trying to make Chicago more appealing so she would stay, but his baby proved them wrong.

She was waiting for him.

He really wasn’t sure why he was so nervous about it all. His mom was right and he knew he was overreacting, but man, it was hard. He just hadn’t realized it was going to be that tough. All everyone kept saying was that he was going to get worse once they had kids, and that honestly terrified him. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and left with her; how in the world could that get worse? He wasn’t sure, but still, he couldn’t wait for that moment.