Chapter Sixteen

Sawyer

The waiting room is silent, which is probably why Orval’s next comment feels like it was blasted from a megaphone. “We didn’t get to finish,” he says quietly to Ryan, who’s seated beside him.

And poor Ryan actually glances down. The look on his face is a combination of horror and like he’s going to be sick, poor bastard.

“Grandpa!” Jaime chastises as she tries to mask her discomfort with a laugh.

“Oh, it’s okay, Jaimers. It’ll go down when the pill wears off.” Orval leans back in the chair, his arms crossed firmly over his chest as he closes his eyes. He looks like he’s trying to nap. Except for the fact that his pants are tented in the front.

And no, it’s not like I was trying to look at this point, but that’s not exactly something you can miss when your attention is drawn to it.

I’m probably going to have nightmares now.

“It’s okay if you want to run screaming from the building,” AJ murmurs beside me. “I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

“Are you kidding? I think they’re great. My grandparents died when I was pretty little, so I’d like to think this is just a glimpse at what I’ve missed,” I reply with a casual shrug.

“Oh, I happen to know for a fact that my grandparents are nothing like anyone else’s.”

I chuckle. “Maybe.”

“Tell me more about your family,” she asks. I reach over and touch the soft skin on the inside of her forearm, running the side of my finger up and down her arm. She shutters under my graze, reminding me of how much I really enjoy touching her.

“Well, I was born and raised in Charlotteville. My mom and dad have been married for almost forty years. I have an older sister, Courtney, who works in admissions at the college there, and a younger goofball brother, Dylan, who’s married and works for an advertising agency. I went to college there at University of Virginia before being drafted by the Rangers, and was fortunate enough to play my entire career for the same club.”

“And where does Carrie Doherty fall in all of this?” she asks. No, I don’t really want to talk about my ex-wife, but it’s going to keep coming up until she knows all the details.

I exhale slowly and look her way. “I met her during my fifth year with the Rangers. I went to a New Year’s Eve gala for one of my sponsors in New York and she was there. My agent introduced us, and I guess, as they say, the rest is history.”

She seems to absorb my words, and by the look on her face, is contemplating asking for more details. I mean there are a lot of details. She probably knows what the rag magazines said about my cheating and womanizing for the duration of my marriage, but I hope she also takes the source into consideration.

She opens her mouth to talk, probably to ask me some of the burning questions I know she wants to ask, when Emma and Abby come back into the room. “You’re up, Grandpa. Linkin’s in the hallway outside of the room while they give her the epidural,” Emma tells her son-in-law with a wide smile on her face.

Without saying a word, Brian jumps up from his chair and heads down the hallway.

“Everything okay?” Payton asks through a yawn. I glance at my watch and notice it’s nearing eleven o’clock.

“Fine, fine, Payters. She’s progressing beautifully, though she still has a ways to go. Plus, the focus right now is on Linkin’s hand,” she replies with a bubble of excitement.

“What happened to his hand?” Levi asks.

“Lexi tried to rip it off during one of her contractions,” Abby informs him with a big smile.

“I’ve never seen such a petite little thing bring a big strong hunk of a man to his knees like that,” Emma chimes in.

“Literally,” Abby whispers to Levi.

“The doctor had to check it out and make sure it wasn’t broken,” Emma continues.

“There were tears,” Abby gushes.

“Lexi’s?” AJ asks.

“No, Linkin’s,” Emma finishes. “Anyway, the anesthesiologist just arrived to do her epidural. She’ll be feeling no pain any moment.”

“Good,” Jaime says.

“I don’t know how Linkin was able to sit there and watch her be in pain,” Ryan adds, rubbing Jaime’s shoulders affectionately. The look on his face speaks volumes that it won’t sit well with him when he’s in Linkin’s shoes.

“That man was amazing. Besides the hand incident and the fact the anesthesiologist cleared the room for her epidural, he never left her side. He’s feeding her ice chips and rubbing her back and shoulders. I teared up a little,” Abby says.

“I hope she’s finally able to rest now. That’s why we left,” Emma adds.

“We left because they asked us to go,” Abby clarifies.

“Who asked you to leave?” Meghan asks.

“No one,” Grandma says at the same time Abby responds, “The doctor and nurses.”

“Wait, why did they ask you to leave?” Payton asks her grandma.

“I offered one tiny little suggestion and he got all bent out of shape,” Emma declares.

“One tiny suggestion? You insinuated that he go clean his pipes so he had a clear head,” Abby huffed.

“It’s a proven medical fact, Abs. Men think clearer when they’ve unloaded the gun. Ask Sawyer! He used to perform professionally. Did you have to flog the log before your games so you could achieve peak performance?” This ornery ol’ woman has a wicked gleam in her eyes as she waits to see how I reply.

And cue the very manly blush. I can feel it creep up my neck and tinge my cheeks, especially since all eyes in the waiting room are trained directly on me. Most of the faces have smiles on them as they anxiously await my response. I feel like this is a test, so I make a quick decision in hopes that Emma would appreciate a little humor. “Every game. The more hand to gland combat you engage in, the better you…play.” I throw the old lady a wink just to seal the deal.

“Keeps you from going blind! That’s what my dad used to say,” Orval confirms. “Why do you think I still have twenty-twenty eyesight?”

The guys bust up laughing, while the girls try to decide if we’re kidding or not.

“Hand to gland combat?” AJ asks, fighting her own laughter.

“It was all I could come up with on the fly.”

“I think you did pretty well. They’ll probably adopt you as their long lost grandson at this point. Did you really do that before every game?” she asks, her eyes darkening with desire.

“What if I did?” I whisper against her ear.

“I’d probably want to watch.” Her words shock me, yet don’t, since my little kitten seems to like to walk on the wild side. I feel the warmth of her fingers through the material as she grips my shirt, sending my blood just below my belt. If I’m not careful, Orval won’t be the only one sporting a trouser bat in the waiting room.

But then she drives the nail in my coffin when she leans up on her tiptoes and licks the shell of my ear. “Or maybe even help.”

Fuck. Me.

Oh, she could help all right. I think I wouldn’t mind having both her hands on my–

“Settle down there, boy, or your officer’s gonna be at attention like mine,” Orval says, stepping up behind me.

Well, there goes any boner I’m probably going to have from now until eternity.

We all settle into the room in what is probably going to be a long wait. Over the next hour, everyone speaks casually, but it’s more of an idle chitchat than real conversation. Somewhere around midnight, Linkin came out to call his mom with an update, as well as keep us all posted. Brian never returned to the waiting room, however. He stayed where he was needed most.

At three a.m., with AJ curled up on my chest and softly dozing, Linkin comes in with another update. We wake up the sisters, who are all catching a few winks too, and give him our full attention.

“Everything looks good. She’s almost to eight centimeters and nearly effaced. The doc says it’s almost time,” he looks exhausted, there are bags forming under the big guy’s eyes, but just saying the words seems to give him a second wind.

“How is she?” Meghan asks.

“She’s a fucking rock star,” he replies with a chuckle. “My little Firecracker is…well, she’s simply amazing. Now that they got some drugs in her, she’s powering through like a fucking champ, and she says she’s ready to push.”

“I can’t believe it’s almost time,” Jaime says.

“I promised her I wouldn’t be gone too long,” he says with a smile. “Better get back,” he adds, pointing to her room and heading back down the hallway. “Oh, uh, they do have a helicopter and neonatal team at the children’s hospital in Richmond on standby, just in case. They don’t anticipate anything major, but they’re still being born early. They want to be prepared.” It’s the first time I really see a chink in his armor. The big guy is afraid, yet keeps his own fears hidden from the rest.

I know that look and feeling all too well. When I woke up in the hospital, I did everything I could to not show fear. My parents arrived the morning after the injury and had enough worry and anxiety for all of us. So I kept my cool and composure, even though I was slowly dying inside.

Linkin runs back down the hallway to join the mother of his babies. Grandpa gets up and makes a fresh pot of coffee, pouring cups to anyone who wants one. My body is starting to ache from sitting on these hard plastic chairs, but I’m not complaining. I’m here, with AJ, during a major family moment, and I’ll be honest, it feels good. It’s been a long-damn time since I’ve felt this needed and wanted. Even with Carrie, she had so many people surrounding her, caring for her every whim and need, that she rarely asked me for anything. And if I ever just wanted to hang out and be with her on a random day, she had someplace to be or something to do. Or I was breathing wrong and she found it distracting.

Looking back now, it’s easy to see our marriage wasn’t anything to write books about. Even though we were two people in the public eye, that was about the extent of what we had in common. They say you learn from your mistakes. Ain’t that the truth. I’d never say I regret marrying her, but I definitely wish things would’ve been different.

“You okay?” AJ asks, sliding onto my lap and snuggling in close.

“Perfect,” I tell her honestly, wrapping my arms tightly around her.

“I’m so tired. I can’t wait to go home and stretch out in a real bed.”

“My bed?” I ask, still hopeful that she’s planning to come back with me.

“Depends. Will you be in that bed?”

“I will be in whatever bed you’ll be in,” I reply.

Her eyes are bright under the darkened fluorescent lighting in the small waiting room as she gazes up at me with a knowing look. She knows exactly what I’m picturing, which, of course, is many, many different dirty things. I don’t care how exhausted I am. I still want her. To touch and taste her, her scent wrapped around me like I imagine her legs. The uncontrollable need I feel for her is quickly consuming my every thought. I’m addicted, for sure. It started the night we met and is showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact, if I sat back and allowed myself to really think about it, I’m not sure I want it to slow down. How easily I could drown in everything AJ Summer.

I’m just not sure if that drowning would be my salvation or my demise.

“Oh, I have something to tell you,” I say, adjusting the hold I have on her with my arm.

“Do I want to know?” she quips, though a hint of worry laces her eyes.

“It’s about the football game. Apparently, we were photographed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, someone was across the field. There’s some photos online that appear to have been taken with a long-range lens.”

“Oh.” That’s all she says. One word.

“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into my mess.”

AJ turns in my arm and faces me. “It was bound to happen sooner or later, right? I mean, if we’re going to hang out, then there’s a chance we’ll be spotted, and possibly photographed.” She shrugs her shoulders, as if it really doesn’t bother her much.

I exhale a huge sigh of relief and lean back against the wall. AJ cuddles into my side. “I was worried,” I confess quietly.

“About the photos?”

“Yeah. I was afraid you’d run for the hills at the first sign of those damn paparazzi.”

“It takes more than a few photos to send me packing,” she sasses. “Unless they’re bad pictures.”

Chuckling, I tighten my hold on her. “You couldn’t take a bad picture. You’re gorgeous.” She turns her head and makes a face. AJ crosses her eyes and sticks out her tongue, making us both laugh. “Nope,” I say, leaning down and kissing her nose. “You’re still gorgeous.”

Just after four, Linkin bursts into the waiting room. “I need help!”

“Oh my God, is it Lexi?” Abby begs.

“The babies?” Payton gasps.

“She wants to get married.” We all stop and stare at the man in front of us. “Now.”

“Who wants to get married now?” Ryan asks.

“Lexi! She says she’s not having the babies until we’re married,” he tells us tightly, running his hands through his hair.

“Well, that’s silly. She can’t stop having the babies, can she?” Meghan asks, glancing around the room.

“No, but she says she can’t bring them into the world if we’re not married,” Linkin says, sounding defeated. “This is not how I wanted to ask her to marry me.”

“But you are going to ask her to marry you, right?” AJ asks.

Instead of answering her question with words, he pulls a ring box from his pocket and hands it to her. AJ glances at him, as if seeking permission to open the box, before she does just that. “Holy shitballs,” AJ gasps, glancing down at a pretty impressive rock.

“I’ve had it for months,” Linkin confesses, “but she always said she wanted to wait until after the babies were born before we got married. Now she’s freaking out in there and says she won’t push until we’re hitched. It’s like four a.m. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Let Grandma handle it,” Emma says, stepping forward and patting Linkin on the shoulder.

“What are you going to do?” Payton asks.

“I’m going to marry my granddaughter and the love of her life,” she states plainly and proudly.

“Wait, you? How– When– What?” Abby asks, shell-shocked.

“Oh, I’ve been ordained since I was asked to stand up for Liz and Richard in the seventies,” Emma replies, waving her hand.

“Liz and Richard?” Meghan asks.

“You wanna talk about a bridezilla, you should have seen Liz Taylor. What a diva.” Emma’s matter-of-fact statement makes all of us stop and stare.

“Liz Taylor and…and Richard Burton? You knew Liz Taylor?” Payton seems just as shocked by her question as the rest of us.

“Of course, I did, Payters.”

“Oh, Lizzy. Yes, that woman could kiss like a dream,” Orval adds, breaking the silence with his big knife-wielding statement.

“What!?” Abby, AJ, Payton, and Meghan all gasp.

Emma just seems to wave their question off. “What happens in Vegas, and all that.”

I swear you could hear a pin drop somewhere far off in an entirely different wing of the hospital.

“Anyway, the point is, I can marry you! Of course, it wouldn’t be legal because you don’t have the license,” Emma says happily.

“But we could go through the motions? I could still give her the ring,” Linkin says, his face showing his skepticism like a mask.

“Of course! Let’s get you two unofficially hitched!” Emma claps her hands before swooping down the hallway, Linkin hot on her heels.

Before he enters the room, he turns toward us all. “You might as well all come in. She wouldn’t want to do this without her sisters.”

I feel AJ’s smaller hand slide into mine as she pulls me eagerly to the delivery room. The happiness surrounding the family wraps around my throat and starts to choke me. I’d be a fucking liar if I said I wasn’t affected by the love they all share for each other. Sure, I’m close to my family, but nothing like this. They’ve already made me feel completely welcome and have accepted me as part of their own.

And for the first time since my life–and marriage–went to shit, I want that.

I fucking want it bad.