Page 65 of Fought and Freed

Lucca walked over to where she stood with Torr. “Maddy, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.” They walked to her room. “What’s up?”

“You told me that Ryan gave you his knife, but that you lost it in the fire.” He handed her a box with a ribbon on it. “Open it.”

She frowned. “I didn’t have time to get you anything.”

He touched her shoulder. “That’s fine. I wasn’t thinking of this as a Christmas gift.”

She took the ribbon off and opened the lid. Inside was a knife exactly like the one Ryan gave her; the only difference was the color.

“Our dad gave us those knives at the same time.” Lucca’s eyes looked sad. “We thought we were the coolest kids around.”

She shook her head. “I can’t take your knife.”

“You’re not taking it, I’m giving it to you.” He took the knife and put it in her hand. “I don’t use it. It’s been in a drawer for years. This way, you won’t have to learn on a new one.”

Maddy clutched the knife to her chest. “Thank you, Lucca. This means a lot to me.”

“Come on, guys, you’re going to miss the ball drop!” Ace yelled from the living room.

They headed out to the deck, and Maddy couldn’t believe her eyes.

Every deck in the hotel had people on it.

They started counting from ten, and when they reached one, everyone yelled, “Happy New Year!”

As the city set off fireworks, Maddy kissed each of her guys and hugged Lucca and Torr. She sent a quick text to Grant, too, but while the message said it was delivered, he didn’t respond.

Lucca and the team weren’t allowed to stay much longer past midnight. Their coach wanted them to go to bed by one AM.

“Good luck tomorrow!” Maddy told Lucca and his teammates.

“Don’t eat between the parade and bowl,” Lucca called as they headed back inside to return to their own rooms.

Maddy was still outside, enjoying the view, when Skylar slipped his arms around her. “Having fun, baby?”

“Yeah, I am. It’s so beautiful out here.” She hugged his arms. “I’m a little worried about Grant, though. He hasn’t answered my text.”

“I understand that Grant is a good friend, but you have no control over what he does,” Skylar said, sounding like he was talking from personal experience. “If he’s out drinking and doing drugs right now, that’s on him, not you.”

“I understand that. It’s just hard.” She leaned back against him. “He was there for me in rehab.”

“You have a big heart.” Skylar’s head dropped to her shoulder, and he gazed out over the city. “We should come out here again to experience a California summer.”

Maddy smiled. “I like that plan.”

“Come sit down with me for a bit.” He led her over to the chaise lounge, sat first, then held his hand out for her.

She settled between his legs, and they watched the city lights together.

After a few minutes of silence, he said, “I wanted to thank you.”

She turned her head toward him. “For what?”

“For being you.” He hugged her closer. “Most women wouldn’t be so understanding that another girl might be having their boyfriend’s baby.”

“It’s not like you cheated on me.” Maddy shook her head. “This happened before we met, and no matter what, it’s still a part of you.”

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