Page 56 of Dump and Chase

She tilted her head and groaned. “You’re not getting it. What happened is none of your business. I don’t have to tell you anything. So if you hear gossip from ten other people, that’s ayouproblem. I just …” She trailed off. “I’m trying to move on with my life. We’re having a kid together, so that will keep us forever connected, but I can’t go back to what we had, and right now, I’m not sure we can even be friends.”

"Tang, come on, we’ll always be friends,” I said, shock reeling through me.

She took another second to collect herself. “I don’t think you comprehend how much you’ve hurt me, Ethan. We were together for seven years and like the idiot I was at the time, I put my life on hold for you. And all I wanted was to get married, and you refused. You said you were never going to get married. And when I’m finally over it, you come waltzing back into my life, sleep with me, and then act surprised that I think it might mean something—and then you tell me you’re getting married toBrandi.How do you think that made me feel?”

I could see all the pain on her face and it was wrecking me up inside. “Tang, I matured a lot after you left—”

“Screw you! I thought what we had was special, but it wasn’t special enough to marry me. So I owe you nothing. I gave you everything I had for seven years. I’m done. So stay the fuck out of my life.” And with that she stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Tangi

Ethan came with me for my first doctor’s appointment in Vancouver and we barely spoke to each other the entire time. I was so hurt and frustrated with him. He really didn’t see, even now, how he’d strung me along, refused to talk about marriage with me, then turned around and asked someone else—someone who was so fundamentally wrong for him—to marry him? I had no words for it, and it hurt like hell.

I put it all aside for the doctor’s appointment. Dr. Mehta was just as lovely as Dr. Duncan. She did an exam and told me everything looked great and that my pregnancy was progressing normally. She scheduled an ultrasound the following month, then asked if I had any questions.

“I know you’re saying that everything looks great, but I haven’t gained much weight,” I said.

Dr. Mehta smiled as she finished typing up my file. “You’re in excellent shape, and having a smaller frame, it’s normal not to be showing as much. But your baby is right where he or she should be.”

I took that as good news because while all my clothes were getting a little tighter and I’d started browsing for maternity pants online, the baby was healthy.

Once we were back at the condo, I went to work. More than ten days had passed since our epic blowout. Fortunately, Ethan had been gone for some of it, but now he was back, and I had a few days with him before I headed to Minneapolis for Wolseley’s restaurant opening. I decided to keep my distance and do my own thing.

At work, the Ravens roster was nearly complete. Every day a few more players were let go, and for the some, the Ravens had been a last chance at the big leagues. I’d tried not to get attached to anyone since they could be gone any second, but it was still sad to see their dejected faces.

“I think Warde is pushing himself too hard,” Jim said when I got to our office. He didn’t always bother with the pleasantries and he didn’t seem to get attached to players either. I had to stop caring too.

“Why is that?” I asked, setting my bag down. I had to edit what I was bringing to work. Between a huge bottle of water, lunch, snacks, ginger candies, and a change of clothes, it was like dragging luggage around.

“He wants to be on the ice by the end of October,” Jim said without looking up from his iPad. “Playing games.”

“I’ve already told him that he’s looking at mid-November. That hasn’t changed.”

“He’s not telling you, but he’s hurting because he’s pushing too hard. If he reinjures himself, that’s on us.”

“I appreciate you telling me. I’ll see if I can get through to him.”

I’d planned to examine him that afternoon and do his treatment, so the timing worked out.

My first Ravens patient was Rosseau, the team’s top left winger, who often went back and forth between the Ravens and Kodiaks throughout the season. He’d been nursing a sore shoulder that needed treatment. Next was Orlov, the young Russian kid who’d nearly made the Kodiaks. He had pulled a hamstring and every time I worked on it, the kid got a little excited, then embarrassed. I was fairly certain he didn’t have a girlfriend or much of a personal life, so any female attention was more than he’d experienced. I made sure to be cool with it because the kid was mortified.

“I am so sorry, Ms. Kildare. Please don’t tell anyone.” There was so much desperation in his big blue eyes.

“Of course not. Don’t worry. It’s all strictly confidential. Tell you what, I’m going to head out for a few minutes to get a snack. You take your time in here, and when you’re ready, I’ll be back to take you to the gym and show you some exercises.”

With that bit of drama out of the way, and after showing Ilya some exercises to loosen up his hamstrings, I prepared my exam room for Brandon.

“Hello, Tangi,” he said with a smile. He knew the drill and got on my exam table without me having to ask.

“Hey, Brandon. How’s everything going?”

“Not bad,” he said, getting himself settled.

I started my exam and was more thorough than ever. Brandon didn’t seem to notice at first, but after I’d covered every inch of his body, and not in any way he’d enjoy, he got a little fidgety.

“What’s up? You seem to be concerned about something.”

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