Page 34 of Shoot Your Shot

“All right,” she whispers, searching my face. “You?”

“Same, I guess.” I shrug.

She bobs her head up and down, but I can see the sadness written all over her face. Hell, I can even feel it. We’ve always been in sync like that, and some things never change.

“You’re lying,” I utter, holding her eyes with mine.

“So are you.”

“Yeah, I am.” I sigh sharply. “I slept like shit.”

“Do you want the spare bedroom?” She pauses. “Theotherspare bedroom. Like … your usual-sleeping-spot spare bedroom?”

I look at her face, letting my eyes roam over her freckles and her cherry-red lips for a moment. “Buttercup, I’ve slept like shit for a year and a half. Nothing new there.” I shock her when I reach across the table, putting my hand over hers. “But yesterday? That fight? I called you a …” I look down. “I don’t even want to say it, Paige. But I fucked up. And I’m sorry.” I shrug. “Doesn’t matter if we’re together or not. I don’t want to fight with you like that. I just … I got pissed off when I found out you were living in Boothbay. But the truth is, I don’t know if I was mad that you were that close and I hadn’t known or if I was just ass-hurt that I know so little about your life now.”

Tears fill her eyes, and she blinks them free, making them roll down her cheeks. “I should have mentioned sooner—and on my own—that I’ve been living in Maine. I didn’t know how to bringit up.” She shrugs. “But for what it’s worth … you kind of are an asshole.”

I breathe out a laugh, grinning slightly. “I’ve been told that a time or two.”

She sits up straighter, not pulling her hand away from mine, which surprises me. “Kolt, I think my being here is causing you too much stress.” She pauses. “I’d like to give you a lift to your appointment today and stay until your mom arrives—or at least until you can make other arrangements. But I think for the sake of your recovery, I should leave. Because you’re not just trying to fix your heart … you’re also trying to smooth everything over between us so that we can coexist in this house.” She looks around sadly. “Our house.” She shakes her head. “It’s heavy. All of it. And it’s not what you need right now. At all.”

I know I can’t waste any more time. She’s going to leave again, and this time … she probably won’t come back unless I have another heart attack, which I’d really like to avoid at all costs.

So, I decide right now that as soon as this appointment is over, I’m going to ask her to stay. And I’m going to be honest with her too. Because if I keep hiding the truth from her, once it does come out, she might never forgive me for keeping it in for so long.

“Let’s just hear what the doctor has to say, and then I’ll figure out my next steps, okay?” I ask her, dipping my head down slightly. “But for whatever it’s worth, having you here is the only thing keeping me sane. I mean that. And I really am sorry. And for a whole lot more than the shit I said last night.”

She nods weakly, sniffling a bit. “Thanks. Me too.”

“You look great, Kolt,” the doctor says, pulling his stethoscope away from my chest. “The few tests we did came back fine, but we need you back here in about ten days for a follow-up to repeat the tests all over again though, just to ensure everything keeps improving.”

“Another follow-up? I thought this was the follow-up,” I utter, looking straight ahead. “I’m probably good as new. The past three days, I’ve felt fucking perfect. The best I have since … the heart attack.”

Stepping back, he leans against the counter. “Don’t get me wrong; you look good. And I’m fine with you resuming a lot of activities. You know, things like walking, driving, doing small workouts, taking a flight of stairs or two, having sex, doing light yard work. All of that stuff? Fine. But until the heart muscle has a little more time to heal, I want you off the ice.”

I glance at Paige and smirk when I find her face is as red as her pretty, plump lips. Her expression almost makes it hurt less that I’m going to be out of the season for at least ten more days.

At least.

“Fuck,” I grumble. “That’s not what I wanted to hear, Doc. At all.”

He bobs his head, giving me a tight-lipped smile. “Trust me, I know. But the heart is debatably the most important organ you’ve got, Kolt. Don’t you want to get back to one hundred percent before you step out on that ice?”

“I’m not sure my heart’s ever been one hundred percent,” I joke, but then I remember what this means.

My team will have ten more days without me.

“Fine. Ten days.” I grimace. “I’ll come back in ten days, and you’ll run your thousands upon thousands of dollars’ worth of tests and tell me I can go back to work.”

“Wait, um …” Paige says, clearing her throat. “If the goal is to get him back on the ice before the end of the season—”

“In ten days,” I say, correcting her.

She gives me ayou can’t actually believe thatlook and then swings her gaze back to the doctor. “We’ve been doing all the exercises you and I talked about. But I think … I think he’s ready for something a little more strenuous. Do I have your blessing to change his exercises? I can email them to you tonight, and if you’re okay with them, he can start them tomorrow.”

Taking out a pad of paper, he scribbles something on it and hands it to her. “That sounds great, Mrs. Kolburne. Here’s the email to send it to.” He glances at me. “You’re lucky to have a wife who’s also a physical therapist. She’s saving you a bunch of money.” He chuckles. “And you get to do your exercises in the comfort of your home and not travel to a stuffy office. Kind of like this one.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t go that far; he might get a bill,” she teases, giving me a small grin and looking at me … not quite how she used to, but not like she did the first day she came to the hospital either.

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