Page 21 of Fighting Fate

Maverick blinked, obviously taken aback by the question. He sat. “Do you want to retire?”

Chipper shrugged. “I was just thinking about a conversation I had with Baylor. He asked what people did after losing their titles. It got me curious. You’re the only person I know personally who’s made it as far as I have. So how did you know you were done?”

Maverick leaned back in his seat. “Zander. He always came to every fight. I knew his would be the last face I saw before stepping into the cage and the first face I’d look for when I won. My final match, my gaze immediately found him as soon as it ended. I looked at him and I chose him. It suddenly hit me how many hours, days, weeks I’d spent training. That was time away from him for a ten-second match that meant abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong. It was everything at one point, but not really, because he’s really what’s always been everything. In a flash of clarity, I wanted those moments back I lost trying to be the best.”

“To be fair, for most of us, it’s longer than ten seconds in the ring.”

Maverick laughed. “Even the matches that lasted longer than that weren’t worth the time I lost. It’s just a sport. I love it and I’ll probably never totally walk away. After all, Zander has shit to do during the day that doesn’t involve me, but I don’t want to split my focus anymore. I choose him.”

“I figured it was something like that.”

The door to the medical center inside Zander’s home opened. Corey stepped out. “I’m just running an IV of saline through Baylor to make sure I flush all the dye from his system. Plus, he’s a bit dehydrated now. Thankfully, though, his kidneys look to be functioning perfectly, exactly as I expected.”

Relief flooded through Chipper

“Unfortunately, it’s as I suspected. He has lupus. I’ve run the bloodwork several times. He has all the markers, and he’s had more symptoms than he realized. He said he works so much, he didn’t notice.”

“That sounds about right,” Chipper muttered under his breath. “How is he holding up after the news?”

Corey motioned toward the door. “You can go see for yourself if you’d like.” Chipper took a step toward the door and Corey stopped him. He looked expressionless, as always, but there was something dark in his eyes. “I’m sorry if Rhorey triggered Baylor. I’ve never seen Rhorey act like that with a stranger and I honestly didn’t know the right way to handle things.”

Chipper thought about Baylor’s every reaction. “Honestly, I think it helped in some way. Right before you came back, Rhorey asked about Micah, and it was the first time I’ve seen him talk about his son without falling apart. I think he needed that.”

Corey nodded. “Rhorey is an old soul. He has an uncanny ability to help others.”

“Sounds like he ended up with the right family, then.”

Corey smiled. “I’ll let you go see Baylor now, and I have a bedtime story to read.”

Chipper dipped his chin. “Thank you for everything. I know we took you away from your husband when he needs you.”

Corey laughed. Chipper didn’t think he had ever seen him genuinely laugh. “Rhett? He hates anyone seeing him sick and it would kill him if Rhorey caught something from him. You know he’s a giant puppy.”

Chipper snorted and headed in to see Baylor. He had no idea what he would find with the way the night had gone.

Baylor looked up from his spot on the bed as Chipper came through the door. He looked fine. “Hey.”

Chipper moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

Baylor shrugged. “Fine. How are you feeling?”

Chipper couldn’t help but smile. Baylor shouldn’t be worried about him. “Worried about you.”

Baylor scooted over and patted the bed. “Come here. Cuddle with me.”

In five seconds, Chipper had Baylor in his arms. He didn’t need to be asked twice to do his favorite thing.

As soon as he was settled, Baylor kissed his chest. “I really am fine. Corey talked to me about treatment. It’s just a bunch of meds. That’s no big deal. Everything else will come as it comes. But apparently, since I’ll be medicated, this isn’t life-threatening. I’ll just have to be extra careful to not catch anything.” He paused for a second. Chipper practically heard the wheels turning in his head, coming to grips with all the ramifications. “I suppose I need to slow down.”

Chipper tried to keep the happiness from his voice. He truly wanted Baylor to stop killing himself, but he hadn’t known how to make it happen. It was better for Baylor to make the decision on his own. “Have you started working on a plan? I know you’re booked solid for like the next two years.”

Baylor tilted his head back to meet Chipper’s stare. “How would you know that?”

He pointed at himself. “Stalker. Remember? I’ve had to finagle a lot of wedding invitations to see you.”

“I fucking knew it!” Baylor covered his mouth as if he hadn’t meant to shout. His eyes swam with laughter. He dropped his hand. A huge smile played on his lips. “I knew there was no way you go to that many weddings all the time.”

Chipper couldn’t stop smiling. “Of course it was all for you. Everything is these days.”

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