Page 183 of Check & Chase
Outside the hospital, Chase pulls me into a tight hug, face buried in my hair. “Thank you for coming with me. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t,” I admit, melting into his embrace. “But it felt necessary. For all of us.”
He pulls back enough to study my face. “You’re kind of amazing, you know that?”
“Shut up,” I mutter, heat rising in my cheeks.
“Make me,” he challenges, eyes dancing.
So I do, rising on my tiptoes to press my lips to his, right there in the hospital parking lot where anyone might see us. No more hiding, no more pretending.
The rest of the morning slips away too quickly—Chase to his team breakfast and flight preparations, me to the gym to work out the strange emotional tension still lingering from the hospital visit. By the afternoon, he’s texting me.
Chase:Three days until our first game. Please tell me you’ll be there.
I hesitate, thinking about work, about the logistics of traveling to Pinewood midweek.
Me:I’ll try.
Chase:I need my good luck charm in the stands. The team will fly you out. Box seats with my parents. Say yes, Emma.
And somehow, I find myself agreeing, rearranging my schedule, requesting those days off from the Wolves’ training staff who understand better than I expected. Even Jackson encourages me to go.
“Someone from the family should see the Bears win the Cup,” he says when I call him. “Might as well be you.”
“You’re taking the loss better than I expected.”
“What choice do I have? Besides, it’s hard to hate the Bears now after what Tyler and Chase both did.”
“They’re kind of making it impossible for you to maintain your rivalry with their team, aren’t they?”
“Don’t push it,” Jackson warns, but I can hear the smile in his voice. “Just go enjoy yourself and be happy, Em.”
“I am happy,” I tell him, and I mean it completely. “More so than I have been in a long time.”
Emma
Chapter Forty-Two — Emma
Game day dawns clear and crisp in Pinewood, the Bears hosting the first two games of the series against the Seattle Storm. I fly in that morning, met at the airport by Patricia, Chase’s mom.
“Chase is at morning skate,” she explains as we drive through Pinewood’s tree-lined streets. “Team rules—no distractions on game day. But he made me promise to get you settled in.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to pick me up, though. I could have taken a taxi.”
“Nonsense.” She waves away my protest. “You’re important to Chase, which makes you important to us. Besides, it gives me a chance to get to know you better without my son hovering.”
I laugh, relaxing into the easy conversation. The town is decked out in Bears’ colors, Stanley Cup Finals banners hanging from every lamppost.
“The whole town is buzzing,” she says, following my gaze. “Second Finals appearance in two years. And Chase being named Conference MVP has everyone convinced they’ve got this in the bag.”
“He’s been incredible. His recovery from that knee injury earlier in the season… I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.”
She gives me a knowing look. “With the right motivation, my son can accomplish just about anything. And you, my dear, have been quite the motivation.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “I was just doing my job.”
“Mmm.” She parks in front of a boutique hotel in downtown Pinewood. “Well, your ‘job’ gave him back more than just a healthy knee, from what I can see.”
