Page 10 of Buried Treasure
Chapter 4
Andy looked over at Ryan, who was sitting in the front seat of his car. The hockey star definitely seemed more tired than when Andy first saw him at the hospital. Although to be fair, when Andy got there, Ryan was playing video games in the pediatric ward with some of the cancer patients. For all his sports star swagger, Ryan really did have a genuine and sincere heart when it came to fans of all types when he was off the ice. He wasn't a dumb jock in that sense. He knew exactly how he would be greeted when he had headed down to that floor, and he wanted to be around those kids as much as they wanted to be around him.
But now, Ryan's focus seemed a bit off, his demeanor more reserved. He probably wouldn't admit it, but this unexpected surgery was finally starting to sink in, and it was throwing his entire personality off kilter.
"You OK, man?" Andy asked as he turned towards Ryan's building.
"What?" he replied, jolted out of his own thoughts as he turned to his trainer. "Sorry, I'm just a little distracted. I haven't been home since…"
Andy let him trail off, knowing exactly where he was going with that. Ryan hadn't been home since he left that ill-fated morning for practice and his appendix revolted against him. Andy pulled up to his building, thankful that the posh condo building had valet parking. He couldn't imagine how much Ryan's amenities cost every month for the place, but he wasn't about to ask. He was just thankful it was there so he could easily get the rookie back home.
Ryan was able to walk on his own but was much slower than usual. Andy even noticed him flinch a bit in pain as he pushed himself off the elevator's wall and into the lobby on the ninth floor. They walked together and as they passed Sydney's door, both of them slowed even more. He wondered how she was doing after that night he met her. For some reason, that first meeting was still gnawing at him.
Andy took Ryan's keys and opened the door for his star player.
"There you are!" Amelia was about to throw her arms around her son's neck before restraining herself. "Sorry, I forgot that you're probably still in pain."
"Thanks for coming, mom." Ryan leaned over and gave her a kiss before shuffling into the condo. "How was your flight?"
"It was fine," she said. "No bumps the whole way here and it's warmer in Detroit than Winnipeg. Oh, and Andy picked me up so that was nice."
Ryan slowly sat down on his couch, his brow furrowing in pain. "You didn't get the car service?"
"I told her I would pick her up," Andy explained.
"When did you tell her that?"
"When I called your parents."
When you were in surgery. When you had your appendix removed. When you had all of us worried about you.
"I think I may have you drive me back to the airport again, Andy," Amelia said. "You're cuter than anyone from the car service Ryan keeps telling me to use."
Her son groaned from his spot on the couch. "Mom, stop flirting with my trainer."
Amelia gave Andy an apologetic smile. "I'm just being nice, and your father isn't here anyway so it doesn't matter." He gave her son a teasing smile and quickly moved on to the next topic. "Are you hungry? I made some chicken noodle soup from scratch."
Ryan groaned. "No food!" he whined.
Andy leaned over to Amelia. "Food is fine, but try to stick with some easy stuff. Maybe just the broth and some small noodles or something."
She grabbed his arm and gave it a light squeeze. "Anything for you, cutie."
"Gross, mom!"
Amelia giggled, and Andy wondered if she was just being complimentary or if she was purposely teasing her son. He was kind of enjoying whatever drama this was causing for Ryan after the serious stuff he had put all of them through earlier in the week.
Andy stuck around a little longer, agreeing to Amelia's offer to stay for soup. It really was pretty amazing even if it did remind Andy that he couldn't remember the last time a woman had made him anything. He gave Amelia instructions on how to care for Ryan's stitches. "I can do it myself," the rookie had grumbled, but Andy knew Ryan would let his mom help him out when no one was around. He also talked to her about what could and could not be on the menu for his star player as he recovered. Amelia said she already had a grocery shopping list and invited him to come eat with them when he could.
He knew he would be over at least a few times. One of his jobs was to check on Ryan everyday to make sure everything was healing properly. He couldn't help it if there would be a home-cooked meal waiting for him when he came by.
Andy finally said his goodbyes and made sure Ryan had his phone number before heading out the door. As he closed it behind him, he could hear Ryan's mom asking about that stupid goldfish.
"What happened to Gretzky?"
"He's dead."
"You had to feed the thing if you wanted it to live."
