Page 36 of In Every Chapter

But she doesn’t. I failed. Again.

Something hot trickles down my cheek, and I press the shirt harder against the wound, fighting an invisible foe. Pleading for a different ending. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, love.”

I bolted upright in bed, panting. Sweat slicked my torso, and I rubbed my aching sternum. The siren call of fresh coffee and sizzling bacon grounded me. Paisley. I instinctively reached next to me in bed—needing to touch her, to know she was okay—but her side was cold.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. A nightmare. Different than my usual roster of traumatic cinema, but nearly a hundred times worse. I was too late. Again.

Then I remembered last night and my unexpected guest, who was much more welcome than Bilbo’s dwarves.

But still no Paisley.

Shrugging on a T-shirt, I padded downstairs to the kitchen with Rosie on my heels and found Cal wielding a spatula as he poured pancake batter onto the griddle. A peep out the window told me it was still way too early since the summer sun wasn’t even up.

“Not sure what I did to deserve this.” I chuckled, trying not to draw attention to just how much the nightmare shook me. “But I think I’ll keep you around.”

Cal hucked a towel at my head, but I caught it with ease. “You only appreciate me for my cooking? I’m crushed.”

“We both know my pancakes are better.” I helped myself to the freshly brewed coffee and refilled his cup. After a brief clink of the mugs, I sank down on the barstool, letting the liquid energy fill my veins. Despite my firm grip on the handle, my hand still trembled.

“We weren’t expecting you yet,” I said casually. “Thought the team needed you.”

“Family emergency. Coach understood.” Cal slid a plate of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs in front of me, then tossed a cooled bacon strip to Rosie, who caught it midair. “But I need a ride back to the airport first thing. Still need to play game seven tomorrow night.”

I nodded my thanks. “You see Khia?”

Cal shook his head. “Tonight when she flies down with Mom and Dad for tomorrow’s game.”

I lifted a brow. “Not sure how I feel about ranking over your four-year-old daughter.”

He laughed. “Usually you don’t.” His smile was soft like the doting father he was. “But she wasn’t expecting to see me, and I wasn’t about to interrupt bedtime for a quick trip. Besides I couldn’t give her the focus she deserves when I worried about your ugly mug.”

I tossed the towel back at him. “We practically share a face, my man.”

“Yet it doesn’t quite work on you.”

We fell into easy conversation and banter. No hard topics. We talked shop—hockey for him, mechanics for me—trading news and stories. When I left the military, I still kept up relationships with my closest buddies. We traded milestones and problems like kids with trading cards. They knew what was going on. And I felt their support long-distance.

But having Cal here in person . . . It was exactly what I needed.

Chapter fourteen

Paisley

“I can’t live alone with a man,” I hissed to Juliet. We were parked outside the Caldwell airport, plastered side by side on the bench seat in Greyson’s truck. Rosie huffed softly from her stop behind us, and the truck bed rumbled while Greyson grabbed his sister’s suitcase.

Juliet was leaving me. She’d bunked on our couch the first night and then we’d had our girls’ night. Stephanie and Liz had left an hour ago for Spokane, and now Juliet was flying out to rejoin Myles for the final Calder Cup game tomorrow night.

Juliet fixed a look on me. The one that meant business. “He’s your husband.”

“Well, I don’t remember that part. I only remember the first one.”

She scoffed, like she always did whenever someone brought up Jared, and I was getting a little tired of it. I needed some answers. “Would you feel better living alone?”

“No.” The word flew out of me with the speed of an assassin’s bullet. “I hate being alone.” And it was the truest thing I’d said since waking up. Just the thought made me nauseous. But I couldn’t expect Juliet to put her life on hold for me. It wasn’t fair, and I could be grown-up about this. We were two adults.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on the plane?” I asked, shifting the conversation.

Juliet groaned, covering her face. “Don’t remind me. Suffering through Grey and Steph making the coffee in the mornings has been terrible enough.”