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That wasn’t a lie. I’d followed Axel and Bailey down, dropping a load of medical supplies and clothes off at Axel’s apartment so Bailey would be comfortable, making sure she made it to the arena. From there, I’d handed her off to several members of the Gold back-office staff who would babysit her because Axel had to be at the arena early to prepare for the game and he’d wanted Bailey to rest for as long as possible.
He’d still hovered (coming up as soon as he’d gotten word she was there) and continued to buzz around like a worried little bee as I’d gotten Bailey settled on a couch in a plush suite, stress lining that pretty puckboy face until Bailey had grabbed him by the ears and laid a kiss on him that had me averting my gaze. When they’d broken apart, she’d whispered soft words and I’d wanted to plug my ears.
Jealous, much?
Yup.
But the end result was that Axel had settled. Somewhat.
So, Bailey had sent him on his way, and I’d stayed until a woman named Mandy had begun her babysitting duties. Not leaving until I’d seen that Bailey was comfortable and ready for the game.
Then…even though every protective instinct was sparking in my belly, I’d made my goodbyes. My niece was healing and in good hands.
But also, she was smart.
She’d been distracted with everything that had gone down, so she hadn’t seen how fucked up I was. Still, if I spent more time around her, I knew she would. My armor was good, but it didn’t mean it could withstand her scrutiny. Not with how raw I was feeling.
Not with how well she knew me.
So, I’d driven home—
Or, well, nothomesince that was fucking ash, but I’d driven to the gymnasium, made it in time to watch the second period.
“Yeah, I know you did,” Joel said, yanking me back into the present.
I glanced over at him, saw his gaze had gone back to the game when, wondering how the hell he’d known what I was up to before mentally shrugging. River’s Bend was gone, but the gossip tree was intact, and he’d been in the hospital room earlier. He had to know I wouldn’t leave Bailey to fend for herself.
“Though,” Joel said, “it’s weird that Axel didn’t get you a ticket for the game—or at least, a pass to watch in the box.”
I’d had offers of both.
To stay and watch—either in the owner’s box since the game was sold out, or with Bailey back in the Family Suite.
But, as previously mentioned, I’d needed to escape scrutiny.
Plus, this was Bailey’s moment.
I wasn’t going to horn in on it.
“Too much to do here,” I told Joel, bringing my bottle up to my lips and pointedly drinking from it.
A mistake since it was now even worse than normal.
Warm and flat.
Ugh.
Gross.
Smothering the shudder that threatened to escape, I forced myself to swallow the sip. Then to continue sipping deliberately. Mostly because the sooner that I’d finished the warm, nasty beer, the sooner I could get something else to wash down the awful, lingering taste.
“Seems like everything is done here.”
My head whipped toward him. “You’re kidding, right?”
God, this was just the beginning. There wassomuch to do I didn’t even know where to start, andIwas supposed to be the one with a plan.Iwas supposed to be the one who always knew the proper course of action. But I was running on a loss and for fuck’s sake, the fire was still burning, and there was smoke still in the air, making it feel like nighttime no matter what hour of the day. Adding on to that, my people were scattered on the wind, and most of the town had burned to the ground.
It would take months—years—for life to return to normal.
