Finding Carson Lee (Oh Captan, My Captain #3) (21 page)

“
You’re going to die! You know that, right? ” I yell again.

The jerk smiles at me. “Oh, yes, we’ll have to do dinner soon. Here’s Kinley.” He hands the phone back to me.

“
Mama, I’ll call you back.” And I hang up the phone. “I’m going to kill you.”

“
You have to catch me.” He bolts off the deck.

I chase after him, like I would a boy on a playground, but he’s much faster than I am. I can hear him laughing, which makes me more mad. I reach the side of the house where the pool is, and Carson quickly snatches me up.

“
Put me down, Carson Lee, so I can kick your ass.”

“
Okay, I’ll put you down.” He take five steps over to the pool, and before I can scream, he throws me in.

When I come up for air, I’m boiling with rage. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Carson is holding his side laughing hard. I climb out of the pool and notice that he’s closer to the edge than he thinks he is. Of course, I’m very ladylike when I shove him as hard as I can into the water.

Carson

With the launching of the campaign getting closer and closer, Kinley has been busy working. I’ve been wandering around the house, relaxing a bit, went shopping yesterday, and have met up with a few of the guys. Lucky for me, Tyler didn’t ask about Kinley thanks to him having a new girlfriend now.

Kinley was very adamant about not cheating and not lying, which makes sense. I think I did a good job letting her know that my lips are sealed on certain topics. As long as she doesn’t ask or accepts an evasive answer if she does, then I won’t have to lie to her. I do trust her to an extent, but there are just some things that are strictly off limits, not only to her, but to everyone.

While I may not offer any information, there is something else I can do. I’m not expecting anything or closing myself off, so that means I still need to make somewhat of an effort. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as usual.

I double check to make sure everything is in the back of my SUV since I’m driving that today. Kinley should be ready by the time I get to her place to pick her up. I even sent her three emails to confirm, and it was fun reversing that role. Perfectly on time, she’s walking out the door when I pull up. I park the car and get out to open the door for her.

“
Hey, sweetheart.” I grin, faintly noting that I feel a bit nervous about this.

“
Hey.” She gives me a quick kiss before sliding into her seat.

We make small talk on the way. “Are you still upset about the other day?”

“
My dad says paybacks are a bitch, so you just wait, and I’ll show you later. Now, where are you taking me?”

“
We’re going to the hospital.”

“
Why? Are you okay?”

“
Oh, yeah. I figured I might need to check out the morgue in case your payback lands me there.” I glance over at her, but she’s ignoring me, looking out the window instead. There is a small smile on her lips though.

When we make it to the hospital, I find the parking lot Mike is in and end up parking next to him. Kinley doesn’t say anything when she sees him, but I can tell she wants to ask about it. We get out and walk to the rear of my vehicle.

“
Hey, Mike. It’s a good day, isn’t it?” I ask as I shake his hand firmly before opening the back.

“
Yes, it is. How are you, Ms. Wright? I didn’t know that you would be joining us.”

“
I’m well, thank you,” she replies. “What in the world?” she questions quietly under her breath as I start handing some bags to Mike.

I ignore her for the moment, but over my shoulder ask, “Sweetheart, could you get the jerseys from the backseat?”

“
Um, sure.”

“
Is this a new addition to the clothes campaign that I didn’t know about or something?” Mike quietly says when Kinley is out of earshot.

“
Nope. I just asked her to come.”

Kinley comes back around the car with my jersey and another smaller one. I take off the shirt I was wearing, toss it into the back, leaving me wearing only an undershirt before I slip the jersey over my head.

“
Do you need any help?” Kinley says once I’m all dressed again.

“
Here.” I hold out a bright, yellow bag. “Put the jersey in there and keep it hidden behind your back, please.” She nods and I grab the last few bags from the back before closing the door as we all start to head inside.

“
Do you know how she’s been doing?” Mike asks as we ride up the elevator.

“
Yeah, Darcie has been sending me updates.” I glance over at Kinley, trying to see if she’s figured it out yet. She just smiles. The doors to the elevator open and we take a sharp right to avoid the nurses’ desk and waiting rooms on this floor. Room number 709 is the first one coming up, so I pause and look at Kinley with a smile. “I need to apologize for something real quick.”

Confusion passes her features. “What for?”

“
I do have another woman in my life.” Before she can respond, I take the three steps to the door and push it open.

There in the corner at a small table is a little girl, coloring. Darcie, her mom, is sitting next to her and she sees me first.

“
Gracie, baby,” she starts softly. “You have a visitor.”

Gracie turns around, screams with excitement, and rushes over to me. “Carson! You’re back! I’ve missed you!” she squeals as I set my bags on the ground to pick her up.

“
I’ve missed you too.” I laugh when she hugs my neck as tightly as she can.

Darcie stands and smiles, mouthing that Gracie’s having a good day today. Gracie leans back and points to her head. “Look what I’m wearing today?! I knew something good would happen because of it.” She grins, referring to her Alabama Blacksmiths bandana I sent her.

“
You look just as beautiful as the last time I saw you too.” I wink, causing her to giggle. “I have an even better present for you this time.” With that, I turn to where Mike and Kinley are still standing in the doorway.

“
Hey, Mike!” Gracie waves at him. “Who are you?” she asks Kinley.

“
Gracie, this is my friend, Kinley. Kinley, this is my girlfriend, Gracie.”

Gracie beams a smile at me before Kinley says, “It’s nice to meet you, Gracie.”

I put Gracie gently back down on her own two feet and crouch down next to her to be at eye level. “You should probably be really sweet to Kinley. I asked her to hold your present for me.”

Her eyes widen as she glances between Kinley and me. Slowly, she walks over to Kinley and gives her a hug. “It’s nice to meet you too. You’re really pretty.”

“
Thank you, but I’m not as pretty as you.”

“
Thanks.”

“
C’mon, Gracie. Let’s sit down over here and open your present,” I say. She hurries back over to take my hand, leading me to the table where she was when we walked in. I sit down first and then lift her into my lap. Darcie takes a seat as does Kinley. Mike stands next to me since we’re out of chairs. Kinley places the yellow bag on the table and I reach for it. Gracie holds her hands together in her lap, waiting for the signal. I give it to her, and she quickly reaches inside.

“
I know the last time I brought you my jersey, but I figured it was time you had your own,” I tell her. On the back is her name and her favorite number, 91, which happens to be my number.

She turns in my lap and hugs me again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Carson! Can I put it on right now, Mommy? Please! Carson is wearing his.”

Darcie nods, so I carefully help Gracie wiggle into the jersey. She glances down at it once it’s on, staring at the front.

“
Well, what do you think? Ready to show it off to the other kids for a while?”

“
Oh, yeah! You have to meet Tommy too, Carson. He’s my newest friend.”

“
Tommy’s with the doctors right now, remember Gracie?” Darcie says.

“
Right.” Gracie looks up at me. “Will you stay long enough to meet him?”

“
Of course.”

We make our way to another room where the kids will gather if they are able. Mike, Kinley, and Darcie split carrying the bags I brought in since Gracie is leading the way. The excitement is visible when we walk in with bags full of toys, coloring books, crayons, and all sorts of stuff. A few of the kids who were here last time I visited rush over to me much like Gracie did. They give me hugs before introducing me to everyone else.

There really isn’t any other option than to sit down in the middle with all of them and start playing too. Gracie wants me to help her color, so I do that while talking with the kids and taking quick breaks from coloring to help them with the new toys. After about an hour of that and taking pictures with a few of them, Gracie starts looking tired.

“
Do you feel like watching
Looney Tunes
, Gracie?” She nods. “Let’s go do that then before it’s time for me to go. How does that sound?”

“
You have to meet Tommy first,” she reminds me.

We put all the crayons back in the box and then I pick her up before turning to try to find Darcie. Gracie rests her head on my shoulder as I walk over to her mom.

“
She wants to go see Tommy and then we’re going to her room for cartoons.”

Darcie nods and leads the way to Tommy’s room, which is next door to Gracie’s. She perks up when we enter his room.

“
Told you that Carson is my boyfriend,” is the first thing she says to Tommy.

I laugh, shake hands with his parents, and then give the little boy a high five. “Gracie told me you’re her newest friend, Tommy.”

“
Yeah.” He shrugs. “She wants me to watch the Blacksmiths play.” He frowns. “I like the Mustangs better.”

Gracie is loud and dramatic as she says, “Ew! I’ve told him that he’s cheering for the wrong team, but he won’t listen to me.”

Tommy’s dad shakes his head. “They argue about it all the time.”

I look between Gracie and Tommy and say conspiratorially, “You know, there are people who don’t even
like
hockey at all. You two should be happy that you both like hockey, even if it’s different teams. All hockey fans are like one big family.”

“
Well, I guess it’s okay if Tommy thinks Brody Ross is better, even though he’s wrong,” Gracie comments rather thoughtfully.

“
Hey!” Tommy objects.

I laugh and shake my head. “It was nice meeting you, Tommy. Gracie and I have a date with the
Looney Tunes
before I go.”

We go back to her room, sit on the bed, and start watching TV. Within five minutes, Gracie is sleeping. I carefully pull my hand from hers, kiss her forehead, and then walk over to Darcie. After I give her a hug, I tell her to keep me updated on Gracie. Time to find Kinley and Mike because at some point today, I lost them both somewhere on this floor.

Kinley

I sit in the lobby of the hospital trying not to let the tears fall from everything I saw in the last several hours. Mike told me that Carson comes up here all the time to visit the kids, and one day, Gracie told him that they were boyfriend-girlfriend. Mike said Carson never corrected her, and from that moment on, they’ve remained close.

I think about the first YouTube video I researched when I was looking up Carson Lee. He knocked a guy almost unconscious when he slammed him into the players’ bench, and now, that same guy was just coloring in a princess book with a four year old.