Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

ZANE

M y body feels weighed down as if the world itself rests on me. The room is dark when I peel my eyes open, but my attention is drawn to the pile of brown hair resting on my thigh. Well, that explains part of the weight I feel.

My door creaks open and a nurse smiles at me.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Landry?” she whispers.

I shrug but wince at the pain. The nurse checks the machines over and I realize my room is pretty full still. It looks like not only is Violet here, but so are Sydney and Cassie.

“They refused to leave her,” the nurse says, noticing my gaze. “Get some rest; the doctor will be in in the morning.”

They kept me overnight to keep an eye on my burns mostly. I’ll be glad to get out of here. Even asleep, I can feel Violet’s anxiousness over me being hurt even though for all intents and purposes I’m okay.

My mind wanders to Liam Irving. I can’t imagine what he must be feeling right now. He made a horrible choice years ago and cheated on his wife, who promptly left him and took his now eight- or nine-year-old daughter with her. I didn’t have to be close to the guy to know he regretted it and wished he could have his family back. And now, they’re gone forever.

Fuck, it’s terrible.

I reach out and run my fingers through Violet’s hair. She’s going to be so sore in the morning. I don’t know how she’s even comfortable enough to sleep. She should’ve gone home, but trying to convince her to leave after scaring her to death was like talking to a wall. She shifts, groans, and sits up.

When she spots that I’m awake, she looks embarrassed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispers.

“You didn’t,” I whisper back. “Get up here with me.”

Before she can object, I slowly and carefully move over some and angle my legs away so she doesn’t accidentally hit them. Violet doesn’t argue with me, though. I shouldn’t be surprised. She likely still wants to reassure herself that I’m here and okay.

Violet snuggles against me and I take a slow, steady breath.

“This okay?” she asks.

“Perfect.” I close my eyes and fall asleep within seconds.

Morning seems to come quickly. I manage to wake before the women in my room. One by one, Violet’s friends wake and give me small smiles. Violet wakes last.

Sydney runs out to get breakfast for everyone while we wait for my discharge. The room is quiet for the most part. With all the injuries, I’m out the rest of the season most likely. I’m sure Violet won’t mind. At least I’ll certainly be around for all her appointments now.

By noon, my discharge comes and we head home. Apparently, we can’t quite rid ourselves of the women because they all follow us to the house.

“We’re fine,” I try after watching them pepper Violet with various tasks and errands they’re willing to do for her. “Shouldn’t someone check in on Liam?”

Sydney winces. “He’s made it abundantly clear he wants to be left alone. Lizzy went to check on him and he bit her head off. Sounds like everyone is giving him his space.”

“And we’re Violet’s best friends,” Cassie says. “We’ll go when she asks us to leave.”

We all turn to look at Violet, who sits next to me and attempts to shrink with everyone’s eyes on her.

“I’m okay,” she manages to say. “You guys don’t have to stay.”

“If you need anything at all,” Sydney starts.

“You better call,” Cassie finishes, leveling a look at Violet.

“Promise, I will,” she says.

After another five minutes, the women leave us finally. The moment they are gone, Violet shifts to lie down with her head in my lap. I’d bet my salary she wants to snuggle and wrap herself around me, but her head in my lap is about as good as it gets right now on the couch.

“Are you hungry?” I ask her. “I can order pizza for lunch.”

“Sounds good,” she replies softly.

“There is a perk to all of this.”

She rolls onto her back to look at me. “What’s that?”

“You’ll have me for at least the next six weeks while I heal.”

Violet smiles. “But I liked the sex when you come back from your trips.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. You doing okay?” I lift my hand to run my fingers through her hair. I keep waiting for her to break down and lose her shit. She was terrified last time and was ready to run. But her emotions seem subdued right now.

“I’m fine,” she insists. “I shoved all the panic down and away because I didn’t want to think about all the bad. You’re okay and that’s more than Liam can say about his family. I just…” She sighs. “I may be extra clingy for a bit.”

I flash her a smile. “Cling away.”

What kind of dick would I be if I complained about that? Especially considering poor Liam. If Violet wants to cling to me, I certainly won’t stop her.

Violet certainly clings. She sticks to my side at home and when she needs to run into her office, she drags me with her. The healing process was a slow one, but I didn’t mind. I loved every second with Violet. And physically, I’m only left with some scarring on my legs.

Violet saw her brother off. We watched the season end without a playoff run. Liam retired and disappeared on us, clearly struggling with the loss of his family; he did talk to Brayden once or twice, enough to say he moved away and to fuck off. And I planned a surprise for Violet. We never did get our honeymoon and with Jon Thomas coming soon, it’s not like either of us will want to travel this summer. But I want to do a little something.

“Zane,” Violet whines. “Where are we going?”

I managed to get her in the car with the enticement of a surprise, but once we hit the interstate, she realized the surprise wasn’t right around the corner.

“How long will it take to get there?”

I laugh. “Are you in a rush? Do you have other plans?”

“No, but you know your son likes to do somersaults on my bladder. I just want to make sure you know we’re going to have to stop frequently.”

“That’s fine,” I reassure her.

After a moment, she sighs. “Sorry. I don’t mean to sound bitchy when you’ve planned a surprise for me. I’m just stressed.”

I know she is; that’s one reason why I planned this. She’s been trying to get her business in a place where she is comfortable stepping away as much as possible once our son is born. She wants to soak in the time with him without distractions. It turns out the only person she trusts is my mom. She’s been teaching her the ins and outs of certain aspects of her business, so my mom can handle things. Mom is even taking over the stitching club meetings during Violet’s time off.

“It’s not like you’re abandoning your business,” I remind her. “You can check in on it and make sure it’s running fine. Nothing will fall apart with Mom helping out or with you taking a break. You’ve been posting on your social media and have put a pause on the physical products starting next month. You’re prepared. There’s no reason to stress.”

It doesn’t hurt that her kid-friendly designs and the promise of doing kits for the kid designs have been a hit. She’s setting expectations as much as she can. She’s worrying more than she needs to, but the business is important to her. That I understand.

“I know, I know.” Her hand rubs her stomach and she shifts in her seat. “I just hope I’m not overwhelming your mom or being overbearing.”

At that, I laugh. “Mom is thrilled you’re trusting her with the stitching club and answering emails.” Because that’s really the extent of what my mom is doing. She’ll post to social media too, but it’s all posts that Violet has prepared in advance for her. “She’ll reach out if she needs anything,” I tell her.

Violet nods, knowing I’m right. She leans back in her seat. She’s content to watch the scenery until we arrive at our destination after many pit stops.

Violet glances at me curiously as I park in front of a cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina.

“This is not a baby moon. It’s our mini-honeymoon. We’ll go on a trip next year maybe.”

Her mouth lifts in a grin. “Did I ever tell you that you’re the best husband?”

“I don’t think so.”

She laughs. “Well you are.”

“Let’s get you settled inside and I’ll run back out to grab groceries.”

Violet leans over and kisses me. “ And you’re cooking for me. I love when you cook. You could be a chef if you ever get tired of hockey.”

One thing I love about Violet is that she appreciates me cooking for her. It’s a small way of taking care of her but it’s one of my favorites and she loves that I do. It’s something so small and simple, but that is what I’ve been looking for. Someone to take care of, someone to love, and someone to love me back. Violet gives me that in spades.

Our little boy will be here in about month. My life feels pretty complete as it is. So full with happiness. I can’t wait to see how he’ll add to that.

I honestly couldn’t ask more out of life right now. And to think it’s all thanks to a chance encounter in Vegas and an impulsive proposal. Best decision I ever made.