Chapter 42

42

Coach (Emmett)

You know what happens when you’re brought into the ER and aren’t bleeding or in critical condition?

They shove you in a room to rot.

Don’t get me wrong. I was glad neither of us was dying and luckier than a lottery winner that neither of us was seriously hurt. However, sitting in the ER while wearing nothing but a scratchy hospital gown was the equivalent of parading around in a monkey suit and getting auctioned off.

It sucked.

And I was so getting charged for the tux I rented. Trauma and river water left behind permanent stains.

It didn’t matter. None of it did. All that mattered was—“Bodhi,” I said, the object of my thoughts appearing in the doorway of the bathroom.

He hovered there, the ugly gown nearly swallowing him whole. He wasn’t a large man, but without all that hair, he seemed even smaller. Fragile somehow. The buzz cut emphasized his already sharp cheekbones, turning them hollow. I realized it didn’t help that he was still pale as a ghost from everything that had happened, the color in his lips and skin having yet to return. Beneath his eyes looked bruised, and the scratch across his cheek was raw.

I knew he was cold by the way he curled his bare toes against the floor as if he were trying to touch as little of the tile as possible. His eyes flickered to the bed on the other side of mine and then at me.

“Come here.” I beckoned, lifting the thin blanket covering my legs. He came instantly, crawling onto the mattress and practically on top of me. My body was sore, but I ignored it and scooped him closer, pulling up the blanket and wrapping both arms around him.

Bodhi’s sigh was heavy, and he rubbed his cheek against my chest, snuggling even more into me. “You’re warm.”

I frowned against the crown of his head, noticing that I had warmed up faster than him. “You don’t eat enough,” I muttered, rubbing my palm up and down his arm to generate heat. “We’re gonna work on your conditioning.” And now that I wasn’t trying to hide our relationship, I could be all up in his business without worrying who would see.

In response, he pushed his foot, filled with five icicle toes, between my calves.

I jolted and let out a curse, and Bodhi laughed.

“Keep it up, brat,” I warned.

“I can move,” he offered, lifting himself off my side.

I pushed him back down. “This is where you belong.”

He settled, and I dropped my head back against the pillow. “What the hell were you thinking tonight?”

“I wasn’t thinking. I was jealous. And hurt. And seeing that woman win the auction was the last straw.”

I made a rude noise. “That woman doesn’t matter.”

“She’s Landry’s pick for you.”

I stiffened at the mention of my daughter and lifted my head to peer down at him. “What?”

“I sat with them at the auction. Elite set this whole thing up to get you laid.”

My shoulders lifted off the mattress this time. “ What? ”

Bodhi elevated his head, his blue eyes slightly amused. “You’ve been a real hard-ass at practice, Coach . They thought a little vitamin V would calm you down.”

“Vitamin V,” I repeated, wondering what in the new age lingo that was supposed to mean.

Smirking, he said, “Little do they know you prefer vitamin D.”

Jesus. “You’re telling me Elite— my daughter —set up that whole thing to get me a date?” How hard up did they think I was?

“The woman who bid was her nurse here in the ER, right?”

Fuck. “Yeah.”

“Landry invited her, hoping you two would hit it off. She was really excited when she won the bid,” Bodhi said, voice subdued.

I moved to grab his hair to yank his head back, but there was no hair to grab.

Let us all have a moment of silence for those beautiful golden locks.

Changing direction, I grasped his chin and pushed his face up. “I am not interested in that woman.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“She’s not you,” I deadpanned. “And Landry didn’t know any better because I never told her. That’s on me, not her.”

“She still doesn’t know.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m going to tell her. I already made plans to have dinner with her.”

The blue in his eyes lit up. It hurt my heart to see that hope mingled with surprise as if he really thought I’d keep him a secret forever.

“I was always going to tell her. Always . I’m sorry it took so long to get here. That I made you feel like a secret. I just kept my life so structured and neat for so long. At first, out of survival and then, much later, out of routine and comfort.”

“Because of Lance.”

I braced myself for the pain that hearing that name always caused. It was there, but it was muted somehow as though he was no longer the thing that defined my life.

It was stunning, nearly breathtaking, to suddenly feel free from something that had shackled me for so long. I could stretch now. Grow.

What an overwhelming realization for a man who’d spent so much time surviving that he never had time to truly live.

When I didn’t answer, Bodhi sat up, the gown sliding down to reveal his collarbone and part of one shoulder. “Em?”

“Yeah, baby. Because of Lance.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the way he died?” he asked.

“Because I was afraid. Because it’s my fault he’s dead.”

He gasped. “I told you before that his death is not your fault!”

I looked him in the eyes. “You still think that? Even now that you know how he died?”

“Em,” Bodhi implored, placing a palm against my chest and leaning in. “I am surer now than ever. Lance’s suicide is not something you caused.”

I shook my head. “I put too much pressure on him. I was selfish. Too focused on how I felt to see how much he was struggling. And he paid for it. With his life.”

Bodhi considered my words as if he was really weighing them to see if he also agreed. I really appreciated that in the moment. The way he stopped to think and didn’t just once again insist this was absolutely not my fault. It made my feelings somehow more… valid. And yeah, I knew feeling them made them valid enough, but it was different when someone else, someone I honestly cared about, really considered them.

It was probably the first time since meeting Bodhi that our age difference didn’t seem to matter. Though he was much younger than me, our life experiences seemed to run parallel—not in every way but in the ways that mattered most. Because after everything, I could see how my Goldilocks was far older than the calendar implied. And me? We already established I was sort of like Encino Man. Frozen in time. So maybe I was a little younger than my forty years.

“I think,” Bodhi reflected, “Lance was probably in a really dark place. A complicated, dark place he didn’t want anyone else to know about.”

I could agree with that. Even still, “I should have known.”

“Why? Because you loved him?” It was a bold, point-blank statement, and honestly, it drew me up short.

And just like the little brat he was, he sensed he was chipping away at me and went in for the kill. “Loving someone isn’t knowing their every thought.” His voice was soft. Empathetic even. “It’s not a crystal ball. And as much as everyone wants to believe, love isn’t a cure for everything.”

Moving from my side, Bodhi climbed into my lap, hiking the gown up around his thighs so he could straddle me. When he was settled, he leaned forward to lie across my chest and tuck his head right under my chin. Because he still felt colder than I would have liked, I tugged the blankets over us both.

“You’ve blamed yourself for a long time.” He went on, voice filling the small, impersonal room and somehow making it feel intimate. “The idea of you living the last twenty years of your life in a prison of your own making seems unfathomable. You deserve so much better, Em.”

Again, his acknowledgment of something I carried around alone eased something inside me as though he was unburdening a piece of my soul.

Overwhelmed and maybe a little in awe of him, I said, “I was the one who came to save you.” It was me who went across the country and bartered a deal, promising to look out for him and keep him out of trouble. It was me who jumped off the bridge, risked my life to save his.

But it was him who reached into my chest and resuscitated my heart.

Bodhi sat up just enough to meet my stare. “I don’t think either one of us needs saving, Em.”

“No?”

He shook his head. “We just needed love.”

“Hmm,” I rumbled, sliding my forearms under his ass and pulling him farther up my body. “Well, I definitely love you.”

His hands hit the pillow on either side of my head, and I leaned up to claim his lips. His body went boneless, melting gently into me as my tongue swept into his mouth. Heat bloomed between us, friction building between our rubbing lips like we were two pieces of bone-dry kindling eager to burst into flames. Pushing my hands under the hem of the hospital gown, I palmed his bare ass, kneading the naked skin as we kissed. Whimpering, he rocked against me, his rigid dick stabbing into my stomach as my fingertips danced dangerously along his crack.

Beside my head, his hands fisted into the pillow, and I wrenched my mouth away to kiss across his jaw and down his neck. He arched, pushing his ass farther into my hands, and turned his face, lips seeking mine once more.

They crushed together, not a single inch between us as I grazed over his hole, feeling his body quiver.

Desire coursed through my veins, doing more for my circulation and body temperature than this sick ward ever could. His begging ass wiggled, and I laughed into the kiss, laying my finger right against his hole again.

Thigh muscles tensing, I readied to carry him from this bed into the privacy of the bathroom where I could bend him over the counter and bury my engorged dick right?—

“ Dad?!”

The sound of our lips popping apart wasn’t enough to cover my daughter’s loud gasp where she was somehow standing in the doorway .

I jolted, shoulders springing off the bed at the same time Bodhi dove into my chest, hiding his face in my neck. My arms went around him automatically, offering the protection he sought.

“Landry,” I said, surprise making my voice high. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Landry. What are you doing here?”

Her green eyes were giant saucers in her face, blond hair rumpled as though she’d rushed out of bed. Her T-shirt, which probably belonged to the man standing just behind her, was inside out.

“Me?” she squeaked. “You’re the one in the ER.”

Her eyes went to Bodhi, to the way he was literally hiding in my lap. When they bounced back to me, her lips parted and color bloomed on her cheeks.

I bit back a curse and reached for the blankets to make sure Bodhi’s ass wasn’t on display, but he must have thought I was going to push him away. He started to slide off me, slinking off the bed as if no one would see.

I made a rude noise and tugged him back, planting his ass right back in my lap where he belonged.

“Your daughter,” he whispered.

“Is about to meet my boyfriend.” I spoke against his ear. He made a surprised sound, but I ignored it. “Landry, get in here. Shut the door.”

Landry still stood there, gaping as if she’d just found out Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny were real.

“What the actual fuck is going on in here?” Rush exclaimed, far less slack-jawed than my daughter, stepping around her to storm to the foot of the bed and stare.

Always could count on him to get a party started.

“I told Landry to come in. Not you.”

“What? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” An accented voice filtered in from the hall.

I groaned.

“Oh God, it’s bad, isn’t it? Is it bad?” Owens lamented. “Ryan, you better fix this!”

Remember when I sent Satan packing back at the river? Well, this was him getting the last laugh.

Ryan Walsh filled the space behind my daughter, and to his credit, his reaction to seeing me with Bodhi in my lap was a lot less Jerry Springer than my daughter and her lesser half.

Look, I can’t keep explaining all these references to you. Just google Jerry if you don’t know him.

“Coach,” Ryan said, eyes passing over Bodhi who was still hiding—the little shit—and then back to me. “Are you okay?”

I sighed, accepting my fate. “You’re all out there, aren’t you?”

Landry’s head bobbed up and down.

“All of you get in here.”

“Emmett,” Bodhi hissed against my neck.

He didn’t get an opinion in the hidey hole.

“I told you I was all in,” I whispered. “Unless you changed your mind.”

An inkling of unease slithered through me, making me forget that an entire group of swimmers and their partners were crowding my emergency room in the middle of the damn night.

That got him out of my neck, his face finally filled with color, the two bright splotches on his cheeks a welcome sight. “I’ll never change my mind,” he said stubbornly and twisted on my lap to face the group.

“Ah!” Jamie hollered. “What in the swim-cest is this?”

I let out a long-suffering sigh. “Seriously, Owens?”

“Seriously, Coach. That nurse we all thought you were dating called up Landry and said you were admitted to the ER, and we all rushed over here, thinking there was a medical emergency.”

“It’s not an emergency. It’s an affair,” Wes concluded.

“Does she know you’re cheating on her, Coach?” Kruger demanded.

“I’m not dating that nurse!” I bellowed.

“Well, not now. She thinks you’re a two-timer.”

“I told you not to do that auction,” Bodhi smarted off like he was enjoying this.

“What happened to your hair?” Arsen asked.

Bodhi shrugged. “I cut it.”

“Can we still call you Malibu Barbie?” Win wanted to know.

“My sister used to shave all her Barbies’ heads,” Kruger lamented. “They were still Barbies.”

Win nodded as though that were the official answer.

“Dad,” Landry said, eyes still wide.

I held out my hand. “Come over here, ladybug.”

Her hand slipped into mine, and I wrapped the other around Bodhi’s hip.

“I fucking knew it,” Rush spat. “I called it that morning Bodhi came downstairs with no pants.” He went on, jabbing a finger at me. “You made out like I was being crazy. I wasn’t. I was right!”

“Bodhi was at Coach’s with no pants?” Rory whispered.

“And wearing his shirt.” Rush confirmed.

Win cackled. “Oh, they’re totally boning.”

“Would everyone shut up!” Landry exclaimed.

The room fell into quiet, and she looked at me.

“Ladybug, I can expla?—”

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

I blinked, not expecting that to be her first question. “What?”

“Are you hurt?” She spoke slower this time as if I were five and couldn’t comprehend English. “You’re in the hospital.”

“Oh,” I said, remembering where we were. “Yeah. I’m fine. A few bumps and bruises. Just waiting to get discharged.”

Landry’s eyes slid to Bodhi who was plastered at my side. “Are you okay?”

He nodded.

“What happened to your cheek?” Jess asked from across the room.

Bodhi’s fingers flew up to the angry scrape. The second he touched it, he winced. Leaning over, I grasped his hand and pulled it down.

“Don’t touch it,” I groused. Releasing his hand, I grabbed his chin and pulled his face around. “Let me see.”

For once, he did something without arguing and turned his face so I could inspect the cut. It wasn’t bleeding because they’d put two butterfly bandages across it, but it was red and irritated.

“Should I get the nurse?” I asked.

“It’s fine,” he insisted.

“You want some ice?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Ice? No way. I just warmed up.”

“I just bet you did,” Rush muttered darkly.

I cast him a look, and he glared.

Guess I didn’t need to ask how he felt about my relationship with his ex-bestie. You’d think he’d be more tolerant considering I hadn’t tossed him out of my house.

“Are you two… together ?” Kruger asked, swishing his finger between me and the man in my bed.

I realized then that everyone besides Rush was gawking as though I’d just held a séance and raised the dead.

“Bro, you think that was something?” Jamie guffawed. “That was nothing compared to the night at the dorm.”

“What happened at the dorm?” Arsen asked. Beside him, Prism perked up.

Ryan flashed a smile. “After Coach decked Bodhi’s old roommate, he told him Bodhi could whip out his dick and piss on him and he couldn’t do anything but take it.”

Wes deepened his voice in what I assumed was an impression of me. “You don’t ever put your hands on what’s mine ever again.”

It was a shitty impression.

“Bro,” Prism deadpanned.

Kruger nodded. “Careful, bro. Don’t burn your tongue on this piping-hot tea.”

Inviting these idiots in here was clearly a lapse in judgment. One I needed to correct, stat. I opened my mouth to do just that when Madison stepped out from between Jamie and Max.

“We brought trauma lattes!” she announced, holding up a drink carrier. Instantly, though, she grimaced, glancing down at the single cup left in the carrier.

“We… ah, didn’t know Bodhi would be here.” Worried, she glanced around. “Jamie.”

“I’ll go get another one, Maddie,” he offered.

Lars spoke up. “He can have mine.” When everyone turned to look at him, the blond Swede turned shy. “I haven’t drunk out of it yet,” he said, lifting another smaller cup in his other hand. “I was drinking this one first.”

I liked coffee, but this kid was addicted to espresso. Drank it at every practice and before every meet. Could be worse habits, in my opinion.

“You don’t have to give him your trauma latte, angel,” Win supplied. “We’ll get him another.”

“I want to,” Lars said, gazing back at Bodhi. “He needs it, and… that’s what friends do.”

Lars stepped away from Win and came around the side of the bed. I noticed the way Rush stiffened and how Win took a step forward. The entire room seemed to wait with bated breath as Lars approached Bodhi.

“Here, Bodhi,” Lars said, holding out the paper cup. “I really haven’t had a sip. And I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m glad you’re okay.”

Lars fell quiet, latte extended between them as everyone stared and Bodhi did nothing. He didn’t even look at Lars. I didn’t intervene, not this time. We weren’t at the pool, so I wouldn’t force them to get along. This wasn’t even a team thing but something deeper. Something Bodhi needed to confront.

I heard his thick swallow and felt his attention when he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

Not caring that everyone was watching, I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay,” I whispered. Not every battle could be won in a day, and Bodhi had already conquered so much.

“He can have mine,” I told Madison, gesturing for the coffee.

“Thanks,” Bodhi said, “Lars.” I glanced over to see him accepting the cup from Lars and taking a sip immediately. After he swallowed, he said, “It’s good.”

Lars didn’t give a significant reaction, just nodded. “Caramel always hits different after trauma.”

“I think you’re right.”

Everyone stayed quiet, staring at the two as though they were on exhibit at the zoo. It was literally just shared coffee… yet it was way more.

Clearing his throat, Lars went back across the room, slipping up to Win who kissed his forehead and pulled him into his side.

Madison passed me the last coffee, and Jamie shoved a box of open donuts under my nose. Half of them were already gone. “Snack?”

“Get those fried sugar bombs out of my face.”

“Sorry, Coach. Forgot you can’t eat like this in your old age. I’ll eat it for you.”

Satan was really working overtime.

He pulled back, but I made a sound and gestured for the box. The second I reached in, someone else spoke. “A minute on your lips, a lifetime on your hips.”

We all turned to see Prism standing there with a latte and a smile.

“That’s what my gran always says,” he told the room.

“Gran is a wise woman,” Arsen said.

“Practically the Dalai Lama,” Kruger parroted.

“Your gran is older than me,” I grumped, snatching a donut and pushing it under Bodhi’s nose. “Eat that.”

“I’m not hungry,” he argued.

“When’s the last time you ate?”

He blanched.

“Exactly,” I said, completely livid that he didn’t even know. That was changing. Immediately. Even if I had to feed him myself. “Here.” I grabbed another donut and stacked it on the first one. “Eat two.”

“ Em ,” he whined.

“Eat it, Goldilocks,” I ordered. “Hopefully, they both stick to your hips.”

Landry made a choked sound.

“Oh, for shit’s sake,” I muttered. “I meant because he needs some gains. For swimming .”

“Bro,” Jamie said, midway through a donut. “We all know that is not what you meant.”

“What the hell is going on?” Landry exclaimed.

“Maybe we should speak alone,” I said.

“They’ll all listen at the door anyway,” Max muttered.

“This is a nosy bunch.” Arsen agreed.

“Your business is our business. It’s the Elite way,” Kruger said.

Ryan made a sound of agreement.

Landry tossed her hands up in the air. “Not another word out of any of you until I get actual answers.” Putting her fingertips to her head, she sighed. “My God, it’s like trying to get juice out of a raisin.”

“Isn’t that what prune juice is?” Kruger wondered.

Rush rolled his lips in, trying not to laugh.

Landry looked like her head might blow off.

“It’s best not to engage with them, ladybug. Can’t argue with stupid.”

“Well, at least they haven’t been lying like you!” she snapped.

Well, that hurt. But I deserved it.

Someone sucked in their breath. “Scrappy comes out swinging.”

Landry leaned forward and grabbed my whistle, yanking it between her lips. And yes, I was wearing it with my hospital gown. It was the accessory that went with everything.

Phweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

“You know what?” Jess announced. “We’ll wait in the waiting room.”

“I was just about to have another cup of tea,” Kruger lamented.

“Out, Ben,” Jess ordered.

Everyone filed out of the room, casting a few lingering glances our way.

Landry dropped the whistle and glared at me.

“I didn’t lie.” I began.

She made a rude noise. “The literal definition of lying by omission is deliberately leaving out important details.” Her gaze drifted between me and Bodhi. “And I think the fact that you are sleeping with one of your swimmers is an important detail.”

I could tell her to mind her own business and where I put my dick was for me to decide. I could skirt around the truth and make it pretty.

Love isn’t pretty. It is often messy, complicated, and imperfect. And that’s why it’s so damn amazing to find. Because still wanting someone more than you want the breath in your lungs even when it’s all those things is nothing to be ashamed of.

“You’re right. I am sleeping with him,” I deadpanned.

Landry’s mouth dropped open, and I swear smoke blew out Rush’s ears.

Yeah, he’d stayed in the room. He was like a leech. Impossible to get rid of.

“But it’s not just sex. I’m in love with him. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, ladybug, but I’m sure you can imagine how complicated this is for me. Westbrook regulations forbid any sort of relationship between staff and students. He’s here on reparation for bad choices in California. You’re dating his ex-friend.”

“We’re not ex-friends. We’re just friends,” Rush barked.

“Really?” Bodhi said.

My heart sort of shrank a little upon hearing his wistful tone. Rush’s friendship meant so much to him, and if Rush fucked this up, then I’d fuck up his?—

“Of course, Bodhi,” Rush replied, then turned his dark gaze on me. “He’s been through a hell of a lot, and you’re taking advantage of him.”

I drew back as though he’d slapped me. “That’s rich coming from you,” I said, voice low and quiet.

His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“I would think you’d know it isn’t always what it seems. But I guess you can accept the benefit of the doubt when someone gives it to you, but you can’t offer it to anyone else.”

Rush took a threatening step forward, but my daughter’s palm slapped the center of his chest. “Stop it.”

Rush backed down, and Landry’s green eyes came back to me. “You’re in love with him?” She glanced at the man beside me. “With Bodhi.”

“Yes. I didn’t mean for it to happen,” I said, peeking at him as he drank his trauma latte like a good boy. “But he’s the best thing that’s happened to me since… well, you.”

Rush made a rude sound.

“I’ve never in my whole life seen you date anyone. Be in love with anyone,” she said.

“Because I haven’t,” I said simply.

“Why not?”

“It’s a long story that I would like to tell you, but maybe not right now. The abridged version is because the last person I truly loved died.”

Her shoulders slumped, and a stricken whine left her throat. “Oh my God, Dad.”

I pushed on, not wanting her pity. “I met your mom very shortly after. I was drunk and grieving. She got pregnant.”

Landry lowered herself onto the edge of the bed, and Rush moved to crouch in front of her. Her hands were swallowed when he folded them inside his.

“I never once regretted you. Hell, from the minute I knew about you, it gave me a reason to live. I meant what I said. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. But I couldn’t marry your mom, ladybug. The person I loved was dead. I was broken…”

Landry launched herself at me, throwing her arms around my shoulders and hugging me tight. Her little sniffle made my heart clench, and I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to keep that away from you. A parent’s trauma is not a child’s responsibility, and you’re my baby girl.”

“It’s okay, Dad. I understand.”

I wasn’t sure she could, but I appreciated her effort and the chance to explain as much as I could. “You can ask me whatever you want. Anything. I’ll answer it.”

Landry turned her stare to Bodhi. The coffee lowered from his lips, and he held it in front of him like a shield. Her head cocked to the side. “Do you love my father?”

“I said you could ask me anything.”

She shrugged. “I want to ask him.”

“Yes,” Bodhi answered without hesitation.

“Why?”

Bodhi stiffened.

“Landry,” I scolded.

She ignored me. Probably learned this terrible behavior from her boyfriend.

“Because he feels like mine.”

Want to know how to make an old man swoon? Repeat his shitty, lame lines back to him.

Fuck, that hit me right in the damn feels.

I didn’t think my daughter would be as impressed with that unpoetic declaration, but when I looked at her, her face was soft. “Oh.” Landry nodded. “I understand.” She glanced at Bodhi, pursing her lips. “But I’m not calling you dad.”

I groaned.

“How about stepdaddy?” Bodhi suggested. There was the brat.

“No!” Rush and I hollered at the same time.

He and Landry cackled while Rush and I sat there and shared a mental breakdown.

Was this the fucking twilight zone? Christmas was going to be a shitshow.

“So what, you’re like gay now?” Rush wanted to know.

“Jason!” Landry gasped. “That’s so rude.”

“Like you weren’t wondering too,” he muttered.

“You can’t just ask that,” she insisted.

“You can.” I interrupted them. “You can ask me whatever you want.” Then, “And no, I’m not suddenly gay. I’ve been gay my whole life.”

“Except for that time you slept with Landry’s mom.” Rush pointed it out as if I’d forgotten the reason for my daughter’s existence.

Maybe I’d just uninvite him to Christmas. Lock the door and not let him in.

“To be honest, I was drunk and in a bad headspace at that time. I think the gender of the person I found relief in wasn’t important. But usually, I prefer men.”

“Ones half your age,” Rush needled.

“Like I said, I haven’t dated in over twenty years.”

“You had to be getting it somewhere,” Rush muttered.

“Just what the hell are you implying, Jason?” Landry asked, arching a brow at her boyfriend.

“He said we could ask anything.” He defended himself.

I said my daughter could. Not him. He wasn’t even invited to Christmas!

For the sake of being the adult here, I decided to let it go and just answer. “I can honestly say I don’t have a thing for younger men. One just happened to grab my heart.”

Landry smiled like I was romantic.

Rush wasn’t convinced. “And what happens when people find out? When you get fired? What about Elite?”

Bodhi stiffened, and anxiety crackled in the air around him. We hadn’t had much time to talk or even think since everything happened, and being bombarded by Rush and his mouth so soon was a lot.

I kept my voice calm and matter-of-fact. “I love my job, and I care about Elite. You know that. But it’s not my whole life. Not anymore. Some things are more important. And that something is Bodhi.”

“You’d pick him over your career?” Rush seemed surprised.

“I’ll pick him over anything,” I said, completely succinct. “I love you, ladybug. So much. I hope you can accept that I also love Bodhi.”

She rushed forward and hugged me. “I just want you to be happy.” Then, surprisingly, she hugged Bodhi. Against his ear, she whispered, “If you hurt my dad, I’ll rip your balls off and feed them to you for breakfast.”

“Young lady!”

Bodhi laughed. “Noted.”

The door opened, and a male nurse came in carrying a tablet. “Good news,” he said. “After we recheck your vitals and body temperatures, if everything is stable, you can get out of here.”

“Can we do that now?” I asked, anxious to get Goldilocks home.

“Sure thing,” he said, grabbing a cart and wheeling it in behind him.

“What exactly happened?” Landry asked.

“Nothing too serious,” I told her.

The nurse snorted. “If you call falling from the Lackawaxen bridge nothing serious…”

“Oh my God!” Landry exclaimed. “You fell off a bridge!”

“It’s a good thing you’re professional swimmers. Anyone else would have died.” The nurse went on as though he were presenting evidence for Judge Judy.

I gave the man a searing look.

He cringed. “My bad.”

“Dad, how did this happen?” Landry asked, wringing her hands.

“I promise I’ll tell you everything. Just let us get out of here first.”

“But you’re sure you’re both okay?” she pressed.

Bodhi seemed surprised that she cared about him too, and I reached up to give the back of his neck a light squeeze. “I promise, ladybug.”

My reassurances worked, and Rush escorted Landry to the waiting room with the rest of Elite while the nurse went about getting us discharged.