She knew that her father was upset she left so suddenly, but she was just burnt out. After a full day of shopping, hanging with her friends, and spoiling her nephews, dinner with the newly engaged couple was the last thing she wanted to do. What she wanted to do was cuddle up in Karson’s clothes and watch him kick ass on the ice. She only caught the first period, but he looked amazing and she knew he would continue kicking some major Ducks ass.

A grin sat on her face as she pushed open her apartment door and locked it behind her. Looking around the apartment, it felt so dull. She used to love this place. It was her own sanctuary of loneliness, but after sharing a home with Karson, she found herself missing his socks laying all over the place and the many cups of water that he left everywhere. She missed him; she always did.

Being back in Chicago was great though. Yeah, it was colder than a snowman’s balls, but she couldn’t help but miss it. Nashville had great weather and she loved how it didn’t know what it wanted to be weather-wise, but she loved the bite that Chicago gave her. Her beautiful city always kept her on her toes. Also seeing all her friends, visiting the store, and seeing all her clients caused her to be a little misty-eyed. She missed this place, but it wasn’t home without Karson.

Home was where your heart was.

And her heart was with Karson.

It was that simple.

While she couldn’t wait to go home to welcome him, she was going to enjoy Chicago and get her fill before returning back. She would treasure her time with her friends and steal as many kisses from her nephews as she could. She would make the next week last her until she came back, but maybe by then she wouldn’t miss it as much as she had. It had been hard, but she knew that it was because of all the changes. She didn’t do change before Karson, but since being back with him, that’s all she had done. Change after change, and while, yes, it was good and she was happy, it was all a little crazy.

But it was their crazy.

Hanging her coat up and then her scarf, she saw the pile of mail Grady said he had dropped off. Picking up the pile, she went to the counter to open it all. She would need to call to have her mail forwarded now that they’d moved into their house. There was no reason to keep mail going to her apartment, especially when they wouldn’t be renewing the lease. It worried her a bit to do that since she wouldn’t have her own space to stay when she came to check on the store, but then again, it gave her more time with her nephews since she would stay with Rachel and Grady.

Just thinking of Rachel, a grin formed. It was like they hadn’t been fighting for the last month, and Lacey couldn’t stop being giddy from it. She was thankful that Rachel had let it go and that she had apologized. Whenever Karson called, Lacey planned to tell him that Rachel was completely genuine. It was honestly like they were back in college. She asked questions about Karson for hours, and it was great to talk to a fellow hockey wife who went through the same things Lacey was going through now.

Lacey had everything she wanted, and life was good.

She just hoped it stayed that way.

She and Karson still hadn’t spoken about the kid thing since that night in bed, and she wasn’t sure if he’d forgotten or if he was waiting for her to speak to him. If that was the case, he would be waiting a long time. She knew that was wrong, but why ruin a good thing? They were happy and they were adjusting to being apart. Soon they would be pros and the time would fly by until the moment they were together. It was going to be fine. Great even, and then they would discuss the kid issue. Even then, they would work it out. That’s what they had to do because they belonged together.

Still smiling, she flipped through her mail that was mostly junk mail until she came to a letter from her doctor. Her brows came up as she opened the letter to find that her doctor needed her to come in for further testing because her levels were off. As her stomach sank, she sucked in a deep breath, rereading the letter. Checking the time, she figured it wasn’t too late to call the doctor who had been her physician for as long as she could remember and who was also a close friend of the family.

He answered on the second ring. “Why are you calling me at nine o’clock, Lacey Martin?”

She smiled. “It’s Lacey King now.”

“Oh really, no invite for your favorite doctor?”

“We eloped.”

“How very spontaneous of you. I’m surprised I haven’t seen your father for a heart attack,” he joked and Lacey giggled.

“Me too, actually. Anyway, I was calling because of this letter I got a week ago. Why didn’t anyone call me?”

He paused for a moment and then said, “You know I was thinking of you the other day. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you yet. I need you to come in.”

She felt like her stomach flip-flopped in her body as she asked, “Is it serious?”

“Eh, it could be.”

Swallowing past the lump, she asked, “On a scale from one to cancer, what are we at?”

“Maybe a seven. I’m not sure, but your blood work was all over the place. I’m hoping it’s nothing too serious and I can fix you up with some meds,” he said softly, but Lacey’s heart wasn’t slowing down any. “But if it’s cancer though, we’ll kick its ass again. Don’t worry. How about you come in Monday? I’ll have my receptionist call you.”

Lacey scoffed, trying not to think the worst. He didn’t sound that worried, so hopefully she would be okay. “Will she actually call me this time?”