“Yeah,” Lacey said, her heartbeat slowing a little. Her face was still hot with anger, but she could see that Rachel meant it. “I love him.”

“I know. I just thought you loved us and here more.”

“Don’t put that on me; that’s wrong. Don’t make me choose.”

Rachel nodded again. “I don’t mean to, it’s just hard. I wish he were here so you could stay.”

“That would be ideal, but it’s not the case.”

“Maybe one day,” she said with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, maybe,” Lacey agreed, but she’d never admit how she wished that would happen. She would love to move back to Chicago, but only if Karson were with her. She doubted he would ever move to the Hawks, but she couldn’t help but wish he would. It would make the issues in her life disappear, but then he wouldn’t be happy, and she didn’t want that.

“I’m really sorry, Lacey. I don’t know what Karson said, but I have a feeling he doesn’t trust me because of your dad. But I promise, I have your best interests at heart,” she said and Lacey shrugged.

“It’s just hard right now with us being apart. He knows you are a good person,” Lacey said, letting out a breath. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Wrapping her arms around Lacey, Rachel hugged her as Lacey squeezed her back. “I’m glad you are okay.”

“Me too,” she whispered, hugging her best friend tighter. “Okay, go on, Zander is waiting.”

“All right, call me later,” Rachel said with a grin as they parted, getting her keys out of her purse.

“Will do,” Lacey agreed before getting into her car and shutting the door. Leaning the back of her head against the headrest, she closed her eyes, letting the weight of the world fall away. She had been so nervous, scared, and mad that her life could be turned back upside down. Thankfully, it was something mild and manageable, but the fear she had been trying to keep in check all weekend still burned in her chest.

“Well, that was a tense couple hours,” she said to herself before opening her eyes and turning the car on. As she pulled out of the parking spot, she picked up her phone and headset to call Karson. She really should tell him about everything, but then she thought it would be better to tell him in person. Even though there wasn’t anything seriously wrong, she knew he would be upset that she hadn’t told him, and she wanted to be there to assure him she was okay.

When he answered, she smiled. “Hey lover,” she cooed.

“Hey baby, what were you doing?”

“Just a checkup at the doctor, no biggie. Had to change everything over, and I got a referral to a good doctor in Nashville,” she said brightly.

When he paused, she knew he thought the worst and immediately said, “I’m fine, Karson, I promise.”

“Okay, cool, that’s good you got a doctor in Nashville.”

“Yeah, I’m good with it,” she agreed. “How’re you holding up? How’s JT?”

“Funny you should ask. He’s as angry as ever and going to have another surgery in the morning.”

“Oh crap,” she said, her heart aching for him.

“Yeah, me and a couple of the guys are flying back to Nashville today to try to raise his sprints before flying back out here.”

She paused. “So you’ll be in Nashville?”

“Yup, in a matter of hours. Fucking sucks you won’t be there.”

“Ugh, yeah,” she agreed, her heart sinking. “Now I wish I would have just stayed home.”

“Yeah, but you’re having fun, and I won’t be there but for two hours,” he said, and she wasn’t sure who he was trying to console—her or himself. “I couldn’t cheer JT up and then lay it on you in that small time frame.”

She giggled, her heart skipping a beat. “Yeah, it would take more than two hours to make JT feel better.”

Karson laughed. “This is true, but I was thinking I needed way more time with you.”

“I agree. You would,” she giggled as she turned onto her street. “I still wish I was home.”

“Me too. I’ll see you very soon, and then I am going to need two days to make up for all the sex I’ve deprived you of.”

Oh God, the next six days were going to drag.

And they did.

She was miserable when she was alone, but when she was with Rachel or the girls from the shop, she was actually okay. She didn’t want to ball up and cry because she missed Karson. They distracted her, and she was thankful for that, but she knew that she couldn’t do this every time Karson had to leave. She was going to have to get used to being without him, and that didn’t sit well with her.

When they were younger, she thought she would have this in the bag. She had been ready to be a hockey wife, and she probably would have been already if she had been with him, but being apart for those nine years really hurt them. Now she wanted to glue herself to him and never let him leave. She couldn’t get enough and she knew that it would get better, but in a way she didn’t want it to. She liked that she was so engrossed in him and that she missed him to the extreme. It meant she loved him, and the fact that he felt the same way was refreshing.

They had an all in kind of love and she treasured it.

But her family. Well, that was another story.

“Are you sure you have to leave?” her father asked as he handed her a mimosa. They were at her old family home for brunch before she flew out in a couple hours to be there when Karson got home. To say her body was shaking with anticipation was an understatement. She couldn’t wait to see him. Wrap her arms around him and get lost in his kisses. Not even her family could bring her down. She was finally going to have her husband back.