Las Vegas Sidewinders: Karl (Book 3) (7 page)

“You haven’t been very
friendly lately.”

“You were the great
love of my life,” she said.

“We were kids!” he
protested. “We were 17!”

“And 20.” She shrugged.
“There’s never been anyone else quite like you.”

“It was a long time
ago,” he replied easily.

“Remember Iceland?” she
said, smiling. She sat across from him with a little grin. “And that stupid
igloo?”

Karl smiled after a
moment. “God, I haven’t thought about that in a long time.” He shook his head.
“I thought we were going to freeze to death in that thing!”

“And your mom found us
buck naked and turning blue!”

“I heard about that for
weeks!” he groaned.

“Or that tournament in
Switzerland!” she giggled. “
Em
got so drunk she
toppled over the seats and onto the bench of the other team!”

Karl laughed. “Oh yeah!
And my guys were trying to lift her out but the other team was pulling her
back.”

“You got so mad you
skated off the ice and jumped into their bench!”

They were both laughing
now. “See?” he said. “We were 18! Crazy!”

“We had some good
times,” she said.

“We did,” he agreed.

“Let’s have a drink to
good times,” she got up and moved towards the kitchen. “Tequila or scotch?”

“Tequila!” he said
absently, leaning back so he could text Kate.

Whatcha
doin
’?

Working—what else? You?

Having a drink and then
going to bed. All day at the hospital, again.

Poor baby. Need a
massage?

Desperately.

Maybe I can get away
for a few days next week.

You think?

I already put it out
there to Dante—if I can work around his schedule, I could get away for 4 or 5
days.

That would be awesome.
Let’s talk about it tomorrow.

Good night, babe.
Xoxoxo

“Here we go!” Therese
came out with two glasses, handing him one and keeping the other. “To
friendship and good memories!”

“To friendship!” He
downed the shot and relaxed as it burned down his throat.

“Another?” she asked
with a smile.

“Sure.” He held up his
glass. It had been a long time since he’d been drunk; maybe tying one on would
clear the cloud that had been in his heart since he’d arrived in Sweden.

Karl woke with a raging
headache to the incessant ringing of his phone. Growling, he reached for it and
put it to his ear without checking the caller ID. “Yeah, what is it?”

“How could you?” Kate’s
voice caught on a sob on the other end.

“Kate? What’s wrong,
baby?” Karl sank back against the pillows, wondering what had her so upset.

“
What’s wrong?!
”
Her voice broke.

“Baby, I had a really
bad day yesterday and drank a little too much last night, so you’re going to
have to give me a clue what you’re upset about.”

“Oh, maybe a little
thing like your
Twitter
post.”

“My what?” He closed
his eyes. “Kate, I haven’t been on Twitter in days.”

“I guess you had more
to drink than you thought,” she whispered.

“Babe?” He fought a
sigh of frustration. “I can’t look at Twitter while we’re on the phone.”

“Then maybe I should
let you go!” She abruptly hung up.

Karl stared at the
phone in confusion. What the fuck had just happened? Kate had never hung up on
him before. Hell, they’d never even had a fight before, and the worst part was
he had no idea what she was mad about. Reluctantly, he opened the Twitter app
on his phone. He went to his home page and blanched. A picture of him and
Therese had been posted about eight hours ago and he cringed at the loving
smile on her face as she curled against his side, her head on his shoulder. His
eyes had been half-closed; he’d been wasted off his ass. He had absolutely no
memory of the picture and he almost fell off the bed as he read the
accompanying text.

Karl
Martensson
@KarlMartensson35 8h

Home is where the heart
is—Sweden. #
nomorefatties

“Sonofabitch!” He
nearly threw the phone across the room as he realized what had happened;
Therese had used his phone to post a selfie she’d taken while he was too drunk
to know better and then insulted Kate. In front of the whole world. “Dammit!”
He immediately called Kate back, nearly crying with relief when she answered
haughtily.

“What?!” she snapped.

“I’m sorry,” he
whispered roughly. “I had a terrible day with my mom yesterday. I got home and
started drinking. Therese showed up and we were talking. I swear to God, Kate,
nothing happened. She must have grabbed my phone when I passed out. I would
never say something like that about you—never!”

“How could you do this
to me?!” she whispered, trying not to cry again.

“I’m so sorry, baby!
I’m coming home and I’ll fix this. I will make a public apology on my account
as soon as I book my flight. I’ll be on a flight tomorrow if I can get one, and
I’m going to make this up to you, okay?” He paused, waiting for her to say
something. “Kate? Baby, I love you. Do you hear me? I love you—I would never do
something like this. You have to know that.”

“You mean it?” she
asked after another long hesitation. “You’re really in love with me?”

“Yes.” He hadn’t
planned to say it, but the moment the words came out of his mouth he knew it
was true. He was mortified that Therese had tried to humiliate her like this
again and he was going to set her straight as soon as he calmed Kate down.

“Say it again.”

“I love you.” A small
smile played on his lips. “I have for a while now; I was just trying to figure
out the right time to say it.” He could hear her sniffling on the other end.
“Come on, the first time you say I love you is supposed to be a big deal.
Aren’t you going to say it back?”

“Do you have any idea
how many awful comments I’ve heard about my weight today?”

“I’m sorry,” he said
gently. “I am going to hang up and book a flight home. I promise. Then I’m
going to shower and go find Therese—she will never do something like this again.
I swear it, Kate.”

“You’re really coming
home?”

“Absolutely. And if I
have to come back because of my mom, you’re coming with me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Kate.”

“I love you, too.”

“I’ll email you my
flight info as soon as I book it. Meet me at the airport?”

“Of course.”

“See you tomorrow.” He
hung up and immediately pulled up the airlines to find a flight home. He needed
to see his mother and then he was going to find Therese. He’d had about enough
of her machinations; this was going to end now.

Karl strode into the
hospital feeling better. He’d booked a flight to New York for the following
morning and he’d sent the information to Kate. He’d left Therese a phone
message telling her he wanted to talk to her right away, and he’d packed his
suitcase. Once he explained what was going on to his mother, he would be ready
to leave; he could always come back—with Kate—and everything would be okay.

Turning the corner to
his mother’s wing, he stopped abruptly at the sight in front of him. His father
was deep in conversation with a middle-aged doctor, Therese at his side, her
arm intimately linked in his. Karl narrowed his eyes in irritation; now what?

“Karl!” His father turned
to him, his eyes red-rimmed from exhaustion. “I’m glad you’re here, son. I was
getting ready to call you.”

“What’s going on?” Karl
ignored Therese completely.

“Your mum had an
incident last night,” his father said quietly. “A small heart attack.”

“What?!” Karl could
feel his blood pressure rising. “Why didn’t you call me?! I would’ve been here
hours ago!”

“Therese said you’d
been drinking so I thought—”

“Therese said?!” He
whirled on her. “Why were you talking to my father about me? What the hell, Therese?!”

“You’d had a lot last
night,” she demurred, lowering her eyes. “I’m sorry, darling, I just—”

“What the fuck—”

“Karl!” His father’s
booming voice interrupted. “Stop it! Therese has been very helpful. Her uncle,
Sven, is a top cardiologist here in Sweden and he flew in this morning to look
at your mum. We’re very grateful.”

Karl had to take a
breath, realizing Therese had manipulated him into a corner he couldn’t easily
get out of. His mother’s health was always a priority and he now realized the
lengths Therese would go to in her quest for them to get back together. He just
didn’t understand why. It had literally been six years since they’d broken up
and almost as long since they’d been in touch. He had no idea why she was
suddenly infatuated with him again, but this wasn’t the time to say anything.

His mind whirling in
confusion, he turned to the doctor. “We appreciate you being here—thank you.”
He glanced at Therese. “But there is never a time when I’m too drunk or too
tired to be here for my mother. Please call me next time, no matter what.”

“Of course.” She looked
properly contrite.

“Sven
Anderberg
.” The doctor held out his hand and Karl
automatically shook it.

“Thank you for taking
care of my mother. Can someone tell me what’s happening?”

The doctor explained
the relatively minor, but still serious, cardiac event that had brought him to
Stockholm. His mother was already weak from the chemo and the infection, so
heart problems were only going to make things harder. As he explained his plan
and how long he thought Anya should stay in the hospital, Karl felt an
overwhelming sense of dread. How could he leave now? His father would need his
support and he knew his mother was always happier when Karl was around.

“So surgery?” Karl was
trying to wrap his head around all the information.

“A stent will open
the…” The doctor’s voice began to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher on Peanuts
and Karl could feel a headache starting to burn behind his eyes as he explained
what he was going to do and why.

Wha
wha
wha
wha
wha
wha
wha
wha
.

Karl nodded as though
all of it made sense, and finally escaped into his mother’s room. She was
awake, as though waiting for him, and she reached out her hand.

“Mom.” He leaned over
to kiss her forehead.

“I’m sorry, darling. I
told them not to wake you.”

He rolled his eyes.
“Would you stop it?” he said. “I should have been here hours ago!”

“Therese said—”

“Don’t listen to
anything she says,” he whispered, leaning over so his mouth was close to her
ear. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but she doesn’t know anything about me. So
only talk to me. Please.”

“Of course.” Her eyes
narrowed slightly. “Darling, what’s happening with her? Why does she insist
that you’re back together if you’re not?”

“I’m not quite sure.”
He squeezed his mother’s hand. “But I just want you to rest, okay? I’ll deal
with her.”

“She’s very close to
Emilie and both your father and brother adore her,” she said softly. “You need
to be careful with her, Karl.”

“I’m a big boy,” he
forced a smile as he looked at her. “You just take care and let me worry about
everything else.”

“Make sure your father
takes his pills,” she murmured as her eyes began to close. “And pays Mrs.
Karlsson
for the gardening…”

“I’ll take care of everything.”
Karl watched her drift off to sleep and then made his way back into the
hallway. He needed to make sure his father was taking care of himself; his
blood pressure tended to skyrocket when he got upset. Then he wanted to do some
research on Therese’s uncle to make sure he was as good as they said he was. He
needed to stay away from Therese, too; he had no idea what she was capable of
anymore.

Kate glanced at the
time on her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. Karl’s flight had
landed nearly two hours ago, and though she knew customs at John F. Kennedy
Airport could take a long time, she was beginning to doubt he was here. She’d
tried to text him and the messages were all showing undeliverable, which meant
his phone was off. It was possible it had died on the long flight from
Stockholm, but he always flew first class and he should have been able to
charge it. A funny feeling settled in the pit of her stomach when she saw Erin
calling and she answered nervously.

“Hey.”

“Kate?” Erin’s voice
was soft.

“What’s up?”

“Is Karl there?”

“No! I don’t know
what’s going on!”

“There’s more stuff
online, Kate; I don’t think he’s coming.”

“What now?” Kate walked
towards a chair and sank into it, dread filling her.

“There’s an article on
Reddit, using a bunch of Twitter quotes, saying Karl is staying in Sweden to
play for the SHL.” Erin paused. “And Drake said he was thinking about it
earlier this season when Marco was really pissing him off.”

“He never said a word
about leaving the NHL,” Kate said sadly.

“Drake is going to
kill
him, if it makes you feel any better.”

“Not really.” Kate felt
a sob rising in her throat and she hung her head as she tried to breathe.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie.
It might not be what we think, but…”

“First that tweet with
him and Therese and now this.” Kate got to her feet and looked around the
bustling terminal. “I guess he’s really not coming.”

“Drake has been trying
to call him but it’s going right to voicemail. I heard through the hockey
grapevine his mom had a heart attack.”

“Oh.” As hurt as she
was, Kate knew Karl’s bond with his mother was strong, and he would be
heartbroken if anything happened to her.

“It’s going to be okay.
We’ll figure this out.”

“He lied to me. He told
me he was coming home and not only did he not come, he couldn’t even bother to
call and tell me! I’ve been sitting here like an idiot.”

“I’m coming to New
York—I already bought my ticket, so don’t say no. I know you—and I’m going to
be there for you the way you were there for me.” Erin had come home from Afghanistan
with third-degree burns on over 40% of her body and Kate had taken care of her
for almost two years before she’d met Drake.

“It’ll be good to have
you here,” Kate admitted. “But right now I need to have a good cry, and then
get ready to meet with Dante. When are you getting here?”

“I’m leaving for the
airport soon, so I’ll be there late tonight.” Erin was in Virginia until June 1
^st
,
when she would retire from the Marines and move to Las Vegas permanently.

“Okay, text me when you
get here and I’ll let you know where I am. With Dante—you never know.”

“Just breathe, Kate.
I’m sure we’re going to clear this up.”

“Yeah, okay.” Kate put
her phone in her purse and walked out to get in line for a cab. She was so
heartbroken she didn’t know what to think; right now she had to focus on
getting home. She couldn’t believe Karl would do this to her and she was so
angry she couldn’t even think about the fact that he’d told her he loved her
just yesterday. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but right now it hurt
so much it didn’t matter.

Karl had been with his
mom all day and was exhausted. He’d been with doctors all day too, trying to
gauge her condition and decide if she needed to be moved somewhere special. It
had been a grueling day, as he tried to help his father make decisions he
wasn’t prepared to make. Sebastian and Emilie, of course, were completely
useless in any kind of crisis that involved their parents, so it was Karl who
signed papers, spoke to the doctors and helped his father weed his way through
all the possible options. He’d gone to a local internet café and gotten online
to research Therese’s uncle and he was, indeed, one of the best cardiologists
in not just Sweden but all of Europe. That was both good news and bad news for
Karl since he didn’t want Therese anywhere near him or his family but he
definitely wanted the best doctor for his mother.

The icing on the cake
came when he got home late that night. He’d been planning to call Kate to
explain what had happened but his phone slipped out of his pocket and into the
toilet. By the time he got it out and tried to dry it off, it had gone
completely dead. Tired and pissed off, he’d gone to bed hoping to find
somewhere to replace it in the morning. His luck hadn’t changed, though, and he
woke to his sister shaking him in irritation, telling him their father needed
him back at the hospital right away. By the time Karl thought about replacing
his phone again, all the stores had closed and, much to his chagrin, he
couldn’t remember a single phone number. Not even Kate’s.

When he finally had a
new phone and got it linked to his old phone, with all the data transferred, he
was shocked to find he had dozens of voicemails, texts and Twitter alerts. With
a frown, he went to his voicemail. The first message was from Drake and Karl
had to pull the phone away from his ear because he was yelling so loud. “Are
you fucking kidding me?! I know you’ve got a lot going on with your mom, but
seriously?! What you did was inexcusable. And I warned you about fucking around
with Kate—you and I need to talk. What the fuck, bro?!”

Karl stared at the
phone in surprise. He knew Kate was probably mad that he hadn’t called to tell
her he’d have to miss his flight, but that couldn’t be what Drake was pissed
about, could it? The next message was from Coach Barnett, which was even worse.

“Son, I understand that
backing up Marco was rough this year, but talking to another team about leaving
wasn’t the way to handle it. If you’re coming back to the Sidewinders, we’re
going to have to have a serious conversation about that. I’m sorry about your
mom, but if you plan on continuing your NHL career here, you need to get back
to me.”

Again, Karl was
startled. What the hell had happened? He hadn’t talked to anyone except his
brother about wanting to leave the Sidewinders since he’d left Las Vegas and
this was simply baffling.

The message from Lonnie
Finch was the worst of all of them. “
Martensson
,
you’re going to owe this club a million dollar fine for this bullshit! You
better have a good lawyer!”

A bad feeling was
beginning to settle in his stomach and Karl had to take a deep breath before
listening to the next message, which was from Kate.

“I’m sorry about your
mom,” she said in a soft voice. “I hope she’s okay. I don’t understand why you
had to do something so hurtful if you wanted to stay in Sweden, but I guess it
was inevitable. I knew you were way out of my league, but I took a chance
anyway. So please, if you ever had any feelings for me at all, don’t call,
don’t write, don’t get in touch. You humiliated me in front of the whole
world—and then just left me waiting at the airport like a fool. I will
never
understand that. Anyway, good luck in the SHL. Bye, Karl.”

Karl immediately dialed
Kate’s number and was surprised to hear the automated message that came on.
“You have reached Lansing Public Relations. There’s no one available to take
your call, but if you leave a message, Kate or Lana will get back to you as
soon as possible. If this is an emergency, you can reach Lana at…” Karl ended
the call.
What the fuck?!

Since Twitter was the
root of all evil in his mind, he went there first. He saw the post from the
other night and now he could see all the responses too. The first one he saw
was from Dante and his blood ran cold.