Chapter Twenty-two

CHANCE PEERED AROUND THE bedroom door to see Jax. Good, she’s sleeping. She’d been home for two days, and Kristi was due to check on her around two in the afternoon. Chance was trying to juggle work with caring for Jax. She was grateful to her mothers, and to Kendra and Brandi, who’d stayed with her while Chance went and took care of some things at the office she couldn’t put off. Mike was still in town and had taken his turns sitting with Jax. Fortunately, Jacqueline had returned to her home in Virginia.

Chance was more than grateful that she hadn’t seen Jacqueline since the last scene at the hospital, and she hadn’t heard from Lacey at all. She knew Mike and Jacqueline’s impending divorce was on Jax’s mind, though Chance wasn’t sure she was upset by it. On her way to the kitchen, she let Zeus out the back door into the yard. They really needed a run, but the thought of leaving Jax held no appeal. She was scheduled to work the midnight shift with Khodi. Thankfully, next weekend was Daniel’s graduation from the academy. With Khodi on board and Daniel working the court duty, she would be back up to full staff. At least until Daniel left for his K9 training. She planned to step back into her administrative duties that would allow her to be home more. Her phone buzzed, and the display screen let her know it was Sarah calling.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Kristi and I are on our way over. Can we pick anything up for you? She’s bringing a lasagna with her, so we’ve got dinner covered for later.”

Chance smiled. She really did have the best friends in the world. “No, that’s perfect. She’s resting right now. I’ll be glad to have Kristi take a look at her injuries and reassure me we did the right thing bringing her home.”

“On our way. See you in twenty minutes.”

Chance juggled the phone, cursing herself that she hadn’t put it on speaker, as she made lunch for Jax and herself. “We’ll be here.” She hung up and continued making the turkey sandwich and stirring the chicken soup her mother had made the day before. It wasn’t that Chance couldn’t cook, she just preferred to do her cooking on the grill. She placed everything on a tray and carried it upstairs to Jax. When she pushed open the door with her foot, she was grateful to see two bright eyes looking back at her. “Hungry?”

Jax adjusted her position. “Starving actually. Tell me that’s Maggie’s soup?”

“It is, and half a sandwich. That way, you can take your pain medicine.”

Jax sighed. “I really want to stop taking it altogether. It makes me feel like I have oatmeal between my ears.”

Chance nearly dropped the tray chuckling. “Don’t make me laugh or you’ll be wearing the soup instead of eating it.”

After arranging everything for Jax, she grabbed her own portion, and the two of them dug in. Chance swallowed a bite. “Sarah and Kristi are on their way.”

“Good. I need a good progress report from her if I’m going to Daniel’s graduation.”

This was a discussion they’d had more than once over the last few days. “Jax, we’ve talked about this. You don’t have to go.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Jax sipped soup from the oversized mug.

“I’m worried about a trip that long, then coming back after. If you go, will you agree to stay overnight in Charleston and start home the next day? The graduation will wear you out after that drive.”

Jax nodded. “That I’ll agree to. I’m not delusional enough to believe it won’t exhaust me, but it’s important.”

Chance couldn’t stop the smirk that made its way across her face. “And you have no plans of letting Faith have an opportunity to be alone with me.”

Jax grinned over the rim of the soup bowl. “Nope.”

“And this is why I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They finished lunch, and Chance took the dishes to the kitchen. Zeus barked, drawing Chance’s attention to the door as she wiped her hands on a dishcloth. Sarah and Kristi stepped out of the vehicle. Chance came down the steps and took the large pan from Kristi.

“Let me help you.”

Kristi leaned in and kissed Chance’s cheek. “You just want to make sure you get the biggest piece.”

Chance tilted her head toward the house. “Not going to lie, that’s probably true. She’s awake.”

Kristi patted her on the back. “I’ll go check on her.”

Sarah stood at Chance’s side. “How are you doing with all this?”

“Scared shitless.”

Sarah patted Chance’s back. “I figured.”

“We’ve spent a lifetime apart. Almost losing Jax was worse than being shot at. It got even more complicated when her mother piled on with some shitty things, including calling her ex-wife. I swear, Sarah, you know I’m a patient person. I’ve made it part of how I respond as an officer, but that woman brought me right to the edge. I can’t understand wanting to hurt someone like she does.”

“I can. Look at my parents. For that matter, look at Faith.”

They made it inside, where Chance put away the food as Sarah let Zeus back in the house. Chance gestured to the library, where they sat down.

Chance put her face in her hands and took a deep breath. “Speaking of Faith, she wants to have lunch.”

“You’re kidding.”

Chance held up her right hand as if she were swearing an oath.

“Some days I wish she’d move away.” Sarah paused and shook her head. “I’m a terrible sister.”

It was sad for Chance to hear Sarah talk about her sister that way, even though Faith had always been less than supportive of Sarah’s career and partner choices. “No, you aren’t. It breaks my heart for you and Kristi. Those years I was with Faith, I tried to be the voice of reason. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she’s one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met.” Chance was glad she could make Sarah break out into a full-blown laugh.

“Ya think? She’s really my only family. That’s why it hurts so damn much that she can’t just be proud of the life I’ve made for my wife and child. It hasn’t been easy; you know that. The thing is, I wouldn’t change one single second of it. Faith has the education, the looks, and the money, but I have true love and a son who’s going to work for my best friend. A best friend who’s always been more of a sister to me.”

Chance knew that the Ryker family had always had high expectations for both their daughters. Sarah’s parents had basically disowned her when she came out. Dating men through medical school gave Faith a few years reprieve. When she started dating women exclusively, their parents had washed their hands of both of them.

“I’ve always considered you like a sister, too. Hell, you spent as much time at my house as you did your own. moms-squared adopted you a long time ago. You know they consider Daniel like a grandchild.”

Sarah dropped her eyes. “I don’t know how I’d have gotten through high school and college without your family. I know I didn’t become a doctor, but I take care of my fair share of patients to make sure they get to those highly trained doctors.”

Chance turned and looked Sarah directly in the eyes. “Sarah, don’t let Faith into your head like that. You make a difference in this community every day. You’ve raised an incredible kid who will soon be protecting this community from harm. You have a great deal to be proud about and nothing to feel like a failure over.”

Sarah nodded slowly. “He is something. Hard to believe next weekend he’ll graduate from the academy. I can’t tell you how much it relieves my mind to know he’ll be under your watchful eye.”

“Daniel is a special young man, and he’s got a long career in front of him. God help us when Kendra graduates from college. Our worry factor will be times two then. For now, how about we go check on our girls?” Chance wrapped an arm around Sarah’s shoulders as they headed upstairs.

 

***

 

“Well, what’s the verdict?” Jax shifted in the bed as much as she could without causing herself pain.

Kristi pulled the blood pressure cuff off Jax’s arm. “All your vitals are good. You seem to be managing your pain level, and the incision looks good. I’ll call Dr. Mason and give a full report. Are you sure you want to make that ride to Charleston?”

Jax brushed her hair back behind her ears. “If he thinks it will be a problem, then we’ll figure out what we need to do to mitigate it. I’m going, one way or another.”

Kristi put a hand over her mouth, stifling a chuckle. “With Faith going, I had money on you dragging yourself there if you had to.”

“These last few months, she’s been so persistent. Poor Theresa, my heart breaks for her.”

“I’ve known Theresa for years, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything that could make her pull back from her kids at school. I’ve tried to talk to her. There just doesn’t seem to be a good ending to this.”

Jax adjusted a pillow behind her back. “And if it’s not Chance’s ex, it’s mine. I still can’t believe my mother called her.”

“Your mom is something else. She hates the Fitzsimmons family so badly, she’s willing to hurt you to get back at them for some perceived wrong. Bizarre.”

“That’s one way to describe her. Dad says he’s going forward with the divorce no matter what. It’s certainly not what I was expecting. They’ve been together a very long time. He always bent to whatever she wanted. That included never standing up to her for me, until now.”

“We think differently the older we get. Some things become more important when we realize we’re closer to the end of our life than the beginning.”

Jax squeezed Kristi’s hand. “Very true. So, I have a favor to ask. I know Sarah will be standing with Chance, will you stand with me?”

“Do you know how many times I’ve been on a horse in the last few years? I can count them on one hand.” She laughed and nodded. “For you, anything.” Kristi vowed.

Two new voices floated a conversation to the doorway. Sarah and Chance stood side by side, both with smirks on their faces.

“How’s the patient?” Chance leaned on the door frame.

Jax pointed to Kristi. “I’ve been told by my highly qualified nurse that I’m doing well.”

Chance moved farther into the room and came to sit on the wide footboard of their bed. “Is that so?”

Kristi nodded. “Everything looks good. I’ll call Dr. Mason and confirm everything. If all stays the course, I think she can make the journey with some light pain meds.”

“Something that won’t make her feel like she has oatmeal between her ears?”

Kristi looked at Chance. “Do what?”

Chance shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I just quoted the patient.”

Kristi packed up her small medical kit. “I think we can work on that.” She turned to Jax. “You up for some cards if we get you to the couch? I brought lasagna for dinner.”

Jax nodded and let the simplicity of an afternoon with friends bring a smile to her face. “Sounds like a perfect afternoon. Thank you, Kristi. You and Sarah are a godsend.”