The Nice Guy and the Therapist (New Hampshire Bears Book 11)

by Mary Smith

  Picking up a folder she handed it to Cabel. “It’s a constitutional class. It said it’s good for students thinking of a law career.”

  “A law career? I thought you like techy stuff.” This was the first time he heard this.

  “Well, I’ve thought about it before, you know.” She shrugged and the happiness faded. “Maybe if I worked at the ACLU, I could help others. Plus, I love the techy stuff.”

  “Leia.” Cabel glanced down at his oldest daughter. “I think you’d make an excellent lawyer.”

  “Really?” Her smile returned. “I’ll order the material today.”

  The laptop began to ring alerting Leia that class was about to begin. He left her alone and grabbed a bottle of water before going to his bedroom.

  Cabel: Leia wants to be an atty?

  Chloe: Yes. Well, she said before she might like it. Is she talking abt it again?

  Cabel: Wants to work with the ACLU.

  Chloe: She’s doing well?

  Cabel: Yes, I think she is. I’ll sit down with her tonight and go over the work to be sure. Though calculus might be over my head.

  Chloe: Don’t you have plans tonight? I’ll check on her later. Go have fun.

  Cabel almost forgot about seeing Caryn tonight. He knew he wouldn’t cancel on her unless it was world ending. He wanted to see her.

  Cabel: Ok. I shouldn’t be too late.

  Stretching out on the bed, he tried to clear his mind and take a nap, unsure if it would actually clear his mind.

  Dressing up for tonight’s dinner wasn’t on Cabel’s list. He decided on jeans and a polo. Food hadn’t crossed his mind either as he knocked on her door.

  Just like every time before, his heart stopped when his eyes landed on her. All thoughts drifted away as he took in her curves and magnificent smile. Her tight, dark washed jeans hugged her nicely. Her red hair sat high on her head, tucked into a perfectly shaped bun. He desperately wanted to kiss her neck but stopped himself.

  “Hi,” she greeted him.

  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Hello.”

  “Come in.” She stepped to the side for him.

  “Thanks.” Cabel thought about the first time he had come into her home. It felt homey, almost as if he belonged there. “Something smells good,” he commented, turning to face her.

  “Don’t be too impressed, it’s takeout.” She smirked making her way to the dining room.

  He followed her and chuckled when he saw the table. She had ordered a large pizza from his favorite place, with his favorite toppings and even had a root beer float. “Looks amazing.”

  She smiled as he pulled a seat out for her. “I’m glad you think so. All I did was push a few buttons on an app and wait for the delivery.”

  “Well, you’re excellent at it.” He took the seat to her right.

  They each put a slice of pizza on their plate and he watched her sip the root beer float. They ate in silence for a moment before Caryn asked, “How’s everything at home?”

  “Good, so far. Leia seems happier. Although it’s still new, I’m hoping her enthusiasm stays.”

  “Just continue to be there for her,” Caryn advised.

  Cabel talked to her about Leia’s dream of being an attorney and then discussed practice, and Caryn told him about The New Outlook fundraiser.

  “Greer seems to have everything in place.” She finished the slice of pizza on her plate. “I was wondering if you’d be my date for the fundraiser?” She beamed.

  “Don’t you want to ask Oliver?” Cabel couldn’t figure out where the question came from. He had no intentions to be rude to her, but a rush of hurt hit him from out of nowhere.

  “Well, Oliver will be there, but I’d like to go with you.” She reached for his hand, but he pulled his away.

  “Caryn.” He paused, wiped his mouth with the napkin and set it down. “I have tried to be patient about your relationship with Oliver, but I’m really reaching my point.”

  “Point of what?” She placed her hand in her lap.

  “Boiling point. Point of break. Point of ended.” He rattled on. “I want you as my girlfriend, and I’m tired of sharing.”

  Caryn studied Cabel for several seconds. “Oliver’s and my relationship is complex but important in my life.”

  “I’m tired of being second chair to him.” Cabel’s voice raised a bit.

  “You’re not second—”

  “Yes, I am.” He cut her off.

  “Like I said, Oliver and I have a relationship, but—”

  “Great.” He stood up abruptly. “I will not stand here and beg you to date me. Thank you for tonight.” He rushed to the door and out to his car. In his rearview mirror, the last image he saw was Caryn standing on the porch, watching him drive away.

  Two weeks have passed and Cabel has ignored all of Caryn’s attempts to contact him. Opening day came and went without so much as a blink from him. It had been the first time in his life he didn’t care. He wanted Caryn but couldn’t fight for her anymore. Anger and hurt laid under his skin. One he never felt before and hated it. Never in his life had he been mean to anyone or ran away from a friend.

  I miss my friend.

  As practice was finishing, Cabel continued to keep the fake smile on his face and pretended his life was just perfect. Thankfully, most of the team was focused on Dag. He had gone out on a date with some girl from Twitter. No one noticed the change in Cabel, or maybe he pretended better than he thought.

  “Pops, want to go to lunch?” Shade called out just as Cabel was getting into his Hummer.

  “Nah, not today. Have things to do before the game.” He waved to the guys and shut the door. He didn’t have anything to do in retrospect except go home and wait for the game to start.

  When he pulled into the garage, it had been the first time in his life he truly cared about nothing—besides his girls. He didn’t even want to go to the game tonight. Could he call in sick? He debated every scenario in his head to see if any of them would work for him not to play tonight. None of them did. Giving up, he made his way into the house.

  “Dad.” Leia raced over to him and leaped into his arms. “Guess what?”

  “What is it?” He easily placed her back onto her feet.

  “Look.” She waved a paper in front of his face. “Can you believe it?”

  “I can’t see.” He chuckled at her excitement and took the paper from her. The paper Leia had been working on for the past week had handwritten notes from the teacher. “Exceptional job. Best one in the class.” Cabel read with a smile. “Leia, I knew you could do it. I’m so very proud of you.” He hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

  “I have to show Mom when she comes over later. Wait, there’s more.” She ran away from him and toward the stove. “I made dinner.” She opened the oven door, and he didn’t think her smile could grow any wider.

  “Really?” He strolled over and saw a pan of food bubbling in the oven.

  “I found it on Pinterest, and I thought we could try it.”

  “I can’t wait. I’m going to go and rest for a little bit,” he told her and headed upstairs.

  He stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes, but his mind wouldn’t let him sleep. His mind stayed on Caryn. He couldn’t get his heart to understand she didn’t love him, and it was a waste of everyone’s time to try to make her. Cabel scoffed to himself. He knew you couldn’t make anyone do anything, especially fall in love. As much as he wanted her to fall in love with him, he needed to get up and move on.

  Cabel finally let sleep takeover, and he drifted into a slumber.

  Cabel felt all eyes were on him as his family sat down to the dinner that was prepared by his daughter. Thankfully, Bria kept telling everyone about how hard she had been practicing her lines in the play. He was proud to hear how much she had been enjoying it. Leia then praised about her classes. Chloe beamed listening to her daughters renewed love of school. Cabel felt the pride practically rolling off his ex-wife, and
it gave him the happiness he seemed to be missing in his life right now.

  “What about you, Dad?” Bria turned the eyes back to him. “You look tired.”

  He shook his head and put a fake smile on for her. “Nope, just thinking about the game. Everything’s outstanding.” He only partially lied. Being with his family right now was outstanding. However, Caryn weighed heavily on his mind still. He knew he had to push it away because the game would be starting in just a few hours, but somehow…she wouldn’t leave.

  “Dad!” Leia snapped her fingers.

  “Huh? What?” His thoughts disappeared, and he came back to reality. “What did you say?”

  “Cabel, are you sure you’re okay?” The concern filled her face as she asked.

  “Yes. Yes. Sorry, just the game.” He stammered on his words. Bria seemed to buy it, but Leia and Chloe clearly did not. “How’s work, Chloe?” Changing the subject seemed to be the best option right now, and somehow it worked. For a little while.

  As they finished their meal and everyone helped clean up the dishes, Leia pulled her father to the hallway. “Dad, talk to me,” she ordered. “I know something is going on.”

  “I’m fin—”

  “No.” She cut him off. “I’m old enough to understand something is going on. I’m not stupid.”

  His smile was real. “You’re far from stupid. I appreciate your concern, I do, but I’m okay.”

  “I know you’re seeing someone,” she blurted out. “And I know you’ve been happier these past few months than ever before.”

  He hung his head.

  “I know it’s because you have someone special. I’m a bit hurt you’ve not introduced her to us, but you seem to do things on your own time.” She smirked. “But something happened, right?” Her smirk fell.

  He gave a small sigh. What would be the point in lying now? “I was seeing someone. It became complicated and now…” he trailed off with a shrug.

  “Well, if you did something wrong because I know how guys are, then apologize to her. You know you can be stubborn.” She patted his shoulder before moving past him and back to the kitchen.

  Standing in the hallway—alone—he thought about how he had acted toward Caryn, but he fought as hard as he could for her and their relationship. What more could he do? Nonetheless, he could be her friend. Right?

  No.

  Being her friend wouldn’t be an option because he cared too much for her. Being around her would cause him problems. Especially to his heart.

  He would just leave her alone.

  The first period hadn’t even finished, and Cabel felt exhausted. He did everything to think of a way to keep focused on the game and not the fact his legs were burning and every muscle ached. The adrenaline never came like it normally had in the past. He just wanted to leave the bench and…never come back.

  What am I thinking?

  Hockey was part of his soul, and he had to prove to himself and to others how much so. When his line came up to hit the ice, he swore to himself he would put in every effort to win this period and prepare for the next.

  Jumping the boards, he headed toward the goal to keep Nathan in and the pucks out. He studied the players come toward him and the goal. Trying to read them had—once—been a forte of his, but the magic seemed to be lost. He went to his plan B. Hit them. As the opposing player tried to pass Cabel, he slammed him into the wall, gaining control of the puck. For some reason, Cabel took off on a breakaway toward the opposing goal. Normally, he’d pass it off, but he went for it. Just as he crossed center ice, the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.

  Coming off the opposing bench, the Gamblers biggest and baldest player headed right for Cabel. He thought he could make it past him, but his legs didn’t have much push left in them. Pulling out the dirtiest trick in the book, the Gambler connected with Cabel’s knee, slamming into it the hardest he possibly could.

  The most horrendous pain shot through his body causing him to collapse onto the ice. He screamed out, grabbing his left knee with both hands. Tears sprang to his eyes as he grunted and rolled on the ice.

  He heard people asking him questions and knew the medical staff surrounded him, but the ringing in his ears didn’t allow him to answer any of their questions. He heard the word ‘stretcher’ and he thought of his girls in the stands and was thankful Chloe came tonight to be with them. Trying to stand wasn’t even an option, and he didn’t try. He continued to lay on the cold ice until he was rolled onto the backboard and onto the stretcher. His teammates wished him well as he was wheeled off.

  “We’re going to General,” someone yelled out.

  He heard Chloe’s voice call his name. “Cabel, we’ll meet you there. We’ll be there. It’s going to be okay.”

  The small comfort of her words, let the tears fall from his eyes.

  Chapter Six

  Caryn sat at her home office desk rubbing her temples, trying to will her headache away. She was working on notes to update her files when Bas’ file came up. Bas, like many of her clients, held a special part in her life. She knew growing attached to them would only cause problems later down the road, but she couldn’t help it. She watched Bas grow from the depths of depression and almost pulling the trigger of a gun to end his life to someone happy and in love.

  It’s a miracle.

  She knew it to be but seeing his small back slide scared her. She had yet to lose a client. They’ve become close, but she always saved them from the edge. Just another reason why she loved her job as much as she did. Seeing her clients’ transformations meant more to her than anything. Crying with them and getting angry and frustrated with them wasn’t part of her job description, but she did it anyway.

  She heard the microwave ding. Walking into the kitchen, the room filled with the scent of popcorn when she opened the door. Sure, she should have made a healthier dinner, but right now she didn’t want to do anything but unplug.

  Just then her cell phone began to ring.

  Almost ignoring it since she wasn’t on duty at The New Outlook, she decided it could be important and she looked at the screen.

  Cabel.

  Seeing his name confused her. She had sent him numerous texts and voicemails since their last encounter. She lost a lot of sleep and had a lot of headaches because of him. She couldn’t form the words to explain to him what Oliver meant to her. Could she have blurted it out? Sure, but that wasn’t Caryn’s style. She needed to figure out the right timing, location, and words.

  Now glancing at his name brought up a million emotions but one question. Why wasn’t he playing? He should be. The game certainly couldn’t be over this quickly. Then her heart stopped, thinking something bad had happened.

  “Hello.” She heard her voice shaking as she said the single word.

  “Um…Caryn?”

  “Yes?” She didn’t recognize the young female’s voice, but it confirmed her suspicions.

  “This is Leia, Cabel’s daughter. Um…I know you don’t know me, but I know you and Dad are dating, or whatever, and I know he’d want you to know he’s in the hospital.”

  Caryn gasped. “Which hospital?”

  “General. You can come. Mom said she’ll make sure you can come back, even though it’s only family.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  Caryn already had her key fob in hand as she ended the call and sprinted for the door. Jumping into the car, she did her best to remain calm, but her entire body shook as the scenarios ran through her head. She forgot to ask what had happened. He could have a concussion. Maybe a skate cut his throat or face. Maybe he fought someone and broke his jaw, or hand, or something else. What if he fell on his head and is paralyzed? She didn’t care. All she wanted was to see him, touch him, tell him she…

  Ring. Ring.

  Her dashboard lit up and displayed Oliver’s name. She quickly hit the button, making sure to keep her eyes on the road. “I’m heading to the hospital.” She didn’t even give him a greeting.


  “Park on the east side and come through the ER,” he said.

  “I will.” She ended the call and turned the corner, blowing through a yellow light. Never would she do such a thing, but right now she had to get to Cabel. Nothing else mattered.

  She parked in the first open spot she could find and ran—literally ran—toward the ER doors. Stepping up to the counter the woman stared at her for a moment.

  “Cabel Dirks,” she breathlessly said.

  “Are you family?”

  She paused. She knew the policy of the hospital, and she couldn’t lie to them.

  “Yes.”

  Caryn whipped around to see a woman approaching the desk. She had light brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She wore a pair of jeans with a Bears pullover.

  “She’s our family.” Taking Caryn by the elbow, she guided her to the left side of the lobby. “I’m Chloe.”

  “Caryn Hammonds and thank you.”

  Chloe nodded. “Leia told me she called you. I’m glad she did because I didn’t know how to contact you. Well, except through Oliver and he isn’t here yet.”

  Caryn nodded unsure what Cabel’s told Chloe about her and Oliver. Apparently, a lot. She knew how close they were. Cabel never hid the fact Chloe’s his best friend.

  “Is he okay? Can you tell me what happened?” She felt the tears already building up behind her eyes.

  “His knee was taken out. He lost his balance and then hit the ice pretty hard with the leg. It’s all we know. Well, he was conscious when they put him in the ambulance,” Chloe explained.

  A small wave of relief came over Caryn. He didn’t have anything life-threatening. Although, since his knees were already in bad shape, this might be a difficult recovery for him.

  They approached two young girls, and Caryn knew immediately they were Cabel’s daughters. Not only by the numerous pictures hanging in his home, but they both had his model good looks. Minus the hair and eyes. Those were from Chloe.

  “Girls, this is Caryn,” Chloe introduced them. “This is Leia and Bria.” They were holding onto each other.