Page 92 of The Closed Off Captain

Chapter 40

Chloe

We end up teaching Gunner how to play our regular game of Five Crowns, and he keeps up with us. Grandma May still wins, but that’s nothing new. When we head out, Gunner’s quiet beside me. I don’t say anything until we get in his truck. He surprises me by beating me to it. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” I repeat, turning to face him and leaning against the passenger door. “I went to the finance office to see what I need to do about getting Grandma May transferred to the other side. I had to sign some paperwork, and then I asked what I owed. Do you know what she told me, Coftman?” I don’t wait for him to say anything. “She said it’s already been paid for. Not just a month or a few months, mind you. Her care has been taken care of basically until she dies.” I take a moment to try to compose myself. “Now, I certainly didn’t pay for that; and I only know one person that has that kind of money who knows Grandma May.” He’s not looking at me; he’s staring straight out the windshield. I wait until I feel like I can keep a steady voice. “Why did you do it?” My voice is soft. “I never would have brought you to meet her and kept bringing you here if you felt like you had to pay for it. I would never ask you to do something like that.”

“And that’s the problem.” His voice is low and his words quiet. “You would never ask anybody for help, Chloe.” He turns to face me now. “Of course, I know you didn’t bring me here to meet her just so I would pay for her care. That’s not why I did it.”

“Then why did you do it, Gunner?” I can’t even bring myself to keep the barrier between us that his last name provides.

His eyes soften just the slightest bit. “Because of that right there.”

I smirk. “Because I called you by your name?”

“Exactly that.”

“That’s not true,” I argue.

“It is true,” he argues. “You never let me in, never let me close. The times you’ve let me come with you and spend the afternoon with you and Grandma May have been some of the best days of my life.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“I do, Chloe. I mean it with everything in me.”

“But we were just sitting around, chilling. We didn’t even do anything special,” I point out.

“I know, and that’s why it’s so perfect. You weren’t being professional or standing on ceremony around me; you were just being you. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted from you.”

“Stop.” My voice isn’t strong. “Just stop. Don't...” I put my hand up and try to deal with this onslaught of emotion. I settle in my seat, so that I’m looking forward. “I just want to go home.” I can feel his eyes on me, but I stare straight ahead. After a few moments, he finally starts the truck.

The ride home is silent; I don’t bother to try to fill it with conversation. Finally, we pull onto my street. I unbuckle before he comes to a complete stop. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I climb down from the truck and walk quickly towards my front door. I hear his truck door, and I speed up. But it’s pointless; he catches me before I get to the door.

“Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

I don’t want to talk, not tonight, not tomorrow night, not the next night. Because if I do, I will do something stupid like declare my undying love for this man. I don’t think I could livedown another rejection from him; I think it might just kill me. I look at his chin, so I don’t make the mistake of looking him in the eye. “I had a great time today; thank you. And thank you for paying for her care. Really. That’s...” Words fail me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I turn back to my front door and slip my key into the lock. I step inside and with a quick wave at him, close the door behind me.

I wasn’t kidding when I told Grandma May that we would just have to make the best of Christmas because Thanksgiving would be a wash. The week passes in the blink of an eye, and then we’re into the busiest part of the season. The weeks fly by. There are so many events that happen in December. Thankfully, my schedule keeps me incredibly busy; so, I don’t have to think about Gunner. Of course, he still shows up religiously with lunch on days we’re both at the facility. I spend any free time I have thinking about the job offer I’ve been carrying around in my purse for the past few weeks. While I can’t imagine leaving my Green Thunder, I wonder if it would be better to go somewhere else, somewhere where I wouldn’t have to interact withhimon a daily basis. It’s a huge decision, because it would impact Grandma May as well. Then there’s the problem staring me in the face,literally.

Somebody knocks at the door, pulling me from my thoughts. I know it’s not Gunner, because he always just comes in. The door opens, and Brielle walks inside. “Hey, Chloe.” I mask my face to keep the surprise off my face.

“Brielle, how are you?”

She walks or maybe waddles over to the chair in front of my desk and drops ungracefully into it. “Like this baby is never going to come out, and I’m going to explode. I can’t walk; I can’t sleep at night. I pee all the time, and I feel so unattractive.” She looks at me with a longing expression. “How do you look so...like that all the time?”

I blink. I’m thinking it’s a rhetorical question, but when she waits for an answer, I lean back in my chair. I’m not really sure why she’s here. “How was your Christmas and New Year’s?”

“It was good. We got to celebrate with Aiden’s grandpa and Dante and his dad and of course my mom and Amber and Rico. How about you?”

“Mine was good, thanks for asking.” Grandma May and I had a quiet day together; it was really nice. On New Year’s, we watched the ball drop on tv and toasted each other with sparkling apple juice. “Does Aiden know you’re here?” I ask her. When she shakes her head, I push my chair back. “How about I go get him, and—”

“No. That’s who I came to talk to you about.”

I frown. “You came to talk to me about Aiden, your husband?”

“Yes.”

I cross my arms across my chest and study her face. She looks nearly ready to burst into tears. “Brielle,” I keep my voice as gentle and calm as I can. “I’m not sure I’m the right person to talk to, but if Aiden is doing something,” I pause a moment. “I can talk to Gunner. He'll set him straight fast.”

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