Lass Ride: Crossroads

Chapter 5

Wrestlers were used to being two people in a way. While some had in-ring personas that were close to their true selves, others were wildly different. Becky had met wrestlers who were total egomaniacs in the ring, but outside of it they wanted nothing more than to go home, put on their coziest pyjamas, and cuddle with their dog. Keeping some distinction between the two was always a battle, especially when trying to eke out some private time while being in the public eye. At the moment, she felt torn between three separate selves: herself, her wrestling persona, and the friend who was secretly communicating with the enemy.

The rift was getting worse because it was getting harder and harder to see Hunter as the enemy. Ultimately, all the big decisions still went through Vince, even if he just gave paperwork a cursory glance and scrawled out a quick signature. But in her conversations with Hunter, he had been surprisingly open and accommodating. As promised, he made arrangements with the hospital so Charlotte had unrestricted access to her father; she just had to call first, since he'd had a relapse and was only allowed one visitor at a time. Whenever Ric had a test done, Hunter sent Becky the results within a day of receiving them himself. He never threatened, he never pushed; the hardest thing about the conversations was carving out some solitary time to have them so she wouldn't be overheard by any of the others.

When is Charlotte coming to the hope sitar next? Hunter texted, quickly followed up by a correction. Hospital. Damn buttons are so small.

Becky didn't quite stifle her chuckle, but when she glanced up, no one in the living room seemed to have noticed. Roman, Dean, Seth, Renee, and Charlotte were all watching a football game, and Sasha and Bayley had gone to volunteer at a local animal shelter. They had invited her along, but Becky hadn't felt like putting on her wrestling persona. You should hire one of your daughters to be your texter, she replied.

If I thought they could keep their mouths shut, I would. The lag between texts meant Hunter was taking his time typing. Any chance we can talk rather than text?

Her heart fluttered a bit as she looked across the room at her friends, hollering at the television and each other, tossing popcorn and clinking beer bottles. Yeah. Give me a few minutes. I'll call you, she replied. Then she hit the archive button, hiding the whole conversation and saving it in a private folder. It was a number none of the others would recognize, but that didn't mean precautions weren't wise. "Hey, guys?" She stood and shook Roman's shoulder, since he was sitting closest to her. "I'm just going out in the back yard to make a call, okay? Nothing's wrong," she added quickly. "I just want more quiet and less. . . ."

"This?" Roman chuckled. "Sure thing. Since the game's running long, we're probably going to order in. Any requests?"

Becky shook her head. "You know what I like. Let me know how much I owe when I get back in." Her gaze caught on Seth's briefly and the flutter in her chest intensified. They weren't having sex again yet, but they had been having some deep conversations while the others were asleep. A few of those had ended with kisses, but they were both very aware that there was a lot between them that needed to be mended.

The house they were renting had a swing set in the back yard, so Becky headed for it, bare feet tickled by the grass. Sometimes their nomadic lifestyle felt downright domestic, sharing a house and meals and working together; it just rarely happened to be the same house for more than a few days, and sometimes working together meant fighting each other. Keeping her eye on the back door, Becky called Hunter's private number as she sat on one of the swings.

"Hey." Hunter's voice was warm, friendly; it wouldn't have been out of place in the house, deep in the midst of the football frenzy. "That was fast."

"A bunch of them are watching football," Becky explained, pushing away the small pang of melancholy that threatened to take root in her stomach. In some ways, she was as much an outsider in the group as Seth was; for all her years in the United States, she was still resolutely Irish and it showed. "So why do you want to know when Charlotte's going to visit her dad?"