The hotel restaurants had some Western options, and he loved the spicy stuff they had in some of the local dishes, so he was set.
He was just really bored.
And a little scared that he was in for a lot of pain as time went on.
OK. I’m in town for 2 more days. text if u need me
I will. thx
Travis was a good friend. He’d gotten calls and texts from a lot of the guys on tour, but he was pretty sure it didn’t make him feel better.
He flopped back and traded the phone for the remote, ready to watch whatever English language program was on right now.
The phone on the bedside table rang, scaring the absolute shit out of him, and he grabbed it, his heart racing.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Lancaster? Hello, this is the concierge. We have a delivery for you.”
“Oh? Okay, cool. Can you send it up?”
“Of course. Someone will be up shortly.” The lady on the phone had a neat British accent, and he grinned, loving how wild this place was.
“Cool, thanks.”
He hung up, then slid to the edge of the bed before shifting himself over to the desk chair, which had wheels. He’d learned he could save himself crutching if he rolled places like the door for room service and the bathroom.
And it was kind of like a sport, right? Bonus, he didn’t have to stand on one foot next to the door and wait for the hotel delivery person.
When the knock came, he opened the door eagerly, because any kind of distraction was exciting at this point.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Lancaster, may I come in and place this on the table?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” He dug in his pocket to pull out a tip. He’d learned to keep some small cash in his clothes on day one.
The attendant smiled and carried a big gift basket to the desk, taking the tip with a bow and leaving the room.
Caleb rolled over to the desk to peer at the cellophane-wrapped basket. Wow. It was one of those deals that was available in the gift shop at the Olympic village, full of fun snacks and treats from the US, the UK, and Australia. It also had some pens and a puzzle book, as well as some fuzzy socks and some little fancy toiletries.
But what caught his interest was the shipping envelope that had been tucked into the ribbon binding the whole thingtogether. It was a nine-by-twelve padded envelope with an international overnight shipping label from the States.
“What the hell?”
He grabbed it and ripped it open. Well, more like yanked it until it stretched enough to break. What fell out was some kind of a shirt and a greeting card.
He looked at the shirt first. It was a sports jersey in blue and red, and it had the Colorado ThunderSnow logo on the front. On the back, the number was twenty-four, and the name was Montineau.
His mouth went dry, and Caleb tore open the card, staring at the slashing, hand-printed writing inside.
Just saw on the news you were laid up in Beijing. Thought you could use some goodies. Wear the shirt to cheer me on. Congrats on the medal.
Your Olympics buddy,
Hawk
Holy shit. Hawk had sent him a care package. Like, out of the blue. Because he’d seen Caleb was hurt.
He shook out the shirt, grinning when he saw it was signed. He slipped it on, then opened the gift basket to grab a packet of TimTams. Yum. He knew he’d have to go back to his anti-inflammatory diet when he got home, but right now the cookies would really make him happy.