Baby Daddies: Puck Buddies Series

by Tara Brown

  “Seriously?” Matt asks, understanding the gravity of that whereas Brady just stares, waiting for the punchline.

  “Yeah, I guess a hospital in Seattle called while they were out for the afternoon, and Sean, my brother, was admitted. He was overdosing and they Narcanned him back, but he had a heart attack and they didn’t think he was gonna make it. So Mom and Dad and I rush to Seattle, meeting Gramps at the hospital.”

  “He’s been missing for how many years, and he shows up the weekend you take your pregnant pauper girlfriend to meet your parents?” Matt gets what I’m throwing down.

  “Bro. That’s some heavy shit.” Even Brady gets it.

  “So then while I’m gone I guess Grace takes it upon herself to convince Jenny to leave. She’s broke, staying with me, and jobless. Pregnant and in Vancouver with no way to get back to my place, let alone to her own apartment, and Grace kicked her out.”

  “No,” Matt whispers.

  “Her brother was in Vancouver by some small miracle and he rescued her. Took care of her while my family completely fell apart. My parents cried and were nice to my brother. Callie cried.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Matt scoffs.

  “It was intense. We had some dirty fights, but in the end, Sean was transferred to a place that heals you and then dries you up. It’s like a year of rehab and therapy and all that. And we’re not allowed to see him.”

  Brady hugs me. “Dude, I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks, man, but it gets worse,” I mutter but hug him back.

  “That’s not possible,” Matt grabs us all a beer from the fridge and sits at a bar stool.

  “I manage to get to Jenny’s parents’ place for her dad’s birthday party, the one I told you guys about.”

  They both nod.

  “I arrive there maybe half an hour after it starts. I haven’t slept in days. I’m miserable and when I arrive, her stepmom and stepsister treat her like shit and no one says anything. She just takes it. Says it’s easier this way.” My insides ache recalling it all.

  Brady’s lips press into a line.

  “So the next morning, Jenny is puking her guts out. She’s dying. Her dad figures out she’s pregnant, he’s awful to her.”

  “And you punch him out?” Brady asks hopefully.

  “Nope. Josh, her brother, friggin’ loses his mind. Calls the dad and stepmom out, reveals that he knows they were having an affair before the mom was even dead from cancer. Jenny didn’t know. So she’s upset but so weak from being sick she can’t react. Josh goes bananas and then we leave.” I’m out of breath and my heart is racing, reliving it all.

  “This is like those Spanish soaps my host mom watched when I was fifteen,” Brady says with a laugh and I nod along.

  “Right. It was the weirdest week of my life.”

  “Oh, that’s not even the weird part,” Jenny says from the doorway into the living room, making us all flinch. “Did you tell them how you signed over half your fortune to me?” She rolls her eyes and takes the tray of drinks I made into the living room.”

  Matt meets my gaze. “What?”

  “Something had to give, man.” I sound as exhausted as I feel. “The season’s starting. We’re having twins. My brother’s in rehab. Her dad is being a dick. Her stepmom is a bitch. My parents are all needy and wanting a relationship. My sister is in marriage counseling and wants to talk to me about it.” I point at the living room, getting worked up. “I cannot fight with that girl one more time over her not living with me or taking my money. I need some peace, Brimstone. She can’t be in Vancouver, homeless and poor with my kids in her belly!” I gasp at the end.

  He nods but the troubled look in his eyes suggests he doesn’t agree. “What if she soaks you? Takes the money or sells shit?”

  Brady gasps. “You will not besmirch Red in that way, ever again. That is the coolest girl we have ever met.” He points at the living room too.

  “What he said.” I shrug. “And honestly, if she takes her half and burns it in the yard or ruins me, I get the challenge of rebuilding my wealth again. I did it once. I’ll do it again. But I’m taking my chances with her. She’s a safe bet.”

  “I’ll admit, I’ve never seen a girl need her own independence like that before,” Matt agrees.

  “She’s a fucking gem, Matty, and we’re not discussing this anymore.” Brady nods at me. “You sealed the deal with a unicorn, my dude. You do whatever it takes to keep that girl yours, and happy.” He gets a genuinely worried look on his face. “I don’t need the temptation of her single in my life.”

  Matt and I laugh.

  “Fuck, I missed you guys.” I lift my beer to them. “To the season, boys.”

  We clink cans and grin like idiots.

  And for the first time in weeks, I feel like all our bad luck might be past us.

  Maybe.

  33

  Girl’s night

  Thursday, October 5

  Jenny

  “This is bananas!” Claire takes a turn around the master bedroom with the girls.

  “I know, right?” Sukii says as she links her arm in mine. She doesn’t normally hang with me and Claire and our friends, but I knew she needed a night out.

  “So with the plans for the renovation, you’ll have three bedrooms in this wing instead of this stupid bedroom and his and hers bathrooms and all those closets?” Yvonne says with a laugh as she points down the long corridor of closet doors.

  “Right. And then the guest room will still be in the other wing by the gym.” I roll my eyes. “He’s so intense about the gym.”

  “He’s adorable.” Sukii whacks my arm. “And he adores you.”

  “Yeah.” I blush. “Anyway, this is it.”

  “It’s like a castle,” Rachel, one of my smugly married friends who is disgustingly happy, remarks. I used to be jealous of her marriage. But the end of Ben seemed to kill off those feelings.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Claire mutters as she spins. “And where is he?”

  “A game. They’re playing Colorado. I think they’re losing.” I wince. “The early season is the worst. Trying to find your footing again as a team.”

  “Okay.” Sukii smiles. “Whatever you say.”

  “So who wants the best panini you’ve ever eaten?” I walk out of the bedroom toward the kitchen where Millie has left me a stack of them for my girls’ night. “You’ve never had anything like this.”

  “You cook now?” Claire eyes me up.

  “No, Millie, a friend of Lori’s makes them. She’s this sweet lady who takes care of Simon when Lori’s not home.”

  “She’s the housekeeper, you liar,” Sukii outs me. “Wow. You’re as bad as him now.”

  “Shut up.” I nudge her and glance at Claire. “She’s the housekeeper.”

  “You have a housekeeper? And Stan’s letting you work from home in the mornings? What is happening right now?”

  “Reversal of fortune,” I say bitterly. “I was due for some good luck. Plus Stan didn’t want me at the office, puking my guts out every single morning.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Sukii agrees with a hint of Floridian drawl.

  “So you guys are going to stay here?” Claire asks as I start up the restaurant-sized panini press.

  “Yeah, for now. In the off season maybe not. But while he has games every night, it’s easier to be here.” I put the paninis down and close the lid.

  “Will you have a nanny?” Rachel asks. “Because I love ours.”

  “Not in the plans yet.” A smile creeps across my lips. “I think we’re going to try to make it work for the first year. I have six months maternity leave and then six months of working from home.”

  “But it’s twins, Jenny.” Yvonne wrinkles her nose. “You’ll need help.”

  “Well, we haven’t made up our minds on anything yet,” I change the subject again. “So what’s new with you guys?”

  Rachel starts and we forget about this insane apartment. Girls’ night begins an
d we eat and cheer each other on as everyone updates on their news and lives. Obviously, none of them are having twins with a hockey star who happens to be a billionaire but the updates sound nice. Our lives have changed so much in the last few years.

  The hours pass and before I know it, I hear the elevator. Lori walks in, freshly showered, carrying his bag, and looking like the loss was a hard one. I’ve been catching snippets throughout the evening so I’m ready for the bad news.

  The girls perk up seeing him coming in. He smiles, unable to fight giving us all that grin. “Ladies.” He nods. “Let me get my bags put away and I’ll come and meet you all.” He hurries down the hall toward the gym where he keeps his nasty-ass bag of gear.

  “Oh my God, he is so cute.” Claire whistles. “Day two hundred and forty-one without sex and you bring that to the table for me to stare at?”

  We all laugh.

  “What did I miss?” he asks when he comes back into the living room.

  “Nothing.” I stand and give him a kiss. His hand grazes my belly that is no longer flat. It’s getting bigger by the second, something that now seems to fascinate him. “Sorry about the loss.” I turn to the girls, pointing as I say their names, “Claire, Yvonne, Rachel, Missy, Muriel, and of course you know Sukii.”

  “I’m sure she’s gushed about me, but I’m Lori.” He lifts his hand in a half wave and winks at Sukii. “How’s it going?”

  “Good.” She blushes. “How’s Cap?”

  “Good,” he lies. It’s so obvious it’s not funny.

  “I know he’s back together with Sandy. I saw it on TMZ. They’re dating again.” She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m glad for him.”

  “Right.” Lori presses his lips together, not saying another word on that though I know he thinks it’s going to end again. Cap’s already miserable.

  “A girl who knows you started working at the firm,” Sukii says with a grin. “Helaine Kamahi. She’s one of our new lawyers.”

  I laugh at the awkward expression on his face. Sukii and I are both aware of who she is to Lori and what his parents wanted for him and Helaine.

  “Cool,” he offers one word and a slight glare.

  “She seems nice. Says she knows Carson quite well.” Sukii winks and Lori’s face reddens more.

  “So you’re best friends with Brady Coldwell?” Rachel rescues Lori from Sukii’s teasing and asks in a way that suggests she might also know him.

  “Yes. Well, him and Matt and our friend Carson.”

  “And Sami,” I say with a chuckle.

  “It must be so strange hanging out with Sami Ford,” Muriel adds.

  “Yup,” I admit. “She is intimidating.”

  “Indeed,” Sukii agrees but it doesn’t rescue the flow of the conversation. Adding Lori has made it weird. “But on that note, I should get going. Stan has me coming in early tomorrow. Another Liam debacle.” She rolls her eyes and stands.

  “Surprise, surprise,” Lori mutters.

  “Oh me too.” Claire gets up and the rest of them join in.

  We kiss and hug and say goodbyes, and I promise all future girls’ nights will be held at my place.

  When they’re gone, I walk back into the living room to find Lori standing and grinning in the middle of the room.

  “What?” I ask, suspicious of his good mood after the loss.

  “I had a crushing loss. It makes me emotional. You have to be extra nice to me. Remember we made that deal?” He walks to me.

  “I’m tired,” I say.

  “You’ll perk up.” He kisses me as his hands start undoing my jeans. “Damn, this is tight.” He looks down as he snaps them open, revealing the red welt on my belly where the waistline sat. “What is this?”

  “I have to get some new clothes.” I rub the indent and notice it’s a little itchy. I start to scratch but he stops me.

  “Scratching leads to stretch marks.”

  “Is that true?” I hold my hand over my indent.

  “The article I read said it is.”

  “Oh my God. I’ve been scratching all the time.” I pull my pants down more to stare at the bump. “Can you see any?”

  “No.” He laughs and drops to his knees. “Let me get a better look.” He kisses my stomach and cups it with his huge hands. “How are my boys?”

  “Josh says girls.”

  “Josh is high.”

  “Was high. He says he’s been clean for two weeks. He even went to a couple of meetings to see if that was a fit for him.” I drop to my knees too and face him.

  “I don’t want to talk about your brother.”

  “Wanna eat Ben and Jerry’s and I’ll be super nice to you tomorrow?” I lift an eyebrow. “When I got home from work today, I noticed Millie had refilled the stash.”

  “Did she get Caramel Hat Trick?” His eyes widen.

  “She did. And we agreed we are allowed to eat it when you lose.”

  “You agreed.” He laughs and stands, lifting me with him. “I never said I would only eat it when we lose.”

  “Come on.”

  “Fine, but you better be extra nice tomorrow.” He swats me in the butt. “And no relationship talk over ice cream. I’m not falling for that trap.”

  “What?” I glance back at him as I pull him to the kitchen. “But I think we should talk about where this is going. It’s almost our four-month anniversary,” I tease as if I even know what day we started dating.

  “Is it?” He pauses, making me halt and turn.

  “How the heck should I know?” I joke.

  “Do we celebrate anniversaries? Is that who we are?” He leans in for another kiss. It’s deep and sexy and almost convinces me to skip dessert.

  “We can celebrate the kids’ birthdays,” I whisper against his lips.

  His hands work around to my butt, gripping. “If we get married, we’d have a date to celebrate.”

  “If we didn’t get married, we could celebrate every day.” I pull his face down to mine again and kiss with everything I have so he doesn’t mention marriage again.

  We skip ice cream and have sex on the counters and there’s no more talk of marriage or anniversaries. It’s blissful and uncomplicated. Something we’ve slowly worked our way into while getting to know each other better. He’s a funny guy with a good sense of humor and insane expectations for himself. He loves his family, though he doesn’t talk about it. And he’s scared of the babies but acts like he’s not, for me. That alone tells me everything about him. I spent three years with Ben and never learned that much.

  But with Lori it’s so much easier. Especially now that our lives have slowed down into a routine.

  I could easily spend the rest of my life in the ease Lori and I have eked out.

  In fact, I hope to.

  34

  Miguel saves the day

  Sunday, March 18, 2018

  Brady

  “Banks!” I shout across the house as I check in every room I pass. “This is why I didn’t want to buy such a big-ass house,” I grumble and keep walking until I get to the stairs. My legs are sore from the sprints Cap just put me through. Running off his breakup with Sandy wasn’t awesome for either of us. “Banks!”

  “Brady!” she shouts back and pops her blonde head from the baby’s bedroom. “What?”

  “Did you hear me calling you and ignore me so I’d come up here?” I cock an eyebrow.

  She smiles and giggles, ducking back into the room.

  “You know I hate that.” I march into the bedroom to find her holding her hands out.

  “Tada!”

  “What?” I scan the nursery for whatever she’s talking about.

  “It’s finished.” She scowls. “I’m done adding things to it. Sami’s coming for a photo shoot later so we can have it all over the sites with buy links.”

  “We were supposed to be at dinner five minutes ago, Banks.”

  “I know, I know. Sami said everyone is arriving. Did you call your mom and brother?” She tries to diver
t the attention to me.

  “Yeah, I spoke to them. They’re on notice and coming the moment you go into labor.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Are we leaving? We’re late.”

  “Oh my God, you are such a pain in the butt, BJ,” she taunts me. “You really can’t see the difference in the room?”

  I close my eyes for a second, fighting the urge to pinch between my eyebrows the way my dad always did.

  “Fine, let’s go.” She walks around the crib to me, kissing me on the cheek.

  The smell of her infiltrates my nose, forcing my hands to act though I’m annoyed with her working so close to her due date. I grab her and kiss, inhaling her and the way she still feels in my arms even though there’s so much more to her. Her belly looks like it might burst any second.

  “We could be a little later if you want. It’s been weeks,” she says in her sexy voice.

  “No. I can’t.” I shudder. “Last time the baby moved and it looked like something from Aliens. I honestly don’t think I can get hard staring at it. Knowing it’s old enough to hear me banging its mom.” I grab her hand and fight the fact my balls are so blue I might die from it, and drag her from the room gently. “I need to eat something.”

  “Come on, Brady. We’re already late. What’s fifteen minutes more?” She stops me in the hall and forces me to turn. It’s awkward and takes a minute for her to get on her knees and unzip my pants. The moment she’s touching my cock, I lose the fight. I close my eyes and remember her in Malta on the beach in the bikini Sami made her buy. Her lips wrap around me, taking me all in as I start to get hard.

  She sucks and strokes for a second before pausing, clamping down with her lips and groaning.

  “That’s a bit rough, Nat.” I look down to see what she’s doing. Her eyes are pressed shut and she’s not groaning, she’s crying out. I pull back my dick before she bites it off, and I realize my socks are wet. Her water’s broken.

  “Oh, oh it hurts,” she’s moaning and trying to stand but her legs buckle.

  As she’s crumbling, I scoop her up, grunting at the extra forty pounds but managing to get her to standing. The water is still running down her legs, dripping everywhere on our hallway carpet.