by Amber Lynn
Amber Lynn
Copyright © 2016 Amber Lynn
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Dedication
This book wouldn’t be possible without the two women who helped me make sense of my quick early ramblings. I’ve worked with Diane for a while, and have already professed how much I adore her as a critique partner. Now my writing adventures have introduced me to H.M. Shander. I’m ecstatic to find another voice of reason that can help me expand my writing skills and elevate my storytelling.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Chapter One
“Hey, Earth to Nels. Are you listening to me? I know I can be monotonous, but this is ridiculous.”
A pair of fingers snapped in front of Nelson Palmer’s face, but he continued to stare down at his phone. He knew he was supposed to be listening to his friend’s latest tale of parenthood, which was all Dylan could talk about. The text he’d received took a little precedent over Katie’s attempts to crawl.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t already witnessed the attempts in person. Since it was the off-season, Nelson spent most of his time at Dylan’s house. Katie was only a few months old, but Dylan was already trying to get her to walk. It was only a matter of time before he had her in hockey skates, training to be the superstar her dad was.
“Don’t read the message out loud, but could you confirm this says what I think it does?” Nelson slid his smartphone across the wooden table so Dylan could take a look. He thought there was a chance his mind was playing tricks on him, and a second opinion would come in handy.
The two of them had been enjoying a nice breakfast at a quiet diner, a first without Dylan’s wife and daughter since the couple had their little bundle of joy. After reading what was plastered on his phone, Nelson’s appetite for his sausage and eggs disappeared.
He watched the emotions play over Dylan’s face as he clearly read the same words Nels had. First there was confusion, which faded away to acceptance, and then joy. Nelson hadn’t made it to the joy part, but acceptance was sinking in.
“I didn’t know Annie was seeing someone. She’s only lived here five months, but she spends almost as much time at our place as you do. You would’ve thought she’d bring the guy around so we could try to scare him off.”
Dylan laughed as he passed the phone back. Knowing what the text really meant, Nelson couldn’t enjoy his friend’s jokes. Of all the things Nelson thought would happen that day, reading the words “I’m pregnant” on his phone wasn’t one of them.
Before he could come up with an answer, his phone vibrated to indicate another text had arrived. He hesitated, but he hoped the next text was along the lines of “just kidding.”
It wasn’t.
When Nelson looked down, he saw a picture of a pregnancy test. Having never seen one in person, he didn’t know what he was looking at. The white stick with a blue cap looked unintimidating, but the two little blue lines in the middle of it struck fear in his gut. He was used to the two blue lines on the ice that he made his living on, but they were a little different than looking at the lines of the pregnancy test.
Just in case it’s not clear, 2 lines means there’s a baby on the way. As if the picture wasn’t enough, Annie was nice enough to spell everything out for him.
“There isn’t a guy, so to speak. The baby’s mine.” Nelson didn’t want to say anything more, so he picked up one of his sausage links and took a bite. He wasn’t hungry, but he needed to get Dylan’s reaction, and hopefully words of wisdom, before he continued the conversation.
He wanted his head on straight before he talked to Annie. It was like her to send earth-shattering news in a text, but he liked to confront things head-on, which meant he had to find her. He had a feeling she’d make it hard on him, since she was telling him the news via text. He’d been asking her for months if there was a chance she’d gotten pregnant, but she continued to brush him off. Clearly, she didn’t think he needed to be involved.
“You and Annie? Why is this the first I’m hearing about this? You knew I was in love with Casey before I’d even met her, but you don’t tell me about you and Annie?”
Dylan didn’t fake being offended well, and Nelson could tell by his playful tone that he wasn’t really upset about not being the first to know there was a chance Nelson was going to be a father. “Father,” what a weighted word.
“Technically, there’s isn’t anything going on between us. It was a one-time thing, and evidently we’re going to have a baby.” There was no enthusiasm in the words, not because Nelson wasn’t happy he was going to be a father. That he was excited about. He wasn’t happy that he was finding out the way he had.
Nelson had been drinking that night and didn’t remember anything that led up to the morning when he woke up with Annie curled next to him. Getting drunk enough to have that kind of memory blank wasn’t something that happened often to him, but it was the first time a few too many beers ended up with lasting effects.
Dylan stared at Nelson for a full minute. Nelson could only guess what his friend thought, but by the somewhat distant look in his eyes, it was obvious he was trying to come up with words to express those thoughts. Dylan and Casey weren’t biologically Katie’s parents, even though Casey had carried the baby. Breast cancer ran in Casey’s family, so she didn’t want to worry about passing that on to her daughter, and Dylan didn’t want Casey to ever feel left out of a bond with their child.
It took them many doctor visits and tests to have Katie. Nelson didn’t even remember creating his child, which made him feel about the size of an ant.
Annie had been Nelson’s friend since they were five. She was his best friend, even though Dylan had taken over the title since they’d started playing hockey together. Dylan’s playing days were over, but he was still Nelson’s mentor, and almost like an older brother.
Annie had never been like a sister. Nelson had one of those growing up, and he didn’t need another one. There had never been a romantic connection between him and Annie, though. They just clicked as friends and had each other’s backs over the years.
Why they ended up in bed together was still a mystery to him.
“I take it this happened not long after she moved down here, when she was crashing at your place. At least tell me it was that game you scored a hat trick. You had to be drunk, and I can’t think of another game you’d get drunk enough to risk your friendship.”
It was nice having a friend who knew him well enough to know alcohol was involved without him having to say it. Dylan hadn’t guessed that Nelson didn’t remember it happening, but it was a step in the right direction.
Dylan picked up his glass of orange juice and sipped while he waited for a reply. It was hard to believe the man was so put together with a baby at home. Dylan’s brown hair was perfectly in place and there weren’t even bags under his blue eyes. Nor did vomit cover his navy polo, which made Nelson look like a total slob. He didn’t have a baby at home to blame it on, but his wrinkled button-down shirt and out of control curly hair made it seem like he’d been practicing.
“You’ve got the timeframe nailed down. Since you and Casey head straight home after the games, you probably haven’t realized that was the last game I hit the bar with the boys.”
“And Annie found an apartment of her own two days later,” Dylan said, interrupting Nelson’s explanation. “I thought she just didn’t want you to think she was going to turn into your sister and never leave.”
Nelson slowly nodded. No one wanted the conversation to turn to Steph, so he kept focused on Annie’s actions. He’d moved to a new place after all the problems with his sister, somewhere smaller, where guests wouldn’t seem as welcome.
As far as Steph went, Nels tried to see her at least once a month, but his schedule sometimes made that difficult. She seemed to be doing better, at least she’d stopped asking how Dylan was ten times during one of his visits. Nels wasn’t sure when they were going to let her out, but he felt good about the fact she was getting the help she needed.
“That was part of it, but I think we both thought it would be best if I didn’t come home and take things to the bedroom. I tried to tell her it wouldn’t happen again and that the one time was just a fluke, but she laughed at me and told me it was time for her to settle down. Evidently she didn’t consider sleeping on my couch settled down.”
It hadn’t made a lot of sense at the time. Nelson understood why she wanted to leave, but he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t talk about what had happened without laughing it off. For him, the fact that they ended up in bed together was a big deal, one they should’ve talked about.
“As independent as Annie is, I was surprised you convinced her to move in with you in the first place. She had a job before moving down here, so it wasn’t like she needed to crash at your place.”
Dylan put his glass down and pushed his plate away as he spoke, so he could set his arms up on the table. Morning rush had settled down, leaving the diner with only a few other people, and they seemed to be focused on their meals. As much as the tabloids liked to reveal details of certain things Nelson would like to keep private, he was glad the conversation wasn’t taking place with a full crowd listening in.
Nelson’s troubles with the tabloids had only picked up after they found Dylan’s domesticated life to be a little boring. It wasn’t like Nelson did anything too crazy, but that didn’t always stop them from making things up, and he preferred to tell people himself that he was going to be a father.
“You’ve been to my hometown. She wanted to get her feet under her before making it on her own in the city. There’s at least three times the number of people here, and streets someone like her shouldn’t walk down without an armed escort.”
When Annie had announced she was moving, Nelson had been a little terrified, something he’d not felt when his sister had announced she was moving in so she could be closer to Dylan. Maybe it was because of the fact that his sister was sitting in a psychiatric hospital for trying to kill Dylan that made Nels worry a little bit about anyone coming from his hometown to the big city.
Annie wasn’t like Steph, so he hoped his worry had more to do with the fact that she was a tiny, almost frail, woman. When they were kids, other kids at their school picked on her endlessly because of her size. Right up until the moment Nelson took her under his wing. It was a little sad that kids could be that mean as young as they were, but it had taught them both a lot about human nature.
Dylan’s continuation of their conversation shook Nels out of his thoughts. “It probably doesn’t do any good to dwell on why things are the way they are. What do you plan to do about the fact you’re going to be a daddy in a few months?”
Math wasn’t his strong suit, but Annie had to be around four months pregnant if he was the father. That meant he had less than five months before his life changed forever. He wasn’t ready to admit that his life had already been altered.
“What do you mean, what do I plan to do? I’m guessing Annie doesn’t have any plans of us getting married, and I don’t doubt that she’s a firm believer in that whole ‘it’s her body, it’s her choice’ stuff, so I won’t know anything until I can talk to her. I have to believe she’s going to have the baby, since she actually told me.”
Nelson at least anticipated that was the case. His immediate plans didn’t include children, but he wanted them eventually. He just hadn’t found someone to share that future with.
He looked around the diner to verify no one was scribbling down notes. It had been a while since he’d been to Eddie’s, but the place never changed. There were a dozen or so tables in the center of the room, with eight booths lining the picture windows looking out to the street.
Nelson counted four other patrons. A waitress was pouring coffee at one of the tables, but everyone else seemed to be keeping to themselves. The waitress caught him looking at her and smiled as she finished up, and then made her way over. Nelson was polite enough to smile back, even if it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is there something wrong with your eggs?” the waitress asked when she looked down and saw he’d barely touched them.
She had a pleasant voice, but it bordered on being a little nasally. Nelson didn’t remember seeing her before the visit to the diner, so he took a moment to check out her features. She had long blond hair, with eyes almost as blue as Dylan’s. They weren’t quite as bright, which meant a person didn’t instantly wonder whether colored contacts had a hand in the coloring.
She wore the standard, red fifties style outfit that all the other waitresses wore, but Nelson thought the other waitresses were a little older. Dana, as her nametag indicated, looked to be working while making her way through college.
“My eyes ended up bigger than my stomach today.” Nelson’s response didn’t explain why Dylan’s plate had only been picked over, but it was all he was willing to give.
“Evidently a lot bigger. I have a feeling you’re on the way out the door, so do you want me to box your plates up?”
Nelson glanced over to Dylan for his answer. Rubbery, cold eggs didn’t sound any more appetizing than they did fresh.
“I think we’ll just take the check. It sounds like we both need to head to the florist down the street to pick up something for the women waiting at home for us.”
Dylan’s words sounded funny, since Nelson wasn’t sure where he’d find Annie. He also didn’t know whether flowers would be a comforting sight. A few minutes had ticked by after her last text, and she probably thought he’d decided to avoid her.
“Really? I see your ring, but your finger seems to be missing some jewelry,” Dana said, making sure to point at Nelson’s hand.
Nelson was going to respond that she’d interpreted what Dylan had said incorrectly, but Dylan took matters into his own hands.
“Last I knew, guys didn’t wear engagement rings. I can pull up a picture of the rock on his fiancé’s hand, if you don’t believe me.” Dylan picked up his phone and started tapping around to prove he meant business.
Dana let a slight frown line her face, before the friendly smile returned. “I suppose the saying that all the good ones are taken is true. I’ll be right back with your check.”
The waitress was gone before Nelson could say a word, not that he immediately came up with anything to say. His eyes drilled small holes in Dylan as he waited for an explanation for the lie.
“Believe me, you don’t need that kind of problem right now.” Dylan was quick to respond.
“And what kind of problem do you think that would’ve been?” Nelson hadn’t done more than give her a once over. It wasn’t li
ke he asked for her phone number. With the new development in his life, picking up a date wasn’t something on his mind.
“I’m not saying there would’ve been a problem on your side of things, but I saw the looks she’s been giving you since the moment we walked in. If she doesn’t know who you are, she knows you have money, and she wants some of it.”
Nelson scoffed at the claim. He’d already made a note that he looked like a train wreck compared to Dylan. It’d be hard for his own mother to think he was the same man on the banners next to the arena promoting the upcoming hockey season.
Dana came back and handed the check to Dylan, while not sparing a glance in Nels’ direction. Nelson reached over and tried to take the check from Dylan, but he already had a couple of twenties pulled out of his wallet and had thrown them on the table.
“This was supposed to be my treat.” Nelson didn’t move to fish money out of his wallet, but he wanted to remind his friend of the original agreement.
“And I would’ve probably let you pay, right up until the point you told me you were going to be a father. I’m still trying to decide if I should offer my congratulations.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I find Annie. I haven’t seen her in a few days, and I guess I know why that is. She’s had to have an idea that she was pregnant for at least a month, right? I’ve asked her a couple of times, and she always told me not to worry.” It was more than a couple of times, but Dylan didn’t need to know it was almost a weekly occurrence. There was something about the way she brushed him off that told him he needed to keep at it.
Dylan stood up and waited for Nelson before heading to the door. Nelson was calculating how long it would take him to make it to Annie’s apartment as he cleared the door and heard the bells tied around the handle jingle on his way out.
“Well, finding her shouldn’t be hard. As soon as Casey found out I was eating breakfast with you, she called Annie and asked her to come over. It’s been nice for her to have a female friend, and I can only imagine how much fun it’s going to be when Katie has a little friend to grow up with.”
