We were all anxious to get settled into the condo. The four of us in a one-bedroom hotel suite, no matter how nice, was challenging. This move was putting a dent in my depleted bank account, despite Easton paying most of the bills. I was paying for our meals, as the hotel only had a small fridge in the room, and we were eating out daily.
This particular morning, I was fretting about Easton’s return, knowing I’d be hearing from him soon. I didn’t have to wait long. The text messages started about seven a.m. I read the first few and ignored the rest. Juniper, who didn’t work a regular shift, flopped on the couch next to me, still in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess, and she was yawning. “Aren’t you going to look at that text?” She glanced at my phone, which had been beeping urgently for a few minutes.
“It’s Easton, and he wants to meet this morning. Go over everything. The condo will be ready in a few days.”
“Then meet with him.”
“I’m not ready yet. It’s not a good time.”
“It’ll never be a good time.” Juniper rolled her eyes. “Putting off this meeting isn’t going to make things easier. You’re here and committed to going through with this.”
“Regardless, he’ll want to meet the kids right away. They’re still adjusting to the move, and his appearance might set them back. I need to make a plan, figure out how to handle this for the kids’ sakes.”
“You’ve had a week to devise a plan. So far all I’ve seen is a garbage can full of half-finished lists. Quit worrying. Kids are resilient. They’ll bounce back.”
“My kids also hold grudges. They’ve been taking out their grief on me ever since their dad died. When they find out about Easton, they’ll be furious. I’m not sure how I’ll go about explaining the situation to them. They’re only six.”
“They might be six, but they’re bright kids, and they will forgive you.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“Mom, Heath stole my candy bar!” Hailey ran into the room, tears streaking down her face and sobbing as if she’d lost something far more valuable than a candy bar. Heath stood behind her, saying nothing. His face was void of all emotion, reminding me of his father during a hockey game.
“First of all, how did you get a candy bar? You know I don’t like you eating too much candy.”
Hailey didn’t answer me.
“Regardless, stealing is never acceptable. Heath, did you steal your sister’s candy bar?”
Heath stuck out his lower lip in a show of belligerence. “No.”
My phone rang, and I reached for it. Easton. Just what I needed right now. Hailey was yelling at Heath, and Heath turned his back on her and stomped to the only bedroom with her on his heels.
I had a splitting headache.
“You have to answer him, Caro. I’ll take the kids to school.”
With a resigned sigh, I pressed the answer button. “Hi.”
“Wow. Don’t sound so happy to hear from me. What time are we meeting and where?”
“Today isn’t a good time. It’ll have to wait.”
“What? What do you mean?” Now one more person was pissed at me.
“I mean it’s not a good time.” I was reaching the end of my patience.
“What kind of game are you playing?”
I was playing a coward’s game, getting cold feet, having second thoughts. I didn’t want anyone else to have a say in my children’s lives, but it was a little late for that. “No games. I promise.”
“The condo should be ready in a day or so. As soon as I get the green light, I’ll give you a tour, and some of the guys are going to help move you in this weekend.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll hire movers. I don’t need your help.”
“Not happening, Caro. I’ll take care of the move. Quit jerking me around. You can’t undo what’s been done. I can’t forget what I know. Neither can you.”
“I understand, and I’m so sorry. Please, give me a little more time to adjust.”
He was silent for so long I hoped he’d hung up. No such luck. He was still on the line. “Where shall I meet you? How about the hotel café?”
He wasn’t going away. He was right; there was no turning back, only going forward.
“I’ll see you at eleven,” I said, resigned to my fate.
He ended the call without another word.
I sank down onto the couch, wondering what kind of monster I’d created.
Chapter 11—Complications
~~Easton~~
Later that morning, I arrived early at the small café in the hotel my attorney had booked for Caro and our children. The hotel wasn’t far from my condo, so I walked, enjoying a crisp fall day with clear skies.
I ordered a cup of coffee and stared out the window, more fidgety and nervous than I’d been in my first NHL game. This wasn’t a game. This was life, and being a father was forever.
Caro stopped in the doorway and glanced around. I gulped down some water to ease my dry throat. She dropped something and bent down to pick it up. My eyes were drawn to her nicely rounded ass hugged by a pair of skinny jeans, and I swallowed hard. She still had an effect on me, and I had to get beyond what she did to me physically and see her merely as the mother of my children.
This situation was complicated enough without throwing a physical or emotional relationship with Caro into the mix. Her husband had only been dead a few months. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, and I was a sworn bachelor, a Puck Brother. I didn’t take my PB status lightly either. I’d earned it, and I would wear my badge proudly. I had to rein in my lust.
No complicated relationships, and a sexual relationship with her, even for one night, would be too complicated for my easygoing, do-as-I-please lifestyle. The woman planned her life and made lists while I wandered through life without a care or a worry.
Confusing shit, that was.
I wasn’t one who dissected situations or worried about much of anything, but she had me so inside out I was doing both, and I didn’t like the experience.
Seeing her again brought back old insecurities, and I could not allow a woman to jeopardize my pro career. I hadn’t seven years ago, and I wouldn’t now. I was absolutely committed to hockey, my team, and now my children. There wasn’t room for anyone else in my life. Well, except my family, but they didn’t demand much from me.
Steeling my shaky resolve, I plastered a neutral expression on my face and waited for Caro to walk in. I gripped the manila envelope stuffed with paperwork and waited for her to sit. Her gaze flicked from me to the envelope and back again. She had as good of a poker face as I.
“Easton.” She spoke pleasantly, as if she were meeting a client for a business meeting, not a father to discuss their children. She placed a day planner on the table, and I recalled she’d always had one in her possession. No digital planners for her.
She looked fantastic and smelled as good as she looked. My gaze strayed downward, taking in those shapely legs encased in denim, and travelled upward. Her hips were wider and her breasts larger than I remembered. She had more curves than before even though she was still on the petite, slender side. Motherhood hadn’t ruined her figure, it’d improved on it. I liked what I saw way too much.
I breathed in her unique scent and was flooded with memories of hot summer nights on the beach and in the back seat of my beat-up old Toyota. We’d gone at it those few months like the sex-crazed teenagers we were. There’d been quiet times, too. Lying on a blanket and gazing at the stars or talking about our hopes and dreams, mine all revolving around hockey, of course. Hers had been to use her full-ride scholarship to get a degree in nursing. I guess she’d never done it, which made me sad.
Caro cleared her throat, and I jerked my gaze away from her body. Embarrassed I’d been caught ogling her, I felt heat rise from my neck to my ears. If she’d noticed my flushed face, she gave no indication.
“I have the paperwork from my attorney for the temporary parenting plan.” Flustered, I fumbled with the s
tapled sets of papers, giving her one copy, while I looked at the other. “I’ll give you time to read it.”
She said nothing but nodded. I ordered coffee, got a handle on myself, and sat back to observe her. She chewed on her lower lip as she read, a quirk she’d always had when concentrating on something important. I drew in a labored breath and was grateful the growing bulge between my legs wasn’t visible because of the table. This was the mother of my children, not a woman I’d be getting naked with now or in the future.
Yet… I squelched those thoughts before they took root.
“Aren’t you jumping the gun? They don’t even know you’re their father. They need time.”
“I’m not asking for you to adhere to this immediately.”
“I’m not sure about this visitation schedule,” she said stiffly. Her gaze met mine, and she was in full mother-bear protective mode. “It’s too many days.”
“Too many days?” I fucking didn’t think it was enough. My intention had been working my way slowly to joint custody, and she was questioning my initial request of a few days a week when I didn’t have a road trip.
Houston, we have a fucking problem.
“I’m their mother. I know best.” She glared stubbornly at me, her chin jutting out as she clenched it.
“I’m their father, and I have rights too,” I shot back, equally stubborn and more than a little insulted. This woman was becoming a master at pushing my buttons.
“I don’t want my children exposed to certain elements common in a pro hockey player’s life.”
“Elements? Like what?”
“A revolving door of women, for one, drugs and alcohol for another.”
“That won’t be an issue. I don’t do drugs or have a revolving door of women.” Hell, I hadn’t wanted another woman since Caro came back. Now there was subject a shrink would love to explore, and I wasn’t going there.
“You don’t have roommates who’re single hockey players? What about them?”
She had me there. “Uh, I do. Kaden and Steele. They’re good guys. They’ll behave when the kids are around.”
“Have you discussed this with them?”
“Uh, not yet.”
“Then how do you know they’re willing to give up their decadent lifestyle when children are present?”
“Because they will, or I’ll get my own place.”
She sniffed and looked down her nose at me. I’d forgotten how much I hated it when she did that. She made a few notes in the back of her day planner. I leaned forward to read them, but she slammed the planner shut.
“I’m willing to do what it takes. I’ll be by later this afternoon to meet the kids.” I glowered at her. We were at a standoff, and we hadn’t discussed any of the other points in the agreement. Unfortunately, my dick wasn’t nearly as annoyed. In fact, my boy found her anger a turn-on and was begging for a chance. Damn it. This wasn’t the time or place for lust, and my weakness for her annoyed the fuck out of me.
“It’s too soon.”
“In my opinion, it’s way too late. See you around four thirty.”
“We have plans. Come tomorrow.”
“I have a game.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave her one of my intimidating hockey-player glares. She didn’t even blink.
“Friday night then.”
I wanted to argue. I didn’t want to wait even one more hour, but two days? I didn’t answer, but I stood, tossed a few bills on the table to cover the tab, and left before she had time to change her mind.
It was crucial we maintain an amicable relationship for the kids’ sakes, not ours. While my parents had always presented a united front, I’d had too many friends whose parents used the kids to get back at the other parent. I would never do that. Never.
One way to maintain a cordial relationship with Caro was to stay out of her pants, yet every time I was around her, I wanted nothing but to strip off every stitch of clothing and plant myself deep inside her. She had always had some kind of sexual hold on me, and seven years later, she still did.
My self-control was infamous, but she tested not just my patience but my willpower to the limits.
~~Caroline~~
That afternoon the sunshine turned to rain, and the kids were getting cabin fever, edgy and distracted.
Some days they put aside their resentfulness and sorrow, behaving as they once had. Other days Heath barely spoke to me, and Hailey freely expressed her anger by directing it toward me. Today was one of those bad days. Despite my efforts to engage them, they chose to ignore me and played a video game. While I normally limited their playing time, on a crappy day like this, I was too tired to argue. Instead, I tortured myself by thinking of my earlier conversation with Easton.
Putting him off was stupid and irresponsible. My actions honestly made no sense, but I wasn’t making a lot of sense lately. Two hours, two days, two weeks. What did it matter? Any timeframe would be too soon for my taste. Better to rip the Band-Aid off all at once and get it over with.
Still, I hedged. The sooner Easton got involved in the kids’ lives, the more I’d see of him. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle his presence in my kids’ lives and, even worse, in mine.
Junie was doing her nails, while Rusty sprawled on the couch next to her. I slumped in the nearby chair. The thing was one of those uncomfortable hotel chairs that wouldn’t be comfortable no matter how you sat in it.
“You need a glass of wine,” Juniper said.
“Tell me about it. It’s been a long day.”
Junie sent a sympathetic smile in my direction and turned back to her nails, which she was painting a bright orange.
“Aren’t you a little late for Halloween nails?”
“These are fall nails, you know, Thanksgiving colors.”
I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
A sharp rap on the door startled both of us. Before we could react, Hailey leaped to her feet and scurried to the door. I yelled after her, but she ignored me. She knew better than to open the door to a stranger, but she was mad enough at me to ignore my warnings and do it anyway. I hurried after her, but she beat me to the door.
She swung the door wide open and stared at the large man taking up the majority of the doorway.
“Well, hi there.” Easton grinned down at her.
Chapter 12—Not Alone
~~Easton~~
The little girl who gazed up at me was the spitting image of her beautiful mother. She had large blue eyes and long golden hair, while the stubborn set of her jaw reminded me of myself. She planted her little hands on her hips and narrowed those pretty eyes in what I interpreted as a hostile glare, so out of place on one so young.
Her obvious dislike at first sight set me back on my heels. In my naïve imaginings, I’d pictured her running up to me and launching her little body into my waiting arms. We’d laugh and hug, and I’d spin her around and around until we were both so dizzy, after which I’d have to collapse in the nearest chair. She’d call me Daddy, and my heart would fill up with love every time she said that one amazing word.
“Who are you?” she demanded. I blinked several times, unable to construct an explanation.
A little boy came to a stop behind her as if he had her back. He, too, planted little fists on his hips, legs slightly spread, and scowled at me. My son. Dark brown eyes, dark hair with a mind of its own, and a sturdy little body. He was mine, all right. I had no doubt they were both products of my genetics and Caro’s. How had she not noticed sooner? Why hadn’t she voiced her concerns to me as soon as their parentage became obvious? Why had she kept me in the dark? Caro was such a by-the-book person, I found it really hard to believe she hadn’t a clue.
Anger simmered inside me. I’d tamped it down over the weeks, but now it was back full force. These were my children, and I had rights, too. Damn it, and damn her.
“Who are you?” my daughter, Hailey, demanded again and not very politely. She craned her neck way up to see me. I knelt down so I’d be at eye
level.
“I’m Easton. I’m—” I glanced up at Caro, who hovered nearby. Her eyes pleaded with me, and I couldn’t bring myself to be the asshole I’d planned to be. “I’m an old friend of your mother’s.”
Hailey’s expression softened slightly, going from hostile to curious. “I’m Hailey, and this is my brother, Heath. We’re twins but we don’t look alike. Not like most twins. There were twins in my old school, and no one could tell them apart. They would pretend to be each other. Heath and I can’t do that because I’m a girl and he’s a boy, and we don’t look anything alike. Were you friends with my father too? He’s gone, you know. Mommy said he’s gone to heaven, and he won’t be back, but he’s watching over us, and we have to make him proud. Do you have a mommy and daddy? Do you have a dog? We want a dog. I want a pony too. Do you like to ice skate? Heath and I ice skate. He plays hockey. I do figure skating. I’m the best figure skater in the world.”
Holy shit. I struggled to keep up with her steady stream of words as she pounded me with a hundred questions and zero time to answer them. But damn, she was adorable, and I fell in love with her at first sight.
My baby girl.
My heart swelled, and I fought to control my emotions. How did a guy do that when he laid eyes on his children for the first time? I blinked back tears and slid my gaze to Caro. She stepped forward as soon as Hailey paused to draw a breath, put her hands on the little girl’s shoulders, and squeezed.
“Caro, slow down. Easton is very busy and regretfully doesn’t have time to answer your questions.”
“Actually, for you, sweetheart, I have all the time in the world.” I winked at Hailey and grinned at Caro with evil pleasure, reveling in the disapproving scowl on her beautiful face.
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