Hockey Hunk (Loving the Puckers Book 4)

by Kat Obie

  But I’d seen the sonogram. She'd been to a doctor. I was confused as fuck about whether she'd been to the doctor yet or not.

  At least, things were getting back to normal at the rink. Lager had started to loosen water bottle caps again, and Webs was excited to hear his girl was likely to return for a playoff game or two.

  As we were doing a shooting drill at the end of practice, I was up by the net to help get the tip in. Webs had the puck. It seemed like he had a good angle on goal. I would tip it in if it bounced off Riker's leg pad. But we were wrong—the puck ricocheted off my foot.

  As Webs and I were going to the back of the line, Webs said, "Sorry, I was trying to get it to you if it went off the pad."

  I nodded. While my foot hurt, that was hockey. It wasn't like he meant to nail me with the puck. I just shook my foot to shake off the sting.

  I guess I wasn't expressive enough, because Webs asked, "So, it's been a week of looking like someone kicked your puppy. Are things good between you and my sis? Did you find out more about that sonogram? Do we need to kill someone for messing with her?"

  Of all the ways to ask if things were okay, why would he use the same phrase that I used when he and Lily had their issues?

  I shook my head. “No.” But that was the end of chit chat time. I went to the wing while Weber centered. We did our thing with some tic-tac-toe passes around the defenseman. Then I got in front of Riker again. This time, he didn't try to bank the shot and it just went over the shoulder of the goalie.

  As we went back into the line, Webs asked, "What happened?"

  "I hung up on her after she denied knowing that she was pregnant and now she won't take my calls."

  "Ugh. I hate when she does that, but yeah, she gets really pissed off when you hang up on her. Did you get anything out of her?”

  I shook my head. It was almost time to do the drill again. We took our places and focused on getting the piece of rubber into the back of the net.

  Once we got to the end of the line, he said, “Alright. I know I shouldn't interfere with you guys, but let me talk to her tonight. Hopefully she’ll take my call without having to go above her head.”

  Renee

  I had just gotten home from work when I heard the phone ring. Looking at the time, I assumed it was Shoresy trying to call. Thankfully, it was Colton's name on the caller ID. "Hey, big brother."

  "Hey. Everything okay?"

  I shrugged but stayed silent. I didn't want to admit that I was pissed at his best friend. He always did hate when I was too silent on the phone.

  "Come on, Renee. Talk to me. I already know that you aren't talking to Shoresy, and you haven’t been talking to me either."

  He was practically pleading with me, so I said, "Fine. He pissed me off."

  "By hanging up on you." Well, Colton was well informed. I should have known he was calling with some insider knowledge.

  Might as well surprise him and give him something he didn’t know. "Well, more the fact he didn't trust me."

  "Trust you about what?"

  I really didn’t want to tell my brother that I might actually be pregnant. It was a hookup and a mistake. Instead, I said, "I haven't been to an OB/GYN yet."

  "What do you mean yet? We both saw the sonogram."

  Sonogram? What sonogram? Why wasn't anyone believing me on that front? Then it dawned on me. They’d found the image that Matt knew nothing about. It was only supposed to be used if Weber didn’t buy that I was pregnant, but the look on Matt’s face when I slapped him made it completely unnecessary. "How the hell did you find that?"

  "You left it behind in my guest room."

  "Shit . . . That was a fucking prop for the prank. But when you clocked Matt, I thought it was a step too far. It must have fallen out of my bag."

  It all made sense. If Colton found the sonogram and showed it to Matt, he must have thought that I was pregnant before the visit and was trying to set him up.

  Well, we probably were, but it was too early to tell and I definitely still hadn't gone to the drugstore for a pregnancy test. Just like we never went to make sure it wouldn't happen in the first place.

  Of course, Colton asked, "How the hell was that a prop? It had your name on it."

  "Kristy and Lisa helped."

  Kristy was a technician at Dr. Oberman's office, and Lisa was pregnant. I knew it was bad to ask my two best friends to get involved, but it also seemed perfect. During Lisa's last appointment with Kristy, they did the usual stuff and logged it. Then Kristy made a copy of the photo but renamed the image. I still owed the two of them dinner for their help, even though I was too chicken to show the photo in the end.

  I should have checked the guest room more carefully. No wonder Matt was upset.

  Damn it. If I hadn’t been such a stubborn asshole, I wouldn’t have needed my brother to step in just to find out what was going on with me and Matt. I screwed things up by not sharing that I’d gotten the sonogram made or even thinking he could have seen it. I assumed he knew about the real deal and was pissed.

  Christ, I needed to fix things. I just wasn't sure what I should do. Well, the first thing was to accept Matt's call when he called next. If he called again. I could call him. I decided to do it after I was done talking to Colton.

  Colton knew Kristy and Lisa were my two best friends and immediately asked, "So, who's pregnant?"

  "Lisa."

  "Again? That didn't take long after the twins," Colton said. He was friends with Lisa's husband. At least, they were back in the day, so I wasn't too surprised he’d heard about the birth of the twins. That brought Lisa's brood up to five even before the latest pregnancy.

  "I know. We've all been teasing her and Jeff that they are the two most fertile people we know."

  "Better him than me. Lily would kill me if I got her pregnant," Colton said quickly. It made sense. Them getting pregnant would derail Lily's NHL career. Although I was sure those two would get married and have kids one day, I knew it would be a long time from now.

  I rubbed my belly. I still hadn't decided how I felt if we were actually pregnant. There seemed to be so much to discuss with Shoresy. Like, did he want to be in the picture? Would we live together or separately?

  "Yeah,” I said. "I think kids are a long way off yet for me and Matt."

  "I would hope so. Also, it's weird as fuck to hear you call him, Matt."

  I laughed. “Well, it’s his name. It’s not my fault—you guys always call him Shoresy.”

  Colton didn’t respond to that, but he did say, "Do me a favor, sis."

  I had a strong feeling I knew what he was going to ask, so I supplied, "Talk to him."

  "Yup. I hate seeing my best friend looking so upset for the past week. It seemed like you kicked his dog."

  That broke my heart. I don't know why I didn't think that he would mind. I was so sure he wouldn't care since he never left a message. "Alright. I'll talk to him."

  "Thanks, sis. I'm going to hang up now so you can call him."

  "Alright, bro. Thanks for calling."

  "Anytime. Love you."

  "Love you too."

  I hung up the phone. I was surprised. Here I thought that Colton had only accepted me and Shoresy begrudgingly. I never expected him to go out of his way to try to make sure things were okay with the relationship. It was good to know he liked us.

  I couldn't call Matt just yet. I needed to go to the drug store and do that damn test once and for all.

  12

  Matt

  I hated waiting, but Webs wanted to talk to Renee first. Thankfully, Gavin and his friend Scuba were down to play some Top Golf to relieve some stress.

  I whacked the crap out of golf balls. I was surprised that Scuba was the best golfer amongst the three of us. I half expected him to be the typical hockey player on a golf course. More than capable enough to get distance, but no finesse.

  It was a good thing we didn't have any real bets on that night's game or I would have been out of a lot of mon
ey. The guys were good company.

  Thank fuck, right as I hopped into my car, Renee called. I picked up the phone and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off by hanging up and not listening to you."

  I’d felt guilty since I hung up on her last week. I was pissed with her for not telling me about the sonogram, but the fear of being dumped trumped that fear.

  She immediately asked, "Do you have time to talk?"

  "Of course." I threw the key into the ignition so I could get some heat.

  "Alright, I don't know the best way to say this . . ."

  Jesus, that freaked me out. I would almost rather be ghosted than broken up with.

  She must have read my mind because she said, "I'm not going to break up with you if you still want me, but we're pregnant."

  That threw me. While I should have been pissed with her all over again for keeping the facts from me, I hadn't let her talk last time. I needed to hear her out. "What do you mean? Are you sure it's ours? I saw the sonogram, and while I'm a dumb jock, even I know the timelines don't work."

  She laughed. That was progress from the last conversation. "First thing, that sonogram was evidence for our prank in case Colton didn't buy in. It's fake. Well, technically it's a real image but just not ours."

  "Really? You got a sonogram made for the prank? Why didn’t you tell me or show it to Webs?"

  "He’d already clocked you in the jaw. I didn't want him to kill you. As for not telling you, I didn't think it would matter if I wasn't going to use it. I never thought it would be seen again.” I could practically see her soft smile when she said that.

  "Well, it would have been useful to know that before Webs dropped the photo into my lap."

  "Yeah. I understand that, and I know that’s why you were upset the last time we talked,” she said.

  It was good to have it out in the open. It had been such a dumb fight. I hoped that things would be okay now. I had to ask, "So, we're going to have a baby? Are you sure?"

  "Pretty sure. I took two of the early detection kits. I still haven't missed a period, and I haven't been to the doctor yet for a more concrete test. But the fact that it was two positives tells me that it’s unlikely to be a false positive."

  That meant it was real. We were having a baby. I should have been livid with myself for the situation. I should have gone to the drugstore like I said I would.

  If anything, I thought my sperm were strong. They made it through both the broken condom and her birth control.

  But fuck . . . that also meant responsibilities. Not to mention, I needed to figure out a way to get her to move in with me. Well, come to think of it, I could move in with her at the end of the season. If that worked out, then she could move to Cleveland maybe. We would figure it out.

  "You could say something, Matt. Literally anything." She sounded scared. Then again, we weren’t on video so she couldn’t see my smile.

  "Congrats, baby. You took me by surprise, but it's a good one." Then I added the one comment that might have made me a jackass, but I kept my voice light since I didn't for a moment not believe her. "So, this is for real? I mean, we would have conceived her on April Fools', and we already had one fake pregnancy on the books that weekend."

  "I think so. As I said, it's not like I've had a doctor's test to confirm it yet." There had to be that slick Cheshire cat smile on her face when she said, "What makes you so damn sure it's a her? It could easily be a boy."

  I chuckled. "I know it could be a boy, but it's totally a girl. You and her would have me wrapped around your fingers." I had to ask the tough question. "So, how would you feel if I came to live with you this summer? I could train in Regina just as easily as I do in Boston."

  "You want to come here?" She sounded so surprised, but was it really that strange? With us dating, I had planned to do several visits to Regina over the summer. I would have suggested moving in, but I wasn’t sure we were ready. Now that she might be carrying my kid, those concerns were thrown out the window.

  "Well, I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but yes. Although, I do want you to come to a playoff game or two next week since I can't wait to see you again. I'm hoping that you might consider moving to Cleveland come next season. That way, we can raise her together."

  She laughed again. "We can't keep calling it a her yet. It's too early."

  I chuckled. She could say that all she wanted, but I knew it was a girl even if she didn't. And she hadn’t said no. That was the important part. "Doesn't matter. Besides, while we argue over the fact it's a she, don't think I haven't noticed that you didn't answer my question about the summer."

  I waited to see what she had to say. I knew we were new and that if there hadn’t been a kid in the picture, I might have only pushed for the playoff games. But it felt right.

  "Yeah. But can the summer be a trial run before we decide on anything later?"

  "Of course, baby." No sense in scaring her off again. I could wait. I’d just make sure I was the best damn boyfriend in the meantime.

  Renee

  It'd been a long day. Then again, all days were long days now. At least the highlight of most of them was knowing that Matt was going to give me a call and check in. Him checking in meant the world.

  Coming up to my condo, I saw a ton of packages sitting at my door. All I could say was, "Holy crap, what is going on?"

  I grabbed the first few packages and nudged the two larger ones in with my foot. I hadn't ordered a damn thing lately, so I was taken aback by the amount of packages and wondering whom they were from. Well, the one box in my hand was obvious. It was an overnight package from Matt.

  I opened it up and saw a hoodie. It was clear it was one of his, since I could smell his woodsy cologne and a hint of icy air. A little note fell out.

  Just something to keep you warm at night when I can't. Miss you, Little Weber.

  I smiled. It was perfect for me, and I loved it. Plus, once I got larger, I would have at least one thing I could fit into. I wasn't looking forward to maternity shopping, but I tried to push those thoughts away. I just wasn't ready to think about all the things I needed to do to prepare for a kid.

  The other box was also super nice, containing some dark chocolate strawberries and Moose Munch from Harry & David. There was no note attached, but I pretty much knew it was from Matt. My brother would never send me both those items for fear of me chewing him out since he knew I didn’t like to be spoiled or have too many sweets on hand.

  Then there were the two big boxes from Amazon that were still sitting by my front door. Taking the scissors, I sliced open the top box. Inside was a bunch of stuff: parenting books, two pink outfits with little tutus saying "Mommy's princess" and "Daddy's princess", ginger candy, ginger tea, a journal, and a pair of sneakers.

  Everything but the sneakers made sense and clued me into who’d sent it. Matt was the only one who knew I was pregnant (or should have been because, if he told Colton, I would have received a phone call) and he was so damn sure it was going to be a girl. I didn't get why he sent me the trainers. Sure, they were cute, but I had plenty of shoes.

  Then I opened up the Amazon pantry box. Inside was what seemed like care package stuff: a case of ginger ale, saltines, canned soup, oreos, flat cola syrup, animal crackers, rice cakes, mints, gum, and gatorade.

  I threw on the hoodie and took a chocolate-covered strawberry. It was so delicious, but I loved having his hoodie. It smelt of him and reminded me of our chemistry, the crazy good sex and everything that I loved about Matt.

  He picked up my call almost immediately. It looked like I caught him mid-workout since he was shirtless and sweaty. It was a beautiful sight, making me horny and very lonely. "Hey, you."

  "I hope I didn't call you at a bad time." I pushed back a piece of hair. I didn't know why I got so damn shy around him when he was shirtless.

  "'Course not." He picked up a towel and rubbed his face. "I see you got the hoodie I sent."

  "And everything else. I wanted to thank you
, but you went a little overboard." It was just so much of everything. The last thing I wanted to do was put everything away, but I also couldn't leave the boxes by the entryway.

  His damn smile broke out, and he said, "Nonsense. I just hope that keeps you from worrying and makes you feel better. Besides, I think I owe you for being a bit of an ass over that fake sonogram."

  I didn't know what to say. It was a lot to take in and a lot of emotion to unpack. "So, that's your way of saying 'I'm sorry?'"

  "Well, more like I'm sorry and I love you and I don't want you to freak out about things. Is there anything I missed? I tried to think of everything."

  I smiled. "So, what’s up with the sneakers?"

  "Well, my mom said she struggled with her feet swelling when she had me and it was hard to find comfortable shoes that were wide enough. Those ones were supposed to help."

  I groaned—he must have gone to his mom for advice. This was supposed to be a secret until we knew more and had maybe been together a little longer.

  He must have realized what I was thinking because he chuckled. "No, baby, I didn't tell my mom anything. But I did go to a baby shower with her for my cousin, and that was her gift for the mom, although she got stuff for my nephew too. I'm being good about not telling anyone, but it's tough. I'm so excited for us, even if we have a lot to sort out. But I love you two so much. You know that, right?"

  I nodded. While it was early days, it all felt so right. We might have been rushing into things, but I also felt safe with Matt by my side. Even if that meant him being by my side so far away. Now I just needed to make sure I didn't push him away again while my emotions were running rampant.

  13

  Matt

  Knowing that Renee was potentially carrying our baby was so damn sexy. But she was freaking out. The worst part was, she wasn't telling her brother that she was freaking out or even why. So Webs kept asking me if I knew anything, but I'd been sworn to secrecy and was forced to pretend I was clueless.