by Aja Cole
Neither of them responds, but I’m hoping it’s just because they stepped away and not because they’re going to be ridiculous and drive nearly six hours.
I really am sleepy though.
It’s almost 2 pm and we got here around 8 am. I glance over as Dane appears in the doorway with boxers on, rubbing a towel through his hair as he comes towards the bed.
He tosses it on the floor and slides under the covers, immediately wrapping me in his arms.
I rest my head on his chest and a palm on his stomach, listening to his heartbeat as he rubs a hand over my back.
We don’t need any words.
Before I fall asleep, I decide not to tell him until I confirm it.
And maybe a little part of me is scared about how he’ll react and I want to give myself a little more time.
30
Dane
“I’m grateful to whoever stocked this kitchen.” I take some seasoning out of the pantry and set it on the counter in front of Keyra, who’s eating out of a carton of Ben & Jerry’s Half-Baked.
“I was planning on surprising you and coming up here this weekend anyway, so I had them stock it. We’re just a day or two early.” She slides the spoon from her mouth, licking ice cream off the edge.
I feel like a little bitch, all the sappy stuff that’s been running through my mind about this woman.
“I probably shouldn’t have unthawed all this steak, but we’ll have leftovers at least.”
“Probably not.” She murmurs.
“You’re that hungry?” I grin, shaking seasoning over the pain.
She gets up from the kitchen and leaves, not answering me.
Okay?
I hear her going downstairs, but I just go back to putting a rub on the steaks.
That’s why when she comes back up and she’s not alone, I’m shocked as hell.
“Harlan? Fuck are you doing here man?”
“Someone was too lazy to drive.” He comes over and I hug him, seeing Kaija and Mickey come up the stairs.
I look at Keyra, but she just digs her spoon back into her ice cream like she’s not surprised at all.
“They never listen.”
“Steak for dinner? Is there A1 sauce?” Mickey leans on the island, and I point to the pantry.
“Yep, and Heinz 57. I didn’t realize this was a family trip.”
“We wanted you to know you have our support.” She says it to me but looks at Keyra, who doesn’t look up and I wonder if I’m missing something.
Either way, I appreciate it.
“Keyra, come with Mickey and me really quickly.” Kaija comes over and kisses me on the cheek, still holding her purse.
“I’m fine. You two go ahead.”
“Nah, sis.” Mickey swipes the ice cream carton as she passes, and I laugh at Keyra’s expression. “Your ice cream and I will be waiting for you.”
I can practically see the steam coming from her ears, and I feel bad. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned though, it’s to stay out of any sister to sister problems.
She huffs and hops down from her seat, following after them, grumbling.
Harlan and I stare after the girls, then look at each other, and I wordlessly grab two beers from the fridge and hand him one.
Whatever’s going on with the girls, they’ll figure it out.
I have something else I need to talk to Harlan about.
I blow out a breath, unsure how to start. Maybe bluntness is the best way to go.
“I think I wanna retire.”
Harlan narrows his eyes then scrubs his hands over them.
“You got something stronger than this?” He sighs.
“This place is more well-stocked than a bar.” I open the cabinet under the island where some of the alcohol is and pull out the bourbon and two glasses. “Come on, we’ll pop these on the grill and talk.”
We stand outside on the deck after the steaks are cooked, leaning on the railing and looking at the moon over the lake and I tell him about my fears. How scared I am about Natalie lying this way. How much meeting Addison has made me realize how dangerous the game can be.
“And Keyra…she’s amazing.” I drink from my glass. “I’ve given my life to the game for so long, I just feel like I have a lot right now that I want to soak in. We have an 82 game season, not including playoffs. I could be traded at almost any time. The game just isn’t my priority anymore, man, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Shit.” He breathes, shoulders drooping. “I didn’t know you were thinking about all this.”
“You saw how quickly Travers was okay and then he wasn’t in that last game? That shook me.”
“What are you going to do if not hockey?”
“I don’t know yet. I just know that I don’t want to miss out on anything else.”
“I respect that, bro. It’s going to be different not playing with you all the time.” He admits quietly.
“We’re dating sisters in a pretty close family, man. You’ll probably see me more than you want to.” We toast our glasses and throw back the last of our drinks. “I’m glad I’ve had a financial advisor since I got drafted, though, or else I’d probably be fucked.”
“Why are the women being weird?”
“They’re like that all the time.” I counter.
“Yeah, but I know when something’s up with Kai, and something’s up.”
“Well fuck, now you’re making me worried.” I glance through the glass, but they’re still off in the house somewhere.
“It’s probably nothing.” He claps me on the back, padding across the deck. “Let’s go ahead and grill these vegetables.”
31
Keyra
We stare at the pregnancy tests on the counter silently.
One is positive.
One is negative.
“Do people usually get false positives?” I ask.
“Do people usually get false negatives?” Mickey counters.
“I think we should go for best two out of three.” Kaija pulls out another test and passes it to me. “Squeeze that urine out, girl.”
I stare down at the test and finally sit on the toilet again. Mickey slides down the wall and sits on the floor. Kai takes up a position inside the tub for some reason.
Long moments pass but I finally get a little trickle going and I sit the test on the counter and pull up my pants, setting the timer on my phone.
“That one’s supposed to be really accurate, so…” Kaija trails off.
“You excited?” Mickey questions, pulling at strings on her ripped jeans.
I think about it, trying to place and separate my feelings.
“Yeah. I think so. A little scared, nervous. This isn’t in any type of plan I had.”
“Obviously.” Kai laughs. “You’ve been officially dating for less than 6 months, you’re unmarried, you haven’t even met his family…You would have never planned this.”
I turn to her, blinking, my eyes welling up. “Well, thank you for that glowing fact analysis.”
“Oh shit.” She strands from the tub. “Key, you really crying?”
“Yes, ass-hat.” I sob, wrapping my arms around myself. Mickey pulls me down to the floor and hugs me, Kaija on my other side.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s all true.” I wipe my eyes, chest heaving.
“Yeah but if there’s anyone who’s going to knock it out of the park even with zero warning, it’s you. Of all of us, nothing is a problem for you that can’t be conquered.”
“But this is a baby.”
“Well, let’s see what the last test says before this turns into Days of Our Lives, okay?”
I swipe my finger across my phone. 3 minutes left.
“Distract me, Mickey. How’s expansion? Did you meet with Nordstrom’s?”
Her pretty face immediately darkens with a scowl. “One of my advisory board members is intentionally making my life difficult and I’m ready to dump him into the
Hudson.”
“Need me to encourage him to play nice?” I latch onto the opportunity to think of something else.
“No, he’s just…ugh.” She balls her fists.
“Ugh, huh?” Kaija asks, peering at her. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”
Mickey closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall with a deep sigh. “The ground sizzles when he walks on it.”
I start giggling, and before long, we’re all laughing so hard that happy tears are rolling down our faces this time.
It’s then that my timer goes off.
“We’ll look together, okay?” Mickey squeezes my hand, and we all raise up on our knees and shuffle towards the counter with our eyes closed.
“1…2…3!” I open my eyes and peer at the test, feeling my stomach drop.
“We were about to start eating without you.” Dane comes over and pecks me on the lips when we enter the kitchen, then turns back to where he’s taking out condiments and toppings.
“You made the baked potatoes already?” I force a smile.
“Yep, and grilled the vegetable kebabs. And Harlan made the salad. Bread’s in the oven, but it’ll be done in a minute or so.”
“Snagged a domestic man.” Mickey winks at him as she passes.
“I’m useful to have around.” He grins at me and this time, my smile is genuine.
He cocks his head. “You okay?”
“Yeah. We’ll talk after dinner.” I lean up and kiss him softly, running my hand over his chest as I pull away. “I’ll grab the bread and butter it.”
“I’d like to butter your bread.” His eyes twinkle and I swat his chest.
“Behave.”
“I give the orders here, wench.” He backs me up against the counter and I squirm.
“Dane…” I breathe.
“And here we have a male lion, unable to stop himself from going after his female in an unknown habitat.” Harlan affects a fake Australian accent and Kaija bursts out laughing, making Dane roll his eyes and back away from me.
“Who invited you again?” I grab an oven mitt and take out the bread, setting it on the stovetop. Once everything’s done, we carry platters to the dining table and take seats, saying grace.
We eat, we talk, we laugh and almost every-time I happen to glance at Dane, he’s looking at me with that slight sparkle in his eye and an expression that makes me breathless.
He’s such a different man than the one I first met, and I wonder how we get here. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t expect it at all.
I used to think that was a bad thing.
But maybe sometimes it’s the things you wouldn’t dare to dream of that end up meaning the most.
32
Dane
“If I could yank every hair off her head strand by strand, I would.” Kaija’s eyes spark and I wince.
You couldn’t pay me enough money to cross the Banks sisters.
We’re sitting on the lounge set on the lower terraced deck, around the gas fire pit, watching the flames.
It’s still chilly this early in May and we all have blankets.
“Marissa has been a godsend. I should hear from her in a little bit on if the plan we came up with worked.”
“What was the plan?” Harlan drinks from his mug of hot apple cider.
“I don’t even know what it was.” I look at Keyra and she gives a half-shrug.
“I didn’t want to say anything until I knew if it worked or not, but I guess I’ll share.” She pulls the cover tighter around her and I wish she was in my arms instead.
“In my quick analysis of Natalie, I decided she’s impulsive and emotional. All she’d need is someone to commiserate with to slip up. Once Marissa figured out where she was staying, she placed herself in her path, and pretended like she’s having problems with her child’s father.”
“And Natalie just spilled?” Harlan says.
“She had a drink or three.”
“But how are you and Marissa going to get that to the police? Did she record her?” Kaija leans forward, completely engrossed.
“Marissa recorded her, but she won’t be turning it into the police. Natalie is going to retract her statements of her own volition.”
“And then what? Is there anything Dane can do about her lying about it?” Mickey asks, and it’s a little crazy to me that someone else is thinking about me.
“Well, the good thing is, my contact in the police department got to me so quickly that the list of people who are aware is so small that it can go away. I don’t know if you remember, but it’s the woman who came up to us when we went to brunch a few weeks ago?” Keyra addresses me.
“Red-head? Really pale, short?” I muse.
“Yep. If you hadn’t met her then, she wouldn’t have known we were together.”
“Timing is crazy.” Harlan murmurs.
“So anyway, the damage is minimal. People hesitate to prosecute false rape claims unless there’s a pattern or extenuating circumstances because they don’t want to risk alienating actual victims from feeling comfortable enough to come forward.”
“I can see that.” I sit my hot chocolate down, leaning forward on my knees. “So…Addison? Can Natalie use it against me if I file for custody?”
It goes silent.
“You…you want to file for custody?” Keyra questions, turning in her chair to face me. I can’t read her face in the low light, and her voice isn’t giving me enough to go on either.
“Do you think I shouldn’t?” I’m suddenly nervous. It’s a big step.
Maybe she doesn’t think I’m ready for it. Being a dad for a few weeks isn’t the same as full-time.
Keyra’s opinion matters a lot to me. If I’m going to do it, I want her by my side.
I didn’t really consider if she would even want to be with me if I’m full-time parenting a kid.
“Keyra.” Mickey says quietly, and Keyra looks down, rubbing a hand over her brow.
The air is heavy with unspoken words and there’s a cold ball in the middle of my chest.
“Keyra?” I reach for her hand and at least she lets me take it.
“I guess now is as good a time as ever, in light of these new developments.” She laughs lightly. “I’m pregnant.”
I freeze.
“What?” I pull my hand away, standing, pacing. “I could’ve just sworn you said you’re pregnant.”
“That’s because I did.” She gestures to her stomach. “There’s a kid in this thing.”
I swing my head towards her, then around at everyone, and the rest of them are avoiding my gaze.
“How?”
She sits straight. “What do you mean how?”
“We’ve used protection every time.” I rub a hand over my hair, completely confused.
That quiet silence happens again, and suddenly, I know the chill in the air doesn’t just have to do with the wind.
Keyra’s face smoothes and she relaxes in her seat, surveying me with a quiet intensity. “Are you saying this child isn’t yours?”
At that, Keyra, Harlan, and Mickey make moves like they’re going to leave but Keyra puts a hand up.
“Stay!” She barks.
They drop back into their seats without a word, and I would laugh if I didn’t know I just fucked up.
“Is that what you’re saying, Dane? You’ve used protection every time, so I can’t be pregnant by you?”
“No.” I backpedal. “That’s not what I’m saying, I was just shocked because you know, condoms are supposed to protect.” I wince.
Dammit.
She nods her head like she understands something, and stands with her blanket around her shoulders.
“Where are you going?”
“To bed.”
“Keyra…” I start, at a loss for what to say. It’s a lot to take in! Her phone rings in her hand and she drops the cover, eyes shuttering.
“It’s Marissa. I’ll keep you updated.” She says softly and answers the phone as she walk
s away.
I drop back down into my seat and look around at everyone else.
“What the hell do I do now?”
“Maybe try being a little less insensitive next time!” Mickey suggests, throwing up her hands. “Luckily for you, she loves you. Just give her a little time, grovel later tonight.”
“For what it’s worth, it’s just an emotional time. She’s been on edge waiting to hear if Marissa was successful because you mean a lot to her. Add that to just taking pregnancy tests - this is as new to her as it is to you.” Kaija explains.
“Is that what took you so long?” Harlan asks. “Shit, is that why you dragged me from a perfectly good nap?”
“You knew before you got here?” Fuck me. I think back on the day, and I realize, she had to say something around the time she…
When she was so emotional over that damned pack of gum.
I’m an idiot.
“She sent us a text and said she suspected she was. She was so casual about it that we knew she was probably freaking out but didn’t want to freak us out. So we came. We saw. We confirmed.”
“How do you feel now?” Mickey questions, rolling her eyes at Kaija’s quip.
“I’m still in shock. Except now it’s just shock and I feel like the biggest cad in the world.”
“That’s good. Use that.” Her phone rings and she looks down at it, her expression darkening.
I wouldn’t want to be whoever is on the other end of that line.
“I have to take this.” Her mouth twists and her voice is hard. Mickey walks away down the stairs and onto the expanse of gravel in front of the water, probably so we can’t hear her.
I wonder what that’s about.
Harlan, Kaija, and I look towards the sliding doors behind us when they open.
“Dane, could you come inside please?” The door closes.
“Godspeed, brother.” Harlan salutes me as I get up and I grimace.
When I get inside, Keyra faces me. “One second, Mar.”
“You’re certain you want custody of Addison?”
I pause only for a second before I make my decision. “Yes. I don’t feel comfortable with her being with Natalie anymore.”