Page 33 of Clear Shot (Lauderdale Knights #9)

Hana

My grandmother is old fashioned, with ideals from another century and a penchant for being nosier than most of us would like.

But she also has a heart of gold and fierce loyalty to her family.

There is no universe where she doesn’t take my side, but she’ll give me shit about the situation if warranted. So I have to tell her everything.

“You’re going to have a baby.” Despite the circumstances, she sounds pleased as punch.

“Did you hear a word I said?” I demand, a little frustrated.

Of course, she’s excited about the baby. She doesn’t care about my heart or what I’m going through, just the fact that there will be a great grandchild for her to love on.

“Yes, of course. But there’s a baby .”

“A baby my husband doesn’t believe is his.”

“He’s going to have to give you money once you do the DNA, yes?”

“Money isn’t the point,” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Ah, my love. Your heart is broken.”

“So broken.”

Her voice softens. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”

“I don’t know how. He thinks I’m capable of cheating on him.” My voice breaks.

“Maybe it’s time for you to come home.” She sounds tentative, as if she knows this suggestion will upset me.

“To Slovakia?” My heart tightens with sadness and fear—I’ve worked so hard to not have to go back.

“Yes, of course. How will you stay in America? You will lose your visa if you leave your husband, and if he doesn’t believe the child is his, how can you stay together? Will you tell everyone the truth? I think this will be difficult and cause trouble for Johan.”

Ugh.

This is truly a mess, and the last thing I ever wanted to do was cause trouble for my brother. And once the truth gets out, things will absolutely get ugly between them because no matter what Aiden believes, I’m carrying his baby and my brother will take my word for it.

How have things come to this? It was supposed to be a simple arrangement, and somehow, it’s become a nightmare. If it were just me, I’d be okay. I’ve had broken hearts before, and I’ll survive no matter how much it hurts.

But what will I tell our child? That his father didn’t believe me? Didn’t want him? Didn’t care enough to have a heartfelt conversation with me? It feels surreal because he didn’t even suggest getting a paternity test. That’s what I don’t understand, and I tell my grandmother that.

“Sometimes men are…difficult. And when a man doesn’t tell you he loves you, well, it adds a level of complication.”

“He said he wanted to try!” I whisper through tears I can’t fight anymore. This hurts so much, it’s hard to wrap my head around it.

“Men lie.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I just want to find him and have a temper tantrum.”

“Maybe this is not helpful.”

I manage a shaky laugh. “I suppose not.”

“You have to think about the baby.”

“I know.”

“You also must consider health insurance,” she continues quietly. “If you’re not with Aiden, how will you pay for the expenses? Will you have insurance once you’re separated?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, my heart sinking.

“Come home,” she says softly. “To your family. Where we can care for you—and the baby. Aiden will come to his senses or he won’t, but you have to put yourself first now.”

“I have a life here,” I say quietly.

“Yes, but you have to think about the baby. Johan has his own family now. As does Claudia. They can offer you a place to live, but here I can help you with the baby. As can your father. If you stay there, you’ll carry that burden alone.

Not to mention, everyone will know you are the reason there was trouble on the team. ”

My heart sinks.

If I tell the truth, it could impact Aiden’s career. If I don’t say anything, I wind up looking like a gold-digger. And though he said he would, if Aiden doesn’t uphold his end of our arrangement, I won’t have health insurance either.

“I don’t know what to do,” I admit. “I’m heartbroken and nauseated all the time…”

“Come home, my love. You can always go back if he realizes what he’s lost.”

She’s right about that.

“I have to think.”

“Think. Rest. Call me. Any time.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I’m in the kitchen with Claudia and Anders, holding Anderson while Claudia makes breakfast, when there’s a brisk knock on the door. I sigh, knowing it’s my brother and trying to prepare myself for a difficult conversation.

“I’ve got it,” Anders says quietly.

He leaves the room and Claudia looks at me. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” she reminds me. We talked about this a lot yesterday. “Don’t let him make you feel bad.”

“I’m not worried about him making me feel bad,” I reply caustically. “I’m worried about him showing up at the house and beating the shit out of Aiden.”

She grimaces. “Anders is prepared to talk him off the ledge. We’ve got this, Hana.”

I don’t have anything.

At this point, I’m hanging on by a thread but at least I have a plan now.

I bought my plane ticket to Slovakia—I’m leaving in a week—and my finances are in order.

I have enough money to get through my pregnancy without worrying about care.

Once the baby is born, we’ll do a DNA test and Aiden will have to send money, whether he likes it or not, and that will sustain me until I can find a decent job.

“What the hell is going on?” Johan demands in Slovak, hands on his hips. Sloane and the baby trail behind him and I see the look of confusion on Anderson’s face at Uncle Johan’s tone.

“Sit down,” I tell my brother, “and lower your voice. The babies don’t understand.”

He leans against the counter instead. “Talk to me, Hana.”

I pour out the story as calmly as I can.

“He thinks you cheated?” he demands. “What the fuck is wrong with him? I’m going to—” He pulls out his phone but I jump to my feet, grabbing his hand.

“Please don’t. Nothing is going to convince him of the truth until we can get a paternity test.”

“Then do it,” he says. “They can be done during pregnancy.”

I frown.

I didn’t realize that.

“Without danger to the baby?” I ask.

He nods. “I think it’s just a blood test and cheek swab or something.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t understand,” he says after a moment. “Didn’t you explain that you didn’t cheat? Why didn’t he at least go to a doctor to check his sperm count? His vasectomy obviously failed, and he needs to find out what’s what.”

These are details I haven’t allowed myself to consider after the way things went down.

If he’d simply been willing to sit down and have a rational conversation with me, to discuss how this happened, it would be different.

But his knee-jerk reaction was to put the blame on me and then accuse me of something I’m not capable of.

The fact that he believes that I could cheat on him means everything I thought we were building was a lie—and I refuse to live it another moment.

“I’m going back to Slovakia,” I say. “I have a plan and can afford to?—”

“Wait. Stop.” He scowls at me. “You never wanted to go back. And this is fixable.”

“It’s not.” I shake my head. “Even when he finds out I didn’t cheat and the baby is his, there’s no coming back from this. We’re over and I’m not going to stay with him knowing what he thinks of me.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Sloane interjects softly. “I’m sure this was just him trying to protect himself. He went about it badly, but you know this isn’t a reflection of how he really feels.”

“I don’t know any such thing. No matter what he said initially, he resents being put in a situation where he felt forced to marry me. Whether it was because of his friendship with Johan or something else, it’s obvious he’s looking for an out. And I just gave him one.”

“That doesn’t sound like Aiden,” Anders murmurs.

“I just want to walk away from this with as much dignity as I can manage,” I admit.

"Everyone involved with the team is going to find out we separated, and probably that I had a baby. I don’t expect Johan to hide the fact that he has a new niece or nephew.

And Aiden is this baby’s father, no matter what anyone says or believes. ”

“No one here is doubting that,” Sloane says gently.

“You don’t have to go back to Slovakia,” Johan says. “You can live with us and?—”

“I can’t. I’m divorcing him as soon as possible and I’ll lose my visa. It’s very unlikely I’ll get hired while pregnant so going home is really the only option.”

“Make him stay married to you until the baby’s born!” Johan says in frustration, throwing up his hands.

“I don’t want to force him to do anything more than he’s already done,” I reply firmly.

“Well, according to a report from the sports writers this morning, he’s looking to get traded,” Anders says, staring at something on his phone.

“What?!” Johan and I speak in unison.

“Dammit.” I sigh. “I didn’t want any of this to happen. I’m so sorry.” I bury my face in my hands.

“What are you sorry for?” Johan demands. “You didn’t get pregnant by yourself. Despite what you think, no one forced Aiden to marry you! And he’s being completely irresponsible. He and I are going to have a conversation, whether you like it or not.”

I suppose that’s inevitable.

I hate it, but Aiden does bear a level of responsibility for all of this.

One way or another, he’s going to find out the baby is his and even though it won’t change anything, it will be good to feel vindicated.

I just hate that so many lives will be impacted.

A wave of nausea hits me and I surge to my feet, racing toward the powder room. The morning sickness has been better the last two days so this is unexpected.

I heave into the toilet and a moment later I feel movement behind me and a cool cloth against my neck.

“You’re going to be okay.” My brother’s voice is gentle, loving. He’s always been the best brother, and I truly hate that I inadvertently dragged him into this drama.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“For what?” He shakes his head.

“If I’d just gone back to Slovakia after I lost my job, none of this would have happened.”

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

“I’m not ready to be a mom,” I say after a moment. “This wasn’t part of any of the plans.”

“Sloane and I didn’t think we were either.”

“You’ve always been ready,” I say with a sad smile.

“And you’re going to be a fantastic mom. Just wait.”

“I’m so scared.” I slowly get to my feet and lean over the sink.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, even if it’s long distance. Whatever you need.”

“I have money. I’ll be okay until the baby comes and I can find a job.”

“And Sloane and I will come to Slovakia in the summer to be there for you. No matter what Aiden decides, you won’t be alone. I will be the male influence in his or her life. And if you still want to come to America, I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

“I love you,” I whisper, tears filling my eyes.

“I love you too. And you’re going to be fine. I promise.”