Page 4

TOM

I had Crew for the night, and while he had been getting more comfortable staying with me, he pushed the limits wherever possible. I was on my eighth read of his favorite book, and my disappointing barnyard animal impressions were not cutting it.

“Come on, buddy. It’s time for sleep.”

“Again?” He asked, pushing the book towards me.

“Last time. Then night-night.”

“O-tay, Dadda.”

When I read the story this time, he fell asleep before I finished. I quietly slipped out of his room in my rental apartment and headed down the hall to watch the baseball game. Sam was pitching, and I tried to do my best to support him by watching whenever I could.

We’d extended a conditional offer to Calliope, and she’d accepted.

This was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.

Without a reliable nanny, there was no way I would be able to spend time with my son during the hockey season.

Kelsey had been great about traveling as much as possible last year, but it wouldn’t be possible with their new baby.

I continued watching as Sam pitched five shutout innings.

Our situation was far from ideal, but I’m glad it was him as Crew’s stepfather.

Kelsey was an incredible mother, and she had committed to making our situation work.

But we wouldn’t have been here if she had ended up with someone without Sam’s integrity.

I tried thinking back to life before Crew before I got the call from my agent about a rumored baby. Things could have gone so much worse.

My mother had berated me, reminding me she hadn’t raised a kid who didn’t remember to wrap it. I shuddered remembering the conversation and then had flashbacks of sitting with her at the kitchen table as she first demonstrated putting a condom on a banana and then made me do it while she watched.

My father had walked out when I was four months old.

And from the moment I saw Crew, I knew he was mine.

There was no doubt. I also knew immediately that I would do whatever it took for him.

Had Kelsey and Sam fought me, I would have given it back twice as hard.

With Sam’s resources, I would have ended up broke, but I wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.

Fast-forward to today, when my boy calls me Dadda, and he calls Sam Pops. We’ve already navigated many potentially sticky situations. Because we’ve succeeded, Crew has a huge extended family filled with so much love.

While Kelsey was pregnant with Crew, I started my career by playing in the WHL and setting myself up for the future.

It was hard not to look at where I was now without realizing what I had traded to be here.

I wasn’t there when my son was born. I didn’t see his first smile.

I still swear that Kelsey lied and told me I was the one who captured his first steps.

I’d also come to rely on Sam as a friend.

Yeah, I thought baseball was boring as shit, and the players were more superstitious than a goalie, but he’d talked me through some challenging moments as a rookie.

He is also helping me figure out how to fire my agent and find someone who represents my interests better.

Sam negotiated one of the biggest contracts in baseball, and while NHL contracts don’t compete, there were so many more restrictions.

I kept replaying the interview with Calliope earlier this afternoon. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom but dropped her knees in that pencil skirt and played blocks with my toddler son.

I’d almost been pissed off for her when Sam suggested that a relationship between players would solely be her fault, but I cheered silently when she mentioned she might not be at fault.

My teammates are going to notice her. She’s so buttoned up; who wouldn’t want to see what she looks like with her hair down?

The bit of fire that flashed in her eyes when she pointed out that the men could be the problem? I wanted to see more of that.

When I met Kelsey, I was a bit of a player, and there was no thought of anything past that night.

My mother honestly wasn’t surprised to find out that I’d accidentally gotten someone pregnant.

I think she was more surprised that other women wouldn’t come forward.

Since I found out about Crew, there’d been no one serious outside a couple of half-assed attempts.

Mainly because I hadn’t found anyone I would want to be involved in his life, and he shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of my poor decisions.

I turned the baseball game off when Sam handed the ball to his pitching coach, officially ending his outing. I texted Kelsey to tell her that Crew was down for the night. I always appreciated her updates when she had him, and I knew she worried when she wasn’t with him.

I went to bed, thankful for where we were and hopeful for the future.