Page 3 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter three

Carter

I didn't have the best role model for what a father should be - what a father should do.

Mine was a long-haul truck driver who drank excessively whenever he wasn't on the road.

He was never physically abusive, but he had a horrible temper whenever he drank.

Nothing my sister and I ever did was good enough when he hit the bottle.

Our grades were never good enough, our rooms never clean enough.

Amanda was never skinny enough. I was never strong enough. Mom never did enough around the house.

I'm ashamed to admit that we all looked forward to the days he was on the road. The house was more peaceful. The physical change in all of us whenever he kissed Mom goodbye and left was visible. We all smiled more, even joked with each other.

Because he would be gone for days or weeks at a time, Mom stayed home.

Money was always tight, but I'm grateful that I always had her.

If it weren't for her brother, who was a successful lawyer, we wouldn't have been able to afford hockey.

Between the lessons, travel and equipment, hockey isn't a cheap sport.

But when I saw my first game on TV I was hooked.

The speed, the pressure, even the violence appealed to me.

Uncle Dave never had kids of his own, so he was happy to shell out to support my hockey addiction.

Something I've tried to pay him back for, now that I'm on the top, but he still refuses to take a cent .

Emily turns around in the passenger seat to comfort Annie but can't get a good reach on her because her car seat is rear facing. Without hesitation, she unbuckles her seat belt and scrambles between the front seats to crawl into the back.

"Emily!" I shout, afraid of her getting hurt. Logically, I know the chances of us getting into an accident in the half-a-second she's unbuckled are slim to none, but I hate that she would put herself in danger. Then I have to school my gaze forward as her lush hips and ass graze my shoulder.

She ignores my cry and starts shushing and baby-talking to Annie. My daughter. Still doesn't seem real.

Annie's cries soften out until she's quiet.

"Is she okay?" I ask, unable to see her.

"She's just fine, isn't she?" Emily says cooing.

"Just woke up alone and was scared, isn't that right baby girl?

" I love how easily Emily is with Annie.

Some of the other players on the team have kids, but I never really paid much attention to them.

I don't know the first thing about interacting with a one-year-old.

The screen on the dash lights up with a call from Mom. Christ, I hadn't even thought about telling her she's a grandma now. I groan. That's going to go over fucking brilliantly. Emily seems to instinctually understand my hesitancy.

"No time like the present, Dad. Might as well rip off the band aid."

I groan again, knowing she's right, and answer the call.

"Hey mom."

"Hey handsome. Ready for your next game?" That's a running joke in our family. The hockey season is so demanding, with 82 regulation games during the six-month season. Whether I just played or not, the next game was only ever a few days away.

"Yeah, mom. Always." A strained silence sits between us, and I know what's coming next. "How much do you need?"

"Not a lot, sweetheart. Just a thousand to help cover the mortgage this month."

"Mom. Let me just buy the damn house for you so we can stop this back and forth of you asking and me sending money." My neck flushes with heat in embarrassment. I've known Emily for less time than I've been a dad, and I don't really want to air my dirty laundry in front of her.

"You know why." Because if Dad didn't have a mortgage to pay, he'd spend that money on booze. Which it sounds like he's doing anyway, if Mom's calling me.

"Alright, but I'm sending it to your account.

" Not his being implied. After I got my first NHL contract, I was suddenly my father's favorite.

He expected me to throw money at them as a 'payback' for how they supported me as a kid.

Except he didn't. Mom and Uncle Dave did.

When the money never came, the threats and reminders of how shitty of a son I was and how disappointed he was in me came.

Not something a 20-year-old kid wants to deal with.

When the texts went unanswered, he finally stopped.

Except he knows that I'll always send money to Mom.

I want to get her out of that house and away from that man, but she can't let go of the man she fell in love with - even if he's not there anymore.

So, Dad spends his money on booze (and honestly probably more than that) and leaves Mom to call me when they, unsurprisingly, don't have money left for food or bills.

My shoulders tighten and the base of my neck aches.

"Mom....there's something else..." ' You're a grandma!

' or ' I'm a dad ' or ' You know that fuckbuddy I had a few years ago?

Yep, accidentally got her pregnant like the asshole that I am.

' None of those sound like great options.

Annie does my dirty work for me though by cooing loud enough the car microphone picks it up.

A beat of silence while Emily and I collectively hold our breaths. "Is that a baby?"

"Yeah, mom. That's Annie..."

"Whose baby is that, Carter Lewis." Uh oh. She first and middle named me. Not handsome, not sweetheart. Carter. Lewis. Suddenly, I'm fifteen again and she's giving me the birds-and-the-bees talk.

I sigh. Emily reaches forward and lays a hand on my bicep to show her support.

"Annie's my baby, Mom. I just got custody of her today. I didn't know she existed until a couple of hours ago. Surprise." I add lamely.

Silence. Deafening silence. Until a scream rips through the speakers and Emily jumps to cover Annie's ears.

The absolute word vomit that pours of out my mother is borderline unintelligible.

I love my mom, but I have too much on my plate to worry about how she feels about this.

Hell, I don't know how I feel about this. Besides stressed and petrified.

"Mom, I gotta go. Call me later when you've calmed down, alright? Love you." I hang up and sigh. I'm too old for this shit.

"Hand me your phone." Emily calls from the back, shoving a waiting hand between the front seats .

"Why?" I ask, although I'm already reaching to remove it from the hands-free holder.

"No Grandmother in the history of Grandmothers has not fallen in love with a picture of their grandbaby. You want your mom to stop freaking out? Send her a picture of her beautiful Grandbaby."

She has a point. I hand her my phone. A few minutes later she hands it back. I look down and see she's taken the picture and already sent it to my contact called "mom".

"What if that hadn't been my actual mother you sent that to?"

"Do you save hookups in your phone as 'mom'?"

"Touche." I say chuckling. I love how easy it is to be around Emily. My tight shoulders relax around her. I hope that's a good sign for the future.

We pull into the Target shopping center a few minutes later and get out. I give Emily my phone number and while I'm grabbing a cart and putting Annie, still in her carseat, into the cart, Emily texts me a list of necessities.

"Holy shit, kids need a lot."

"They don't need a lot, but life's easier with kids with some things." She says, coming in to walk beside me with another cart.

Diapers

Wipes

Diaper bin

Diaper bin liners

Diaper bag

Formula

Bottles

Bottle warmer

Bottle brush

Clothes

Spoons

Baby food

Toys

Shoes

Toothbrush

Crib

Baby bib

Highchair

Diaper bag

Teething ring

Stroller

Sippy cups

Baby bathtub

Baby body soap

Baby shampoo

Changing mat

"This will at least get us started. Anything else we decide we need we can order off of Amazon."

"How do you know all this stuff? Do you have a lot of younger siblings?"

"No, just an older brother. And I don't know, I've just always loved kids. I was working at the daycare to try to pay off some of my degree. Although, at this rate, I'll be getting a 10-year bachelors."

"What are you getting your degree in?"

"Pediatric behavioral science."

"What does that mean? "

She laughs and something in my chest lightens. I like that sound. I like it a lot. The boys laugh all the time, but it doesn't have this effect on me.

"Not much I guess. But I can take that degree and go in a couple different directions.

I could become a pediatric nurse, child therapist, social worker, early educator.

I could go into special ed programs like speech therapy or occupational therapy.

" She gives me an easy shrug. "I've just always loved kids.

They're so genuine and pure. They haven't been around long enough to learn how terrible the world really is and I like being around that. " Her voice has gone sad and quiet.

I frown. What has happened to this woman that she thinks the world is terrible? I mean, I understand some people can be terrible, but the thought of someone being terrible to her pisses me off.

But I don't ask. I want to know, but now doesn't feel like the right time.

Annie's been watching us intensely, her eyes darting between Emily and me the entire conversation. I don't know how much babies understand. She can't talk yet, I don't think?

"She doesn't talk yet, right?"

"Most babies start talking basic words between 12 and 18 months, but I bet she can understand a lot more than we give her credit for, though." Emily replies, smiling down at my daughter.

"You're going to have to give me the 'Babies for Dummies' cliff notes."

She laughs again.

"Just use me as your training wheels while you get your parenting feet underneath you. I'll walk you through what to do and how to do it and whenever you feel confident you can take over, little by little. "

I stop in my tracks, Emily taking another step before stopping and turning back to me.

Before I can stop myself I reach out, grab her by the shoulders and pull her to my chest. She collides with me with a little 'oof' of surprise.

My one arm wraps around her back while the other holds her head against me.

I lower my cheek to rest on top of her head and she wraps her arms around my waist.

"Thank you, Emily. I don't have the words to explain just how grateful I am. You haven't judged me, haven't made me feel stupid. You dropped everything to help me. I..." I pause, worried the emotion that's wrapped itself around my throat will make my voice crack.

She simply smiles. "Of course." Like there was never any question about helping me. Like she didn't just quit her job and drop her life to move in with me and two other strangers to help me learn how to be a dad.

Like she doesn't know just how fucking incredible she is.