Page 45 of Right Pucking Daddy (Daddies of the League #7)
THIRTY-SEVEN
AIDEN
The door opening echoed in the room. My eyes blinked open, bright lights piercing my skull.
“Jesus, Aiden…”
Rolling my head to the side, I smiled. “Daddy,” I said, reaching out to him.
Alex took my hand, pressing a kiss to my forehead, avoiding the spot that felt like someone had smacked it with a hockey stick. I raised my free hand to see if it was bleeding, only Alex stopped me.
“Don’t. You don’t wanna mess up the stitches.”
I nodded, and he sat in the chair next to the bed. Hawk hopped up next to me, dropping his head to my lap. Daddy smiled, his free hand coming to rest on Hawk’s head as his eyes fell closed, and one side of his mouth turned up.
“I’m okay, Daddy.”
“Okay, and in the hospital don’t go together, baby boy. ”
I chuckled, moaning as pain shot through my head. My eyes slid closed.
“Do I need to get the doctor?”
“No. It’s just the concussion. She’s already given me the spiel.”
“Is the concussion the worst of it?”
“Yeah. I’m just sore, otherwise.”
“Good,” he sighed. His thumb brushed over my knuckles. “Aiden, what happened?”
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut when pain detonated, making me nauseous. “I was driving. The roads were slick, but nothing unusual for the time of year…” I shrugged.
“So you just slid off the road…”
“No. Some douche was weaving all over the road. I swerved to keep him from hitting me head-on. He had to be drunk.”
“Thank fuck, you’re okay.”
“I doubt I can…”
Alex stood, hovering over me, our foreheads pressed together, his nose brushing mine. “Forget the game. You’re what matters, baby boy.”
Tears pricked my eyes. This man… he made me feel seen and loved. Treasured. Curling my hand around the back of Alex’s neck, I pulled his mouth to mine. Alex took my mouth, his usual ferocity and passion replaced with sweetness and tenderness.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, Aiden. ”
“What am I gonna do? I can’t miss…”
“It’s early in the season. Dr. Amos said she didn’t think you’d be out long…”
“Oh God! Like more than the weekend?”
“Aiden, calm down. Getting riled up isn’t going to help the concussion. Yes, you will be out for a bit, but your health is…
“No one’s gonna want a head case.”
“They definitely won’t if you ignore it and refuse to take care of yourself.
Baby boy…” he paused, taking a deep breath.
“You have so many fucking games ahead of you. How you take care of yourself… that’s just as important to any prospective team.
They need to know you can do what’s needed on and off the ice. ”
I knew in my gut he told me the truth, but losing my shot at being drafted and securing a contract… in my mind, it all hinged on playing every game better than the last.
“Besides… that’s not what you and I need to worry about?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t tell me your dad is my best friend.”
“What? How?”
“How do I know who your parents are?”
“They called me worried sick about their kid who’d been in an accident, and they wouldn’t be here for hours.”
“Tata and Mama called you?”
“How did you think I found out you were in the hospital? ”
“I don’t know. I assumed the hospital called you, what with you being the coach and all.”
“Yeah, no. The police called the registered owner of the Jeep to make sure you hadn’t stolen it since you don’t share a last name.”
“Sometimes I think I’m an idiot for being so adamant that I make it on my own.”
“I get wanting to make your way in the world, I do…”
“I hear a but in there and not the one I like hearing from you,” I grumbled.
“There’s my bratty boy.”
“But I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yes, brat. You are, and here it is… no one is going to put you on a team just because your dad is Mikal Rustav. It might get you a conversation, a look, but a contract? Not unless the league I played in has done a complete one-eighty.”
“You think?”
“I know, baby. I know. Why do you have such a hang-up about this that you would lie to everyone?”
“There are some people who know, but most people just think he’s a coach who took pity on a poor orphaned player and offered to host me.”
“But he and Anya adopted you?”
“Yeah. I’d been living with them for a while.”
“How did… ”
“I was living on the streets. Some guys were chasing me. I slipped into a building to hide, and I found myself in a hockey rink. That night changed my life. I’d never even seen a hockey game.”
“You’re joking, right?”
I smiled, a laugh escaping as I did. “No. I’m not. I just about killed myself the first time I stepped on the ice. I was so sure I could do it. It didn’t look all that hard. I’d been helping out around the rink in exchange for room and board.”
“They made…”
“No. Not at all. I was awestruck by the ice, the sport, and the arena. I dove in without being asked. But, in the back of my mind was the reminder that foster families and I never really vibed. I always helped out because I never wanted to be beholden.”
His face screwed up like it always did when he had something on his mind.
I sighed, “Yes. One of my foster dads abused me. That was the last straw. I took off and never looked back.”
He shot to his feet, pacing away from me. I wanted to follow him. My history wasn’t for the faint-hearted, but I knew if I moved, Alex and my head wouldn’t be happy. I didn’t want it to start hurting again, so I stayed put, petting Hawk, whose head popped up when Sasha moved.
“Daddy, it’s history. Anya and Mikal put me in therapy. It was non-negotiable if I wanted to stay with them. Life sucked for me and then it didn’t. I got lucky. The building I snuck into belonged to good people who wanted to help with no ulterior motives. ”
He looked at me over his shoulder, tears glistening in his eyes. “Would you think badly of me if I told you how much I want to hunt down the fucker and teach him a lesson so painful he can never have sex again?”
“Would you think badly of me if I told you that makes me hot?”
He laughed silently, walking back to me, shaking his head as it dropped to his chest. “Ripping a man’s junk off turns you on?”
I smirked, pulling “No, but you wanting to protect and avenge me? Yeah. That does it for me.”
“I’ll always have your back, baby. I’ll always protect you.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“My pleasure, baby boy. Now, you need to call your parents.”
“I don’t know where any of my belongings are. I assume my clothes are here somewhere, but I don’t know about my phone,” I said with a shrug.
Alex pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen a few times. Ringing filled the room, then…
“Alex! Is he okay?”
“Hey, Mama.”
“Oh, thank goodness! Aiden, sweetheart! Are you okay?”
“I’m as good as can be expected. I’m sorry about all this. I don’t know how bad the Jeep is.”
“Fuck the car, son. Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine, Tata. ”
Alex brushed his fingertips over my forehead and said, “Looking at the bruising on his forehead, I’d say he’s under concussion protocol, Mikal. The doctor mentioned calling in a consult and test results.”
“That’s good. So nothing’s broken or anything?”
“No, Tata. I’m good. Just some aches and pains and bruises.”
“Good, we’ll be there soon. And Alex… I cannot thank you enough.”
“No thanks needed.”
Daddy hung up and tossed the phone on the tray table, all while staring at me.
“That was awkward as fuck.”
Nodding, I said, “Beyond awkward.”
Voices came through the door just before it clicked open. Alex moved away from the bed. My stomach dropped. I hated all the secrecy. The life I’d been dreaming about was right there… just beyond my reach.
The doctor who treated me came in with another doctor and a nurse.
“Hello, Aiden,” she said, “This is Dr. Ramadi. He’s a neurologist. Coach, if you could step out…”
“He can stay,” I said.
“Alright. Aiden, it’s nice to meet you. I reviewed the CT results, and things look pretty good. Despite playing hockey, you don’t seem to have suffered much in the way of head trauma. ”
“No. I’ve had one very minor concussion before today.”
“That’s good. The whack to your head today was pretty severe, as evidenced by the bruising. Now for the part you’re not gonna like, but I’m hoping the coach is a reasonable guy who cares more about the player than the game or the win…”
Rage, the likes of which I’d never experienced, filled me.