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Sven

S ven was on his way home from a road game. It was his first road trip since Natalie and Winnie had come into his life. This one was only three days, but he already missed Winnie. He pulled out his phone to check the time as he made his way to the car.

It was past eleven. He knew Winnie would probably be in bed. At least he would have some time to spend with her the next day, even if he did have a full day of work at the center.

Once he was home, he got his bag out and walked into the kitchen. He was surprised the light was still on. He was just about to turn it off when he saw Natalie coming down the stairs.

“Hey,” he said as she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She turned to him with her hand clutched to her chest. “Goodness gracious. You nearly scared the pants right off me.”

Sven would not picture her pantless. Nope. Well, at least he would stop doing it now.

“I’m surprised you’re still up.”

“I just got Winnie down.”

He checked his watch. She was usually in bed early.

“She must be about to hit a growth spurt. She’s been a little cranky.”

“My precious little baby? It can’t be.”

Natalie’s mouth cracked open in a yawn. “Well, her lack of sleep the past few nights would say otherwise.”

“Okay, well, you head out. I can take it from here.”

“Are you sure? She might get up again soon?”

“I’ll handle it. Go get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“If you’re sure,” Natalie said as she covered her mouth with another yawn before shuffling to the door to make her way to the pool house.

She may only have been here a couple of days, but he was feeling pretty good about his choice in a nanny. Not that he really had much of a choice with a recommendation from Hillary and the situation. But still, Natalie seemed perfect. He watched her as she made her way across the back yard until she was safe in the pool house, pulling the door shut behind her.

Yeah ... Old Sven definitely would have tried to have sex with her, but he couldn’t risk losing her.

He turned off the lights and made his way upstairs. Before making it down the hall to his room, he stopped off and peeked in at Winnie. She was curled up in her bed, sleeping safe and sound. Hopefully, she would stay that way for the rest of the night because he was ready to hit the bed himself.

After getting to sleep, Sven was up, getting Winnie ready for the morning when Natalie came in.

“How’d she sleep?”

“Good,” he said as he put Cheerios on her tray before prepping his smoothie.

“Well, that’s good,” she said. “We are going to head to the library today. Aren’t we, Miss Winnie?”

“Why are you taking her to the library?”

“For Tiny Tots Time.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you serious?”

Sven nodded.

“Tiny Tots Time?” she asked like he should know what he was talking about.

He shrugged before holding up a finger and pulsing the blender.

“It’s a story time at the library. One of the librarians plays guitar and sings little songs and reads a book.”

“Rock on,” he said, holding up his hand in devil horns.

Natalie groaned. “I can tell you’re a dad with a joke like that.”

“Dad jokes are a rite of passage.” He poured his smoothie into a to-go cup as he got his stuff ready for the day. “I’m actually a little jealous. I want to go to Tiny Tots with you guys.”

He said it like he was joking. Hanging out with Natalie and Winnie sounded like more fun that going to a review and a team workout day. After having just spent three days away from Winnie, he didn’t really want to lose any more time with her.

“Well, I gotta get going.” He walked over and kissed Winnie on the cheek. “Have fun with Natalie.” Then he ruffled her hair.

After practice, when Sven was leaving the rink, a notification popped up on his phone from his lawyer’s office.

DiMaggio: I have some paperwork for you. I can send it to you, or you can pick it up at the office.

Sven: I can pick it up. On my way there right now.

As Sven drove to the office, his mind was all over the place. He was wondering what it would be and was certain it would be the paternity results. Winnie was his. She had to be. If she weren’t, he would be able to tell, right? Maybe they’d tracked down Stacie and got her to sign the paperwork, but he doubted that. Whatever it was, he wasn’t used to caring about anything like this. For his whole life, his goal and focus had been hockey, but he had this little girl depending on him.

“Hello, sir. How can I help you?” asked a receptionist behind the desk.

“I think Mr. DiMaggio left something for me. I’m Sven Olsson.”

“He sure did.” She turned in her chair to reach for a manilla envelope. “Here ya go.”

Sven made it back to his car, opened the envelope, and slid out the paper.

There it was. Winnie was his. His heart was pounding in his chest like it had been when he first found out—but for a different reason. He had been shocked when he found out, but after Stacie left like she did, the shock had turned to fear that she would come back and take Winnie. Without this, he wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on.

Sliding the papers back in the envelope, he closed his eyes and blew out a breath of relief. But that relief was bittersweet. He had already missed so much and even more with his life on the road. He might not get much time with her, but he would make the best use of the small amount of time he did get.

As he walked into the door, he was greeted by a familiar silence. This is what he always came home to. Ms. Malone would already be gone, and he had his big quiet house to himself. Only he didn’t anymore. When he turned the corner, he saw Natalie sitting on the sofa, reading a book with the baby monitor next to her.

“Hey,” he said, putting the envelope on the kitchen counter.

She turned to him with an easy smile. “Oh, hey, how was your practice?”

“Good,” he said. “Where’s Winnie?”

Natalie lifted the monitor. “She fell asleep on our way home from the library.”

Sven’s face fell. He was really hoping to see her.

“Is that okay?” Natalie asked, noticing the change.

“Oh, yeah,” he said as he turned to get the grapes out of the fridge. “It’s fine. I was just hoping to see her.” He walked over to Natalie and offered her a grape.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you might like to come home to a quiet house,” she said before pulling off one and popping it into her mouth.

Sven sat on the other end of the couch and set the container of grapes between them. “It’s fine. I was just missing her after the road trip, and I was busy getting ready this morning. I just feel like I’m missing a lot.” He picked up the remote and pulled up a game. “Plus, I just got the results of the paternity test, and I don’t know... I just want to snuggle her. That’s probably dumb.”

He was kicking himself for saying that. She must have thought he was a total sap.

“Oh, that’s not dumb at all. I totally understand. How do you feel about all of that?”

She asked that question like she had just asked him what the weather was like outside. Like he had any idea how to describe his mixed emotions. Like anyone had ever asked him how he felt about anything before. Surely, someone at some point had asked him about his emotions.

“Oh . . . Ummm, I feel good, I guess.”

She just cocked her head like he needed to elaborate on it. Well, if he was going to be a good father, he needed to get used to talking about this kind of stuff.

“I mean, I’m relieved she’s mine. I mean, I knew it, but at least if Stacie ever comes back, she can’t just take her away. So, that’s good.”

“Yeah,” Natalie agreed as she set her book down and took another grape. “That’s gotta be a relief.”

He let out a sigh. “It is. I just want to do this right. Ya know what I mean?”

“Well, from everything I can see, I think you’re doing a great job.”

Again, she said it like it was nothing. Like telling him he was doing a great job at something that wasn’t hockey was anything he’d ever heard before.

“Thank you,” he said, trying to convey exactly how grateful he was.

“No need to thank me. I can see how much you care about her. She’s doing really well.”

Why did he feel like crying? What the fuck was happening?

He cleared his throat. “I know it’s not football or anything, but do you want to watch a game with me?—or I’m sorry, you don’t have to hang out with me. You probably have other things you’d like to be doing, people you’d like to see. I’m here for the night, so no need to hang around.”

She smiled, and something in him calmed. “I’d like to watch a game with you. I figure if I’m working for a professional hockey player, I should know something about the game ... Plus, I don’t really have any friends besides Sydney in the area, so it might be nice.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. Fuck, he would not flirt with her, even though everything in him was screaming at him to tell her he would be a really good friend to her. No. She was his nanny. And if he was being honest with himself, he could use a friend right now, too.

“Well, why don’t I order some food, and we can watch a game?”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Do you like Thai?”

A big smile spread across her face, and the tension he’d been carrying fell away. “Thai’s my favorite.”

“What do you want?” he asked as he got his phone out.

“Oh, umm, Pad Thai and an egg roll. I can Venmo you money. How much is it?” she asked, reaching for hers.

He just looked at her. “I got dinner. Friends, right?”

There it was again. That smile.

“Yeah, friends.”

Before long, Winnie was up, and Sven was on the floor playing with her. They ate and played with Winnie while Sven explained the basics of the game. He could get used to this.