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Sven

“ D id you get everything?” Conner asked.

“I think so,” Sven said, looking around.

He had an overnight bag with a couple of outfits for him and Natalie. Then he had the Pack ’N Play and a bag full of diapers and food for Winnie, along with changes of clothes and some of her favorite toys. It almost looked like he was going to be staying at Conner’s for a month as opposed to what would just be a couple of days until this all died down.

“I swear, this is just a couple days. Babies need a lot,” Sven said.

“I get it. We’re good,” Conner said before picking up the Pack ’N Play and one of the bags, making his way out to the car.

The reporters had cleared out, but Sven knew they would be back in the morning. It had been a perfect storm of the baby story breaking, and now this.

As Conner pulled out into the street, his phone rang. It was almost midnight, so it must have been Natalie. He dug his phone out of his pocket.

His heart dropped when he saw who it was on the screen. “It’s my dad.”

Conner looked over at him. He didn’t know that kind of relationship he had with his dad. Sven had met Conner’s entire family. The McPhees were amazing. All of them. The dynamic in Sven’s family had to be so foreign to someone like Conner.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever his dad was getting ready to throw at him.

“Dad,” he said, holding the phone to his ear.

“Well, it looks like shit really hit the fan,” he said with an air of superiority that made Sven pulse with anger.

“I’m handling it,” he ground out.

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

“I can fix this. Let’s get a statement out. Get the baby back to her mother and get rid of your nanny.”

“Fuck you.”

Conner shot him a surprised look. He almost couldn’t believe he said it himself.

“Excuse me?” his father postured over the phone.

“Fuck. You.”

The anger and panic seemed to leave, and it was as if he was able to see things straight for the first time.

“Did you do this?” Sven asked.

His father huffed with a noted lack of denial.

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I was thinking you would finally get your head out of your ass and be a fucking hockey player and stop all the other nonsense.”

His mind was reeling. He knew his dad was an ass, but he didn’t think his dad was capable of this.

“How did you even find out about Natalie?”

“I saw the way you looked at her. Did you really think I wouldn’t look into her past?”

“You know the reason she was fired was bullshit.”

“Maybe, but I also know if you don’t stop playing house, you’re going to lose your career.”

“Then I fucking lose my career. I know this might be news to you, but there are some things in life more important than hockey.”

“And how do you plan on taking care of your family?” he spit out like it was poison. “If you don’t have hockey, you have nothing.”

“I’d figure it out. But right now, I have to go fix the fucking mess you made. Then I will fix my career and do it all in spite of all the crap you’ve done to me.”

“You are who you are because of me.”

“The fuck I am. I am who I am in spite of you. I am a fucking head case because of you. The most important thing to me is Winnie. Period. It’s fucking sad that you can’t see that, but what else would I expect?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you were a shitty father—and a shitty husband, for that matter. You were a good hockey player but at the expense of everything else in your life. And now that your career is over you are dealing with that. And from here on out, you will be dealing with it alone.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means we are done. I’m going to fix this mess you made, but do not talk to me again. Or maybe I go to the press and tell them what kind of father you were. I will tell them about all the mistresses. I will tell them what I used to have to do when I lost a hockey game. I will tell them how I raised my little sister because you couldn’t be bothered to be a fucking father. See how your hall of fame ceremony goes then.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

“We are done. I’ll move on and have a wonderful life that you don’t get to be a part of.”

“After everything I’ve done for you. You’re an ungrateful piece of shit.”

“No. I’m not an ungrateful piece of shit. You are a terrible father. Goodbye.”

Sven hung up the phone as Conner pulled up to a stop light.

“You okay?” Conner asked.

Sven nodded as his phone rang. He declined his father’s call and blocked his number.

“Your dad did this?”

Sven took a deep breath and nodded.

“That’s fucked up.”

“You don’t even know. He wanted me to give up Winnie to her mother. Instead, I got custody of her and paid her Stacie’s rehab. My dad is losing control of me and not handling it well.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you are doing the right thing.”

Sven just nodded. “Thanks, man.”

The road the rest of the way to Conner’s in silence. Having the respect of someone like Conner McPhee meant more to him than the respect of his own father. Conner was a good man. His father was a selfish man. He’d known that, but it wasn’t until this that he knew what to do about it.

If his father tried it again, he would tell the world about his abuse when he would lose a hockey game. He would let the world know what kind of man Peter Olsson is. But he wanted to be done with him.

He was so ready to get back to Natalie and make sure she was good but then he realized...

“This is all my fault,” Sven said as they pulled into Conner’s subdivision.

“No. It’s not,” Conner said plainly.

Sven shook his head. “If it weren’t for me, Natalie wouldn’t be dealing with this.”

“No,” Conner said again firmly. “Natalie is dealing with this because of right-wing weirdos. Natalie is dealing with this because you stood up to your father. None of that is your fault. This whole situation sucks, but you’re doing the right thing.”

Sven took a breath and tried to let Conner’s words sink in as they pulled up to his house.

Once they were in the house, he was surprised by the quiet. But it was after midnight. The girls had gone to bed, and he was glad. Hopefully Natalie was getting some sleep.

“I’ll take you up to the guest room,” Conner said as he helped Sven carry in all the stuff he’d brought.

He quietly opened the door and saw Natalie curled up on the bed with Winnie. All the tension he’d been carrying since that awful fight with his father left. Conner was right. He was doing the right thing. All that mattered was in this room. His precious daughter and the woman he was so fucking in love with he could barely breathe. He would do whatever needed to be done to keep these two protected.

The two men quietly entered the room and dropped off the bags. Conner turned to leave while Sven tried to set to the Pack ’N Play as quietly as possible.

Once he had it done, he went over to the bed to get Winnie. To his surprise, Natalie was awake.

“How are you doing?” he whispered as he gently picked up Winnie.

Natalie just shrugged, and it just about broke his heart.

He laid Winnie in the Pack ’N Play and crawled back into bed with Natalie anxious to hold her. But as he slid into bed, he reached for her, and she allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace, but she wasn’t really there. She was a million miles away. Holding her, he smoothed her hair, wishing he could take away all of this. Even though he wanted to lift every burden from her shoulders, he couldn’t do that. This problem was bigger than the both of them, but together, they could get through it.

“I’m going to go get ready for bed,” she said as she slid out of his arms.

“Your things are in that bag,” he said, pointing to the weekender by the door.

She soundlessly picked it up and slipped out the door.

Sven rolled onto his back, covered his eyes with his hand, and blew out a breath.

What a fucking day.