Chapter 31
thirty-one
. . .
Jason
It’s lonely being on my own. This isn’t the first time I’ve been on the Injured Reserve list, but it is the first time no other players are injured at the same time.
Doc scheduled me in with a urologist. I have a consult with him next week, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to Amelia about my decision. When she gets back from the road trip, I’ll do it. I’m totally not avoiding the conversation, not at all.
There’s a knock on my door, and I crutch over to let Tyler in. He’s carrying a tote bag in each hand, Ainsley strapped to his chest in a pink carrier.
“Thanks for coming by,” I tell him.
He goes straight to the kitchen, unloading the bags. “Thanks for being flexible with timing.”
Tomorrow is opening day for baseball season, and the Bulldogs are playing at home. I don’t blame him for wanting to be with his husband rather than slaving over a hot stove all day.
Even if he does have staff to help put together the meals, he’s still involved. And he deserves a day off. Amelia mentioned he does meal prep for sixteen hockey players and twelve guys on the baseball team, plus other clients.
Tyler puts all the meals in the fridge, which is empty aside from a few apples, a six-pack of beer, and a bottle of Amelia’s favorite wine. I’m not much of a moscato drinker, but she likes the occasional glass while she soaks in my tub, so I buy it for her.
He blinks at the label on the bottle, but doesn’t otherwise comment.
“How’s the ankle?” he asks.
Ainsley squawks in her carrier, kicking her chubby little legs, and he runs a hand over her belly.
“She’s so big.” I avoid the question.
“Eight months,” Tyler agrees. “Meeting all her milestones like a pro.”
“Have you thought about more?”
“More kids?”
I nod.
“Yeah, but it’s up to Amelia and her timeline. We’re not rushing her,” he says. “And if she decides she doesn’t want to do it again, we’ll find another surrogate. We already have embryos stored.”
“It’s incredible that she donated her eggs. That she carried Ainsley.”
“Biology sucks sometimes, but it can also be really great,” he says. “I couldn’t give Brandon a baby, so she donated our family gene pool. She donated her body to us. I can never repay her for the gift she gave me.”
“Amelia and I are seeing each other,” I blurt out. “We’re together.”
Tyler laughs. “Yeah, I know.”
I blink. “You do?”
“You started closing your blinds around the same time she started seeing you. She’s always happy when she looks out the window at your place. Talks about you as Jason and not McKittrick, like the rest of the players.” He shakes his head. “It didn’t take long to put it together.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you.”
“You don’t have to take responsibility for her decisions.
Because I’m fairly certain it was her decision, not yours.
” Tyler laughs again. “She didn’t want to lie to us, and she didn’t want to ask us to keep her secret.
We would have, though. No questions asked.
We both know what it’s like to hide a part of yourself, and not being sure how other people will take the news. ”
“I’m crazy about her,” I admit.
“And would it bother you? Her being pregnant with our baby?”
“Not in the slightest. I think it’s amazing.”
“It means you and her having kids…”
“Not in the cards for us,” I say firmly.
He raises an eyebrow.
“Neither of us wants kids. Our lives aren’t conducive to a stable family life, anyway.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?” He nods at my ankle. “After?”
“Still thinking it over.” I put a call in to my agent, but he hasn’t gotten back to me aside from a vague, “we’ll talk soon.”
“Well, there’s one thing I learned from spending so much time with athletes over the years,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“The entire world is open to you. You’ve made millions of dollars, the kind of money most people only dream about. You can do anything you want with your life. You can go back to school. You can start a new career. The only limit is your imagination.”
“I never thought I’d have a life after hockey. I never even considered it. Probably should have.”
“Well, that was then, and this is now. You can only move forward.” He pauses. “Do you intend to stay in Boston?”
“It’s my home.”
“Aren’t you from Chicago?”
I shrug. “I haven’t lived there since I was sixteen, when I went away for the juniors. It’s not my home. Not anymore. This is. This is where I want to be.”
His eyes narrow, studying me. “And I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that Amelia is here too?”
It’s a test; one I’m sure I need to pass.
“Wherever she wants to go, I’ll follow.”
“Wow. You’re serious about her.”
It’s the honest truth. I’m not sweet-talking her brother into liking me—hopefully, he already does. I’m laying my cards on the table.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to get married anytime soon, not after the disaster that was my divorce. But when I look at my future, she’s in it. I’m by her side.”
Tyler hums.
“What?”
“You’re by her side,” he says. “Not that she’s by your side.”
“She’s the catch in the situation. Like you said, the whole world is open to me. Wherever she wants to be, that’s where I’ll go.”
But I think she’ll want to stay here. After all, her brothers are here. Her niece. She built a life here. She’s close to her coworkers. She’s finally putting down roots.
Ainsley squirms in her carrier, her chubby face contorted.
“Oh, shit,” Tyler says. “I have six point seven seconds before she starts shrieking. Gotta go.”
“Come by anytime,” I tell him. “All three of you are welcome anytime.”
He nods seriously, clapping me on the back. “You’re a good man, McKittrick. I’m glad Amelia picked you.”
His praise blooms something deep within my chest. I open my mouth, but I’m cut off by an insistent wail.
“Overstayed our welcome,” he says, bouncing his knees to soothe the baby. “I’ll look at the calendar, and you’ll come over for family dinner.”
It’s not a request.
“I’ll be there,” I promise. “For as long as she’ll have me.”