Chapter 16
sixteen
Brett wanted to be here, but I couldn’t let him. I needed to do this for me.
Walking into the swanky restaurant, I’m relieved when I find both of my parents sitting at the table waiting. I had almost convinced myself that they hated me and wouldn’t show.
When I approach the table, my mom stands to hug me as my father moves to pull my chair out for me.
I greet them before sitting down. Once we are all settled, a server comes over to take our drink order. We go ahead and order food as well, already knowing what we like from this place. My parents frequent here a lot when they are in the area.
“So how is school?” my dad asks as if there is nothing else to talk about.
“It’s good. Still getting good grades,” I tell him.
He nods. “Good. Good.”
I can tell they don’t know how to bring it up, so I do.
“The pregnancy is going well, too. I had my first appointment and got to hear the heartbeat. There is nothing else in the world that can compare to that moment. The doctor said he or she is healthy and thriving.” I smile to myself a little as I think about it.
“Wait until you hold that bundle of joy in your arms. That will top hearing its heartbeat for the first time, but only by a slight margin,” Mom tells me, making me look up at her.
“I can’t wait. I’d like you to be there. I mean, if you can. I know you’re busy,” I ramble, but she stops me.
“Of course I will be there. I won’t let you go through it alone.”
“I’m not alone, though,” I remind her. “Brett will be there too.”
Dad clears his throat. “I looked him up. He’s from a good family. They have ties and money. You chose well.”
I frown. “I didn’t choose him for that. I like him for who he is, not what he can offer me.”
Dad’s cheeks turn pink. “I didn’t mean it like that, Emery.”
“I don’t know how you meant it because neither of you have really spoken to me since you found out I was pregnant. So let’s stop the bullshit and be real. Now that things have settled, how do you feel?” I ask them point-blank, my stomach churning as I wait for their answer.
“We were surprised, but we always knew we would be grandparents one day. I’m excited to be a grandmother,” Mom tells me.
“I wish you had gone about it differently, but I will support your decision to keep the baby,” Dad adds.
“What about the fact that I still plan to go for gold? That hasn’t changed,” I tell them.
“We will support you. We were rash when we said that we would pull financial support. We still want you to reach your dream. I will do whatever I can to get you there. Your mother and I can help with the baby so you can practice. Actually, that’s why we are here.
We are getting a condo nearby so that when the time comes, we can do everything we need to here,” Dad informs me, shocking the hell out of me.
“Wow. You don’t need to do all of that. I mean, I wasn’t planning to take Brett’s money, but I can get a job and figure the money out,” I mumble.
“You need to focus,” Mom chimes in. “You can’t do that with a job, a baby, and a boyfriend. Let us do this for you. We were wrong, honey. We are trying to make amends.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I didn’t want to disappoint you. This wasn’t the plan, but I’m not upset about it. Being pregnant has opened my eyes. I still want to go for gold, but it isn’t the end of the world if it doesn’t happen. I’m happier now than I have ever been in my life.”
“Because of that boy?” Dad asks.
I nod. “Brett is a good man. He treats me so well. I know you probably hate him for getting me pregnant, but he wasn’t the only one there. I was too, and I also made a mistake, but I can’t even call it that because it brought me this, and my child will never be a mistake.”
I place my hand on my stomach, sending all the love in the world to my baby.
“Of course not. Babies are miracles. If this boy is as good as you say he is, then we want to meet him again. This time on better terms. I know we weren’t on our best behavior last time, but you shocked us,” Mom says.
Dad clears his throat. “I got a little heated, but he stood up for you. I respect that. I would like to get to know the man who will be helping raise my grandchild. I don’t promise to like him, but I will give him a fair chance.”
“That’s all I ask for,” I tell them both. “Next time you come to town, we can do something together. He wanted to come today, but I needed this to be about us.”
“We appreciate that.” Mom reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “Now tell me all about the pregnancy. What cravings have you had?”
I laugh as I tell her all about the cravings and the sickness. Dad joins in telling stories of how my mom was with me. The lunch goes by as if we hadn’t been tense for weeks. I’m grateful for it too. I didn’t realize how much it stressed me out to be at odds with my parents.
By the end of lunch, I feel like all is right in my world again.
I have my parents’ unwavering support once more. There is a baby that I already love more than I can comprehend growing inside of my belly. Then I have Brett, who is a man I am finding myself falling more and more in love with.
Life can’t get any better than this.
Emery is with her parents having lunch. I wanted to be there, but she insisted she go alone. So instead of dwelling on that, I’m at home with Kellan and Wyatt as we play some video game that I can’t even focus on.
My phone rings, making me smile.
“Clayton James, hotshot hockey player for the Boston Foxes. Why in the world would you be calling little ol’ me?” I ask as soon as I answer the video call.
“I might be in the PHL, but I don’t forget my roots. Hold on, I’m patching Beckett in.”
After a moment, Beckett’s face fills up the other square. Kellan and Wyatt come over to sit next to me.
“Wow, this is the first time in a while that we have all been together like this, huh?” Kellan jokes.
“It has been a while. How are things back at the hockey house?” Beckett asks.
“Great. We are taking good care of Peyton. I know you see her more than we do, but when she comes to hang out, we make sure she is safe,” I tell him.
“Of course you do. That’s what family does. I wish my wife would come around a little more. She is always out at that house of hers now.”
I smirk at him. “You mean both of yours?”
He waves his hand as if to dismiss me.
It’s true, though. Last year, Beckett and Peyton secretly got married so that she could inherit a fortune she never knew she had.
It included a whole-ass estate not too terribly far from here.
Beckett got drafted, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t come back every chance he gets to be with Peyton.
She’s a senior this year, though, so she will be graduating, and from what I understand, she will be traveling with him.
It’s adorably annoying. I want it with Emery, though.
“That’s not why we are calling. You know, Brett, we are supposed to be best friends. We share everything with one another. So why don’t you tell us what you have been keeping from us?” Beckett demands.
Clay has his stern daddy look on too.
I glare at the two next to me. “Who fucking told?”
They both hold their hands up as if they want nothing to do with this.
“My sister did, you dimwit,” Clay says. “She told Grace, who told me, because we don’t keep secrets. I want to hear it from you, though.”
I give a dramatic sigh, but then I smile. “Emery’s pregnant. I’m going to be a dad.”
Beckett hoots and hollers while Clay smiles.
“Congratulations,” Clay says when Beckett settles down.
“Yeah, man. I’d ask how you feel about it, but that megawatt smile on your face tells me you wanted this. Did you trap her with a baby, Brett?”
I shake my head. “Total accident, but I would like to think it is more like fate.”
“I would say. He has been panting after this chick for years,” Wyatt mutters.
“I knew when he went to her for tea for Grace in her freshman year when she was sick. He could have gotten tea from the store, but he went to a girl,” Clay adds.
“We had only slept together like twice at that point.” I roll my eyes.
“How long after that did you stop sleeping with other women?” Beckett asks.
“Fuck you, man. I didn’t know you monitored my bedmates. Should I be concerned you are a voyeur? I think your wife might want to know about that,” I toss at him.
“Come on, bro. Everyone knew you were obsessed with her. So does she hate you for putting a bun in her oven?” Beckett asks.
“Dude, she has been coming over and having dinner with us. They are full-on dating at this point.” Kellan laughs.
“Whoa, so the baby thing worked for you, huh? Maybe that’s why those greedy women always try it,” Beckett muses.
“Beck, you are getting off topic,” Clay reminds him. “Seriously, are you happy? It’s okay to be scared. Becoming a father is a huge step. I know you didn’t have the best childhood. Are you taking it okay?” Clay asks.
I think about my answer while the guys stay silent.
“I had a shitty childhood. That’s true. My father never cared much about me.
I was a problem he could throw money at.
I started hockey because of a therapist telling my nanny it would be a good way to channel my aggression, and I turned it into this.
Am I scared? Yes. Being a father is scary for anyone.
How will you know you are doing the right thing?
Can I fuck up my kid? Will his or her mom want to be with me forever?
All of this weighs on me, but then I think of that squishy little face and I know it will be okay because there is one thing that kid will never lack. Love.”
“No, they won’t. They will have a father and four uncles who love them without question,” Wyatt adds, bumping into me.
“Don’t forget, Emery. I can tell she already loves the little one, too,” Kellan adds.
“You have Grace, Peyton, and Cora too. The kid will have a whole family at their back,” Clay reminds me.
“I know. It’s why I didn’t even hesitate when she told me. I’m ready for this,” I tell him.
Beckett laughs. “Good. What about the draft? You still going for it?”
I shake my head. I hadn’t told them yet.
“Hockey was never my dream. It was something to do. Then it was a way to stay connected to you guys. The likelihood of us ending up in the same place is small. I don’t want that.
I want to be with my kid. I don’t want to miss their first steps or whatever side stuff they get into. I want to be there for it all.”
“You should be a coach,” Beckett says. “You did great coaching us last year. I bet you could coach any sports your kid does. Maybe even take on some high school stuff? You would be so good at getting guys ready for playing in college.”
I smile. “You think so?”
He nods. “You kept the team going even if you weren’t on the ice. You’d excel at it.”
“I’ve considered it, but hearing you say that makes me think I should do some more research,” I admit.
“Do it and report back. No more keeping secrets,” he warns.
“It’s not because I didn’t want you to know,” I tell him. “I wasn’t sure if Emery really wanted the whole world knowing.”
“We aren’t the whole world, Brett,” Clay says.
“We are family,” Beckett adds.
I nod. “It won’t happen again. Want to see the ultrasound?”
At their resounding “yes,” I pull out the photograph from my wallet and hold it up to the camera. We spend an hour laughing and joking about me being a dad, then moving on to what everyone else is up to.
In this moment, I know my shitty childhood never mattered. It will never touch my child because I have a family right here.