Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EMMETT
Coach Morgan granting me an extended rest period has worked wonders for my knee, although you wouldn’t have believed it with the way I played in practice.
I’ve never been this nervous in my life, which is understandable, given the conversation I plan to have with Scott and Freya later today.
The inner coward in me wanted to suggest to Billie that we hit the road from the Catskills and never return to Brooklyn, even if disappearing wouldn’t make our lives any easier—or happier—without Scott and Freya being a part of it.
“What’s going on, man?” Archer pauses halfway out the exit of the training rink as Jack and Tommy keep walking toward their trucks on the far side of the parking lot.
I choose to keep my eyes on them rather than my goalie. “You were right with what you said; I am in love with Billie.”
Initial excitement turns to concern, and my teammate bites his lip. “So, there’s only one route forward.”
Fate sealed, I nod my head once. “Let’s be honest, buddy. There was only ever going to be one outcome.”
Scratching the back of his neck, Archer doesn’t argue. “What’s your next move?”
Eyes still on Jack and Tommy as they laugh and joke around beside their parked trucks, I swallow thickly. “Get in my car and drive to her parents’ place. They should both be home since Freya doesn’t usually work today and Scott is still off from work.”
An ominous silence falls between us until Archer breaks it. “What’s the worst-case scenario?”
I shrug and go to answer right before the sound of screeching tires cuts me off.
Arms up in the air, Jack motions for the driver to slow down, but I know there’s zero chance of this car hitting the brakes. Not before it collides with me.
“I think we’re about to find out,” I quietly reply, pointing at Shelby and knowing that there can only be one person behind the wheel, even if he shouldn’t be driving yet.
As the car skids to a halt around twenty feet in front of me, I know that Scott found out before I got the chance to tell him. And as he swings his car door open and stalks toward me, a profound limp slowing him to an average pace, I brace myself for the panic to set in.
“Hey! Whoa there, Scott. Let’s …” Archer lowers his hands in tandem, asking my best friend to take a moment. “Let’s just calm down, shall we?”
Scott pulls up around five feet from me, fists tightening, white knuckles forming as his dark eyes burn black. I’ve never seen him like this before, but he’s everything I expected when he ultimately found out about me and his daughter.
The details of who told him should be important to me in this moment. After all, whoever let their mouth run just dug my metaphorical grave. Instead, all I can think about is Billie and Blake and how quickly I can get to them.
“Shut it, Archer,” Scott grinds out, eyes fixed firmly on me. “I’m willing to bet that you knew all about this too. Hell, you were probably in on it.”
Making the correct choice, Archer takes a single step back, physically leaving the conversation.
“The fuck is going on?” Tommy announces with Jack hot on his heels until they pull up alongside Scott.
Hands sliding into my pockets, I force my shoulders to relax. I want my best friend to know that I have no intention of turning aggressive, even if the same can’t be said for him.
“Nothing that you need to be worried about,” I reply to my teammate.
While Tommy and Jack have both had suspicions about me seeing someone, neither of them knows about Billie.
With Jack, I made the decision not to complicate my captain’s already-difficult job.
Just because my relationship with Billie might not affect the team directly, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t stress over the potential war that might ensue over a player’s personal life.
And Tommy, that guy has always kept to himself. Gossip has never been his thing, even if the well-being of his teammates absolutely is.
“Could’ve fooled me,” Tommy volleys back, positioning himself to intervene in a physical altercation.
I shake my head at Tommy, asking him to stand down.
“Have you been fucking my daughter?”
A shiver follows the question I’ve been dreading for weeks. Scott’s choice of words is an echo of the ones that would wake me in the dead of night, cold sweats coating my body.
There’s no way I’m going to lie to him. He deserved the truth from the outset, even if the time was never right to unearth it.
Attempting to keep my tone calm, I inch closer to the rabid bull standing in front of me. “Fucking Billie? No. Sleeping with my girlfriend? Yes.”
A brief puff of air leaves his nostrils before he casts his gaze to the open parking lot.
When he shows me his eyes again, I see the hurt in them. Hurt I knew would be there but was powerless to prevent because Billie and Blake were all I wanted in my life, and now that I have them, I won’t walk away.
Hurting my best friend is equivalent to taking a knife and stabbing me straight through the chest, especially after everything he’s helped me through with Maria.
However, hurting his daughter and her baby girl?
The Devil might as well rip every organ from my body and cast it into the flames of hell, destined to burn long after my heart has stopped beating.
And that’s precisely where Scott’s first punch lands. Most people might predict the face or jaw, but my best friend plans to inflict maximum pain.
I don’t move, hands still planted firmly in my pockets.
“Hey!” My captain steps in front of Scott, one hand raised in his face. “Whatever has gone down between you, punching my defenseman is not how we’re going to resolve it.”
“It’s okay, Jack,” I say, gaze still locked on Scott. “He needs this, and I deserve it.”
Jack spins on his heel, his eyes blown wide when he looks at me. “Have you lost your mind?”
With a slow headshake, I ask my teammate to step aside, and a punch lands on my lower jaw and then another to my right cheek.
I already knew that he’d split the skin before I notice the red staining Scott’s knuckles.
When he rears back again, Tommy catches Scott’s fist in his palm. “One more hit, and I’ll show you a side to me that I buried last season.”
“Leave it, Tommy.” Archer’s warning is deathly serious. “Let Scott and Emmett figure this out between them.”
“Not by having a fight in the players’ parking lot,” Jack adds. “And how did you get access?” He points his question at Scott, who doesn’t bother to respond. I’m not even sure he can hear anything above his murderous thoughts.
“I trusted you,” he grits out, pulling his fist from Tommy’s grasp. “God, Jesus.” He swipes a hand through his hair. “With baby scans, trips to the park …” Fearsome eyes narrow. “I took money from you to help feed and clothe my granddaughter.”
Archer’s gasp slices through the air. “Is that true, Emmett?”
Bile rises up my throat. “Yes.”
“Were you fucking her when you wired money to my account?!”
Shaking my head, I wish I could tell Scott that he’s wrong.
But when I gifted money for a second time, I knew when this moment inevitably arrived that I wouldn’t have the truth to fall back on.
While I might not have slept with Billie, our bodies and minds were way past involved.
Trying to fool myself into justifying the thigh ride was as ill-advised back then as it is now.
“When Billie returned from Austin, nothing had ever happened between the two of us. And that’s the way it stayed for a good while.
” Like my body is willing him to listen as much as my mind, I edge closer to Scott.
“I knew how it would look when I gave you more money, and I wanted to tell you right then what was happening.”
He scoffs loudly. “Fuck off, Emmett. The only thing you wanted was to keep buying your way into my daughter’s life.
” He gets into my face. “Having her move out and across town was the perfect fucking solution, wasn’t it?
Maybe you’d even planted the idea of getting her own place into Billie’s mind. ”
“No,” I deny.
“Yes,” Scott tosses back. “Maria was right.”
At the mention of my ex-wife’s name, I catch a glimpse of Archer shaking his head.
“Fucking witch,” he whispers.
“What did she say to you, Scott?” I ask.
He just shrugs like the detail doesn’t matter when it absolutely does.
“What did she say?” I repeat, rain starting to pound the asphalt beneath our feet.
Still, no one makes a move, every one of my teammates now standing by my side.
My throat grows thick when Archer’s hand lands on my shoulder, fingers squeezing gently.
“Emmett asked you a question.” Jack speaks up, voice devoid of aggression. “How can he defend himself if he doesn’t have all the facts?”
Something in my captain’s logic resonates with my friend, and his hardened expression twitches with the faintest hint of empathy.
Resetting his hard demeanor, Scott delivers the news I was dreading. Not because my ex-wife discovering my relationship with Billie is a problem, but because she was the first one to speak with Scott. Hell knows what kinds of twisted bullshit she planted in his head.
Fingernails bite into my palms as I form fists at my sides, thinking about the hurtful things she likely said about my girl.
Finding out your ex-spouse has a new lover is a hard pill to swallow, but that’s exactly what you should do—swallow it and move on with your own life since you are no longer an active part of theirs, especially when you don’t share children.
As Scott clears his throat, sadness enters his eyes. “Maria showed up at our place first thing this morning when Freya was taking a shower.”
“And?” I bite through clenched teeth.
“And she told me the truth that should’ve come from your mouth, Emmett.”
“For what it’s worth, I was headed to your place straight after practice.” Heart racing in my chest, I know that Jack is right; I need to hear the accusations that Maria has landed at my door. “Whatever Maria has alleged, I guarantee it isn’t true.”
He snorts a doubtful laugh. “Well, she said she thinks you’re fucking my daughter, and you just confirmed it.
” His fingers twitch by his sides as his jaw tics before he speaks again.
“She expressed concerns that you’re taking advantage of an impressionable young woman who just got screwed over by her ex-boyfriend. ”
Hot breath hits my cheeks. “But Maria’s main concern revolved around you and the way you have clearly gone off the rails since the divorce was finalized, searching for affection wherever you can find it.
” His lips twist wickedly. “And what better place to stick your dick in than in my beautiful baby girl? I’m sure it was a real power flex—your millions keeping her dad’s head above financial water while you secretly lured his daughter into your bed.
She’d trust you after all; you’ve been like an uncle to her. ”
How I don’t empty the contents of my stomach, I’ll never know.
There’s only one person and her daughter on my mind, forcing me to swallow down every bit of pride that I possess. “Have you spoken to Billie?”
When Scott shakes his head, I heave a sigh of relief.
“Nope, but when Maria suggested that she and Freya head out for breakfast and invite Billie, I’d hazard a guess that your former wife wanted to talk.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you stop her?” I yell, all sense of calm fully out of the window.
I guess Scott and Freya have never seen the side of my ex-wife she reserved especially for me. Not that I even thought for one fucking minute that Maria was capable of this level of manipulation. Billie was right to express concerns over her, and I should’ve taken them more seriously.
My racing heart splits at thoughts of how upset my girlfriend will be right now. How Maria will have cornered her away from Freya so she could have her say.
“I need to get to Billie,” I whisper out loud, not waiting for Scott to address my previous question.
Seething eyes bore into mine. “Over my dead body. You’ll never breathe the same air as my Billie and Blake, never mind get a chance in the same room.”
“Whoa!” Jack lurches forward, but it’s in vain as another blow lands into the pit of my stomach.
Stepping back, I’m sure Scott expects me to double over in pain. Little does he know, he already delivered his best shot, wrapped inside the last words he uttered.
“Never a-fucking-gain!” he spits, already backing toward his car.
When he yanks open the driver’s door, he pauses. “And don’t bother swinging by her apartment. I’m using the last of your money to move her out as we speak.”