Chapter 11 #2
“More than most men, which means literally nothing.”
“You have a thing against men?”
“Not all men.” Shannon started stacking blocks on top of each other, waiting until Leena followed suit, then leaned back on her hands to watch. “Guilty until proven innocent.”
“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.”
She turned her dark gaze on me, that one brow lifted again. That one look made me want to prove her wrong. To show her that some men were worth it, just not the ones she grew up with.
I grabbed the whiteboard off the counter and followed the girls into the living room, setting it on the coffee table.
Leena, I jotted down next to my name, then started working on her daily schedule. “We’ve developed a pretty set schedule this summer. Sleep is my number one priority for her.”
“Makes sense,” Shannon said, not bothering to look up at me. “Nobody likes a tired girl, right Leena?”
My daughter smiled, then placed one of Shannon’s princess dolls on top of the tower she was building.
“What time does she wake up in the morning?” Shannon asked.
I tapped the marker against the whiteboard. “Normally around 10 a.m.”
That made Shannon look up. “That late?”
“I’ve been trying to move her schedule around so she’s awake more when I’m home.”
Shannon opened and closed her mouth, then shook her head and returned her focus to my daughter. “Walk me through a typical day then.”
“I’ll be out of here early, usually around 6:30 for practice. Home by 11, 12:00 at the latest, to eat my lunch with Leena.”
“Okay.” Shannon nodded. “So, I get her up in the mornings and feed her breakfast. With her getting up that late, I can probably squeeze a few hours of work in before she’s awake. Then what about after lunch?”
“Then nothing,” I said. “When I’m home, I’m her parent, and you’re off duty.”
She frowned, putting down the blocks in her hand. “Nothing?”
“I don’t want someone else raising my kid. That isn’t what this is.”
“Then what is this? Spell out for me exactly what it is you’re expecting me to do to earn my keep.”
“Nothing. Only taking care of Leena, and then only when I’m not here.”
Shannon pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, I watch her for one, maybe two hours in the morning, and that’s it?”
“Most mornings, yes.” She frowned, so I went on. “I want to be her dad, Shannon. That’s never been the issue.”
“I’m seeing that.”
Maybe those words shouldn’t have filled me with pride, but that this woman who wanted to believe the worst in men didn’t think I was as trash as the rest of my gender… I liked that.
“When I’m at practice, I need to know she’s okay. When we have home games, I need you to bring her to the rink. And when we’re on the road...”
I turned the whiteboard over and uncapped the marker again.
“...That’s when I need you most.”
I started writing dates—end of October. November. December.
One by one, I filled the board with road trips, adding our departure and return dates until there was barely any white space left.
Shannon chewed her lip for a long second before disappearing down the hall. Honestly, looking at the extent of what I was asking of her would make anyone run. But before my brain had time to latch onto that worry, she returned carrying her laptop.
“Do you mind if I make this digital?”
I looked from the laptop to the whiteboard. “Is that a spreadsheet?”
“It sure is, Finland. I bet you didn’t know I’m a freak in the sheets.” She smiled to herself and settled onto the floor beside the coffee table, creating a database full of dates and events.
Meanwhile, my brain was short circuiting over that last statement. It was a joke, but now I was imagining her sprawled out on my bed, back arched, mouth open while she did exactly what I told her to in the bedroom. Or would that bratty personality of hers show up for me?
I couldn’t decide what sounded better.
“Okay,” she said. “Show me.”
I shook my head, trying to remember what it was we were even discussing. One glance at the whiteboard covered in dates, and I pulled up the team schedule on my phone. I slid it across the table toward her, not trusting myself to be within touching distance of her.
Leena wandered over a second later, sitting next to me with a handful of blocks while Shannon’s fingernails tapped across her keyboard.
“We leave here,” I pointed to the first trip.
She copied down the dates before studying the calendar.
“Can I?” She pointed at my phone. “I think I found something.”
Then watched as she flicked a finger over the screen, her brow creasing in concentration.
There wasn’t anything particularly captivating about her in this moment, but I couldn’t look away.
Couldn’t unsee how serious she was taking this, how much she was trying to make this work. I liked it more than I should have.
“If I make Wednesdays my clinic day...” She highlighted several cells on her spreadsheet. “We’re home for these in November. And this trip doesn’t leave until Wednesday night, so that’s four straight weeks I can make work.”
I leaned over to look at the dates, and sure enough, she was right.
For the next twenty minutes, we worked our way through the season, filling in road trips, clinic days, practices, and home games. Every roadblock I hit, Shannon found a solution I hadn’t yet considered.
“Okay,” Shannon said, leaning back on her arms when we were done. “We can do this.”
“When we travel with the team, you’ll be on the plane with us.” The words got caught in my throat as I thought through the last problem. “Team personnel will be there too, so we’ll have to act married.”
She waved a hand, the stone on her ring finger catching the light. “Please. You threw me to the wolves with your parents last night. We’ll be fine.”
I grinned, remembering the way she’d called my father out within minutes and the warning he’d given me on the way to the airport this morning. No part of me was concerned Shannon was trying to take advantage of me, but I wanted to make sure I never took advantage of her.
Shannon stood up, stretching her arms above her head enough that her shirt rode up. I didn’t mean to look, but from my position on the floor, it was impossible to miss the flash of red on creamy white skin—one that reminded me of the red panties that had fluttered in the wind a few days ago.
The shift in my mind was so abrupt, once again picturing her spread out beneath me, but this time she was wearing nothing but red lace and her wedding ring.
Leena yawned so hard her body shook, reminding me what this was—two adults with coordinated calendars lined up to give this little girl a good life.
“Need help?” Shannon asked, but I waved her off and carried Leena down the hall to get ready for nap time.
Her room was quiet, only the sound of the white noise machine filtering through the dark room when I placed her in the crib and kissed her head.
I sat in the rocking chair in the corner, trying to let my mind relax.
To be confident with this new plan. But instead, I sat there, remembering how Shannon looked this morning, curled up in my bed.
How beautiful she looked standing in my kitchen.
How quickly she rolled with everything I threw at her.
It wasn’t just that she was gorgeous, or smart, or good with Leena. It was all of it combined that was overtaking my mind, bit by bit. But I couldn’t think about my wife, not like that. Not when everything hinged on our ability to keep this arrangement from falling apart.