Chapter 37
LIAM
“Hey,” I said when Garrett appeared onscreen. “How are you doing? How’s Jasmine?”
“Everyone’s good.” He ran a hand through his hair, fatigue rolling off him in waves. “It’s been a long night, that’s for sure.”
“I can imagine.” I sat on the edge of my hotel bed. “And Chris made it?”
Smiling, Garrett nodded. “Yeah. He’s with her right now.”
“Good. He was freaking out when he realized she’d gone into labor while he was gone.”
“I know. He’s a lot calmer now that he’s here, and so is she.”
“I bet.”
“And, um, I really appreciate the team’s help. Getting him onto a flight that fast.”
“They’ve got it down to an art form. I swear we have at least one guy every year who has to take off mid-road trip or mid-game because his wife’s in labor.” I shrugged. “Comes with the territory, I guess.”
Garrett whistled. “I think the stress would kill me. I was at work when Chris’s mom went into labor with Nick, and it only took me maybe an hour to get to the hospital. I still almost had a damn heart attack. Being halfway across the country?” He grimaced. “That would’ve dropped me.”
“Glad he made it, then. How’s Jasmine doing, anyway?”
“She’s a trooper.” He grimaced. “I watched Chris’s mom do this four times, and watching Jasmine has not changed my stance—moms are way stronger than I could ever be.”
“No kidding,” I said with a laugh. “Like I said a while back, I don’t know how they do it.”
“Well, I mean, once things get started, there isn’t much to do except get through it, you know?”
“Okay, fair, but still. I’d be asking for every drug known to man six months before I got there.”
“Me too. Seriously.” He blew out a breath and raked a hand through his hair again. “She’ll be all right, though. The staff says everything looks good so far, so fingers crossed it stays that way.”
“Fingers definitely crossed.” I paused. “How are you doing? That has to be a lot.”
“I’m…” Garrett’s eyes lost focus, and the fatigue showed as he slowly pushed out a breath. Meeting my gaze again, he said, “It’s pretty overwhelming. And I just keep thinking, I came so close to missing it, you know? Because of how things were with Chris?”
I nodded. “Yeah. But don’t dwell on that—you’ve got him back. You’re there. Don’t let the past wreck it, right?”
“No, no, it’s not wrecking it. I just keep, I don’t know—I keep catching myself thinking, holy shit, I could’ve missed all this. It’s not a dark cloud or anything. Just… gratitude, I guess? Relief?”
“That makes sense. I’m glad you were able to be there. In your son’s life, and also… there.”
His tired smile was adorable. “Yeah. Me too.”
“How does it feel, anyway? Becoming a grandfather?”
His eyes lost focus again, and he pushed out a harsh breath, but then he smiled. “It’s… kind of overwhelming? Like it was huge every time one of my kids was born, and this is huge too, just… different. I…” He shook his head and laughed softly. “I can’t really describe it.”
“You don’t have to.” I smiled. “Glad you get to be there, though.”
“Me too. Oh, and how was the game?” Garrett winced. “I didn’t even think to check the score. Did you guys do okay without Chris?”
“Game was fine. We lost in overtime, but it’s still a point.” I shrugged. “We missed him, of course, but we had another forward along for the road trip in case someone went down for an injury. So, we still had a full roster.”
“Oh, good. Good. Sorry to hear about the loss, though.”
“Eh.” I shrugged again. “Can’t win ’em all. But the team got Chris home in time—that’s enough for me.”
God, his smile. “Tell the staff we really appreciate it.”
“I will. Definitely.”
“Thanks. I should get back up there. Make sure they don’t need anything. It was great to talk, though. I’m looking forward to you getting home.”
Why did it make my heart flutter so much, hearing that even while he was there for the birth of his grandson, he was still looking forward to seeing me? I didn’t know. I was probably just tired. And stupid. And missing him.
“I’m looking forward to it, too. Tell Chris and Jasmine we’re all excited for them.”
“I will. Good night, Liam.”
“Good night.”
We ended the call, and I sat there for a while, alone in my hotel room, staring down at my dark, silent phone. It was weird, being this far from my boyfriend when he was in the middle of something so monumental. I wanted to be there for him. Be there with him.
But even if we’d been playing at home, I wouldn’t have been able to show up at the hospital as Grandpa’s boyfriend. Bring a gift from the team for my teammate and his wife, sure, but that was an entirely different capacity than what I wanted to be right now.
It didn’t make me resent him or worry that we couldn’t make this work. It just made me ache to be open about our relationship.
I exhaled and rolled my shoulders. We’d get there. We had a plan. I was frustrated tonight, but Chris’s baby would be arriving soon. The season would be over before much longer. Then Garrett and I could sit down with Chris and tell him the truth.
After that, we could be open about being together, and we wouldn’t have this cloud of secrecy hanging over us.
We’d get there.
For tonight, Garrett was happily with his newly expanding family.
Me? I was meeting my teammates at the bar. It was late as hell, but everyone was still fired up from the game, so several of us wanted to wind down at the bar.
As I joined the guys at a table, I said, “I talked to Kanes’s dad—he made it in time, and Jasmine’s still doing fine.”
A cheer went up around the table.
“No baby yet?” Craws asked.
“Not yet. I’m sure they’ll keep us posted.”
Temo checked his phone, then squinted at me. “You’re talking to Kanes’s dad? In the middle of the night?”
My stomach somersaulted, but years of media training kept my face neutral. “He just wanted to keep us all updated on Kanes and the baby.”
My teammate gave me an odd look but shrugged it off and shifted gears to ordering a drink.
I tried to do the same, but my heart was thumping even as the whole table had clearly moved on.
With drinks on the way, conversation had shifted to the guys plotting to prank the alternate captain of Winnipeg, where we were headed soon.
He’d played for Pittsburgh until two years ago, and ever since he’d left, we’d all been engaged in a relentless prank war. Hockey players—what can you do?
But my heart wasn’t in it tonight. I just kept thinking about Temo’s question and how bad I’d wanted to say, “My boyfriend calls me most nights when we’re on the road.”
Garrett and I had both tied ourselves in knots over how Chris would feel about this when we eventually came out. How would the team feel about it, though?
It wasn’t something that could get me disciplined, and I didn’t think it would be a disaster in the locker room. But it could mess with my teammates’ trust in me. The captaincy was already heavy on my shoulders; it was a responsibility I took very seriously.
And if I was honest, I didn’t know how the team would feel about me dating another teammate’s parent.
I just had no idea. And I didn’t like that uncertainty.
That feeling that I could announce “Hey, Kanes’s dad is my boyfriend,” and the reactions could range from “Whatever, man; who’s ordering the next round? ” to full-on locker room mutiny.
As I rolled a sip of beer around in my mouth, I moved my gaze from one face to the next.
How would these men react?
Would they even care?
Was I worrying myself stupid over nothing? Or was I underthinking what a disaster this could be?
I just didn’t fucking know.
But sooner than later, I was going to find out.