Page 47 of Crossing the Lines for Love

“He deserves to know my parents, his aunts, uncles, and cousins on my side of the family.”

“You were adamant about never telling your family about Deuce. When did that change?” I asked.

“I never did. One of my cousins told them. I went home to visit a few years ago, and I drank too much. Apparently, in my drunken stupor, I told her I’d had a baby and given it to the father. She fell on hard times a few months later and asked to borrow some money. I’d loaned her money in the past, but she never paid back, so my answer was no. She kept pressing me and eventually confessed she knew my secret. When she told me what she knew, I was so shocked I didn’t deny it. The next thing I knew, she was blackmailing me.”

“That’s messed up,” I said.

“Yes. That’s very unfortunate, but it still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Pops pressed.

“I’m engaged, and my fiancé doesn’t know anything about Deuce. My mother is threatening to tell him if I don’t get full custody of Deuce and make Niko pay child support. She will be his guardian and collect the check from Niko.”

I shot to my feet. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I didn’t usually curse in front of my parents, but this bitch had lost her mind. Neither of them corrected me, so they probably thought it was justified.

“It will be a cold day in hell before any of that happens. Niko, I need you to take this woman out of here before you see a side of your mother you’ve never seen. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but that would be a lie.”

My mother spoke her piece and left the family room, leaving my father and I to deal with Chanice.

“You’re probably wondering why we’re so involved in our grown son’s life. Niko may be grown, but he’s still learning the ins and outs of adulthood and what it takes to be a good father. He’ll never master it because there is no such thing as mastering parenthood. However, he shows up every day for that little boy and loves him more than life. Because of his commitment to his son, my wife and I will show up daily for our son and grandson because we love them more than life. That’s obviously something you aren’t willing to do, but how dare you come in here with the intention of jeopardizing the loving and solid foundation we’ve built around a child you admittedly don’t want, to save face. If you love that man enough to marry him, you should be able to be honest and upfront with him. Tell him the truth, and you won’t have to worry about someone else doing it.”

“Knock, knock,”Coach Crawford said before entering my office. “It’s late. You want to walk out with me?”

I looked at my phone, and it was almost eight o’clock. We’d finished practice hours before, and I’d been sitting at my desk in deep thought since I returned to my office.

“Hey. I probably should get going.”

“What’s on your mind?” Coach Crawford asked. “You seem to be a little preoccupied lately.”

“Everything and nothing, if that makes sense.”

It had been a month since I last left Niko’s bed, and I hadn’t seen or spoken to him outside of practice. When I saw him having dinner with another woman, it solidified that I’d made the right choice. If he could move on after just two weeks, he couldn’t have been in love with me.

“It makes a lot of sense. Care to share?” He sat in the chair on the other side of my desk.

Coach Crawford and I didn’t talk much outside of practice and games, and when we did, it was strictly about lacrosse. Iknew he was close to forty and married with two children in middle school.

“I should be happier.”

“You’re not happy? We’ve only lost two games this season, we’re conference champs, and we’re headed to the semifinals.”

“I’m ecstatic about that. My professional life is perfect and, honestly, what’s kept me going. It’s my personal life that’s in shambles.”

“Oh, I see. Well, it’s been a while since I’ve dated, but from what I hear, it’s tough out there.”

“You heard right. Things were going well between me and the last guy I dated…until it wasn’t. Maybe it was a sign that I need to be single a bit longer.”

“Tell what went wrong. Maybe I can help.”

I thought about how I could share my situation with Coach Crawford without giving too much away.

“To make a long story short, we probably shouldn’t have been dating.”

“Don’t tell me he’s married or in another serious relationship.”

“God no, nothing like that. I would never.”

“That’s good to hear. Tell me more.”

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