Page 10 of One Pucking Life

Little Nolan—the first Crane baby—is Beckett’s son with Ari’s mom, Elena. I’m so grateful for his existence because he’s the reason these two are now seasoned baby pros.

I exhale slowly. Relief trickles in. “Thank you. Seriously.”

I start rocking Caroline gently, patting her back without even thinking about it.

“Look at you,” Iris says, a glimmer of pride in her eyes. “You already have the baby bounce down. You’re going to be just fine.”

God, I hope she’s right.

Ari turns to the others, clapping her hands to get their attention. “Okay, party’s over. Time to call your Ubers and head home. We’ve got work to do.”

I glance down at Caroline, her little blue eyes blinking up at me. She’s so tiny, her fist curled around my hoodie string like it’s a lifeline. My chest tightens. This is real. This is happening.

And “we’ve got work to do” might be the understatement of the year.

CHAPTER

FIVE

MAX

To say this transition has been difficult would be the understatement of the century. Life as a professional athlete and a single parent? Beyond challenging. I figured out the basics—feeding, diapering, dressing—pretty quickly. It’s the sheer exhaustion that’s killing me.

Caroline doesn’t sleep. Or if she does, it’s in these short, unpredictable bursts that leave me feeling like I’m constantly stuck in the wrong time zone. I’ve been a dad for a week now, and I’m so tired I swear I could sleep for days. Weeks, even.

My Crane family has been incredible. They’ve all stepped up—taking shifts, bringing me food, holding Caroline when I needed five minutes to breathe. But they have their own lives, jobs, and responsibilities. There’ve been times no one could come, and it was just me and her, figuring it out. I’ve missed practices, and when I did make it to the rink, I was running on fumes. A zombie on skates.

Hockey has always been my life. It’s where I’ve always felt sure of myself. But now? I’m not even a starter anymore. And I get it. Coach has to do what’s best for the team. I wouldn’tput me on the ice either—not with my recent performance. But knowing it’s the right call doesn’t make it hurt any less.

I keep telling myself this is temporary. Caroline and I will figure out a rhythm. I’ll hire a nanny—someone who’s magic with babies, who knows the secret to getting them to sleep longer than twenty minutes at a time. And then I’ll get back on track.

At least, that’s the plan.

And God, I hope it happens soon.

The first round of nanny interviews was a disaster. Jaden and I sat through applicant after applicant, and honestly, half of them shouldn’t be trusted with a cat—let alone a child.

Now Jaden isn’t even here for round two. He’s on his way to California to check on Anna himself. He stopped waiting for her to call him back. I hope they can work things out. He deserves that.

Instead, I have Logan.

“Hey, Sean,” I greet him with a half handshake, half hug, using his team-given nickname. As a whole, the guys on our team are normal—except when it comes to a fascination with stupid nicknames. I purchased a horrible designer knock-off shirt. One. Freaking. Time. And now I’m TJ Maxx for life. Sean’s nickname is weirder yet. One of the guys on the team thought his name was Sean even though it sounds nothing like Logan, and the mistaken name stuck.

“TJ Maaaxx,” he draws out my name with a grin. Clapping me on the back, he leans in. “I’m hoping we get some hot nannies today.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “I’m praying for competent.”

He chuckles. “Fair point.”

Logan drops into the chair next to me. “So Jaden’s off to Cali?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Miranda called and told him Anna needed him. He left this morning.”

Logan nods, his expression sobering a little. “Hope they work it out.”

“You and me both,” I say, running a hand through my hair.

Caroline is in her room napping like a champ. Her favorite time to sleep is anytime I’m not.

---