Page 3 of Hat Trick
"Her name is Annie Miller. Legally, she has her mother's last name but if he wants to change that in the future he can."
"Thank you, that's fantastic. Does she have any allergies or dietary restrictions?"
"None that we know of."
"Wonderful. Please feel free to keep my number, as well, if you can't reach Mr. Rhodes for some reason. He works and travels a lot and may not be available."
"Of course, thank you, Emily. I've got your name and number down in her file. Please remind Mr. Rhodes, as well, about the house visit tomorrow. We assumed his place is acceptable, as a professional athlete, but we want to cover our bases all the same."
"Will do. Thank you, Mrs. Washington."
"Good luck, Emily."
I've barely hung up the phone before strong arms pull me against a hard body. Carter's standing now, big, hard arms wrapped around my upper back, holding me against him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you."
I laugh, my cheeks warming in embarrassment. He's hard, and warm, and although he smells slightly sweaty, it's not at all unpleasant. There's a faint cirtusy smell of his bodywash as well, and there's something so forbidden and intimate about smelling a man that makes my belly tingle.
I've never lived with anyone other than my college roommate, brother and father. When I dropped out of college, I moved in with my brother in his apartment walking distance to the arena. The location worked out perfectly and it got me away from my father.
Now I'd be living with three men I didn't know well. Nerves creep into my chest and make it feel tight. But, I'd agreed, so we would have to make it work.
"Alright, Dad," I beam up at him. "What do you have baby-wise?"
He frowns. "I have a car seat?"
I laugh. "I see that. I guess we need to go shopping!"
"Ward gave me the rest of the day off to get things figured out. Let's go shopping!" He says, finally cheerful. I give Margaret another strong hug before turning to leave. Carter has the car seat against the crook of his elbow and I pause. For a moment I hesitate. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. This big, burly, aggressive hockey player, holding a car seat with an angelic little girl in it is doing funny things to my insides. But when my gaze finally meets his and he stands there looking at me with gratitude and admiration...I know there's no going back. I'd follow him into battle if he'd only keep looking at me like that.
Chapter three
Carter
Halfway to Target, Annie wakes up with a small cry. I've been her father for all of 2 hours, but the sound of her distress shreds my heart.
I didn't have the best role model for what a father should be - what a father should do. Mine was a long-haul truck driver who drank excessively whenever he wasn't on the road. He was never physically abusive, but he had a horrible temper whenever he drank. Nothing my sister and I ever did was good enough when he hit the bottle. Our grades were never good enough, our rooms never clean enough. Amanda was never skinny enough. I was never strong enough. Mom never did enough around the house.
I'm ashamed to admit that we all looked forward to the days he was on the road. The house was more peaceful. The physical change in all of us whenever he kissed Mom goodbye and left was visible. We all smiled more, even joked with each other.
Because he would be gone for days or weeks at a time, Mom stayed home. Money was always tight, but I'm grateful that I always had her. If it weren't for her brother, who was a successful lawyer, we wouldn't have been able to afford hockey. Between the lessons, travel and equipment, hockey isn't a cheap sport. But when I saw my first game on TV I was hooked. The speed, the pressure, even the violence appealed to me. Uncle Dave never had kids of his own, so he was happy to shell out to support my hockey addiction. Something I've tried to pay him back for, now that I'm on the top, but he still refuses to take a cent.
Emily turns around in the passenger seat to comfort Annie but can't get a good reach on her because her car seat is rear facing. Without hesitation, she unbuckles her seat belt and scrambles between the front seats to crawl into the back.
"Emily!" I shout, afraid of her getting hurt. Logically, I know the chances of us getting into an accident in the half-a-second she's unbuckled are slim to none, but I hate that she would put herself in danger. Then I have to school my gaze forward as her lush hips and ass graze my shoulder.
She ignores my cry and starts shushing and baby-talking to Annie. My daughter. Still doesn't seem real.
Annie's cries soften out until she's quiet.
"Is she okay?" I ask, unable to see her.
"She's just fine, isn't she?" Emily says cooing. "Just woke up alone and was scared, isn't that right baby girl?" I love how easily Emily is with Annie. Some of the other players on the team have kids, but I never really paid much attention to them. I don't know the first thing about interacting with a one-year-old.
The screen on the dash lights up with a call from Mom. Christ, I hadn't even thought about telling her she's a grandma now. I groan. That's going to go over fucking brilliantly. Emily seems to instinctually understand my hesitancy.
"No time like the present, Dad. Might as well rip off the band aid."
