Page 31 of Power Play
My sweet Lacey stands in front of us, proud, but shaking.
When she looks at me, her eyes filled with tears, I want to promise her the world. To tell her everything will be okay, even if I'mt sure how. Instead, I hold her tighter, hoping my touch can give her the reassurance she needs.
Fuck it.
I wrap my arms around her. I don't care of the baby's mine or not. If she'll give me a second chance, I'd raise a hundred other men's babies.
I chuckle to myself quietly. I'd quit the NHL, and Carter and I can be stay-at-home-dads together. I could see us, walking to the park,both of us wearing our babies in carriers, him pushing a strolling with Annie, and joking about how I put the moves on his wife.
I palm the back of her head and hold it to my chest, trying to give her my strength and comfort.
I know it hurt her to watch Jonesy walk away. Coach and I had shared a look, then, and a promise we'd fix whatever was up his ass.
"Well, we know my swimmers are the strongest," I say, trying to lighten her mood and bring a smile to her face.
"We don't know anything," Coach growls. His voice is calm, measured, as if he's already laying out a plan. "We do know, however, that I'm in the best position to take care of you. You and the child."
I feel her sag against me before she stiffens once again. Her wide eyes lock with mine.
"We can't tell anyone."
And in an instant, I understand why. Her sister.
Lord, I can only imagine what her sister would do if she found out she were pregnant.
She looks at Coach and me. "Can you do that? Can you keep this secret? At least... until..."
Christ, there was never going to be a good time to announce her pregnancy. But seeing her like this, so strong and so vulnerable, I knew I’d stand by her no matter what.
I grip her hip and dip my head to hers. "You'll call at least one of us to join you for your appointments? We may not know who the father is, but I sure as hell don't want to miss a moment of this." I level her with an earnest stare. "You'll call us?"
She nods, her eyes red and tearful.
Coach chimes in. "And you call us for other things? Prenatal vitamins, late night cravings, to kill a spider?" She rolls her eyes. I've never seen anyone roll their eyes at Coach. But instead of the dressing down one of us players would get for such insubordination, Coach simply narrows his eyes at her, his look even more stern.
"If you're carrying my child, I want to take care of you like the mother of my child deserves."
She shrinks against me. She looks between me and Coach with such raw vulnerability. "I don't want to just be the mother of someone's child," she whispers and I'm almost certain only I can hear her.
"Baby, if you let me, I'd love you for the rest of my life. Babies or not. You're my beginning and my end. You're the one fighting this," I say. I may not know what happened between them, or why Coach is willing to step up, but I don't care. Lacey needs love and support, and she's going to get it.
She seems to relax again before a new fear crosses her face and she grips my shirt in her fists. Fuck, the rollercoaster of her emotions is exhausting even me. I want to wrap her in my arms and shield her from everything. Make love to her until she forgets everything she's afraid of.
"What if... what if... my... 3D printer is messed up?"
I look at her, confused for a moment, before her meaning clicks. I snort. "Did you really just refer to your uterus as a 3D printer?"
She huffs out an annoyed sound; annoyed that I'm not taking her concerns lightly.
"Savannah had a rare gene mutation. She didn't inherit it."
She knows that, of course, but it seems to reassure her now that someone's spoken it out loud.
"Alright, babe. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to take the rest of the day off." I look to Coach for confirmation, and he nods.
"Unless you'd rather come home with one of us. You know I have room. I'm sure Coach and Jonesy would oblige, too."
The sadness in her eyes at Jonesy's obvious rejection guts me.
