I scoff. “No. I literally just got back to the locker room and saw your three missed calls and messages, and I assumed something was wrong.”
“Somethingwaswrong,” Allie says, her voice calmer than I’d expect if something were still wrong, so I relax a little. “We were watching the game, and she thought you were hurt. She got really upset, thought I was lying to her, and then she started to shut down.”
I scrub a hand over my face, feeling my heart thunder in my chest. “Is she okay now? I can FaceTime her…”
“She’s okay,” Allie says with a small laugh. “She’s asleep now. But you should definitely check your messages…” It’s the mystery in her tone that makes the tension in my spine release, and as soon as I get off the phone with Allie, I go straight to my messages, checking the last one first.
Allie: She’s totally fine. [Image]
When I see a photo of my Lucky Duck, curled up in bed with her head resting against Hannah as Hannah reads a story to my smiling daughter, I stumble on my feet a moment, falling back against the cement wall and using it to keep myself upright. I rub at the unexpected ache in my chest, staring at the picture, suddenly wishing I was there instead of here, in the tunnel underground at First State Stadium in Houston.
My girl needed me tonight. And I wasn’t there. But Hannah was. And I honestly don’t know what I’m feeling right now, but I love it. I love every single one of these confusing, conflicting emotions. And suddenly, I don’t just want to be back home. Ineed to be. And I make a call to get my ass on the next possible flight out of Texas.
I wake to the sound a stifled giggle, followed by a warm breath fanning against my cheek, the smell of strawberries and cream inundating my nostrils. Barely opening one eye, it takes a moment to adjust to the morning light streaming in through the open curtains, but when I finally come to, I’m met with my baby girl right there, her big, brown eyes staring at me, our noses almost touching. And before she has a chance to realize what I’m about to do, I pretend I’m still asleep, grabbing her around her middle and starting to tickle until she’s thrashing around, squealing with laughter. My favorite sound.
“Daddy!” Lucky chuckles, a real belly laugh crossed with some sort of demonic throat growl, her head thrown back. “Daddy!”
“What?” I play dumb, still tickling her sides. “What’s wrong, Lucky Duck?”
“Daddy, no!”
And even though she continues giggling, I stop immediately. Because my daughter needs to know that when she says no, it means no, and it’s important for her to understand that when she says it, the person she’s saying it to should stop whatever they’re doing.
Lucky’s laughter subsides and she manages to catch her breath, her small body lying flat on top of mine, her chin resting on her hands clasped together over my chest as she peers up at me. “What are you doing here, Daddy?”
“I came home early and I snuck in here to give you a goodnight kiss, and I must’ve fallen asleep,” I say, looking around her bedroom.
She smiles, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me tight, her cheek resting against my heart.
I wasn’t due to be home until later this morning, but after my phone call with Allie last night, I needed to get back here. My girl needed me, and I needed her right back. And I wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke up.
Coach Draper was confused when I told him I needed to leave, that a family emergency had popped up, but he didn’t press me. So, when the guys went out for drinks after the game, I told them I’d meet up with them, but instead of going to the honkytonk Dallas had dragged everyone to, I took a cab straight to the airport, where I was able to get a seat on the last flight out of Houston. I didn’t get back to New York until after two a.m., and when I came into the house, I went straight to Lucky. I’d intended on just kissing her cheek like I do every night before I go to bed, but I made the mistake of lying down next to her, and after almost twenty-four hours of being awake and more ice time than I’ve ever had during a game, I think I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the damn pillow.
“What do you want to do today, Lucky Duck?” I ask, rubbing my hand over her back in light circles.
She looks up at me again, a small smile ghosting her lips. “The park…?”
I hate that she asks me like I might say no. And I only have myself to blame for that because most of the time I do say no. And for no other reason than I’m afraid of taking her somewhere as public as Central Park because it risks someone spotting us and taking a photo, and Lucky being inadvertently shoved into the public eye. But I think it’s time. I think I might actually be ready.
“You wanna go to the park?” I quirk a brow. “You can do anything your little heart desires and you wanna go across the street to the park?”
She nods, but her mischievous smile tells me otherwise. “With… Hannah.”
My eyes widen. “You want to go to the park with Hannah?”
“And you, Daddy!” she guffaws.
“You wanna go to the park with me and Hannah?” I clarify.
She nods again, her smile hopeful like she’s still worried I might say no.
“I’ll call Hannah and see if she can come, but—” I say quickly when Lucky starts to beam a little too excitedly. “She might have plans. But I’ll try, okay?”
With her smile still firmly fixed in place, Lucky rests her chin back on my chest with a contented sigh. “Okay, Daddy.”
CHAPTER 28
HANNAH
