I selected a youth-sized stick with the perfect flex for a six-year-old. My fingers traced the shaft as I pictured Casey's tiny hands holding it.
"Can you customize this?" I asked the clerk, a young woman with a Shadow Wolves lanyard around her neck. From her expression, she recognized me.
"Of course, Mr. Henley. What would you like it to say?"
I didn't hesitate. "Casey Henley."
She paused, pencil hovering over the order form. "Henley?" She repeated, glancing at me with recognition dawning. "I didn't realize you had a daughter."
I met her gaze steadily, something like pride replacing the anger that had been my companion since discovering the truth.
"Yes," I said firmly. "My daughter."
The clerk's eyes rounded, and her quick look at her coworker, who was attempting to appear disinterested, told me everything. The shift in the store's atmosphere was immediately noticeable. Whispers started, phones were discreetly pulled from pockets, and customers abruptly found reasons to browse the hockey equipment.
"Henley has a kid?"
"Did he say daughter?"
"How old?"
"Who's the mother?"
The whispers rippled around me like a wave, hushed voices multiplying.
I'd been in the public eye long enough to recognize the moment. A piece of private information transformed into public gossip.
By tomorrow, it would be everywhere.
I should care more about the privacy invasion that was about to explode in our lives. But standing here, claiming Casey as mine for the first time, I couldn't bring myself to regret it.
Let them talk. Let the entire world know.
I was done with secrets.
As I waited for the customization to be completed, I scrolled through the few photos I had of Casey on my phone. One from the hospital after her fall through the ice. Another from the private hockey game at the arena. My reflection mirrored in every one of her features, the familiarity so stark I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed sooner.
I created a new album titled simplyCaseyand made a silent promise to fill it with new memories.
The clerk returned with the finished stick, Casey's name emblazoned in Shadow Wolves blue. As she handed it to me, her expression was a mix of excitement and uncertainty.
"Your daughter plays hockey, too?" she asked, clearly fishing for more information to share later.
"Center, just like me," I replied, unable to keep the pride from my voice. "She's got a better wrist shot than I did at her age."
More whispers followed me as I made my way to the checkout, but they didn't bother me. The stick in my hand mattered more than any gossip. It was a small thing, this stick with our name, but it represented something monumental.
It was the beginning of our story as father and daughter.
As I pushed through the store's doors, I could already imagine the headlines that would greet me tomorrow. The media storm that was about to hit would be intense, especially for Sadie and Casey. I needed to warn them, to prepare them for what was coming.
But first, I needed to keep my promise to Casey.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Palisade
The examination room smelled of disinfectant and dog shampoo. I'd been staring at the same bottle of ear cleaner for the past five minutes, trying to remember what I was supposed to do next.
