Jamie watched Tyler’s face carefully. If he hadn’t, he would have missed the way his lips pressed together for a second before he responded. “She was a friend from school. She decided she wasn’t ready to raise a kid, and is off living her life.” Tyler paused, and his expression softened as he looked at Rowan. “I wouldn’t change it for anything. Having him.”
Jamie tried to imagine what it must be like for Tyler, parenting on his own. Every time Jamie had imagined being a father, it had been with someone he’d chosen by his side. Someone he loved and trusted.
He couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.
“Is it nice coming back to see your friends?” His mom went on.
Tyler hesitated before responding. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “It’s good.”
“Do any of them have kids?”
“No.”
Jamie’s mom looked sympathetic. “That can be hard,” she offered. “Not knowing people who have children. When Jamiewas little, I spent a ton of time at the library. It was a good place to meet other young parents.”
Tyler tried to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear, but it slipped right back down onto his face. “I…the library is a good idea. I haven’t had time, I guess.”
His mom looked over at Jamie then, her blonde brows raised in a silent question. It was obvious she was trying to tell him something, but Jamie couldn’t figure out what. He mirrored the same look back at her. She sniffed, looking unimpressed.
“Many of the players on Jamie’s team have young families,” his mom said, and…Right. Jamie got it now.
“My best friend Mitch,” Jamie jumped in. “The guy who was with me when we came by your place? He’s got three kids, and his wife, Layla, is awesome.” He caught his mom’s encouraging nod. “I go to dinner at their house most weeks when we’re playing in town. Would you and Rowan want to come with me? It could be cool to meet some people with kids.”
Tyler stared at him. His mouth opened, then shut. His eyes shifted to Rowan, and then back to Jamie. “Um,” he said.
“They’re great,” Jamie went on. “Their kids are great.”
Without breaking eye contact with Jamie, Tyler reached out and brushed a knuckle over Rowan’s cheek. “Okay,” he said quietly.
The rest of the meal went quickly. Rowan started rubbing his eyes, and Tyler excused himself and Rowan to go upstairs. He thanked them all for the meal and the help with the move, and then, with a hint of hesitation, looked over at Jamie.
“Will you text me?” he asked. “About the dinner.”
Jamie smiled. “Yeah. I promise.”
What he got back was just the shadow of a smile, but still, it was something.
CHAPTER 6
TYLER
THIS IS A KID HOUSE
“Where are we going, Papa?”
Tyler adjusted his hands on the worn leather of his steering wheel as he turned onto Campus Drive. The afternoon light was just starting to fade, gray clouds hanging low over downtown Madison. “Remember those hockey guys who came over to say hi the other morning?”
“The big ones?”
“Yeah, them,” Tyler bit back a smile, thinking of how ridiculous the two massive strangers had looked in the chaos of the boarding house. “We’re going to Mitch’s house to have dinner with his kids.”
“Will Jamie be there?”
“Mmhm.”
“Is Jamie our friend?”
Tyler had to think about his answer for a moment. He hadn’t had to navigate new friendships with Rowan yet. There had been his family, and then the old acquaintances and friends in the boarding house.
