“Your calls? I haven’t missed any calls.”
“You have.” Now she sounds exasperated. “It took me some time to track you down, but here. This is all the information regarding custody of the minor in question.”
“Seriously, what the fuck is going on? This has to be a joke.”
“Bode!” Marcus hisses. “You can’t say that around a baby.”
“He can’t understand me,” I snap.
The woman presses the papers into my hand as I glance at the kid that is now set on the ground. “If you would look at the paperwork here, you’ll see that you are named as the baby’s father.”
My mouth is dry as sandpaper as I look at the information swirling together on the page.A baby?“There’s no way this kid is mine.”
“I am only here to relay the information provided to me. As you can see on the birth certificate, again, you were named the baby’s father.”
Her patience is wearing thin. Maybe because it’s hot outside or because I have no idea what is going on, but damn it. What thefuckis going on?
The name of the mother doesn’t ring a bell. I do my best to rack my brain, but I come up empty.
“And you’re here because…”
“Because the mother is terminating her rights and wants the baby’s father to have custody.”
“How do I even know if this kid is mine?”
“Bode.” Marcus elbows me in the side. “Look at him.”
For the first time, I drop down and look at the kid inside the car seat.
Wide brown eyes.
Light-brown hair.
An almost-there dimple on his left cheek.
Fuck. The kid is a spitting image of me. Even I can see it.
“The mother was clear on giving custody to you, the father. If you don’t want him, I’m going to need you to sign some paperwork.”
“For what?”
“Well, we would need to find another foster family for him to stay with and?—”
Whatever else she says is drowned out by the echoing in my head. It feels like I’m underwater and gasping for breath.
I’ve never had an inkling of responsibility in the world. Just me and hockey. That’s it.
Now, there’s a baby on my doorstep.
“Can I have a minute?”
“I will need to know today. The family he’s been staying with is going out of town, and we would need to line up another family.”
“Right.”
I glance at the baby before heading inside. I feel sick. The cool blast of air conditioning sticks to my overheated skin.
A baby?
