Page 19 of Golden Goal

“I don’t know.” I run a hand through my hair, pulling at the ends. “Sorry guys, for dragging you all here.”

“Nonsense,” Jenna says. “We’re family. Why don’t I hold little miss for you, if that’s ok, and you guys can talk in the kitchen. We’ll set everything up here and move it all later.”

“Thank you.” I hand Jenna my daughter, and watch as she carefully carries her to the couch.

Wes walks over to me and slings an arm around my shoulder. “Kitchen.” He tips his chin in the direction we all just came. “Maybe one of us should order pizza or something because I have a feeling this is going to be a long story.”

Chapter eight

Holt

“Let me get this straight, you haven’t seen Kat since April. Today she shows up at your door with your kid?” Hunter asks before taking a bite of pizza.

“Yep. Pretty much.”

They listened quietly as I caught them up on the fact that Kat and I split up seven months ago, giving them the barest of information about why. But I had a feeling they were going to ask a bunch of questions.

“I think the bigger question is why didn’t you tell us you two had broken up? You let us believe you were still together,” Wes says, and I can hear the hurt in his voice. He clears his throat. “I understand needing time to process it, but Holt . . . seven months?”

There it is, the million-dollar question.

Why did I wait so long to tell them?

Yep, I’m definitely a terrible friend. I tip my head back, staring at the ceiling. I take a deep breath, glancing around the room at my friends, my teammates, and Coach. Fuck, what must Coach think of me?

“I don’t know. Maybe because I didn’t want to hear ‘I told you so’. I wasn’t ready to talk about my failure of a relationship, I guess,” I tell them.

“Are you sure she’s yours?” Coach asks and I’m grateful for the change of subject. Even if it’s temporary.

“What he said.” Hunter points at Coach before turning to me. “From what you told us, Kat wasn’t exactly faithful in high school, so who’s to say she wasn’t cheating on you again?”

“The thought crossed my mind, but I wasn’t going to argue with her about it,” I tell him.

“We can find a place for a DNA test that will expedite the results,” Coach says.

“Thank you. I’m going to keep assuming she’s mine though, the timeline makes sense. Oh, I need to change her name because Kat named her after herself. There is no way in hell my daughter’s name is going to be Kathryn, after a mother who didn’t want her.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Elias mutters.

“Let me make a few calls.” Coach taps on the counter before weaving his way out of the kitchen.

“I’m sorry I lied to you all,” I say.

How did I get so lucky to have such good friends, who basically dropped everything to come over here and help me? Better question is how do I make sure I don’t fail those friends again?

“Let’s not worry about that right now.” Hunter pats me on the shoulder.

“What else can we do?” Brody asks.

“I don’t know. This is all so overwhelming.” I peek over my shoulder toward the living room where my daughter is.

“One thing at a time. Any ideas for a name?” Elias asks.

“Hazel. It was my grandmother’s name.” I’m silent for a second. “Hazel Marie. After both of my grandmothers.”

“Hazel. Haze. I love it,” Wes says with a nod.

We eat in silence for a few minutes, huddled around the kitchen counter, until Coach walks back into the room.