Why hadn’t she told me she was pregnant?

My mind raced back in time, running through that last conversation when I’d dumped her. She’d been devastated, and it hadn’t been easy on me either. Had she known then?

What kind of mother waited seven years to tell a father he had a child? I missed all those years. I was angry and hurt, along with confused. I itched to call her back, but I had to calm down first. Think about what she’d said, which was very little. Being a father wasn’t anything I’d considered. I was pretty good with kids, but having one of my own was far different than coaching a group of kids.

Those two children I’d seen outside her house…was one of them mine? I searched my memory for images of them, but I’d been so caught up in seeing her again, I had very little recollection beyond a blonde-haired girl and a dark-haired boy.

I drove home despite not wanting to answer a bunch of questions from a nosy Kaden or endure a penetrating and all-knowing stare from Steele. Regardless, I had to talk to someone, and they were my someones.

I walked into the condo, praying they weren’t partying and were relatively sober. I wasn’t in the mood for drunks. Instead, I heard the crashing of pots and pans in the kitchen and smelled the aroma of baking cookies. Kaden was at it again. The man loved to cook, and he loved to eat. I guess one of his parents was a chef.

I followed my nose into the kitchen, which was a disaster. Kaden had a habit of using every available pan and utensil when he cooked. Steele, our resident neat freak, was trying to clean up, but Kaden was messing shit up as fast as Steele could clean it. If I hadn’t been traumatized by Caro’s revelation, I’d be snorting with laughter at the two of them.

They didn’t need one more ass in the kitchen, so I sat on a barstool at the counter and snagged a warm chocolate chip cookie from the dozen cooling on wax paper. Despite the evening’s earlier news flash, I allowed myself a moment to savor the warm cookie oozing with melted chocolate chips.

“Help yourself,” Kaden said sarcastically.

“Like you were going to eat all these?” I shot back.

“The team captains want them for the road trip tomorrow.” Kaden sighed and spooned piles of dough onto a cookie sheet. The life of a rookie. We were subjected to the whims of veterans and their stomachs. On the last road trip, the captains decided they wanted our seats, and we were stuck with seats up front with the coaches. Now every time we got on the plane, no matter where we sat, they demanded our seats.

I grabbed another cookie, ignoring my bud’s deepening scowl. Steele wiped the soap off his hands and crossed the kitchen to take the stool next to mine. He grabbed a cookie for himself.