“Get a DNA test. She might be trying to extort money from you.” Kaden was ever the suspicious one when it came to women. There was a story there, too. I guess we all had our own secrets. Hell, I had a secret I hadn’t even known about.

“I will. Tomorrow.”

“Are you in love with this woman?” By the horrified expression on Kaden’s face, he couldn’t think of anything worse than falling in love.

“I…uh, no, it was a summer fling. A fucking memorable summer fling. I dumped her and walked away. On a whim, I looked her up a few years ago and found out she was married with kids.”

“Why is a married woman looking you up and claiming you’re a father?”

“Lots of questions. No fucking answers.”

“Be careful, E, something seems off,” Kaden warned.

“Get a good attorney,” Steele added.

I nodded. Tomorrow morning, I’d straighten out this mess.

Not that I’d be able to get one minute of sleep.

I was a fucking father. How did a guy handle news like that seven years too late?

Chapter Seven

The Truth

~~Easton~~

If I had a child, I had to know. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with that knowledge, but I would do right by the kid. Caro was married, and most likely the child thought Caro’s husband was his or her father. I wondered if this man knew about me. I couldn’t fathom why she was contacting me after keeping the secret for seven years unless it all came back to money. Her timing was suspect. I was an NHL player and making an NHL salary. Caro and her husband might want a piece of that pie to enhance their quality of living.

If the child was mine, I had every intention of owning up to my responsibilities. Beyond that, I hadn’t a clue. I was twenty-three years old and not ready to be a dad. I was still growing up myself.

I admitted with a twinge of guilt that Caro hadn’t been given that choice. If the child was mine, she’d have given birth at eighteen. Then I reminded myself I’d have been involved if I’d known.

I wondered as I had a thousand times since last night if I had a son or daughter. Did the kid look anything like me? Did my child like to skate and have any athletic ability? Caro had been the least-athletic person I’d ever met. She could trip over a leaf and fall flat on her face, but she’d known her hockey. She’d loved hockey. We’d spent hours talking about it, and she’d never once been bored with it.

As mad as I was at Caro, I couldn’t help thinking about how good she’d looked. She might have given birth, but she’d maintained her trim figure. Her honey-blonde hair had still been long and glossy. Her eyes had been as blue as I remembered, so blue I could lose myself for hours in them. I hadn’t seen her smile, but she’d once had a hundred-megawatt smile that lit up any room. She’d stirred something deep inside me, something I’d prefer to keep buried. My body had responded to her presence, her scent, her closeness, even though I didn’t want it to.