Hailey nodded vigorously. “Didn’t he, Heath?”

Heath’s gaze flicked from me to Hailey and back to me. He nodded solemnly.

“I’m sure he will then.” I suppressed a resigned sigh. My daughter was attaching herself to Easton already as a surrogate father, and the irony in the situation wasn’t lost on me. Still, I worried Easton might not be around long term. He’d play the father role until he tired of it or some gorgeous celebrity caught his eye and he forgot he had kids.

I’d researched him pretty extensively the past few weeks, trying to get a handle on what kind of man he was now compared to the teenager I’d known. What I’d discovered were countless pictures of him with beautiful women on his arm, getting wasted with his buddies, and playing hockey. Of course, hockey. With Easton, hockey came first. And if he was traded to another team, then what would happen? I didn’t see such a thing happening this season or even in the next couple years, but hockey players moved from team to team, and eventually Easton would, too. I wasn’t following him all over North America with my kids in tow.

Kids survived moving around a lot. Other hockey families dealt with these issues, not to mention military families. I might as well admit it. I was the one who didn’t want uprooted. Not that I had to. We weren’t a couple or anything. But the one stipulation in the agreement stated we had to live within forty-five minutes of each other. What if I had a boyfriend or a husband? This requirement was unreasonable, and the paperwork wouldn’t be signed until we straightened this out.

Resisting Easton’s involvement in my children’s lives was becoming futile, almost as futile as resisting his intrusion into my life.

“Hey, it’s not raining. I’m going for a walk. Who wants to join me?” Junie announced as she entered the living room carrying the twins’ coats, already knowing their answer. Hailey shot to her feet, jumping up and down and jabbering away. Heath stood, too, and reached for his coat.

“Caro? You coming?”

“If you don’t mind, I have some things to finish up. I think I’ll stay here.”

Junie smiled and herded her charges out the door. She glanced over her shoulder just before she shut the door. “Enjoy your moments of silence.”

“I will.”

~~Easton~~

On Saturday morning, I worked out and attended the optional skate. By noon I was knocking, unannounced, on Caro’s door. I was sure I’d piss her off again for not texting, but I was on a mission.

I had a game tonight, so my time was limited. Just this morning, the building manager had dropped off the keys to Caro’s condo. The place was finally move-in ready. I’d taken the liberty of rounding up some teammates with trucks to move her in tomorrow.

The door flew open, and my baby girl stood on the other side. My grin was wider than the Columbia upon seeing my daughter. Her hair was a wild mess of curls, and there was a smudge of what looked like strawberry jam on her left cheek. She was so fucking adorable. I fell even more in love with her.