7. Carter

7

CARTER

Two Weeks Later

“I don’t know what to tell you, Carter. Laura is within her rights to contest you taking full custody of the children.”

I sit in my lawyer’s office, loathing the smell of expensive leather wafting around me. I’ve started to associate the smell with frustration and disappointment. Those are the only emotions I experience in this place.

I scowl. “She dumped Abby and Andy on my doorstep without any warning and then proceeded to leave the country. As far as I’m concerned, she should have zero rights.”

“I’m not saying I don’t agree with you,” Davis Phillips from Phillips and Phillips Law Firm, says. He leans forward to rest his elbows on his desk, looking apologetic. “But we aren’t the ones who get to make that decision. It’s up to the judge.”

My hands curl into fists. “Laura is only doing this because she wants to keep receiving the child support.” Abby and Andy are the best things that ever happened to me. I love being their dad. But sometimes I wish I’d had a better head on my shoulders when I was younger.

I fell for Laura’s beauty and, let’s be honest, her sex appeal. Women had propositioned me before, but none of them were as stunning as my college girlfriend. I was blinded by lust and, eventually, what I thought was love. I didn’t realize how selfish Laura was until it was too late and I was linked to her forever.

Not that I regret the twins. Like I said, I love being a dad. It just sucks that I chose a woman who barely cares about them to be their mother.

“My associates will include evidence of that in the case we will present to the judge,” Davis replies. “Trust me, we will do all we can to do what’s right for you and the kids.”

My shoulders fall, releasing the tension that’s been building ever since I got word of Laura contesting my application for full custody. “I know you are. Thank you.”

Davis has been my lawyer ever since I was drafted. He was recommended to me by my sports agent. Thanks to them, my contracts have been some of the most lucrative for any player in the league over the years.

Davis doesn’t specialize in divorce issues or custody battles, but he uses aids and other lawyers in his firm to help me out. Having someone who knows me so well in my corner has been helpful.

“Is there anything you need me to do to prepare?” I ask. I’ll do practically anything he suggests to guarantee the twins stay with me. I regret ever agreeing to let Laura have them in the first place.

“Just continue to ensure your parenting is above reproach. Make sure the kids don’t miss school when it resumes. Be sure that they’re up to date on their health and wellness checkups, and be ready to prove that you have reliable childcare for when you are traveling with the team and away from home.”

I nod along as Davis speaks. His last remark makes me think of Valerie.

It’s been two weeks since her pseudo-trial run with the twins, and things are going well.

Really well.

Andy loves having Valerie around. He can’t stop talking about her once she leaves in the evenings. I think he enjoys the attention she provides—attention he never really got from his mom. Laura will deny it, but I know she favors Abby. Sadly, she lets that preference creep into the way she interacts with the kids, and Andy is at the age now where he notices. Yet another reason I’m determined to keep the twins living with me. I don’t know exactly what that sort of parent-child relationship will have on Andy’s psyche, but I know it won’t be good.

Abby, on the other hand, has been slower to warm up to Valerie. Of the two, she took Laura’s abandonment the hardest. But despite the distance she tries to keep, Abby can’t resist joining Andy and Valerie when they’re doing something fun.

Like when the temperature hit three digits last week and Valerie set up an inflatable water slide in the backyard. I’d come home from a grueling practice to find all Andy and Abby cheering in delight when Valerie climbed the inflatable rock wall and slid down the slick surface into a pool of water.

I’d been tempted to join in the fun, but one glance at Valerie’s toned figure in her modest one-piece and I knew I shouldn’t. We’ve done a good job at keeping our interactions professional, but inside, there isn’t a conversation that passes without me thinking of our night together—and how badly I wish it could happen again.

But Valerie is the first nanny that’s lasted longer than a week, and it’s because she’s not interested in the job as a way to get close to me. She’s here for the twins.

The relief I feel knowing someone responsible and reliable is watching out for the two most important people in my life is almost overwhelming. I hadn’t realized how much stress the twins’ care, or lack thereof, had been causing until it was gone.

Now, I’m able to focus on practice. Much to Coach Palmer’s satisfaction.

Davis shares a few more details about what to expect regarding the impending custody trial, promising me he’ll inform me of dates as soon as he knows anything. I thank him again and say goodbye.

I make the long drive through Downtown Dallas, heading back north towards Rose Hill. The moment the highways give way to two-lane roads, I feel my body relax. Growing up, I couldn’t wait to get out of the small town. Now, I prefer the slow-paced town compared to the busy city.

I drive past my old high school’s billboard with a smirk. It advertises that it’s where Corey Johnson and I graduated from. Even before I made it to the pros, the town treated me like royalty, but that wasn’t true for my childhood best friend.

Corey had moved to town after his mom died. He was only eight, but citizens of Rose Hill quickly wrote him off as trouble because of who his deadbeat father was. They changed their tune when he became a baseball star in college, and their opinions really turned around when he made it to the majors.

Corey says he doesn’t hold anything against anyone for how he was treated growing up. He’s a better man than me. There’s no way in hell I’d be able to be cordial to some of these people if they said and did some of those things to me.

But even though he didn’t hold a grudge, Corey never willingly returned to Rose Hill after moving away. It wasn’t until he was traded to the Lonestars that he was forced to return to Texas. And wouldn’t you know it—that was the same team Carlee worked for.

My smirk turns into a genuine smile as I think of the newly public couple. I always suspected my little sister and best friend had a thing for each other. It might’ve annoyed me as a teenager, but now I’m glad life worked out so they have the chance to see if things can work out between them. Everyone around them thinks it will, but you never know what happens behind closed doors.

Like me and Laura for example.

We were the “it” couple in college. No one knew how bad things were when we were alone. The jealousy, fights, and silent treatments are just the tip of that toxic iceberg. Aside from the twins, the only good thing to come from that relationship is the resolve to never find myself in a situation like that again. I’d rather be single forever than subject myself to that emotional abuse.

I’m about to take the turn onto my long driveway when my cell phone buzzes in the middle console. Careful not to steer into the trees, I pick up the device and glance at the screen. It’s from Laura.

Flight canceled. Won’t be able to pick up the kids tomorrow. Tell them I’m sorry.

Anger ripples through me. I slow the car to a stop and reread the message. My ire grows.

I’d bet half my salary her flight wasn’t canceled. Laura’s boyfriend is in Paris for a show, and I know my ex’s love for the French capital. She was supposed to take the kids for a week before school started while I traveled to Florida for the team’s first preseason game. It looks like she’d rather spend time touring the City of Love than spending time with her kids.

I’m tempted to reply and insist Laura break the news to the twins herself. I hate being the bearer of bad news and watching their little faces fall in disappointment. But Davis’s words about being cordial play in my head. Grinding my teeth, I type my reply.

Fine.

Okay, so it’s not the most cordial response. But it’s better than what I really want to say.

Laura responds with a thumbs-up emoji.

I screenshot the conversation and send it over to Davis before tossing my phone back into the middle console. Laura’s demonstration of flakiness can only work in my favor. At least, I hope that’s the case.

I’ve recently learned courts tend to favor mothers during custody disagreements, but I can’t imagine anyone would look at our situation and think Laura is the best parent for the twins. She didn’t even start contesting my bid for custody until I stopped sending the child support checks—a fact that is well documented through our text conversations the days after she didn’t get her money.

Still, Davis has emphasized how important it is for me to be above reproach. As a father who didn’t want custody until recently, I need to prove I’m a better fit for the kids. Traveling for work makes it harder, but my parents living so close by helps show I have family support to fill any gaps there. And with any luck, Valerie will continue working out as a nanny and her steady employment will be proof that I’ve established a stable life for Andy and Abby.

I sigh and resume driving up to the house.

It’s that thought, and only that thought, that gives me the strength to keep my hands to myself whenever the dark-haired beauty is around.

I just hope that strength can last.

Because as I crest the hill leading to the house and see Valerie and Andy being chased by Abby wielding a large water gun, all three smiling and laughing like they’re having the time of their life, the organ in my chest squeezes with affection.

I have no business feeling this way about Valerie, but I can’t control it. Everything about her is alluring, from her beauty to her wit to how good she is with the twins.

The only thing I can do is make sure I don’t cross the line drawn between us. I can’t risk Valerie quitting. My kids’ well-being depends on it. For them, I’d do anything. Including ignoring the undeniable attraction I have for their charming, green-eyed nanny… no matter how much it pains me.