2. Jenner

Chapter 2

Jenner

"Dude, when are you getting up here? I know Bristol is the one known for having debilitating panic attacks, but I'm on the verge of a meltdown."

I rolled my eyes through the phone screen as I video-chatted with my best friend and now coach, Maddox Sterling. He'd always been known for being dramatic, and that hadn't changed since his playing days ended due to a career-ending injury.

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to coach you on your breathing? This isn't a fucking Lamaze class, man."

Maddox ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. "This ring is burning a hole in my pocket. I don't know how much more I can take."

"Why didn't you put it in the safe in the hotel room?" Seemed like the most logical place to hide an engagement ring from your hopefully soon-to-be fiancée.

He huffed out an annoyed sigh. " Because she wanted to stash stuff in there. So, I had to grab it back out of there before she could see it. Now, I'm walking around with it everywhere we go. I'm not going to make it until tomorrow at this rate. I need you to get your ass up here and distract me!"

Up here happened to be Minnesota, where our friend and my Indy Speed teammate, Braxton Slate, was getting married to his fiancée Dakota. Dakota was best friends with Maddox's girlfriend, Bristol, and they were all in cahoots, having planned out his proposal for during the reception.

Maddox had given me a lot of shit over the years about crying at my wedding when I'd watched my wife walk down the aisle, so I didn't feel the least bit bad for him that he was freaking out over asking the girl he loved to marry him. It was a little bit of karmic payback if you asked me.

"All right, buddy. Don't get your panties in a twist. The car I ordered to take me to the airport is on its way to my house now. I'll be there in a few hours. Try to calm down so you don't have a heart attack before I arrive, old man."

He was only four years older than me, but I loved to goad him over that fact. And it sure didn't help his case that his girlfriend was significantly younger, twelve years his junior.

"Just get here," Maddox snapped.

"First round's on me, okay? Feel better now? You won't have to dip into your retirement fund to cover alcohol this weekend."

Maddox grumbled, "You're an asshole."

I was pretty much the only man alive who was allowed to joke about his forced retirement and the fact that he was no longer paid as handsomely as the players.

Maddox wasn't hurting for cash. He'd played professionally for the Speed for fourteen seasons. If he never worked another day in his life, he would be fine. But he loved the game—and our team in particular—too much to walk away. Hence, why he took the post as our head coach a year ago, but it was a double-edged sword. There were times when being so close was too painful a reminder that he couldn't play.

I winked at my best friend. "But you love me anyway."

A knock sounded at my front door, and I wheeled my carry-on through the house. "There's the car now. I'll be up there before you know it."

"Fine." The man pouted like a toddler, and I couldn't help but laugh as he hung up.

Tucking my phone into my front pocket, I snatched my wallet from the entryway table. It was set to be a quick weekend trip as we were mere weeks away from training camp, but I was excited to get away. The off-season was lonely, with all my teammates retreating to their summer homes while I remained in Indy.

I could've gone home to Boston to visit my family, but I'd learned my lesson during my first summer post-divorce. All I received were pitying stares and sad sighs, and I didn't need more of that in my life. I was tortured enough already, knowing I wasn't enough to make my wife stay.

I didn't stop to realize that the driver of a car ordered on a rideshare app wouldn't come to the door before I opened it.

Standing on my front porch was a woman I'd place in her mid-thirties, dressed in a pantsuit. Her dark hair was pulled into a low bun at the nape of her neck, glasses rested on her face, and a satchel was slung over one shoulder.

I eyed her warily.

When you were a public sports figure, there were always reporters looking to get a scoop, and I was the highest-ranking member of the Speed as their captain. But it was a gross violation of privacy for one of them to show up at my home.

I crossed my arms over my chest, and my voice dripped with disdain. "Can I help you?"

Pushing the glasses up the bridge of her nose with one finger, the woman asked, "Is this the residence of Jenner and Evangeline Knight?"

Hearing my ex-wife's name on the lips of a stranger had me stumbling back a step.

"Evie?" My voice broke as fresh pain washed over me at the loss of the only woman I'd ever truly loved. "Um. Evie doesn't—"

"I'm so sorry I'm late!"

My eyes whipped up to find none other than Evie herself rushing across the lawn, and you could have knocked me over with a feather. It was as if I were watching in slow motion as the wife I hadn't seen in four years approached where I stood on the porch opposite the stranger in a suit.

She looked as stunning as ever, even more so, if possible. Dressed in a floral sundress, it was clear she'd kept to her word during our last conversation and lost some weight. Not enough to lose her curves, and maybe not enough for it to be noticeable by anyone else, but I knew every inch of that body and could tell. Her blonde hair was shorter now, barely brushing her shoulders the way it was curled around her rounded face. But it was those sparkling violet eyes that stole my breath away. Unlike the last time I'd seen her, they were so full of life.

I shouldn't be bitter that she was happy because I only wanted the best for her, but seeing that she seemed better off without me was a punch to the gut.

For a moment, I thought this might all have been a dream, and I was set to wake up at any second. That was, until she looped her arm around my waist, rose on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my jaw, and chirped brightly, "Sorry, honey. I lost track of time."

Okay, the count was still out on whether this interaction was a figment of my subconscious because this woman right here wasn't acting like my ex-wife, who'd snuck out while I was at practice four long years ago. The same one who'd avoided my calls for months before serving me with divorce papers. And the one who couldn't stand the sight of me to the point where our divorce was handled by a proxy on her end as she refused to take a single penny of our shared marital assets.

No. There was no way. Because this woman was acting as if the past four years had never happened. Like we were still a very happily married couple.

And my mind was racing, trying to figure out why.

The brunette in the suit extended her hand. "I'm Stella Randall. Nice to meet you both."

Evie took it first while I stood there, stunned. A gentle nudge to my side had me remembering my manners and shaking the woman's hand.

Then Stella said the words that rocked my world. "I'm the social worker in charge of determining if your home is a suitable environment for a child."

"Excuse me?" I gawked at the woman.

Evie's musical laughter floated through the air, but she gripped my forearm tight enough to leave nail marks. "Oh, Jenner. For the adoption, remember?"

"Adoption?" I choked out, turning my head to stare at my ex-wife.

She ignored me, turning to Stella with a knowing grin. "Men. I swear, their selective hearing is the worst, am I right?"

Stella's smile slipped as she assessed me critically. "Is this a bad time? Perhaps we should reschedule. However, I must warn you; I'm booked solid for several months, and postponing will only delay the process of getting you listed in our catalog for birth mothers to choose from."

Maybe I was having a stroke. That had to be it. God was getting me back for making fun of Maddox being the old one.

Ha ha. Very funny. If you're listening up there, I've seen the error of my ways. You can make it stop now.

"Of course not," Evie rushed to say, dragging me away from the door to allow Stella entry. "Please, come in."

Whatever was going on, Evie was clearly in the know, and for the time being, it was best to keep my mouth shut and try to gather as much information as possible until I could piece together the entire picture of why my wife was suddenly back.

Stella crossed the threshold, and Evie latched the door behind her, offering, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"A water, if you don't mind. We can review your paperwork before I walk you through the process," Stella replied.

"Perfect. Jenner, could you show Stella to the living room?"

I nodded in a daze as Evie waltzed off like she owned the place. I mean, technically, she did. Her name was on the deed to the house, and I'd never had it removed, regardless of her wanting nothing in the divorce. It just didn't feel right.

Clearing my throat, I gestured toward the couches visible from the entryway. "This way."

Waiting until Stella chose to take a seat on the armchair, I lowered onto the loveseat, praying for Evie's quick return.

Stella gave me a small smile. "It's okay to be nervous. A lot of dads are like you. They're stuck in this limbo, wanting to be excited but also terrified out of their minds. Adoption is a daunting process, and I can't imagine it's comfortable having strangers dig into your life, determining whether you're worthy to become a parent. Especially when most couples going this route have been through enough heartbreak."

"Yeah." I tugged on the back of my neck.

"I promise to make this as painless as possible so that you and your wife can move on to the next step of starting your family."

I swallowed hard at her words. The hope of Evie and me creating a family had flown out the window years ago. She'd taken that with her when she left.

"Okay, here you are." Evie returned with a glass of water, which Stella gratefully accepted, taking a small sip before placing it on the coffee table.

"Shall we begin?" Stella asked.

Evie dropped down beside me on the couch, patting my knee. "Let's. I can't tell you how excited we are about the prospect of getting final approval to move onto the next step." She gazed at me, remarking, "It's been a long time coming."

Something in the way she said that gave me pause. There was more to this story, and the minute we were alone, I would get to the bottom of it.

Stella reached into her satchel, pulling out several documents. One of them was easily recognizable, as my name stood out in big, bold letters on a marriage certificate next to Evie's—the same certificate that had been nullified by our divorce. Then, there was a copy of Evie's passport, still bearing the name Knight instead of her maiden name of Grant.

I wasn't proud that I'd done enough late-night drunken digging to know that she'd changed her name back in recent years. It was kinda pathetic, but I still wasn't over her, probably because I'd never been afforded the opportunity of closure.

"The only piece I'm missing is identification from Mr. Knight."

"Oh, silly me." Evie slapped her bare knee. "How did I miss including that?"

"So, if I could get that now, it would be great," Stella said.

Evie turned to me. "Jenner? Your driver's license?"

The look I shot to her said, Are you out of your fucking mind? but my body obeyed her words, standing and pulling my wallet from my back pocket and handing over my ID.

Stella took a quick scan of it using an app on her phone and then gave back the laminated plastic card.

"Perfect. Now, I won't sit here and pretend that this is a quick and easy process. There's no timeline for when a birth mother might choose your file, and even then, they have the option to interview as many prospective families as they wish. There is a very real possibility that, more than once, you'll be passed over in favor of another couple. And there is always a risk that a birth mother may change her mind and choose to keep her child. Even after they sign away their parental rights, they have thirty days to revoke that paperwork. While there may be frustration and heartbreak along the way, I find it helps to have faith that when the timing is right, you'll be paired with the baby you were always meant to bring home."

Evie clasped my hand. "I think I can speak for both of us when I say we are cautiously optimistic. Having been through years of failed fertility treatments, we are used to heartbreak and disappointment, so we have been forced to develop a thicker skin."

At her mention of our past attempts to start a family, I squeezed her hand, the memory of our shared pain still so fresh in my mind. She gripped me tighter in response, and I knew instantly that whatever was going on here, I was going to help her. I'd never been able to deny her, and I could tell Evie was banking on that now.

Stella flipped through some paperwork. "It says here, Mrs. Knight, that you're a homemaker?"

Nodding, Evie replied, "Yes, ma'am." A tiny thrill went through me as her southern twang resurfaced. She'd fought to cover the vocal proof of her roots over the years, but I guess going back home to Oklahoma was enough to revive her accent. "With Jenner's work schedule, it's important that our child has the stability of one parent home at all times."

"Mr. Knight is a professional athlete. Is that correct?"

My ex-wife peeked at me, and pride shone in her violet eyes. "One of the best players on the Indy Speed hockey team, but I might be biased."

Stella's swooning sigh reached my ears, but I only had eyes for Evie. Had she kept tabs on me like I had on her all these years? She'd always been the biggest supporter of my career, and it wasn't the same taking the ice knowing she wasn't in the stands.

It was time to add my voice to this interview—if that's what this was.

Tearing my gaze away from Evie's, I addressed the social worker who had come to our home to judge whether we were fit to become parents. "I was one of the lucky ones who met the love of their life before they hit it big. Evie has been with me every step of the way, going back to when I was a sophomore in college and she was a freshman. She never missed a game and put her education on hold when Indy signed me to my first contract, following me wherever my career took us. We've been more fortunate than most, Ms. Randall, but it would seem the thing we wanted most eluded us—the biological ability to create a family of our own."

Evie gasped beside me, her hand shaking in my hold.

Nothing I'd said was untrue. She was the one who had left me, not the other way around. And I'd never moved on. How could you when you knew you'd already met your soulmate? There wasn't another woman alive I wanted to touch, to kiss, to love, other than the one sitting by my side at this very moment—the one I thought I'd never see again.

Stella blinked rapidly, briefly dropping her eyes and dabbing at the corners. Clearing her throat, she busied herself, shifting through the papers from the coffee table. "It's clear there's a lot of love in this household. I'm sure any child would be lucky to be placed with such a charming couple."

"Really?" The hope in Evie's voice had my heart twisting. There was no denying how badly she wanted to become a mother. The one thing I'd failed to give her.

"Well, there is one more question I have about your paperwork, and then if you could take me on a brief tour of your home, I should be able to file everything when I get back to the office."

"Of course. Whatever you need. I can't tell you how relieved we are to finally take this step."

Stella picked up a form. "It says here you don't have any family in the area. Obviously, you have the means to care for a child, but it's important that you have support with a newborn. It can be a trying time for any couple, and it helps to have people you can rely on, not to mention how it benefits a child to have a larger group of people who care for them. It's certainly not a dealbreaker; we would never discriminate against couples who, for whatever reason, don't have an extended family, but it is something that might deter birth mothers from choosing your file over others."

Evie tensed beside me, so I decided to answer. "While our extended family is spread across the country, with mine in Boston and Evie's in Oklahoma, we are fortunate that the hockey community is like a large family. I have twenty brothers on the ice, and that doesn't even count my best friend who has recently become the team's head coach. Their significant others are in constant communication, attending games as a group, coordinating team events, keeping each other company while the team travels, and raising their children together. We might not be blood, but sometimes, I feel like what we have is stronger. We choose each other, have each other's backs without question, and spend more time together than any regular family would."

"I think it would be beneficial to have each of you write a cover letter—something for a birth mother to read that really speaks to your unique situation. The agency would place them at the front of your file, and it could help set you apart."

"We can do that. Right, Evie?"

When she didn't reply, I gave her a gentle nudge with my shoulder.

She jolted, exclaiming, "Oh, yes! I can have mine typed up tonight and emailed over."

Stella smiled. "Wonderful. How about that tour?"

Evie jumped up, gesturing an arm to lead Stella out of the living room. "Right this way."

I hung back as they stepped into the kitchen, trying to wrap my head around the events of the past half hour.

Evie was back.

And apparently, the two of us were adopting a baby.

I was still fuzzy on the details of how all of this was going to work and what exactly my role was expected to be, but I couldn't help but see this as an opportunity—a chance to regain what we'd lost.

I wasn't na?ve enough to believe we could erase the past four years, even if it felt like this could've been an alternative reality if we'd made different choices back then—choosing to explore adoption and stay together instead of Evie bolting, adamant that she carry our baby herself. However, it was clear that Evie needed my help with this charade, so it was up to me to find a way to leverage this to my advantage.

But first, Evie had some explaining to do.