Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

ZANE

I bummed it on Cal’s couch that first night and then caught an earlier flight to my parents’. I kept my phone off at first, but then at the airport, I dropped it, shattered the screen, and it landed in a puddle of water, which is why I had to use my mom’s phone to send off a text to Violet.

I’m stopping at Ian’s for just a bit to give Savannah her present before picking up a new phone. Then I need to finally face Violet.

The door to Ian’s swings open and Ian frowns when he sees me.

“Not a good time, Z.”

I return a frown of my own. “Just wanted to give Savannah and Andrew their presents.”

Ian shakes his head. “Violet’s here and the women are all crowding her in the kitchen.”

She’s here? Why is she here?

“Who is it?” Sydney asks a moment before she comes to stand next to Ian. Her face hardens when she sees me. “While I love you, Zane, and you were my friend first, you are not allowed here right now. Violet is here and?—”

“You’re taking her side?” I ask incredulously. “Do you even know what happened?”

She raises a brow at me and counters, “Do you ?”

Time seems to slow down as the thought that’s been nagging me since I walked out on Violet bursts forth. What if I’m wrong about what happened? But if I’m wrong, wouldn’t she have stopped me from leaving? My parents tried to insist I was overreacting, but neither had an answer when I asked them that same question or what could have possibly happened otherwise.

“I don’t want to take sides,” Sydney continues, “and I know you should get priority, but Violet needs me more. And she’s not in the wrong here.” She looks back up at her husband. “He’s not to come in.” With that, she walks away, presumably to return to my wife.

“See if Violet wants to see him,” Ian tells her. She glares at him and then at me.

The women had my back with Deanna, even though Deanna didn’t really do anything wrong. If Sydney has staked a claim on Violet’s side, it’s because she knows something I don’t.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“About sums it up,” Ian agrees.

“Will you ask?” I say to Sydney, who nods and disappears.

“I don’t know what the hell happened, but they’ve been cursing you for the last half hour loud enough to be heard in the living room. Be prepared to beg, grovel, and plead if she’s really the one you want.”

Before I can respond, Sydney reappears. “She doesn’t want to talk to you right now, but I’d suggest you be home when she gets there and be on your knees to beg forgiveness.”

“She didn’t sleep with Luke.”

Sydney rolls her eyes while Ian’s widen. “No, jackass.”

“Jesus, Z,” Ian breathes with surprise.

I groan. My gut was right. I should’ve trusted it. I should’ve trusted Violet. “Okay. I’ll come back another time. I need to replace my phone again, so I’ll just go.”

Numbly, I replay the disaster of that day wondering if I missed key signs. When I replace my phone, it blows up with missed call notifications from Violet, missed texts from her, and a few from Luukas who relays what Sydney confirmed. I jumped to conclusions. To the wrong conclusion.

But what the hell happened then?

When I get to Violet’s house, she hasn’t returned home yet. I unpack my things, start a load of laundry, and am putting my few toiletries away when my eye catches sight of something in the trash can.

A box for a pregnancy test?

Is Violet pregnant?

The front door slams and voices murmur from the other room. My feet carry me to Violet before I can think to hesitate. Cassie stands next to her with her arms crossed and a glare fixed on me. Violet has her gaze down, refusing to meet mine.

“Are you sure?” Cassie asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Thanks.” Violet wraps her friend in a long hug and within another minute or so, it’s just the two of us. She rounds the couch and takes a seat. After a moment, I follow, but decide to give her some space and sit at the opposite end. “Come to get your things?” she asks after a long beat of silence.

“No.” I clear my throat. “Can you tell me what happened so I can appropriately apologize and grovel?”

Violet glances at me before fixing her gaze back on the TV. “Do you really think I would do that to you?” she asks instead.

“No,” I answer honestly. “But the waitress said you left with some guy and she looked so sad to tell me that, and then I show up and Luke is here. And I guess all those times someone has trampled on me rose up and swallowed me whole.

“Deanna isn’t the first to sleep around on me. She was just the only one up front about the fact she would. I’ve seen my fair share of women who wanted to sleep with as many players as possible or wanted me for whatever status they think it’ll bring them. Or for me to use my money to take care of them. I just…” I run a hand over my face. “I overreacted and was hurt to think what I thought happened might have actually happened.”

“All you had to do was ask,” she points out.

“Luke had his shirt off and you were half naked in bed, Violet,” I defend.

She clenches her jaw. “Yeah because I threw up on the two of us and there was vomit on our clothes. I had a migraine, Zane. One of the worst in a while. Luke was checking on me, realized who I was, and thought it was better to get me home than wait on you because I was going downhill so fast. He was going to text you when he left.”

Fuck. “Violet,” I whisper.

“I’m so hurt you would accuse me of that. That you would just walk away without even letting me speak. And then you didn’t talk to me nearly the entire time you were gone.”

“I had my phone off at first and then it got damaged again,” I interrupt to explain that part away.

“I don’t care,” she replies softly. “You know what it means to me to have you and the people you bring into my life and you were ready to rip it all away from me without hesitation. That hurts, Zane.”

Her eyes water and her arms fold over her chest. She finally looks at me, but the depth of pain in her eyes almost makes me wish she didn’t.

“I’m pregnant. It’s my fault.” I frown at this but she powers on before I can ask what she means. “I haven’t been taking any of my pills like I should with everything going on. At first, I panicked. My first thought was that here I am, pregnant, and I’m alone. I kept thinking life would give me this baby and then rip us apart to leave the baby alone.

“I managed to walk myself back into sanity and then, you want to know what my first thought was? That you were going to blame me and say I trapped you because of what you accused me of.” Her voice shakes as tears fall. “This should have been a happy moment for me, Zane. And I don’t even know if I’m all that upset that it wasn’t because while I did panic at first, I was able to realize I was being ridiculous and irrational. I don’t think I would’ve done that before you.”

She sighs heavily as if I’m the most exhausting person on the planet right now, and then stands. “I’m tired and I want to lie down.”

Violet stands and I follow suit. She tries to walk around me, but I snag her elbow and pull her flush against me. Whether she means to or not, she leans into me as her arms dangle by her side.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her, hoping she can hear the honesty in my tone. “I overreacted. I let my past interfere with my judgment when I knew better. I let fear of what you might tell me keep me from calling you. Can you please forgive me?”

Instead of answering me, she mumbles into my chest, “My parents are out of prison.”

My heart stalls. So I not only left before she could explain, wasn’t here when she found out she’s pregnant, but also wasn’t here when her parents showed up?

“Jesus, I’m a fucking asshole,” I mutter.

Violet laughs and presses her face into my chest. But then I feel her shaky inhale and she says, “Can you tell me just this once everything will be okay? With the baby and us, I mean?”

“Everything will be fine,” I say. “You’re forgetting something, Violet. Life gave you a shit hand and you survived . Maybe you didn’t conquer it the way you wish you could, but you still fight tooth and nail to claw your way to the dream that terrifies you. You’re a survivor, Violet. You’re strong and our baby will be too.”

I dip my head to press my forehead against hers, hating her watery eyes. “I’m fucking thrilled, babe,” I tells her softly. With my words, she melts into me.

Violet, being Violet, reminds me, “It’s my fault. Went off the deep end and didn’t take my pills like I should’ve.”

I shrug. I don’t care how it happened. “I’m sorry,” I tell her again, but she only nods. “Can I lie down with you?”

“Sure.”

Once we’re settled in bed, I relax as Violet lets me hold her. She’s upset and won’t say she forgives me, but this is enough.

“You’re honestly happy?” she whispers a few minutes later.

I gently grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger and lift her head so she looks at me. “Never been happier, Vi.” She relaxes into me even more and I add, “Our baby’s a boy.”

“You don’t know that,” she says with a laugh, settling her head back on my chest.

“Yes, I do,” I retort with certainty. “It’s science. There’s a long line of men on my side of the family with only a few women sprinkled in. The odds that this is a girl are slim to none, basically.”

“Do you already know what you want to name him too?” she teases.

“Jon Thomas Landry.”

She lifts her head with shock. “Seriously? You know?”

“You don’t? I thought you’ve been dreaming about a family all this time. You didn’t think about names?”

Her cheeks redden. “I didn’t think it would happen, so no,” she replies softly.

“Well, it’s time to start thinking. Dreaming of your future.”

Violet ignores that and instead says, “Your mom is going to flip.”

I laugh. “Oh yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if she uproots Dad and moves here to be closer.” I want to ask about her parents, but she said she was tired. I tug her even closer and kiss the top of her head. “Get some rest.”

Things have been tense today and I figured we should get out of the house, so we’re catching a game. I can’t even explain how much I’m looking forward to watching a game with Violet. The doorbell rings and I step out of our bedroom to answer so she can finish getting ready.

A couple stands on the other side.

“Hey. Can I help you?”

“We’re Violet’s parents. Is she home?” the woman asks.

“We’re actually just about to leave and?—”

“Mom?” Violet says from behind me. “You’re back.”

“Can we come in?” her father asks.

Violet glances at me. She wrings her hands together and takes a step closer to me before interlacing her fingers with mine. She stands slightly behind me as if I’m her shield. Even upset with me, it’s a relief that she’ll lean on me in a situation that makes her uneasy.

“What do you want?” I ask them instead.

Her father’s mouth hardens and his wife takes the opportunity to explain their appearance.

“Well, we were hoping for a place to crash. We heard you got married, and if you don’t want us to stay here, maybe you could loan us some money?”

Violet tenses. “You came here to ask me for money?” she asks carefully, slowly.

“Sorry, the answer is no,” I reply, hoping I’m not overstepping once again. I’m already on thin ice with Violet. This whole situation screams at me to get Violet far away from them. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” Ignoring them, I glance down at Violet. “You got your things?” She steps away to grab her purse and the car keys for me.

“Wait just a second,” her father starts, clearly upset this isn’t going the way they wanted.

“Go on to the car,” I tell Violet. I unlock the doors to the car and lock up the house.

“You can’t just turn us away,” he continues. “We’re her family!”

“I can and I will. Violet doesn’t seem to want to reconnect and I’ll be damned if she hands over any of her money to anyone else, family or not. If that’s all you’re here for, don’t ever come back.” I step around them and leave them behind without another glance.

“You okay?” I ask Violet a few minutes into the drive.

She nods, but doesn’t say much and soon we arrive. A bunch of the family members seems to be present tonight. They welcome Violet warmly, not that I’m surprised. We end up sitting with Sydney on one side and Deanna on the other.

I relax as Violet engages Deanna in conversation over their respective crafts.

“Where are the kids?” I ask Sydney.

“With Logan and Kayla.” Her voice lowers as she says, “I see you managed to work things out with her.”

“Yeah.” Mostly anyway.

The puck has already dropped to start the game. It seems like it’ll be an aggressive one based on the start.

Sydney squeezes my hand. “I’m happy for you. And I like Violet. Please don’t screw this up again.”

Violet breaks away from her conversation with Deanna and leans toward me instead.

“Okay, Zane. Tell me what’s happening. You might as well educate me while I’m here.”

“Well, the goal is to get the puck in the net,” I start, causing her to laugh. “We’re the team in blue and silver,” I add. She rolls her eyes at me.

“Fine. I don’t need your help after all.”

Deanna stands abruptly as the entire arena seems to fall silent. Our gaze swivels to the ice where Brayden lies still. A trainer rushes onto the ice to check on him. The crowd roars, pissed as hell, as a replay shows a dirty hit on Brayden that is no doubt going to result in a nasty concussion.

A couple of the guys help Brayden stand. It’s clear he’s still in a daze as they help him off the ice. The moment he steps off, Deanna rushes out of the room.

“Is he going to be okay?” Violet asks quietly.

“Yeah, but that’s his second in only a couple of years.”

“Is she going to be down there alone?”

“Until they are done with him and they let her see him, yeah?”

Violet is quiet for a moment and then says, “Maybe we should keep her company until she can see him. If it were me…” She looks at me with a pointed glance. We both know she’d be losing her mind.

“Okay.”

I stand, take Violet’s hand as she stands, and we make our way to the belly of the arena until we find where Deanna paces, waiting until she can see Brayden.

“Is there anything we can do while you wait?” Violet asks, garnering her attention.

Deanna smiles, but it’s wobbly. “No, thanks. He’s going to be so upset. And cranky.” Her gaze shifts to me. “Two in less than five years can’t be good.”

“He’ll be fine.”

Brayden seems too stubborn and hardheaded to be anything else. I lean against the wall and pull Violet to rest against me. Deanna resumes her pacing.

I dip my head to press a kiss to Violet’s neck, just below her ear. “I think you’re fucking sweet, doing this for Deanna.”

“They would do it for me,” she whispers back. Violet wiggles in my arms until she’s facing me. “Or are you just saying this because it’s Deanna?”

“Because it’s her,” I admit. Resting my forehead against hers, I continue. “After everything that happened, I felt like everyone kept blaming everything I did on them thinking I was still upset over what happened. Even when I wasn’t. And now, I’ve got you.”

“The missing puzzle piece,” she supplies.

I grin. “Not just one piece, but all the pieces that surround me to complete the puzzle.”

“I think you’re sweet too.”

I laugh and give her a quick kiss.

“You two done?”

Violet jumps, swivels, and Deanna rushes Brayden. He’s pissed, but then he always looks a little mad.

“Confirmed?” I ask.

He nods curtly as Deanna wraps her arms around his waist.

“You mind driving my truck to my house for me, Z? Deanna can drive me home.”

“Yeah, no problem,” I agree.

“Come on, darlin’. I have a mandatory forty-eight hours of complete rest,” he says to Deanna.

We follow Brayden and Deanna to the parking lot after Brayden stops to grab his things and get his keys. Violet follows me to drop his truck off and then we’re back home.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as we settle onto the couch with the game playing on TV.

Violet sighs as she snuggles into my side. “Like I want to stop feeling so much and thinking so much.” Before I have a chance to address that, she adds, “Tell me about the team and the game,” she says.

We spend the rest of the night with me telling her about my teammates and explaining various things that happen during the game. It’s oddly one of the best nights I’ve had in a while.