27. Brock

"Mama?" Breckin calls as he and Eric walk into the house. "We brought you Crumbl cookies."

"Aww, my favorite."

"Peace offering," Eric laughs.

Breckin gives me a high five before he hugs his mom.

"Hey buddy, you want to sit down in the living room. We have something to tell you."

Layla had texted Eric prior to this to ask him to stick around while we told Breckin the truth.

The anticipation hangs heavy in the air as Layla, Eric, and I sit Breckin down in the living room, his eyes wide with curiosity as he looks up at us expectantly. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as I steal a glance at Layla, her expression a mix of nerves and excitement.

"Hey buddy," Eric begins, his voice gentle as he takes Breckin's hand in his. "We need to talk to you about something important."

Breckin nods, his brow furrowing in concern. "What is it?"

Layla takes a deep breath, her voice steady as she begins to speak. "Do you remember me telling you that Mommy was in an accident and didn't remember anything before she found out she was pregnant with you?"

Breckin nods, his eyes widening in understanding. "Yeah, I remember."

"And do you remember when the nurse took the swab and told you that we were going to find out what made you special?"

Breckin nods again, a spark of excitement lighting up his features. "Yeah, I remember that too."

Layla takes a moment to gather her thoughts before she drops the bombshell. "Well, Breckin, we got the results back from the doctor"s office, and we learned something really amazing."

"What is it, Mommy? What did we learn?"

Layla takes a deep breath, her voice trembling with emotion as she speaks. "We learned that Mr. Brock is your dad."

Breckin's eyes widen in shock, his mouth falling open in surprise. And then, to my utter amazement, he breaks into a wide grin, his face lighting up with joy.

"I've been praying for that every night," he says, his voice filled with wonder. "Can I call you Dad?"

I feel my throat constrict with emotion as I look at Layla, tears shining in her eyes as she nods her assent. "Of course you can, sweetheart."

I reach out to pull Breckin into a tight embrace, my heart overflowing with love and gratitude. "I'll be honored, buddy."

"Do you want to talk about it? If you don't feel comfortable talking to Mommy or Mr. Brock then Uncle Eric or Grandpa can talk to you."

"I'm fine, Mommy. Can I play video games?"

"Sure, bub."

He leaves the room and bounds down the basement stairs.

"That went well," Eric laughs. "I'll go play with him, see if that was just code."

"Thanks, Eric," Layla smiles. "That was way easier than I thought it was going to be."

"You've raised a really good, well-adjusted, smart kid."

She nods as I pull her into a hug. "Maybe I should have told my parents first."

I chuckle. "Breckin is the most important."

"I still… Can we take this slow between us? There's still drama and I…"

"I won't ask to stay the night tonight," I say.

"Thank you."I stay until Breckin is ready for bed. I hug him goodnight then Eric and I leave at the same time.

"I'm really sorry about the other night. I've been convinced for so long that what happened to Layla wasn't… wasn't what we were told it was and… I'm sorry."

"No worries," I shrug as we walk to the driveway. "I'm glad you didn't swing on me."

"I would have beat your ass," he laughs. "I'm glad you're his dad. Don't make me regret saying that."

"Trust me, I won't."

Eric and I climb into our separate cars and leave. Things are falling into place, but there's something else I need to do.

The familiar sight of my parents' house greets me as I pull into the driveway, a sense of trepidation gnawing at my insides. I can't shake the feeling that Tierney's shadow still lingers, haunting me like a ghost from the past. But as I step out of the car and approach the front door, relief washes over me when I see no sign of her presence.

I push open the door and step into the warmth of the familiar surroundings, the scent of my mother's cooking filling the air with comfort and nostalgia. But any sense of peace is shattered when my mother appears in the doorway, her face twisted with anger and disappointment.

"Brock," she snaps, her voice sharp with accusation. "What have you done?"

I swallow hard, steeling myself for the confrontation that I know is inevitable. "Mom, please. Can we talk?"

She crosses her arms over her chest, her expression one of defiance as she glares at me. "Talk? What's there to talk about? You've gone and gotten a restraining order against Tierney. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

I take a deep breath, struggling to find the words to explain myself. "Mom, Tierney... she's been threatening me. She's been trying to manipulate me into going back to her."

"She's pregnant, Brock, she's scared."

"She's not pregnant with my child. It's not possible."

"Hey Brock," my father says as he walks into the kitchen.

"I came to tell you guys something. Layla's son, Breckin. He's mine."

My mother's jaw drops in disbelief, her eyes filling with tears as the weight of my words sinks in. "Oh my God, Brock. How... how could you not tell us?"

"I didn't know, Mom. I didn't know Layla was pregnant the last time I saw her. And because of her amnesia, she didn't remember we'd been together. She didn't even remember."

"Is that why you're engaged to her?"

"I'm engaged to her because I love her."

"What about Tierney's pregnancy?" Mom asks.

"She's not pregnant. I think she's making it up, she's been drinking with you, Mom."

My father shakes his head, his expression grim as he meets my gaze. "I looked into Tierney, Brock. I just got off the phone with my private investigator. She's known for doing these things, for manipulating and deceiving people to get what she wants. Your mother and I... we're just shocked that she would go this far."

"Why didn't I know this?" my mother asks.

"You seem to really like Tierney and I didn't want to bring it to you until I knew for sure."

"I can't believe this. I thought… I believed her. Although that day you said the Predators were going to cut you, she didn't flinch. She didn't feel bad. I'm so sorry that I was a party to that," Mom says.

I feel a surge of anger rising within me, hot and fierce as it burns through my veins. "I won't let her win. I won't let her destroy everything I've worked so hard for."

"When you said that the Predators let you go, I looked into her a little more. Something seemed off."

"Will you send me that proof that you have? I'll make sure my agent has it."

"When do we get to meet our grandson?"

"I want all of this stuff to be over with Tierney. I especially don't want to risk her finding out."

"She's been seeing some guy. She hasn't been here in a few days."

"I want her to go back to Nashville. At least with some other guy she's not focused on me."

"I'm sorry that I invited her here," my mom says softly. "I… I didn't realize she was like this. I didn"t start noticing that she was telling a lot of lies until I spent more time with her and… I'm sorry."

"Thank you," I sigh. "Please don't tell anyone about my son until I'm ready for it to be out in the world."

"Of course."

"I'll have my guy see if he can get me anything else on Tierney," Dad offers.

I'm grateful to have mended that riff with my parents and hopefully Tierney will fade to black with this new guy.

My phone starts ringing as I walk out of my parent"s house and I glance down to see Eric is calling.

"You'll never guess who Tierney is dating."

"I don't care."

"Randy. She's dating Randy."

"Wait, what?"

"Exactly. I went into town to get something to eat. I stop at the diner and I see the two of them making out in a booth. They didn't see me, I had a baseball cap pulled down low. I sat behind them so Randy didn't recognize me. I took video."

"I don't want to see video of them making out."

"Oh no," he laughs. "Most important part, she admitted to making things up and he admitted to faking the DNA test."

"Okay, now you can send it to me," I chuckle.

"It's too big, come meet me at my house and I'll airdrop it to you."

"Be there in a bit."

I pull up to Eric's house ten minutes later and walk inside.

"Bro, I can't believe my luck."

"Did you tell Layla?"

"No, not yet. I'll let her sleep. This is what you need to send your agent though so you can get the Bruins contract back."

"Let's see it."

Eric airdrops me the file and I click on the video. My stomach churns with apprehension.

The screen flickers to life, and I'm met with the sight of Tierney and Randy, in a passionate embrace, their lips locked in a gross kiss.

I can't tear my eyes away as Tierney pulls back, a sly smile playing at the corners of her lips. "We're just having fun, Randy. Until Layla and Brock break up, that is."

"Did you leak it to the press? That you were pregnant with Brock's child? That should get Layla to dump him."

"Yes, but they haven't ran the story yet. I thought for sure the NHL would force him to apologize for cheating on me. I thought he'd come crawling back to me by now."

"He will. He'd be a fool not to."

"And what about Layla? Did she fall for the fake DNA test results?"

"Oh, she fell for it, all right. Hook, line, and sinker. She'll be begging me not to take the brat from her and she'll do whatever I ask."

"Holy shit," I breathe.

"They're idiots and perfect for each other."

"That's all the proof we need. They both admitted to lying."

"You sending it to your agent?"

"Yup," I say as I open the email app on my phone.

I attach the file and send the email. Then I send him a text so that he knows to look at the video. This is all I needed to discredit Tierney. She's as good as gone.

"They'll offer you a contract again. Once they know that it was all Tierney, they'll put the offer back on the table."

"I hope so because I don't want to leave Layla and Breckin."

"We'll be on the same team again. That's wild."

"And I'll be your brother-in-law soon for real if I have anything to say about it."

"I was radically opposed to this before, but seeing how much you love and care for Layla and Breckin, I couldn't be happier for that."

"I'm glad you said that," I laugh. "I apologize for not saying anything to you sooner."

"Actions speak louder than words. You could have told me and I would have kept you away every way I possibly could. This was better."