Chapter 25

Tyler

As if things couldn't get any worse for us right now with everything going on, Cindy now tells me everything is about to go nuts in the Seattle Times and we need to talk to her dad before it hits the stands.

"How the hell did this happen?" I run my hands over my head. "We were so careful." With everything happening at once since she walked in, I haven't had a chance to show her the house yet.

It's not a new house by any means, but it has been updated over the years, and I've added modern appliances and had new hardwood floors installed and completely repainted the whole place. The fact it backs on to Lake Washington is the feature I love the most, because the views of the mountains always take my breath away.

It boasts 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms with an open layout on the main floor. Then a modern chef's kitchen, 2 dining areas, an enormous living room, one upstairs and one downstairs. I have both an upper and lower decked balcony for entertaining. The back of the ground floor leads to an expanded, terraced backyard with more stunning views. There are bonus rooms all over the house, a wine cellar and an office.

My primary suite is what I really love because it's so big and has views over the lake and my own private deck.

For months, I've dreamed about bringing Cindy here because I love it so much.

I never could have anticipated that it would be like this.

"I have no idea how it happened. I guess they're sneaky when it comes to things like this."

She told me before her sister worked for the Seattle Times. And it appears this morning she gave Cindy the heads up about the photos taken of us.

I'm pretty shocked it could even happen, or that we're considered that interesting to even put in the Times. But it seems inevitable that it's going to happen, and we're helpless to stop it.

"You're telling me they're sneaky. It was good of Caitlin to tell you."

"I know. She could be fired for something like that. Liam was the one who brought it to her attention."

"What do you want to do?" I ask her, "I mean about us, we need to talk to your parents, regardless. Mine already know about the Stacey situation."

If she doesn't want to continue with us, we still have to explain things to her family, and fuck knows what is going to happen with the team.

She perches on the end of my couch while Henry has already made himself comfortable on my shag pile rug on the floor. She seemed pretty upset when she arrived, but relieved to see me at the same time, and that gives me hope we can get through this.

"What happened with Stacey first?" She asks.

I realize I haven't even gotten her up to speed with that and want to punch myself.

"It went okay as far as these things go. She maintains the baby is mine, so I insisted on a paternity test. We're going to meet up next week to get that finalized."

"Wow. I guess it's the next step, though."

"I'm so fucking stressed," I say, running my hands over my face.

"Do you believe her?"

"I don't know what to believe. I don't think she would be capable of doing something like this and lying about it, but I guess you never know."

"And what if she doesn't want to raise the baby herself?"

I sigh long and hard. "I couldn't let her do that and give her away, Cind. At the end of the day, I will always do the right thing, and I'll find a way to keep her and to raise her, I guess. It's not the baby's fault in all of this. I couldn't live with myself if I let anything happen to her."

She nods, looking ahead for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I can understand how you wouldn't want that to happen."

"I know that changes the dynamics for us. I don't even know how I would care for a baby, or know the first thing about it. It will be hard if that's the way things go and I understand if it's too much, I'm sure it would be a lot for anyone."

"I guess we just have to take it as it comes," she says quietly. "I know the dynamics are going to shift, and we won't know exactly what that's going to look like until it's happening. But I meant what I said in Miami, that I've fallen for you, Tyler. Running away from this isn't the solution."

I stare at this beauty, unable to even comprehend she would still be willing to stand by me while I try to raise a baby that isn't hers. It overwhelms me that she would even consider it.

"Are you sure about this, Cind?"

She presses her lips together for a moment, then turns her beautiful ochre eyes to mine, her gorgeous lashes framing them. I'm getting lost in her every time she looks at me like this. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Another thing I love about her.

"I want to try, Tyler. That much I know."

I bend my head to kiss her lightly on the lips. I'm so fucking relieved because I seriously thought we were through.

I can't even think about what Coach Carter is going to do or say to me right now. I guess I'll be crossing that bridge very soon. "Thank you, Cindy."

"What for?" She breathes, pulling back slightly.

My hand reaches up to touch her face with my fingertips. "For being you. You are the most amazing woman I've ever met."

She blinks in rapid succession, taking in my words. "You're a decent man, Tyler. Anyone could just run away from their problems, but you've tackled them head on and you're not making excuses."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you in Miami."

She smiles softly. "Like you said, we have to get past that part and focus on the matter at hand. How do you even feel about the fact you're going to be a father?"

I swallow hard, because the thought freaks me the fuck out. This is never how I expected it to happen. "I'm scared shitless," I tell her. "It's not the way I wanted things, obviously. But if it turns out that it's true, I guess I have to get used to the idea pretty fast." I pause, pursing my lips for a second. "Have you thought about having kids in the future?" I ask her.

"Yes, I would love to be a mom."

That's a relief. It's good to know these things, because I'd love to have a family. I also figured if she would be okay with me potentially raising a child from another woman, she is probably the type that wants children some day.

It sounds awfully selfish, and I've only known Cindy a short while, but I wish it was her. I wish it was our future, and her belly round with my baby. The thought is fucking thrilling. Not that I will love this little girl about to be born any less.

"You'd be a great mom," I say wholeheartedly.

"You think so?"

"Cind, you're one of a kind. You'd be good at anything, especially with kids. I can totally see it."

"Have you thought about being a dad before now?" She whispers.

The corner of my mouth lifts in a smile. "Yeah, I have always wanted kids. If my head is still attached to my shoulders after we talk to your father, then I may still have a future to think about it more."

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think. We just have to be honest. I think we should go there now."

"I agree."

She reaches over to kiss me again, and I'm not even sure I deserve it.

I've brought nothing but fucking problems to her, but she still seems to take everything in her stride. I don't think many people would. "It's going to take me some time to adjust to all of this," she whispers. "But I'm willing to try."

"Me too. We can only see how things go, baby."

"I missed you last night," she breathes.

"I missed you too."

"I think Henry did too."

We both look down at him laying on the fluffy rug, looking quite at home, and laugh.

"He seems to fit in anywhere." I chuckle.

"He's good like that."

"Thank you for coming out here, too. Your text this morning surprised me because I didn't know how this was going to go. I was going to drive to your place today to explain everything."

"It's okay," she says. "I just woke up first thing thinking about you and couldn't go back to sleep."

"I was thinking about you, too. I just wasn't in the right frame yesterday to talk to you about how it went. I knew I had to see my folks straight after I met with Stacey and get their perspective and try to clear my head."

"I understand, Ty. How did your parents react?"

"They were shocked but very supportive," I say. "It's a complicated situation, but for their grandchild there is nothing they won't do either. So they said they will help out and do anything they can to make sure the little one is looked after and in safe hands."

Cindy has tears in her eyes as I look at her. "That's so lovely, Tyler. They sound like amazing people, just as amazing as you are."

I laugh without humor. "I've caused you nothing but problems so far."

"That's not true."

"It is and we both know it. You're just being nice, gawd knows why. You should kick my ass to the curb, yell and scream at me and tell me you never want to see me again!"

"I wouldn't do that to you, Ty."

"I don't think you have a mean or angry bone in your body."

"Some would say it's my downfall," she sighs.

"Not at all, but it certainly makes you different from the rest. You're special, Cindy. I knew it from when I first saw you."

"How did you even notice me, anyway?" she asks.

Fuck. The fact I took a shining to her at work is one thing, but eyeing her from the coffee shop most mornings is quite another. And she has no idea about that.

"There's a funny story about that," I sigh. Because it seems confession time has come around again, and I hope she's not going to be mad at me. In my defense, I did get coffee from the coffee shop every day before she came along. But didn't I sit in the window and watch the car park for this beautiful woman, the object of my affection, entering her workplace. That just sounds creepy.

Maybe Jay was right after all. I am a stalker.

"What story?" She blinks up at me as I reach down to kiss her at the same time.

I make a face. It's a chagrin at best, because now is not the time to get into that little detail. "Let's just say I noticed you in the Corner Cafe a while back."

She smiles and I feel bad because she has no idea. "Sounds intriguing."

"Maybe we get this out of the way with your dad, and then I might tell you all about it."

Famous last words. Though watching her from afar for all that time before we met hardly seems like anything compared to what's going down now. I guess we'll see.

* * *

So I've seen Coach Clive Carter get upset over the years I've been with the Hawks, but that's nothing compared to when we break our news to him over at his house later the same morning. I know Cindy is tense the whole way there. We hold hands, and she keeps squeezing it intermittently as we drive. Henry sits on her lap and snoozes.

I'm surprised at how well she is taking all of this, and I hope beyond belief we can work this out and still have a future together. As she says, we won't know exactly how the process will go until we're doing it.

I'm just happy she's at least willing to give it a chance.

Her dad is more than surprised to see us turn up together. She called him from the car to say she was coming over and that she wanted to talk to him, and that I was coming over with her.

That obviously caused some confusion, but she promised to explain everything when we got there.

Now here we are in their lavish den. His wife, Angelique, has always been an awesome lady every time we've met before, and today is no exception.

I must look sheepish as well as guilty as sin, because she pats me on the arm when we first walk into their home. I feel like an imposter, the full weight of my lie weighing more heavily upon me more than I first thought.

Now we're here to face the music. Yes, we're grown consenting adults and we can do whatever we want to do, but it still is a tricky situation as far as the NHL is concerned. As well as morally, being so close to coach over the last several years I've been with the Hawks.

I'm afraid that he's going to think I'm a snake in the grass who impregnated one girl and moved on to his innocent daughter. The thought really riles me because it's the furthest thing from the truth.

I'm here to tell them how I feel about Cindy, and that's exactly what I intend to do.

"How long has this been going on?" He asks sternly, not taking a seat, as his wife links her arm in his, hopefully for safe keeping. I really fucking hope he doesn't take a swing at me.

"Not long," we both say in unison. At least our story is straight. We both glance at each other.

Henry is having a whale of a time out back with their golden retriever, Ruby, and Angelique's son, Max, completely unaware of the bombshell we've just dropped.

"Not long! How long is not long?"

"I've liked Cindy for quite a few months, but we've only been seeing each other for a few weeks."

His glacial stare bores right through me. "You obviously hid it well, Tyler, through all the team meetings and one-on-one discussions since your infatuation with my daughter started." He turns his attention to Cindy, who is clasping her hands together in her lap and has gone extremely quiet. "What do you have to say about it, Cindy?"

She flicks up her eyes to meet his. He's a stern man, and a little scary, I have to say, but we aren't little kids caught with our hands in the cookie jar. I love her and she loves me. So as far as I'm concerned, it is what it is.

"It's true what Tyler said, this is new. We went on a few coffee dates, but we didn't want to bring it up with the team so early on because we didn't even know then if we would start dating. We were just getting to know each other."

"And Miami?" He grits his teeth toward me. "I assume that's why you were so insistent on going there?"

Oh fuck. The place I literally defiled his daughter… awesome.

"I wanted to look out for Cindy, yes. And Taylor was going through a tough time, so I wanted to be there for him, but as you know, he didn't end up going."

Coach scoffs.

"Why don't we sit down?" Angelique suggests. As we're all standing there awkwardly while we try to explain ourselves. I can't tell yet which way it's going to go.

Cindy smiles at Angelique gratefully and we take a seat on their two-seater couch. I reach for Cindy's hand, and she glances at me as we link our hands together.

I don't even wanna think about how I'm going to explain the other shit going down with my ex. But that will all have to come out too.

"Look out for her?" Coach balks, his pitch getting louder. "Seems pretty convenient to me, Tyler. You're my right-hand man, the captain of the team, and you couldn't come to me sooner before Miami to tell me you wanted to date my daughter?"

The disappointment in his face is actually worse than him yelling. I swallow hard. I know family values mean a lot to him, but they do to me too. And I don't believe we've violated anything to any extreme degree.

I should have done exactly what he said, but at the time, I was hardly thinking about that. I just wanted to pursue Cindy, get to know her, and deal with the consequences later.

"I should have come to you, I agree," I answer. "And we always said that you should be the first to know about this. We were going to come clean this weekend…" I stop short, trying not to shudder as I picture the caption the newspaper article that has probably hit the stands. If he's not going to kill me for hooking up and falling in love with his daughter now, he is well and truly going to when I drop my next bombshell.

"It's true, Dad. Everything Tyler is saying is true. We didn't know how to broach it, and we were conscious of getting into trouble with the clause in our contracts, so we were never going to keep it a long-term secret."

He grunts.

"The kids seem very genuine, Clive," Angelique speaks softly.

"I don't care if they seem genuine!" He grunts. At least he's not yelling… yet. "You should have come to me." He points his finger at me and I let out a breath.

"I'm sorry," I say in all sincerity.

"I'm sorry too, Dad. It's not all on Tyler, it's me as well."

She fails to mention I more than pursued her, thank god. I'm not sure he'd want to hear that right now on top of everything else.

"Do you kids want to make it official?" Angelique asks.

A small smile traces my lips the way she keeps calling us kids. Realistically, I'm only about ten years younger than her. But she's on our side, I can see that in her eyes. The way she's sympathetic towards us and trying to keep her husband calm.

"Yes, I love him," Cindy blurts out.

I glance at her, squeezing her hand.

"I love your daughter too," I say. "She's the most wonderful woman I've ever met, but I'm sure you already know that."

"You can't possibly know you're in love in just a few weeks. It's absurd." He waves his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

"It happens, Dad. It happened to us. Tyler is wonderful and treats me so well and we're really happy. We want a chance to build on that, that's why we're here."

That and the fact I knocked up my ex nine months ago and it's about to be published in The Seattle Times for all to see. But we'll get to that…

I'm not even sure things could get any worse.

"There is something else," I add, giving Cindy's hand a quick squeeze again. It has to be said, there's no avoiding it, given what we know from Caitlin this morning. "Cindy spoke to Caitlin this morning. There were photos captured of us both in Miami and the other day in the park when we were walking Henry. They were innocent enough, but the press are going to have a field day given who I am and who Cindy is in relation to the team…" I sigh, running a hand over my head. I glance up at Angelique, who's listening intently to every word, then to coach, who isn't looking one bit happy about any of this. Even if he was getting his head around the idea about Cindy and I dating, he's not exactly going to swoon over the other sordid details about my ex.

Again, we have no choice. It's about to be printed and there's no hiding the fact Stacey is heavily pregnant. The press will put two and two together and come up with whatever they want.

"For fuck's sake!" Coach shakes his head. Cindy gasps at his words.

"Clive!" Angelique chastises. It isn't like I haven't heard worse at training. Coach may have been a religious man at some point in his life, and may even still be now, but he's not backwards in going forwards with cussing.

"What the heck do you expect me to say?" He stares at his wife while she tries to soften the blow for us. I hear Cindy take a deep breath next to me.

"They're doing their best to explain. It isn't their fault that they were photographed without their consent."

"Like heck it isn't!" He grits out. "They were supposed to be there on official business!"

"Those photos were taken away from the rink," Cindy pleads. "Dad, we never meant for this to happen, but it has happened."

"I don't like these kinds of surprises," he says sharply.

I take another sharp breath. "Then you're definitely not going to like the next thing I have to say."

Everyone looks at me. It's now or never. I've always been taught to tell the truth, and her family can't find out this shit I've gotten us into by reading today's edition of The Seattle Times.

"There's something else going to print about me and my ex, Stacey Robinson…"