Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
And then I stayed away.
In his eyes, I was the puck bunny who was running through the roster. But in reality, I was just a girl who got knocked up by the MVP of her heart.
“She’s stunning,” he whispers, trailing his fingers along her skin, and it’s too much. I look away, my stomach turning in on itself. I swallow hard, willing myself not to melt into a puddle of sobs and beg him to forgive me for hiding her. “When is her birthday?”
My lips tremble as I whisper, “January 3rd.”
“So, she’s turning two soon?”
“Three,” I correct, giving him a look. “Still suck at math, I see.”
He shrugs, a grin pulling at his lips. “I can count how many goals I score, so I’m good.” I roll my eyes, but before I can call him a dumb jock, he adds, “And I can teach her to count to ten.”
My heart squeezes. “Hopefully.”
He scoffs, his eyes only on her. “When did you know she was hard of hearing?”
“When she was born,” I answer, tracing her fingers with mine. “They did a hearing test, and she didn’t respond, and I knew.”
A tear rolls down his face as he nods, and once more, I have to look away. I have never seen Thatcher cry, and his tears are tearing me apart worse than his words did. It hurts too much, and knowing I’m the reason for his pain is downright sickening to me. With his other hand, he drags out his phone and lets out a long sigh before tucking it back into his pocket.
“Did you tell my parents?”
He slowly shakes his head, looking up at me. “Not yet.”
“That’s surprising,” I muse, and he shrugs. “Figured you’d call in reinforcements.”
“Do I need them?” he asks, his eyes burning into mine. “’Cause the way I see it, you’re living in a box, working a job you don’t want, and our daughter is suffering.”
“She isn’t suffering,” I protest, but he isn’t convinced.
“She is sick.”
“Kids get sick, Thatcher.”
“I know, but if she had top-of-the-line earwear and was seen by the best doctors, there would be less of a chance of her getting sick like this.” I know he’s right, but I refuse to acknowledge that. “Has the doctor called back yet?”
I check my phone. “Not yet.”
“She seems really warm.”
I nod. “She’s better than she was,” I reassure, and he sits back up, getting his phone once more.
With a groan, he looks over at me. “How do you see this going?”
I pull at the threads of Arwen’s blanket. “What do you mean?”
“This,” he says, moving his hand between us.
“There is no this,” I say, mirroring his motion.
His brows pull in tighter, and annoyance starts to burn in his eyes. “There is a this,” he corrects with conviction. “And the faster you realize that, the easier this will go.”
I scoff, holding his gaze. “I told you, you aren’t going to march in here and start demanding things.”
“No, you’re right,” he says, catching me off guard. “I’m going to ask, fucking beg, for you to come home, because I can’t move here and be in my child’s life.” Another tear rolls down his face as his eyes plead with mine, leaving me breathless. His voice is rough as he says, “I don’t want to bring our parents into this yet. I want this to be handled between the two of us, because I know I fucked up, Audrina. I know I’m the reason you ran, but you have fucked up too.”
“You think I don’t know that? That’s why I’ve stayed gone.”
“How does that make sense?”
“I couldn’t face you and be rejected again. That’s what your words did to me. They humiliated me and rejected me. I…” My words fall off as I swallow. “I couldn’t do it again.”
He’s silent for a moment as he watches me. “I understand,” he says softly, his eyes breathtaking and catching me so off guard, I feel like I’m losing my footing. “Which is why I’m trying not to lose my temper with you. But I need to know what you’re willing to do here. I have missed enough of her life, and we both know I’m not the kind of man to be an absent parent. I can’t fix us at this moment, but I can be a father. So, how would you like to proceed?”
I had fully prepared to be on the defensive when I finally faced Thatcher after these three years, but that’s not what he’s forcing me to do.
He’s giving us a level playing field, yet I feel like I’m the underdog.
Especially when my heart is still singing for him and his fingers trail along our daughter’s back.
CHAPTER NINE
Before I can answer Thatcher—though, really, I have no clue what I want to say—my phone rings. I answer and feel his gaze on me as I explain to the doctor what is going on. He has been Arwen’s doctor since she was born. He’s a good man and cares for my daughter, but I think I may be more knowledgeable about her condition than he is. The reality of that fact causes me to miss Ingrid something fierce. He says he’ll send in a prescription for some antibiotics, but he also suggests the tympanostomy surgery for her once more. As always, I decline. When Ingrid was younger and this happened to her, they changed her ear gear, and everything got better.