“Taking a nap. The flu took a lot out of her.”

He nods and looks around the room. “This is, uh . . . an expensive-looking room for an infant.”

Kody keeps crying—not loudly, but still squawking all the same. I want to take him, but I don’t want to deprive his grandfather of the opportunity to soothe him either. It’s definitely not an easy situation to navigate. “Maybe we should take Kody downstairs. I don’t want to disturb Lainey.”

Simon follows me to the main floor. I’m not 100 percent on what all of Kody’s different cries mean, like Lainey seems to be, but I can tell by the way he’s bopping his face on Simon’s shoulder that he’s probably hungry. I root around in the baby bag until I find one of the bottles packed in the separate cooler space and put the spare in the fridge.

Simon frowns. “I thought Lainey was breastfeeding.”

“She is, but she pumps so he can have bottles when he’s at his day care. It also means I can be involved in feeding him and she can have a break when she needs it.”

I offer him the bottle, but he shakes his head. “I never really got the hang of that.”

“Doesn’t hurt to give it a shot, though, does it?”

After a short stare down, he allows me to show him how to hold Kody so he can feed him. I’m a little annoyed when he takes the bottle without a problem, mostly because I want an opportunity to show Simon I’m good for more than just my bank account and my sperm donation.

“I can’t believe Lainey’s already working again. She should be raising Kody, not some day care provider.” He adjusts his hold on Kody and shoots me a pointed glare.

I maintain eye contact, aware that looking away would be like backing down with a bear. “She likes her job.” At least that’s the impression I’ve gotten from her. I don’t see why she’d move across the country and take a position like this if she didn’t want to. Or maybe she felt it was the only option.

“If she came back to Washington, she could just stay at home and she’d have our help. She wouldn’t need to work.” He scans the living room, eyes bouncing over the expensive electronics, the leather furniture, and the hockey-themed art before they settle on me again, cold and accusatory. “I did a little research on you, son—you’re making more than enough to support them both, so the question is, why aren’t you?”

I knew this conversation was imminent, and I tried to prepare myself for it, but I’m not sure I quite understood the wrath of an angry father until now. “We’re just getting reacquainted, and if I know anything about your daughter, it’s that she’s not very fond of feeling like she’s being taken care of or like she’s being forced into situations that are out of her control. So I’m doing everything I can, and everything she’ll allow, to involve myself in raising Kody.” I fight to keep my hands at my sides and not give away my nervousness by jamming them into my pockets.

Simon doesn’t respond right away—processing, digesting, maybe trying to decide how sincere I’m being. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”

I have to give it to him. He’s meeting me head-on, like any protective father would. I’m having second thoughts about the whole “Lainey staying in my bedroom with me” thing while Simon is in the house. He’s a dairy farmer. He’s had to put animals down, which means he knows how to use a gun. Not a comforting thought, really. “Well, sir, I plan to take care of Lainey and Kody in whatever capacity she’ll allow me to. I’ve already missed Lainey’s entire pregnancy and the first few months of Kody’s life—I don’t want to miss out on any more time with them.”

He arches one unimpressed eyebrow. “You’re still going to miss a lot of time, though, with how much you have to travel. Your career isn’t very conducive for family life.”

“I have plenty of teammates who are happily married with families.”

He frowns, eyes narrowed and still fixed on me. “Is that part of your plan? To marry my daughter?”

I feel a lot like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, waiting to be pushed over the edge. I swallow down the horrible anxiety. “If I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you, then yes, eventually, with your permission I’d like to ask Lainey to marry me, if we get to a place where that’s something she wants.”

“And if she doesn’t get to a place like that, then what?”

I don’t like these questions, because they bring up fears that already plague me. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”

“What if Lainey finds someone else? What if she wants to move back to Washington and she meets someone better for her? How will you handle that?”

I blow out a breath and rub the back of my neck, my stomach twisting at just the mention of this—or the idea that there’s someone better for her than me. “Honestly? I’ll be devastated. Sir, I fell in love with your daughter, and I’ve spent the last year wishing I’d made different choices when it came to her and our relationship. But if she decides I’m not the right person for her and she meets someone else, I won’t stand in the way of her happiness, and we’ll figure out a way to raise Kody so he knows we both love him. Until that happens or she tells me she’s not interested in trying to make this work between us, I’m going to do everything in my power to win back her heart.”

He seems to relax the tiniest bit, but his face remains a stony mask. “You’re going to have to do a lot more than throw money at her if you want that to happen.”

“I’m aware, sir. Money can certainly make things easier in a lot of ways, but it isn’t a replacement for time and love—and I plan to give Lainey and Kody as much of both as I can, in spite of the fact that my career means I can’t be with them all the time.”

He nods, but his posture remains guarded. “I hope you mean that, son, because I’ve never seen Lainey as devastated as she was when she came back from that trip, and I never want to see her go through that again. She might be strong in a lot of ways, but she has a soft heart. I won’t watch it get stomped on by you or anyone else—I don’t care how much money and flash you throw my way.”

“I understand your reservations, and I respect that you want to protect Lainey, but I flew you out here so you could spend time with her and see for yourself that I’m head over heels in love with your daughter—and our son.”

CHAPTER 25

HOCKEY HAZING

Rook

Based on Lainey’s recent bout of flu and the fact that her parents are visiting, the aquarium gives her the rest of the week off. Apart from ice time and training, I spend every spare moment I have with Lainey and Kody and her parents.

They see, maybe in a way they haven’t before, how incredibly competent and independent Lainey has become. I also get to see the overprotectiveness in action, and I understand better why Lainey came to Chicago.

Once Lainey’s back to herself, I decide a good way to help make her parents see that Lainey will have support when I’m on the road is to invite my teammates and their families over for a dinner party. In theory it seems like a great idea—the reality is a little different.