Page 123 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

When he’s mostly clean, Daire finishes up by setting him in the bath support inside the tub and giving him a full bath. Sammy’s eyes are heavy with exhaustion, and he’s almost asleep by the time we get him out.

While Daire dries him off, I run into the bedroom and pull out a fresh diaper and footie pajamas.

Five minutes later, the little guy is back in the crib, dreaming away.

Easing the door shut behind us, Daire loops his arm around my shoulders and tugs me into his chest. “We make a good team.”

My stomach flips. “We do, don’t we?”

“Yeah, baby,” he presses a kiss to the top of my head, “we do.”

29

DAIRE

“Hendricks,what the fuck are you doing here with a baby?”

Shoulders tensing, I turn around to face Coach. Dammit. I was hoping he wouldn’t notice me, but I should’ve known better.

The man can sniff this kind of stuff out.

Winter break is over, and a new semester has begun, but Rosie and I have had no luck finding a reputable daycare with openings for Sammy. After we exhausted all our options, we started searching for a nanny, but it’ll take time to interview applicants and find the right one.

“A baby?”

“Yeah, the one you’re carrying.” He wags a finger at me. “You’re supposed to be practicing, not babysitting.”

The sounds of the guys changing into their gear in the locker room ahead echo down the hallway.

So close but so far away.

“I’m not babysitting,” I correct, and Sammy giggles, making a noise I think might be his form ofhi. “This is Sammy. My son.”

Coach rubs the back of his head, sighing like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. “I was hoping those rumors weren’t true.” He straightens and hits me with a serious look. “Now, what are you planning to do with the little guy?”

“I had to bring him with me. Rosie’s in class, and we haven’t found a daycare, and I don’t have?—”

Coach holds up a hand. “That’s a lot ofands, kid. Give him here. I’ll watch him while you practice.”

On instinct, I pull the car seat in closer, my chest tightening. “You… you’re going to watch him?”

Coach rolls his eyes. “I had babies once too, you know. I can handle the little guy.”

It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s just that the idea of handing him over to someone else terrifies me.

If the idea of trusting Coach to care for him scares me, then how the fuck did I think I could handle leaving him at a daycare?

It’s obvious now that I wouldn’t have been able to drive away.

“All right,” I agree reluctantly. I really have no other choice.

I hold Sammy’s car seat out to Coach and then slide the diaper bag off my shoulder and pass that over too. When Coach gives the baby a genuine smile, my stomach eases a bit.

“Hurry up and get ready for practice. If you’re late?—”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Extra drills.”

“You do listen when I talk? I’m impressed, Hendricks.” He claps me on the shoulder, then gives me a little push toward the locker room.

---