Page 22 of One Night with my Best Friend's Dad

Finally, when my own legs feel like jelly and my voice is hoarse from yelling, I blow the whistle one last time.

"That was so much better, now go and hit the showers, but be back here tomorrow, ready to work even harder. We can’t afford to lose this weekend’s game.”

The players trudge off the ice, their shoulders slumped in exhaustion. I lean against the boards, running a hand over my face. I need to talk to Piper, to try to explain about Kelly and the baby. But the thought of facing her again, of seeing that hurt in her eyes, makes my stomach churn.

Chapter 9

Kelly

I’m left alone, my hand resting on my stomach, wondering if I’ve just lost everything when my cell rings.

I answer the phone with shaking hands. “Piper, I—”

“How could you?” Piper’s voice explodes through the speaker. “He’s my dad, Kelly! It’s disgusting!”

My throat tightens. “Piper, please—”

“He’s twice your age! You’ll dump him for someone younger in a couple of years, and then he’ll be sad again, just like when Mom left him!”

Tears stream down my face. “It’s not like that—”

“Let him go, Kelly. Please,” Piper begs. “You don’t understand. I’ll lose him again when you end things. He’ll disappear from my life, just like before.”

I take a deep breath. “Piper, I can’t. I’m... I’m pregnant.”

There’s a pause, then a bitter laugh. “Do you think that changes anything? Hockey will always come first for him. I never came first in his life. Only now is he being a terrific dad.”

Her words cut deep.

“But we love each other—”

“Love? He doesn’t know how to love anyone but himself and his precious team,” Piper spits. “You’re just his midlife crisis, Kelly. Wake up! I’m not saying this to hurt you. I’m telling you to protect you.”

I sink onto the couch, my hand on my belly. “You’re being unfair,” I whisper.

“Am I? Think about it, Kelly. Really think. Is this what you want? To be a trophy wife, raising a kid alone while he’s off with his team? I know what he was like. You’ll be lonely with him. My mom was. I love him, but he’s selfish.”

Doubt creeps in, poisoning my resolve. “I love him.”

Piper is silent for a moment as my words go over and over in my head.

I love him.

I loved him the first moment I saw him.

She groans. “Then you really should go home, Kelly. For everyone’s sake. More so, yours because he won’t love you back. My mom never believed he loved her. She always said his only love was hockey. And he proved her right. He went from playing to coaching. He can’t…”

“It’s his job,” I interrupt. “I don’t want to take away the thing he loves. But he can love me too.”

“And the baby? He left me in California.”

“You told me it was your mother who moved you to California when she met your stepfather.”

There's a click and the line goes dead.

I stare at my phone, Piper’s words echoing in my head.

I walk around the apartment for hours before finally, with trembling hands, pack my bags, tears blurring my vision.

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