Page 7 of Forever Player

“This is going to be okay,” Kaleb assures.

“Dude, I have a kid,” I say to him. “I don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl.”

I push off the counter and walk past Coach and Kaleb. I head out of the bathroom and straight for the exam room.

“Are you okay?” I ask Willow, who is sitting on a chair drinking some juice.

She nods.

The doctor also assures me she is fine.

“Can everyone give us a minute, please?” I ask.

Everyone clears out of the room, except for Jacob Heaton. Can’t say I blame the dude; I’d go apeshit if something like this happened to my sister too.

I give Jacob a look. “Look, bud, I appreciate you’re looking out for her but I need a minute, and I’m not the enemy,” I say to him.

“Don’t bud me,” he bites back.

I don’t attack though because I kind of get where he is coming from now.

He looks at Willow and she nods.

“I’ll be outside that door,” he tells her.

“Thanks, Jacob.” She gives him a crooked grin.

My stomach is in knots and my head is spinning.

With the door closed, I grasp my hair. “I need more information, Willow. Why didn’t you try to contact me before tonight?”

She blows out a breath. “After that text message I was so upset. I told myself I couldn’t think about you or hear about you. I didn’t want to be stressed because it was bad for the baby.”

I nod in understanding.

“My friends didn’t know you were Maylee’s father. They thought I hooked up with someone else and after that text message, I felt it was best they believed the lie,” she continues.

“So I have a daughter?” The words leaving my mouth make my lips quiver and tears fill my eyes. Who am I?

She nods. “She’s five months old and perfect.”

I inhale and exhale but it doesn’t ease the tightness in my chest.

“I tried messaging you so many times before I told you I was pregnant. I was hoping to have a phone conversation,” she explains and tears fill her eyes.

“Only it wasn’t me getting your messages. Dammit, I should’ve cancelled the phone right off the bat, instead I waited to find it.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we had such a mix-up. In my head you were a player who just wasn’t interested, and it broke my heart.”

“Damn, Willow, I’m so sorry I gave you that impression. I’ve been through a lot since the night we were together,” I say.

“When your sister came to town and you took her in, everyone was shocked. Then Ellie got close with Maddie. I wanted to come clean about you being Maylee’s father, but I kept remembering those damn words.Go bark up someone else’s tree. I’d have nightmares about those words in my head,” she says, making my heart fracture.

I hiss, gripping my hair.

“You really thought I was that big of an asshole?” I sigh.

“You had a reputation and you didn’t answer my calls, and that text message came from your phone. What was I supposed to think?”

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