Page 8 of Forever Player

A knock comes on the door.

I open it to see Coach.

“I think you need to sit out the rest of the game,” he says. “You also went on the ice during intermission. You might get fined.”

“My head is spinning,” I admit to him. Even though he works us hard, he is a good guy and an amazing father to Patty.

“Brett, it’s best if you take a mental health leave. Let this situation die down in the media and take care of what you need to take care of,” Coach says, laying a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah,” I agree, my head bowed.

“Two weeks, Noble. Figure your life out,” he urges. I lift my head to look him in the eyes, he points his finger at me, nailing me with a look that saysdon’t fuck this up.

“Thanks, Coach.”

He nods. “Willow, you take care.”

“Thanks, Mr. Sanders.”

With that, Coach leaves and I close the door.

I turn back and look at Willow. She is just as beautiful as the night we met, but she looks tired and worn down. I think of Maddie taking care of Asher those first few months. They were hard but she had Mom helping her and I would come home when I could. I realize I don’t know where Willow has been all this time and who has been helping her.

“I need to see her,” I say to Willow.

Her blue-green eyes turn round.

“I missed so much time,” I say, feeling like my heart is twisting.

“I just don’t understand how this happened. How we could’ve miscommunicated so badly,” she says.

“Willow, I need to see my daughter,” I repeat.

She blinks and stands quickly but she almost tips over, and I catch her arm. “Of course, Brett. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to ream you out and tell you that Maylee deserves a father who cares because she is so perfect and she deserves the best.”

“I’m glad we are on the same page,” I reply, feeling the tension in my chest ease. “Can we go now? I’ll just get changed.”

“Yeah, sure, let me just tell Jacob,” she says.

“I’ll go shower and get dressed in the meantime.”

We open the door, I nod to Jacob, then I walk past him. I head to the shower, and I hear Willow talking to him. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but she tells him how she had me all wrong, that it was one big misunderstanding, and I want to see Maylee.

“Damn, Willow. Of all the scenarios, this is not one I thought of,” Jacob says to her.

“He wants to see her,” she says. Her voice cracks and then she is crying.

I take a quick shower but I feel choked up too. I soap up my body and as the water runs over my body, I cry because I have a daughter I haven’t met. I rest a hand on the shower wall and let the sadness and tears rack my body but I don’t take long because Willow is waiting, and I have a daughter to meet. Besides, I’m good at holding back my tears. I had to be when my own father would disappoint Henry, Maddie, and me all the time. I think about missing Willow’s entire pregnancy and the first months of Maylee’s life. It’s time I will never get back. I never wanted kids. I’m pretty sure I said that to Willow the night we spent together. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for her to believe I was the asshole who told her to bark up another tree. I also feel like shit because my father abandoned me on the regular, and here my own daughter maybe feels like I abandoned her. It causes all kinds of guilt to take root inside me.

I head out to my locker, where I have my suit hanging. I decide to put the suit on because there may be reporters outside. I’ve already caused a debacle for charging at Willow the way I did. I don’t even know what got into me, other than I saw red when I saw her at my game with another man. It doesn’t make logical sense because I am far from the jealous type.

I throw my duffel over my shoulder, with whatever clothes I brought with me to Nashville, and walk back out to the area where Willow and Jacob are waiting.

“All set,” I announce.

Jacob nods and walks off. Willow waits.

“Where is it that you’ve been all this time?” I ask her.

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