Page 16 of On Thin Ice

“Thanks,” I said, then I looked over to nod goodbye to my other teammates in the room before I headed home.

I paced my living room later that afternoon. It was one thing to say I was going to reach out to Ally and a completely different thing to actually do it. She deserved better than me.

Yeah, I’d never made a secret about the fact that I was not father material. My parents were a shining example of how not everyone should have kids. My father only cared about hockey and making me have the career he thought he should’ve had. And my mother was bitter that hockey was all he cared aboutand had just stopped caring when I started playing. They’d been miserable together, and then I’d become a pawn in their divorce battle as they sniped back and forth at each other for years. I had zero clue how to be a good parent or partner.

Not that I was Ally’s partner. Our relationship had always consisted purely of flirting and hooking up.

How could I even be useful to her? Not to mention that hockey season was about to start. We lived in different states, and she was due in the middle of the season. The odds were stacked against me from the jump.

Fuck. That was a dick thought. This wasn’t about me. It was about Ally and my daughter.

My chest clenched again.

My daughter.

I didn’t want to epically fail at this.

I tapped on Ally’s name on my phone and pulled up a text.

Dom: Hey. Sorry it took me this long to reach out.

Dom: I just don’t know where to go from here. You said you could do this all on your own, but I don’t want that. I have no clue what that means, but I want to figure this out. I want to help, but I have no clue how.

Dom: Call, text, whatever. Whenever you’re ready.

Dom: Sorry for being a dick about everything.

Then I plopped down on my couch and waited.

Chapter 4

ALLY

Istared at my phone as Dom’s texts rolled in.

Ping.Ping. Ping.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from my screen. After six days, he finally reached out and was nice and apologetic, almost self-deprecating. My brain could not compute what was happening.

“What’s going on over there?” Darcy called out, then walked over to where I was seated on her couch.

“Um,” I stammered.

Darcy grabbed my phone.

“About fucking time he texted,” she grumbled just as Jake walked into the living room.

I snatched my phone from Darcy’s hand before she could say anything else.

Jake quirked a brow. “What are you ladies up to?”

“Nothing. Don’t you have practice or something?” Darcy asked, an innocent smile on her face. I bit back my chuckle as Jake moved closer to her.

“It’s late afternoon. I’m just going for a run with Harty. Are you trying to get rid of me?”

She gasped dramatically. “I would never. Now, go away. Ally and I are talking about baby stuff.”

He saluted her. “Message received. Have fun, ladies.” Then he proceeded to kiss the hell out of her.

---