Page 3 of On Thin Ice

My parents had questioned my decision, saying that I was awfully young to be doing this alone, that it was going to be hard, maybe too hard. But I was determined to be the best mom ever. I hadn’t told any of my family who the father was. My brother, Ethan, would’ve lost his mind since he’d warned me away from Dom more than once when Dom had been on the Strikers.

Yes, Dom had been a cocky rookie, a total player, but he was fun. And annoying my brother by flirting with Dom had been an extra benefit. It was a job as a little sister that I took very seriously. I giggled.

“Ally? Are you okay? Being silent and then giggling is weirding me out,” Darcy said.

“Sorry, Darc. Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about what Ethan will do if he finds out that Dom’s the father of his soon-to-be-born niece.”

Darcy chuckled. “Yeah. You’re Little Harty, after all. I’m sure a lot of the guys will be lined up to knock Dom out. It’s taken everything in me not to tell Jake.”

“Bestie code,” I said, ignoring the nickname given to me by my brother’s teammates. Ethan Hartnell was a guy everyone loved, and since his nickname was Harty, I’d become Little Harty. I didn’t mind it for the most part, except when they turned into a band of big brothers I didn’t need.

“Always.”

Her boyfriend, Jake Northman, was not only Ethan’s best friend, but until Darcy had come along, he’d been the resident bad boy on the Strikers. It’d been sweet watching Darcy soften him up.

I rubbed my hand over my belly and felt the little diva moving around in there. It was a sensation that I would never get enough of.

“It’s going to be fine, Ally,” Darcy said again. “You’ve got this.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I just needed you to pep me up.” Then I laughed a bit. “That always used to be my job.”

“Figured it was my turn to lift you up. Not that you need it because you are going to rock this mom thing, I know it. So, just hunt Dom down, give him the news, say whatever you need to say, and then come home. It’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” The nerves were picking up speed again—or maybe that was just the diva fluttering around. When the doctor told me I was having a girl, I was beyond happy. Not that I would’ve minded being a boy mom, but I was excited for a girl. Maybe I could teach her to terrorize my brother just like I did. Ethan was going to be an amazing uncle.

“Now, go have a snack or something, put on something you feel awesome in, and go tell that baby daddy that he’s going to have a kid. But I just want you to be ready for his response. He might want to be involved.”

I scoffed. “He won’t. He said he never wanted kids, that they weren’t in the cards for him.”

“We talked about this too. And like I told you then, he said that years ago, and he could’ve changed his stance.”

“I guess it’s possible.” I sighed. “You know, I’m not going to tell him he can’t be in her life if he wants to, but honestly, it would make it messy, and I don’t know which way is easier.”

“Ignore the list we made.”

“Lists are important and help make informed decisions,” I said matter-of-factly.

She laughed. “We both love spreadsheets too much.”

I stamped my feet. “Nothing wrong with that, and you know it.”

“Yes, but just be open to what he says and figure out what you really want. What you need.” She’d said the same thing to me multiple times in the last five-plus months.

That was the problem. I didn’t know what I wanted, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up that Dom would want anything to do with us. With her.

“For a second, stop thinking about what-ifs. Just go see him and keep the conversation open. And if he doesn’t want to be involved, we’ll figure it out.”

I sighed. “I know.” And I would be okay with that. She would have more than enough people in her life to love her.

“Just be open to it, okay?”

“I will be. Ugh. I can’t believe I’m finally doing this. Can’t I just put it off a little longer?” I whined.

“Stop. You’re in Denver, and he’s back there, too. The timing is perfect, and you know it,” she replied.

Yes, I knew he was in town. We’d scoped out his social media last week, and he’d posted a pic with some of his teammates at some local bar in Denver.

“You are an amazing, strong woman. You’re going to tell him what’s going on, and then we’ll deal with whatever happens, right?” Darcy said, her voice stern.

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