Page 13 of Falling for the Forward

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Yeah, it was like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. I was planning to divide it into three trusts for the girls.”

The couple seconds of silence on the other end of the line tell me something I don’t want to hear.

“Okay.” I nod and take another deep breath. “I’ll get Aunt Rosie to come for a visit and I’ll...work on the other thing.”

“I can hold off on filing a response for a couple weeks. I know it’s not ideal since your career is so demanding, but--”

“No, it’s--I’ve got it. This is the most important thing. I’ll get it done.”

“If it’s not the right time to get married, I’m not saying it’s a deal-breaker. But leaving the children with family when youhave to travel for work as much as you do is always preferred by the court.”

“I understand.”

“Okay, keep in touch and we’ll talk before I send a response.”

I sit down on the training table. “Listen, if it comes down to me quitting hockey or losing the girls, I’ll quit.”

I didn’t realize how strongly I felt about it until now when I found out I could lose the girls to Chad. I may not be a natural nurturer, but they’ll always have a safe place with me, and I’ll do anything it takes to protect them. Even if it’s their own father I have to protect them from.

“We’re going to do everything we can to avoid that,” Michelle says.

“Okay.”

“Let’s do our best to show the court you have a stable home with help from other family. I win a lot more cases than I lose, so don’t panic, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

We end our call and I stand up, reeling from the news about Chad being engaged and living in fucking Alaska. No wonder Rachel’s private eyes couldn’t find him to drag child support out of him.

I hardly have any family left, and I’ll fight like hell with anyone who messes with what I do have.

There are only two things I want to do right now: punch Chad until he has no teeth left and talk to my sister.

Unfortunately, neither one is an option.

CHAPTER FIVE

Suki

“What’sthat glow under your covers?”

I know exactly what it is. Charlotte is supposed to be off her phone and in bed by nine thirty, but it’s not the first time I’ve caught her on it when I snuck up to her door to check in on her around 10:00 p.m.

The glow quickly disappears. “It’s nothing.”

I step into her room, closing the door so I know the other girls can’t hear me. I hate having to be stern with the girls, but sometimes it’s necessary. “Hey, I don’t lie to you. Please treat me with the same respect I treat you with.”

There’s a pause, and then, “I was on my phone. Sorry, Suki.”

“I appreciate the honesty. If it happens again, I’m going to start taking your phone away every night at nine.”

She sighs. “Okay.”

“Night, Charlotte.”

“Good night.”

I leave her room, holding back a smile. Charlotte reminds me so much of my brother Nate. When my mom married mystepdad when I was three, my stepdad was a widowed father of three boys, and Nate’s the middle one. He pushed our parents’ boundaries as far as he could, but he was still a good kid.

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