Page 12 of Sven

“You should call my sister. She might know of something.”

“Doesn’t she work for a hockey team or something? I’m not sure what I would be qualified for there.”

“She’s a PR person. She doesn’t do anything hockey related. There are all kinds of office jobs for an organization that big. But beyond that, she’s big in the community. If anyone knows of a good job, it’s her,” said Sydney, trying to sound encouraging.

“Okay, I’ll call her. But tonight, why don’t we just maybe move up to something with a bit more of a punch?” she said, gesturing to her beer. “I’m ready to forget all about it tonight.”

“Cheers to that.” She tapped her beer to Natalie’s. “I have some vodka in the freezer.”

6

Sven

The next morning, Sven woke to crying.

He’d been on his own in this house for three years. That was before he signed his four-year contract with the Magic, which was coming up again. Next year was his last year on contract here. He wanted to stay, but his game was off.As much as he wanted to ignore his father, he was right about that. It was time he fixed his game. Getting a good contract and being able to stay on this team depended on him figuring it out.

He was supposed to be focusing on that, but instead, he was tiptoeing down the hallway to the bedroom, where his daughter slept. His daughter. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to that.

When he got to the door, it was cracked. He knocked, and little Winnie was still crying. After cracking the door open, he noticed Stacie was still sleeping in her bed. She was probably exhausted after being on her own with the baby all these months.

He crept in, and when he looked over the crib, Winnie stopped crying and reached for him. His heart was fit to burst right out of his chest.He picked her up and quietly pulled the door shut behind them.

“What do you say, Winnie? Why don’t we let Mommy get some sleep? We can hang out for a bit.”

He made his way downstairs with this wide-eyed contented beauty in his hands. He rummaged through the diaper bag by the edge of the coffee table.

“Hey, sweet girl, I’m going to change your diaper and then make you a bottle.”

While no one would have suspected Sven as a baby person, when he was nine, his sister had been born. When your dad was a famous NHL player and your mom lived the life of a famous NHL player’s wife, it left Sven and Tilda alone with nannies a lot of the time. Sven took on a lot of the responsibility for Tillie. And while the bottles look a little different from when they used to, changing diapers and making bottles was something that came back to him.

Before long, Winnie was in a dry diaper and sucking down her bottle on Sven’s lap while he pulled up highlights from last night’s games.

He could get used to this. He would get a paternity test and figure out all the legal stuff that needed to happen, but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. Even with her dark hair, she was his. She looked just like him. This brought everything into perspective.

He may have been having a shit season, but he’d figure it out. The stakes just got higher, but this pressure felt different from his dad. This felt like he needed to grow up and stop acting like a child. And while his dad told him that often, it was hard to do when his dad was still yelling at him and treating him like one. He would be lying if he said that his father’s voice wasn’t in hishead, telling him he was going to mess up. That he wasn’t good enough for anything besides hockey.

Maybe this precious little baby in his arms did deserve better than him, but he was going to put in the work to be who she deserved.

“There you are.” He looked up to see Stacie coming down the stairs. “I was wondering where she went. I’m sorry I didn’t even hear her.”

“No worries. Winnie and I are just chillin’. I thought you might like to sleep a little more. I do need to start getting ready for work, though.” As he said that, a tiny little baby hand touched his face. “But then I’ll come home, and we’ll figure out what to do. I’ll call my lawyer, and we can start getting it all figured out.”

“Your lawyer? We don’t need a lawyer for anything.”

“I think it’s a good idea, but please don’t worry. I want to be a part of her life and help you guys. I’ll make sure you don’t end up in a motel like that ever again.”

“Really?”

“I wish you would’ve come to me sooner. I’ll do right by you both. We can figure this out,” he said, reaching out and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Okay, but we don’t need a lawyer... I mean, if we both want the same thing, then what’s the point?” she asked, batting her lashes.

Sven bit his lip.

Getting a lawyer was the responsible thing to do, and he would, but maybe he should drop it. He would hate for her to disappear right after she showed up.

“Okay,” he said as he patted her shoulder. “We can talk about that later. I’m going to go get ready for work. Please help yourself to anything in the house. Mrs. Malone will be in today sometime late morning. She’s my housekeeper, and I already texted her, telling her you and Winnie were staying here. She usually makesme a few meals to eat throughout the week. Just tell her what you need, and she can add it to the grocery list.”

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