Page 25 of Make Your Save

Lucy is my top priority, over everything.

Coach Landry glances at me, cocking an eyebrow without a smile. “Come with me, Taylor.”

The rest of the guys head into the locker room and I follow after Coach Landry, stepping into a separate hallway so we’re out of earshot. He heads farther down the hall, just for good measure, before he turns around to face me.

“What’s going on?”

I swallow roughly, my nose scrunching as I suck in a breath. “I’ve had some changes in my personal life that I wanted to make you aware of.”

Coach gives me a blank stare. “I don’t particularly care about your personal life unless it affects your position as a goalie.” His face is like stone. “Is it going to affect your ability to work?”

“It shouldn’t, but there’s always a chance there could be an emergency.” I pause, letting out a breath. “I’m also not sure if it would gain any media attention or not.”

He looks less than pleased. “What’s going on, Taylor?”

“I’ve recently found out I have an infant daughter and she’s been left under my care while I try to get custody of her.”

Coach Landry stares at me, his lips parting, his eyebrows pulling together. “How the hell did you end up with a baby?” He lets out a ragged breath, shaking his head. “You know what, forget I asked that. I don’t even want to know.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he deadpans, his jaw working the muscle along his jawline. “I will let the general manager know and anyone else who needs to be informed of this. Like everyone else, you will have any needed family privileges, but as I’m sure you know, this is a job, so you have to leave your home life at the door when you get here.”

“Yes, sir.” I duck my chin in agreement. I know how this goes, even if I’ve never experienced it myself. However, even though this is a job, they do make exceptions if there is an emergency or anything like that.

Coach Landry’s chest rises and falls as he lets out a sigh. “We need you here, Taylor. So whatever support you need, we are here to help you.” He pauses, his lips pursing. “Do you need a babysitter at all? My daughter Mia has been helping out some of the families when they need someone to watch their kids.”

“Is she done with college already?”

“I’m not sure what she’s doing,” he tells me, shaking his head. “She finished her bachelor’s degree, but now she doesn’t know what she wants to do.” He tilts his head. “We’re not here to talk about her, though, unless you need help with babysitting.”

“I’m going to just go ahead and be honest with you. I got her number from Nova, who’s actually helping me out a bit while we’re away right now.”

He gives me a look that I can’t quite decipher. “Okay.” He motions for the two of us to head back down the hallway, to where the rest of the guys are. “Well, if you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Coach,” I tell him, holding my hand out to shake his. I’m a bit surprised by his offer, but his hot and coldness isn’t unusual. He’s extremely hard to read and borders on the line of being a full-time grump, but every now and then, he has a habit of surprising you.

Coach Landry releases my hand and I watch him disappear before heading into the locker room. All heads turn to look at me, almost as if they’re waiting for me to announce that I was in some kind of trouble or something.

Carson’s gaze meets mine and his brows pinch together with concern.

This isn’t how I planned on telling everyone the truth, but here we are.

“I’m not in trouble, guys.” I chuckle, raising my hands up as I start to walk over to my spot. “You’re all still stuck with me.”

“Thank fucking God!” one of our third-line wingers exclaims.

“What did Daddy Landry have to say then?” one of the other guys asks.

I don’t sit down, shifting my weight on my feet as I glance around the room at all the guys. Carson, Lincoln, and Nash all know the truth. No one else does.

Fuck.

“I needed to tell him about my daughter in case anything ever happens or I need any time off.”

The room goes silent and I want the ground to swallow me whole. Caleb is the first to look at me. “Since when do you have a kid?”

“Since a few days ago when I found out about her.” I let out a breath, shaking my head. “Look, I don’t want to go into any further detail, but I just wanted to let you guys know so no one is in the dark.”

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