Page 29 of Make Your Save

Rowan

I wonder if she’ll want to play one day.

As conflicting as everything is, I can already feel the attachment growing.

“What are you smiling about?” Carson questions me as he and Caleb both look at me.

I look up at him, my grin growing wider as I show the picture to Carson and Caleb. “Hadley sent me this picture of Lucy from earlier.”

“This is still fucking crazy to me that you have a baby.” Carson laughs, shaking his head. “She’s actually kind of cute. She doesn’t have that alien look that some babies do.”

Caleb raises an eyebrow at him, giving his brother a disapproving look before directing his attention back to me. “Who’s Hadley?”

Carson chuckles and I resist the urge to kick him under the table. “She’s his brother’s ex-girlfriend.”

Never mind that. I drive the toe of my sneaker into Carson’s shin. He lets out a yowl, pushing his chair back as he lifts his leg to cradle it. “Fuck, that hurt.”

“We’ve known each other for years. She was friends with my brother and they dated for a little bit,” I explain, annoyed with Carson that I even have to offer this part of the explanation. “She’s in between jobs rightnow, so she’s going to help me out until the season is over.”

“That’s good,” Caleb says, slowly ducking his chin and lifting it. “The first few months can be exhausting, so take all the help you can get. You’ll adjust to everything and it will all become second nature.”

“It’s definitely been an adjustment,” I admit, laughing softly. Caleb knows all about having to do things on your own. He lost his wife in an accident and hasn’t settled down with anyone since. He’s been living the single dad life, but he’s fortunate to have such a great support system.

“It will get easier,” he assures me, slowly pushing his chair back as he begins to rise to his feet. Carson does the same and I follow suit as we all get ready to head to the hotel. “Have you spoken to an attorney about custody?”

My breathing halts, my stomach immediately dropping. “What do you mean?”

Caleb stares at me for a moment. “You need to legally gain full custody of Lucy. If you don’t and her mother decides to come back in the picture without anything in place, she can fuck you. She could take her from you completely.”

Nausea rolls in the pit of my stomach. “I didn’t know that.”

“Call your lawyer,” Caleb instructs as we make our way outside to the bus. “Get it taken care of when we get home. You have a stable income and a good job, so you should be okay. The only thing that could potentially implicate you is our schedule.”

“What do you mean?” I repeat.

“I mean, it would look better if you were there all the time with her.” He pauses, his lips pursing. “Or if you weren’t single.”

A worry I didn’t know even existed follows me onto the bus and settles in the seat next to me. I suck in a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down before finally looking at my phone again. There are two unread messages from Hadley.

Hadley

Maybe she will or maybe she won’t.

But if she does, I know she’ll have the best teacher.

I read over her messages three separate times, pushing away the thoughts of lawyers and legalities. Hadley offers a distraction and I welcome the smile that drifts across my lips.

I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with a baby, but I have a feeling all of this is going to be okay. It’s all going to work out.

And I owe it all to Hadley.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ROWAN

Lifting Lucy from the car seat, I situate her in my arms, resting her bottom against my lap as I look across my lawyer’s desk, my eyes scanning his face.

“How was your trip? I saw you guys did pretty well in your last game,” he says as he shuffles a few papers on his desk.

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