A Lie for a Lie (All In, #1)(72)

Simon doesn’t respond right away—processing, digesting, maybe trying to decide how sincere I’m being. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”

I have to give it to him. He’s meeting me head-on, like any protective father would. I’m having second thoughts about the whole “Lainey staying in my bedroom with me” thing while Simon is in the house. He’s a dairy farmer. He’s had to put animals down, which means he knows how to use a gun. Not a comforting thought, really. “Well, sir, I plan to take care of Lainey and Kody in whatever capacity she’ll allow me to. I’ve already missed Lainey’s entire pregnancy and the first few months of Kody’s life—I don’t want to miss out on any more time with them.”

He arches one unimpressed eyebrow. “You’re still going to miss a lot of time, though, with how much you have to travel. Your career isn’t very conducive for family life.”

“I have plenty of teammates who are happily married with families.”

He frowns, eyes narrowed and still fixed on me. “Is that part of your plan? To marry my daughter?”

I feel a lot like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, waiting to be pushed over the edge. I swallow down the horrible anxiety. “If I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you, then yes, eventually, with your permission I’d like to ask Lainey to marry me, if we get to a place where that’s something she wants.”

“And if she doesn’t get to a place like that, then what?”

I don’t like these questions, because they bring up fears that already plague me. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”

“What if Lainey finds someone else? What if she wants to move back to Washington and she meets someone better for her? How will you handle that?”

I blow out a breath and rub the back of my neck, my stomach twisting at just the mention of this—or the idea that there’s someone better for her than me. “Honestly? I’ll be devastated. Sir, I fell in love with your daughter, and I’ve spent the last year wishing I’d made different choices when it came to her and our relationship. But if she decides I’m not the right person for her and she meets someone else, I won’t stand in the way of her happiness, and we’ll figure out a way to raise Kody so he knows we both love him. Until that happens or she tells me she’s not interested in trying to make this work between us, I’m going to do everything in my power to win back her heart.”

He seems to relax the tiniest bit, but his face remains a stony mask. “You’re going to have to do a lot more than throw money at her if you want that to happen.”

“I’m aware, sir. Money can certainly make things easier in a lot of ways, but it isn’t a replacement for time and love—and I plan to give Lainey and Kody as much of both as I can, in spite of the fact that my career means I can’t be with them all the time.”

He nods, but his posture remains guarded. “I hope you mean that, son, because I’ve never seen Lainey as devastated as she was when she came back from that trip, and I never want to see her go through that again. She might be strong in a lot of ways, but she has a soft heart. I won’t watch it get stomped on by you or anyone else—I don’t care how much money and flash you throw my way.”

“I understand your reservations, and I respect that you want to protect Lainey, but I flew you out here so you could spend time with her and see for yourself that I’m head over heels in love with your daughter—and our son.”





CHAPTER 25





HOCKEY HAZING


Rook

Based on Lainey’s recent bout of flu and the fact that her parents are visiting, the aquarium gives her the rest of the week off. Apart from ice time and training, I spend every spare moment I have with Lainey and Kody and her parents.

They see, maybe in a way they haven’t before, how incredibly competent and independent Lainey has become. I also get to see the overprotectiveness in action, and I understand better why Lainey came to Chicago.

Once Lainey’s back to herself, I decide a good way to help make her parents see that Lainey will have support when I’m on the road is to invite my teammates and their families over for a dinner party. In theory it seems like a great idea—the reality is a little different.

I’m currently standing between the kitchen and the living room, trying to figure out how nearly four thousand feet of living space suddenly feels cramped. The living room looks more like a ransacked toy store than a place we can relax in.

Some of the wives and Lainey are sitting in a circle in an area that’s been cordoned off with an extensive series of adjustable baby gates and fences meant to corral the toddlers and infants who are too young to go wandering around the house. It’s a friendly version of baby prison.

The older ones, who are less at risk of falling down stairs or putting dangerous objects in their mouths, are in the backyard with Alex and Miller—playing hockey, of course.

Lainey’s mom is in the kitchen ordering around Lance and Randy, who are currently wearing aprons and seem either too scared or too bewildered to do anything but follow her directions. I see where Lainey gets her kitchen bossiness from.

Violet is standing just outside the cordoned-off area where the infants are, talking animatedly to Simon and the wives. That could be a good or a bad thing, since pretty much whatever Violet’s thinking comes out of her mouth unfiltered.