Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3)(28)

    “What do you think she’ll do?”

“Well, based on the Lida that I know, I’d say she’s going to fight for her parental rights. She was a really put-together woman. Smart, successful, and passionate about the things that interested her. She didn’t seem like the type of woman that would give up her child, so maybe she was really depressed or something. But I’m not even sure if I knew her at all because she did in fact leave Charlie on my doorstep. I mean, what type of person does that?”

Bishop grimaces. “A crazy person does that. But then again, isn’t that kind of what she’s saying…that she was depressed and not in her right mind. Will a court buy that?”

“Who the fuck knows,” I growl, just completely frustrated I have to even deal with this nonsense.

“How are things going with fatherhood?” Bishop asks, changing the subject slightly. “You don’t look overly tired so I have to assume it’s going well?”

“I’ve sort of gotten used to waking up at odd hours and getting my sleep in a few snatches at a time,” I tell him with a laugh. “But really…she’s such a good baby. I totally lucked out.”

“Where is she tonight?” he asks, starting to high knee jog in place. I follow suit, because we do need to get on with our warm-ups.

“I actually hired a nanny,” I tell him. “Subject to her clearing a background check which I’ll hopefully have in the next day or so.”

    “You left a woman you just hired without completing a background check on with your daughter?” Bishop exclaims, coming to a dead stop again.

I roll my eyes at him. “Of course not. Pepper is there too. This week Lucy—that’s the nanny—is only with Charlie if Pepper or I are with her too. A trial run so to speak.”

A knowing smile comes over Bishop’s face. “You’re certainly all chummy with Pepper now.”

I force myself not to roll my eyes again, again opting for truth, because the minute he or anyone from the team sees Pepper and I together, they would know. “We’re seeing each other.”

“As in seriously?” he asks.

“As in monogamously and past that, I don’t know. I didn’t want anything serious, but Pepper has just been amazing with helping me cope and care for Charlie. I don’t know where the line between an amazing friend and an even more amazing lover is separated.”

Bishop snorts. “You just said ‘lover.’?”

This time I do roll my eyes. “Fucking grow up.”

He laughs at me and slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Seriously, though. I really like her. So does Brooke and it appears everyone else who’s met her. And I’m relieved she’s helping you out. I know you could do it on your own, but there’s nothing wrong with having a good support system.”

I sigh. “Yeah, I know. But I don’t ever want Pepper to think that’s all she’s valued for…the help she gives me. It’s just…she’s always there volunteering to help, and I have a hard time saying no. I mean, tonight. If I didn’t have Pepper I would have had to trust a nanny I just hired and that would have worried the fuck out of me and I wouldn’t be able to focus on the game.”

    “Any of the hockey wives would have stepped in,” Bishop says.

I shake my head. “I know as much about most of them as I do about Lucy.”

“True,” he admits. “Still, stop worrying about it. If Pepper is happy and you’re happy and Charlie’s happy, what do you care?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter as I clasp my hands behind my neck and look up to the ceiling. “It’s just…it’s not how I would have chosen to start a relationship. It makes things murky.”

Bishop nods in understanding and claps me again on the shoulder. “Good thing you got plenty of time to let things clear up. Relax, man, and quit trying to get everything figured out right now. In fact, let’s get to our warm-up and then you need to get your head into game mode, okay?”

“Yeah, sure…okay,” I mutter. He’s right. For the next few hours, I need to make my teammates and this organization the most important thing in my life. My concerns about Pepper, Charlie, and Lida will just have to wait a bit.



* * *



—

Getting my second shutout in back-to-back games gives me the confidence to approach Coach Perron. I nod to, fist bump, or high five my teammates as they leave one by one, each making sure to congratulate me again on a perfect game giving us one more win in the bag.

    “Tomorrow?” Bishop asks as he comes up to me, holding his fist out.

I bump mine against his. “9:00 A.M.”

Tomorrow we work out and see if we can take Tacker out for some coffee to establish some conversation. I’ll need to make sure Lucy is at the house by 8:00 A.M. and it will be a good test run for her to watch Charlie without Pepper hanging over her shoulder. Still, I’m comforted by the fact that Pepper is just next door if Lucy needs help for some reason.

Of course, if I have my way when I get home tonight, I’ll have no problem talking Pepper into staying the night. I can be very persuasive when I want to be, and I want her to challenge me to persuade tonight.