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“No, that’s okay. They have me all day and can wait.”
“Gee, thanks,” Theo says, pretending to be mad at me.
“Tell Theo I’ll call him later,” Dean says.
“Dean will call you later. Now, all of you go away so that I can hear him.” I throw my hand out in front of me to shoo them away.
Surprisingly, they listen to me and swim back to the deep end of the pool. I sit down on the chair and back under the umbrella, the sweat dripping down my face. “Sorry about that,” I tell Dean. “They are so annoying sometimes.”
“They care about you, Kitten. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
I sigh. “Nope. So, tell me what you have been up to this week. I haven’t had much time. The boys are always up my ass, and you’ve been working insane hours.”
“The foreman asked me to work overtime. We had to dig ditches all morning to lay sewer pipes this afternoon, and it’s about a million degrees down here.”
“Florida is too humid for me. I don’t know how you can do all that work in the sun.”
“Easy,” he says, laughing, “they pay me. I have to suck it up and do whatever they ask. The overtime money is good, and my mom could use it.”
“I hate that you have to work so much while I lay by the pool and get a tan. This is so unfair.”
“Life isn’t fair, but you have to do what you gotta do.” His deep voice puts me at ease, forcing my eyes shut.
“You should be at a barbecue, not sweating your ass off.”
“It is what it is,” he says. “They pay overtime, which is hard to get around here. I’ll take what I can get.”
His words cause my heart to ache. Dean is exactly the kind of man I should be with, yet I pulled away from him when we were still on campus. A man who would kill himself to make money to feed his family is also the father our baby needs. So, why is it so hard to tell him? I open my mouth to try for the millionth time, and nothing comes out. Not even a squeak.
A beat passes between us before he says, “Things will change soon enough.”
“One more week,” I tell him, smiling like a fool. “You won’t have to work so hard anymore.”
He laughs. “No, I’ll have to work harder. Even if I get a spot on an NHL team, that doesn’t mean my life will be easy. I have to ear
n the right to stay on the team.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but things will get better once you’re drafted. Look at what it did for my dad and brothers.”
“Coming,” Dean yells, holding the phone away from his mouth. “Hey, Kitten. I have to go. Lunch is over, and I have to get back to work.”
“Take care of yourself, Dean.”
“Always.”
Then, the line goes dead, leaving me with the same regret and shame I feel every time we talk. I have to tell Dean about the baby when he comes here for his visit. He needs to know the truth.
Since the NHL Draft was at the United Center, I only had a short drive to Chicago to watch as Dean walked up onto the stage and claimed his place with the Philadelphia Flyers. My heart swelled with pride over his accomplishment. But it also sunk into my stomach when I realized we would be so far apart.
For a while, the news coverage made it look as though the Blackhawks would select Dean in the first round, which is why I told him to wait and see how the Draft turned out before we made any plans. Fate is not our friend. I thought fate would bring us together, only for it to tear us apart.
After my dad and brothers congratulate Dean, welcoming him into the league, he struts toward me with the Flyers hat in his hand. He wraps his arms around me, lifting me up in the process.
“I’m so proud of you, Dean.” I hook my arms around his neck and lean forward to kiss him on the cheek. “I knew you would make it this round. Are you excited about going back to Philly?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. At least I know the city and Theo and Tucker will be there to fuck off with when I’m home.”
“It sounds weird to hear you say home when talking about Philly.”
