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Ah, hell. I could have hedged around just about anything else. But I couldn’t flat-out lie to him. Taking in a fortifying breath, I nodded once. “Yes, sir. I slept with her.” It didn’t matter that I loved her. He was in no mood to hear about my feelings. I’d broken the rules. Still, I had to try. “I’ve fallen in love with her, sir.”
His hand slashed through the air. He stepped back, both hands held up between us. “I figured as much. But you knew the consequences, son.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way.” I didn’t know if Lucy loved me. I couldn’t put those words out there. “There are no rules in the book about this. It was your decision. I tried to honor it. Truly.” I was flailing in icy water, my words having no effect but to drag me deeper until I felt like I was drowning.
Coach shook his head side to side without breaking eye contact. “No. You chose to break the rules. I can’t have that.” A tired frown creased his cheeks. “It’s a good thing I already have someone who wants you.” He motioned at the door with a flick of his fingers. “Pack your bags, kid.”
Ice encased my body in a frigid embrace. “What do you mean?”
“I’m trading you. Pack your bags and tell your friends goodbye. You’ll be in California by morning.” There was no regret, no hesitation in his voice.
I could argue, beg, and plead like my life depended on it. In a way, it did. My life was here. Lucy, Abigail, Justin, and Lennox were the most important people in my life. I couldn’t leave them behind. But what choice did I have?
29
LUCY
Ishould've gone into work, but the thought of it made me sick. How was I supposed to go in and look at Lennox and the others without breaking down? It had taken all my control to keep my emotions in check long enough to drop Abigail at school.
Now, I paced the house and tried to figure out what happened next. When I agreed to the news interview, I’d worried about them digging up my past and making crude comments about me getting pregnant in college. It never occurred to me that they’d find a way to slander me by dragging Zachary into it. Frustration boiled over and I slammed my fist into my open palm. No one at the newspaper was returning my emails, and now the story was so widespread there would be no shutting it down.
My phone rang, the shrill sound knocking me back a step as my heart raced. I snatched it from the counter and answered. “Zachary?”
“Hey.” His voice crackled. “Can I come over?”
I scanned the house automatically. “Sure.”
He chuckled. “Good, because I’m at your front door.” A series of knocks thumped on the door.
I bolted that way, the phone still gripped tight in my fist. My throat closed up so tight I couldn’t speak as I wrenched the door open and met his searching gaze.
He took me in, his eyes softening. “Hey.” He slid his phone into his pocket, kicked the door shut, and reached for me.
It was all too easy to fall into his embrace. The urge to finally break down and cry out all my fears and frustrations rushed up. My chin wobbled and I sniffed to clear the clog in my nose. “What’s wrong?” I’d checked the time not long ago. “You should be at practice.”
He winced and his arms tightened around my waist. “I’m being traded.”
“What?” Shock wedged deep, splitting me in two. Why was everything falling apart? This was all my fault. I should have been stronger. If I’d denied my attraction to Zachary, Lennox, and Justin, none of this would be happening. “He can’t trade you.” I palmed the threat of tears from my eyes and hardened myself against the pity trying to overwhelm me. “I won’t let him do that to you. This is my fault. I’ll quit working for the team so you can keep playing.”
“No, Luce.” He held my shoulders tight and peered into my eyes with no shortage of emotions stirring in the depths. “You’re not giving up your job for me.”
“I’m not letting you get blackballed into a trade either. It’s not fair.” I was ready to go to bat for him. I hadn’t gone up against my father in a long time, but this was one situation where I would not back down. “You deserve to be on this team.”
“I’m on your team.” He kissed the center of my forehead. “I’ll be okay as long as I have you.”
“You’re not leaving.” I shook my head and speared his chest with one finger. My phone dinged, and I let out a groan whileflipping it around to check the screen. “Oh.” I took a step back from Zachary, grabbing his wrist in the process. “The results of the paternity test are back.”
His pulse jumped beneath my fingers. “That was fast.”
It was. And I was suddenly terrified of what I’d find in the email. I led the way to the couch and sat, pulling Zachary down beside me.
“Do you want me to leave so you can look at them alone?” He shifted uncomfortably on the couch cushion and started to rise.
I kept hold of his hand and refused to let him pull away. “Stay. This is as much about you as it is me.” I used my free hand to tap the email and pull up the results.
Zachary peered over my shoulder. Short bursts of air peppered my neck and shoulder where he breathed, and the sensation made me shiver as I read. He leaned in closer and rested his chin on my shoulder. His short, scruffy beard rubbed my neck. “Does that say what I think?”
Joy lit me up and I cupped his cheek while nodding. “Yes.” Tears burned all over again. “You’re her father.”
