Under Fire: A Florida Glaze Hockey Romance, page 20
Holding out my hands I yell, “I got you!” and brace myself for the inevitable splash when Sutton lands in my arms.
Sure enough, I get a face full of water.
Kody is on the other end of the pool, being spun in circles by Holly. Clearly, he’s gotten over his initial hesitation with her.
I wish I could be a little more like that.
“Ooh, my little fish,” Holly coos. “You guys are such great swimmers!”
Sutton begins paddling in my arms, trying to swim over to them. “Mommy says when I’m big like Daddy I can take my floaty vest off.”
Holly laughs lightly. “Well when you’re big like Daddy, those vests probably won’t fit you, so I wouldn’t recommend trying them on.”
“Yeah,” Kody adds as he wipes water out of his face. “Daddy’s arms are super big.”
“He’s not your daddy!” Sutton yells suddenly, expressing an anger I’ve never seen before.
“He is, too!” Kody yells back with as much fight as I’ve ever seen in him as well. This is such a change from him referring to Tucker as “Not-Daddy”. I can only assume this new rift is because Holly is here and Kody wants to make sure Grammy is as much his as she is Sutton’s.
“Now, now, kids,” Holly says gently, using her grandma voice. “We don’t need to fight over who Tucker belongs to. He belongs to both of you, remember?”
“But he’s not Kody’s daddy,” Sutton insists.
“Ya-huh!” Kody yells back, tears welling up in his eyes.
“It doesn’t matter Sutton.” I turn her around so she and Kody aren’t facing each other anymore. I wouldn’t be able to do that move successfully if we were anywhere except inside a large body of water where neither of them can touch the bottom, so I’m taking full advantage. “Look at me.”
She does, but doesn’t remove the pursed lips and furrowed brows. I’m not sure when she became so possessive over Tucker, but this might be a problem if we’re not careful and nip it in the bud now.
“We are family, remember?” Sutton doesn’t say anything, just continues to glare at me. “Ellie’s not your mommy. But does she love you?”
Sutton’s expression begins to soften as she thinks about it. “Yes. She loves me to the moon and back. She told me.”
“Right. And Tucker loves Kody to the moon and back, too.”
That’s probably a slight exaggeration considering how long we’ve all known each other, but I can’t anticipate Tucker ever pushing Kody away. Not while we have these living arrangements, anyway.
Sutton’s lip begins to quiver. “But he’s my daddy, Mama.”
“And he always will be, baby. Nothing can change that. But that doesn’t mean you can be ugly to Kody and not let him be family with Tucker, too.”
I can tell she doesn’t like that, but she’s also considering what I’m saying. I suspect we’re going to have a lot of strange conversations for a while. There was no question about where everyone stood when it was just the four of us. It was easy. Each kid had a mom, each mom had a kid. Now there’s one dad at an age when they both want one desperately. Leave it to me to make a choice that puts us all in this weird spiderweb of relationships.
The back door slides open and we’re greeted with a “Honey, I’m home!”
“Mommy!” Kody shouts and scrambles to the side of the pool as fast as Holly will let him. Sutton also takes off, which basically proves my point, not that she’ll pick up on that, but at least I feel like I wasn’t wrong in my parenting discussion.
“Hi guys, hi,” Ellie says as the kids clamber out of the pool. “How was your day?”
“Well, we’re currently fighting over who Tucker belongs to, so that’s been a fun time of tears.”
“Oooh,” she replies with a grimace. “I guess we should have seen that one coming at some point. The kids look okay now, though.” Sure enough, all seems to be forgotten as they chatter away.
“Yeah, I’m probably more traumatized by the conversation than they are.” That whole ‘it hurts the mother more than it hurts you’ thought process is more accurate in some cases than I ever knew before I gave birth. “How was work?” I ask as Ellie hugs the kiddos and begins the obnoxious task of trying to wriggle the vests off their wet bodies.
“Basically the same as when you quit. Decent tips. Decent co-workers. Wish I could get something different but it pays well and has good hours. And I got my Christmas bonus,” she says with sarcasm. “So why mess with a good thing?”
“They’re still trying to pass off a coupon good for one free entrée at the fancy restaurant down the hall as the bonus?”
“Can’t wait to spend my whole paycheck feeding everyone else so I can get one free meal,” she grumbles.
“Yeah, I don’t miss it at all.” I make a point of leaning my arms against the edge of the pool and sighing with overexaggerated relaxation.
“Show off,” she murmurs followed by “Yes, yes, I’ll help you get dressed so we can have a snack, but we have to towel off first,” as the kids continue bouncing and chattering about all things Christmas and swimming.
“Hey Ellie, you left before you could meet Tucker’s mom this morning. This is Holly. Holly, this is my best friend and the mother of my bonus son, Ellie.”
They exchange pleasant greetings, well, as much as they can with two three-year-old’s bouncing around. Finally, Ellie puts a hand on top of each their heads. slowing them down for a second so she can finish her conversation.
“It’s so nice to finally meet the woman who raised that fine man,” Ellie gushes. “He has just taken to this family with no hesitation whatsoever. It’s been so nice to have an easy transition.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Holly replies. “He’s no stranger to lots of noise, what with having four brothers and all.”
“Well, he’s been a great addition to the kids’ lives so far, that’s for sure,” Ellie adds, purposely forgetting the growing pains we’ve had recently. Or maybe just grateful he likes to wrestle with the kids because they won’t stop hounding her. “Okay, okay,” she finally caves. “Let’s go inside and get dressed and maybe by then Lacy will have made you a snack. But we need to do it quickly so you and I can get out of their hair, Kody.”
Her comment has me furrowing my brow. “Get out of our hair? What are you talking about? It’s Christmas Eve. We have movies to watch and cookies to bake like always.”
“Cookiiiiiies!” Kody yells and the rambunctiousness continues.
Ellie smiles shyly, her lips twisting to the side. “Lacy, it’s your first Christmas as a family. I thought Kody and I could do our own thing this time.”
I know what she’s doing. She’s trying to give us space on this first holiday together, but that’s not going to fly with me. I know it’s not going to fly with Sutton and I’d be willing to bet Tucker won’t be happy if they aren’t here either.
Before I can argue with her, though, Holly jumps in. “Oh no, no, no. That isn’t going to work for me.” Ellie’s eyebrows shoot up. I’m sure mine do too. “You girls are like sisters and these kids think they’re twins. Unless you have some big plans with your extended family, Ellie, you will be spending Christmas here in this house as you should. Don’t stop your traditions on account of me or my son.”
Ellie glances back and forth between Holly and I, unease still on her face. “Are you sure? I really do look forward to making cookies with the kids every year.”
“Of course—”
“Absolutely—” Holly and I answer at the same time.
The relief on Ellie’s face is palpable. “Well okay. In that case, I’ll get these two settled inside so we can start baking whenever you’re ready.”
“Sounds good.” I hold my hands up to inspect my fingers “I’m starting to look like a prune, so we’re almost done.”
She nods once and begins herding the kids inside when Kody announces, “Mommy! Grammy brought us presents!”
“That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see them…”
Her voice fades away as the door closes, leaving Holly and I alone in the pool. I’d get out, but I’m finding the water and the sudden lack of noise soothing. Plus, I’m trying to follow Holly’s lead and I can’t quite figure out what she wants to do.
Why is it so hard to be a good hostess to this woman? She’s been nothing but kind so far. More than kind, actually. Maybe it’s because Tucker got called away to a random meeting with a potential endorsement he’s been trying to nail down for a couple months, so we’re here all alone. Not sure why it was so urgent that they meet the day before Christmas. Regardless, this silence is starting to change from being soothing to downright uncomfortable.
Holly finally breaks the ice for us. “Do you have any brothers and sisters, Lacy?”
“I do. I have three older brothers and a younger sister.”
“So you’re used to a lot of noise, too.”
“Not really. I mean, maybe a little. But my parents were really, really strict while we were growing up. The whole ‘Children should be seen and not heard thing’. Unless my brothers were arguing about something, it wasn’t too loud.”
“Do they live here in Tampa?”
“No, everyone except my sister is in Ohio. At least I think they are,” I add on, but I’m not sure she caught that part.
“Do you see them a lot?”
I shake my head, hating that I’m the black sheep of the family. I still feel their loss if I dig deep enough, but explaining it to Tucker’s mom? That feels a little sticky. Like she might see the same things in me, the same sins that my family did.
“I was just reunited with my little sister a few weeks ago.” Thinking about Muriel makes me smile. “We hadn’t seen each other since I found out I was pregnant.” My voice drowns out as shame burns through me. I’m essentially telling this woman I want so bad to like me that my own parents don’t want anything to do with me, just not in so many words. “But Muriel just moved to the area so I’ve seen her a couple times and talk to her almost every day. It’s been nice getting to know her again.”
“She’s the only one you talk to?”
I gnaw on my bottom lip and nod. I hate admitting the truth, but she’s Sutton’s grandmother. She needs to know what she’s really getting into with us.
Holly leans back against the lip of the pool. “That’s unfortunate. Seems like they’re missing out on seeing a really sweet little girl grow up.”
A half-smile graces my lips, but I keep staring straight ahead, not sure how to respond. I try to focus on the fact that she already likes Sutton so much.
“Seems like they’re also missing out on watching a lovely young woman grow up, too.”
My head whips over to look at her faster than I can stop it. Holly smiles at my obvious shocked reaction.
“I have five boys so I know how babies are made. I’m under no illusions about how Sutton came about.” She rolls over onto her stomach, mimicking my position. “But I also know my Tucker. The day he found out he had a daughter, he called me. Did you know that?”
I shake my head.
“He was horrified.” I bristle. “Not at the idea of having a child,” she clarifies, making me relax just a bit. “He was so angry he’d missed out on her life. Just furious that he left you in a position to fend for yourselves when he clearly had the means to make sure all three of you were taken care of. It’s a regret I don’t think he’ll ever get over.”
“It’s not his fault.”
“Just because something isn’t your fault doesn’t make you feel less guilty. You’re a mom. You should know all about that.”
She’s right. I always felt guilty about not being able to provide Sutton everything she wanted. Guilty about having her on WIC and food stamps and living in a car. It wasn’t for lack of trying or because I did anything wrong. It was just a hard life situation we got stuck in. But the guilt will probably always be there.
“I know he doesn’t admit to it much, but Tucker usually calls me every day. Just a quick call on his way to or from the rink when he’s alone in his car. I’ve heard what he thinks about you almost every day. If for one second he thought you were anything short of amazing, he wouldn’t have been so adamant about you guys living together. I think being here isn’t just about getting to know Sutton more, I think it’s also about you.”
Her words surprise me. “Why? Why would he want to get to know me?”
“From what I can gather, because you’ve captured his attention in a way no other woman has.”
I huff a laugh, trying to dismiss the sudden butterflies moving around in my stomach. “Yeah, well, no other woman has given birth to his child before.”
“True. But it’s more than that. You are driven and hard-working. You sacrificed your entire life for these children. You hold people accountable when they’re wrong, but gave Tucker grace when all the details came into focus. You’ve raised an amazingly smart and clever little girl on your own with only a penny to your name. I know it’s hard to see your situation for anything more than tough, but to the rest of us, it just shines a spotlight on how remarkable you really are.”
I blink away the tears that are rapidly forming in my eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“No. It’s okay. I just… I was so frightened about you coming to visit. I was so afraid all you were going to see was the whore who trapped your rich son into providing a big house or something.”
“Oh please. It takes two to tango. I don’t care what society tries to tell us—he is as much at fault for getting you pregnant as you are. From where I’m sitting, you didn’t trap him. He owes you this much for letting you suffer for so long without him.”
“Wait…but you said it wasn’t his fault.”
“It wasn’t. But he bears the responsibility of surrounding himself with people who didn’t have his best interest at heart. I warned him about that scumbag Morty before he hired him. Something didn’t feel right to me. But Tucker didn’t check with his gut before he hired that lazy ass. Consequently, you were the one hurt. That’s not okay and he knows that.”
Now I know where Tucker’s insistence on taking care of us comes from. It’s not a reaction to his guilt as much as it’s a trait that’s been instilled in him from the beginning.
“Listen, Lacy,” Holly continues, “I don’t know why your parents don’t have anything to do with you. I can’t imagine cutting off one of my kids because they made a mistake—particularly when the mistake isn’t hurting anyone else, and when not helping will hurt an innocent child—but none of that is about you. You are not unworthy because you had a one-night stand. I’ve had a couple of those in my lifetime, too. I just got lucky and went home alone afterwards instead of with a child.”
She bumps my shoulder, making me giggle.
“Maybe don’t tell Tucker about that little secret. I can’t imagine it would go over well to know his mother isn’t as prim and proper as I pretend to be sometimes.”
“Yeah I don’t think anyone wants to know that about their mom.”
“Probably not. But my point is,” Holly continues, “Tucker thinks you’re amazing. He is enthralled with you. And if nothing else, he’s always been a good judge of character.”
“Except with his agent.”
“Except with him. I suspect that will be the last time Tucker makes such an egregious error.”
“Mommy! Grammy!” The door flies open and Sutton stands in the middle of it staring us down like we’re doing something wrong by still being in the pool. “Ellie said you were getting us a snack. We’re hungry and we have to make cookies.”
“Sorry, baby. Grammy and I got to talking and I forgot.”
Sutton throws her head back and sighs dramatically.
“Oh lord, she got her father’s dramatics,” Holly says as she begins making her way to the stairs. I trail behind her, feeling much more comfortable with her company now.
“Is that where it comes from? I was wondering.”
“Oh yes. That is all him.”
“Now I need to hear some stories.”
“Let’s go make these kids a snack and I’ll spill all the tea for you.”
It’s weird how one conversation can change everything, but that’s exactly what our time in the pool did. Could this actually all work out?
I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I practically glide through the rest of the day, enjoying the company of my daughter’s new grammy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TUCKER
I hate that I got called into a meeting. I had no Intentions of leaving Lacy alone with my mom all day, at least not until Lacy gets more comfortable with our company, but for some reason the endorsement contract couldn’t wait for a few more days. It’s Christmas Eve. It’s not like any of this is going to be processed for a few days anyway.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled to be the new face of this small grocery chain. They’re locally owned and have a stellar reputation with their employees. They’ve served the community well and I like being part of that. But seriously. It’s the holidays. They could have waited until I wasn’t trying to acclimate my baby mama to my mama. Hopefully the extra money in Sutton’s college fund will make up for my absence today.
“Honey, I’m home!” I call as I step into the living room.
Nothing happens.
That’s weird. The kids always come running when I get here. Maybe they’re in the pool.
Rounding the living room into the kitchen, I discover that they’re not swimming. They’re stuffing themselves with apples and peanut butter, their faces covered in baking flour. Actually, the whole kitchen seems to have a thin layer of white powder over every surface. But that’s not what I’m focused on right now.
“Tell me you mixed honey in with the peanut butter,” I practically growl at my mother.
