When I wake up the next morning, I instantly think of Sadie, and it puts me in a great mood. I reach over and check my phone. She’s left me a new message, and I smile.

I lean back against my headboard and type a response.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so self-effacing, but I’m so rusty at this dating thing that I can’t help joking about my insecurity. I’m not the type of guy to put on fake bravado. It used to make Lauren so mad. She always wanted me to be less authentic, which I thought was ridiculous. My phone buzzes with a text.

I laugh.

“What’s so funny, Dad?”

Charlie is standing at the door to my room in her Minion-themed pajamas, her hair all over the place. She rubs her left eye with the back of her hand. I put my phone on the nightstand. “Morning, kiddo. Come up here.”

Charlie pads her way into the room and climbs up onto my king-size bed. She drops herself dramatically onto the pillows beside me, then makes a big deal about fluffing them up as she settles in next to me. “Why were you laughing? YouTube videos?”

“Not videos,” is all I say and try to tame her hair. It’s thick and wavy like mine, which we get from my mother, and it makes for some incredible morning bedhead. But instead of it being dark brown like mine, it’s unabashedly red, which she gets from my dad, along with the freckles. Her light eyes and the dimple in her chin are all Lauren, though. “Are you ready for your favorite breakfast?”

She grins. It’s my favorite thing in the world to look at. “Apple pancakes?”

I nod, and she giggles excitedly. “Can I help?”

The kid loves to cook…well, more accurately, she loves to eat ingredients while I cook, but I don’t mind. In fact, I kind of love it. I nod and she scrambles off the bed, running out of my room. I stand up and throw on a T-shirt to go with the sweatpants I slept in and call for her to hold the railing going down the stairs.

I grab my phone and send one last quick message to Sadie.

Then I leave my phone on the nightstand and head down to the kitchen.

Forty-five minutes later Charlie and I are both full of cinnamon apple pancakes and she’s in the living room watching Clifford the Big Red Dog on Netflix while I clean up and drink an espresso. I’m so glad she isn’t talking about her nightmare, and she didn’t wake up again last night. I asked her, while we ate, if she had a good night, and she nodded and said Uncle Hunter took her for frozen yogurt, which she shortens and pronounces “frodo.” She doesn’t bring up the nightmare or calling her mom, so I don’t either. I still wish I had been here for her, though.

I glance at the clock on the stove. I have two more hours with her before she’s due back at her mom’s, and I can’t be late because Lauren has already proven she’s in bitch mode, and I don’t want to make things worse. “Charlie, how about you run upstairs and change and we go to the park before you head back to Mom’s?”

“The park next to the dog park?” she asks, and I inwardly groan. She has become super obsessed with dogs, and I know when her birthday rolls around she’s going to ask for one of her own. Lauren hates pets, so she’ll say no, and I’m not around enough with the hockey schedule to keep a dog here for her. Ugh. This may be her first heartbreak.

“Okay,” I say because that park also has a skateboard ramp, and she can easily be pulled away from watching pooches to watch skaters. She also wants a skateboard. My daughter is a big fan of anything that causes me heart palpitations and gray hair.

She scrambles upstairs, and I join her a few minutes later and change into jeans and a cable-knit sweater. Charlie does a decent job of dressing herself, which isn’t always the case, so we make it to the park fairly quickly. We spend the rest of our time together goofing off on the jungle gym, watching the skaters and dogs. By the time I’m driving her back to Lauren’s she’s yawning, which should make Lauren happy. Last time I dropped Charlie off, Lauren complained she was “hopped up on sugar” and wouldn’t go to bed on time.

She meets me at the door, her boyfriend, Cale, standing behind her in the hall, yanking on his shitty leather jacket. He looks like he just woke up and hasn’t bothered to comb his greasy black hair, let alone shower. But then again, he always looks like that. He’s a musician in a band named Two Dollar Bill, which is about the amount of money he’s made in his career too.

“Hey.” He grumbles to me as he steps through the open front door, giving Lauren a half-hearted kiss on the cheek as he passes. “Later, Chuck.”

Charlie gives him a lackluster wave, and I visibly bristle. I fucking hate that he calls her Chuck. It’s not a term of endearment, it’s a sign he doesn’t give a fuck. And it’s not that I want this jackwad to be in love with my kid, but I do want him to be respectful. And he’s not. My eyes meet Lauren’s. She knows what I’m thinking and instantly rolls hers. She sings Cale’s praises every chance she gets. I want better people than this idiot named after a vegetable in my daughter’s life.

Charlie clammers through the open door, and Lauren tries to smooth her hair. “Does Daddy forget to brush your hair?”

“I brushed it,” I say quietly. “We were at the park and it got messed up.”

“You know you should put it in braids or pigtails when she’s at the park,” Lauren chides.

“Okay. Next time.” I give her an overly large smile.

Charlie turns and wraps her little arms around my leg. “Bye, Daddy. See you soon.”

“Bye, Charlie.” I bend and kiss the top of her head. “Call me tonight, okay?”

She nods and disappears into the house. I nod at Lauren and start down her front walk. “Griffin!”

I turn to face her. I feel an overwhelming sense of dread. I say nothing, waiting for her to speak. She looks oddly uncomfortable. “Are you going to work now?”

My brow furrows. “Yeah. Why?”

She shrugs. “Nothing. I just was wondering. You still want her on Wednesday?”

“I want her every day,” I reply, trying not to sound as annoyed as I am. She frowns, deep and hard, and huffs before turning around and shutting the front door. Luckily, she didn’t slam it, but I know she wanted to. At least she’s keeping up her end of our pact not to fight or be hateful to each other in front of our daughter. I’ll take that as a win.

I try not to dwell how much Lauren’s attitude annoys me as I drive to the rink. Instead I start thinking about Sadie again. I’ve only been with the Thunder since the start of the season, but I’m surprised I haven’t seen her before. Her brother Jude is not just a star for the Thunder, he’s a superstar in the league. I had hated playing against him, although as the backup goalie on most teams, I didn’t face him often. I think only twice. I remember him being talented yet devious. He didn’t mind crowding your crease and was the king of trash-talking on the ice. Working for the team now, I see him differently. He’s hardworking and loyal to his teammates, with a sharp sense of humor, which I now know is clearly a family trait, as are the blond hair and blue eyes. The whole team was aware of his family because Dixie was always hanging around and attending games and fund-raising events as Eli’s significant other, and I’d been told she used to work for the Thunder. Jude’s a very vocal advocate for ALS, and I’d seen his dad at games in a wheelchair. I just didn’t realize he had more than one sister. How the hell had I missed that?

I get to the arena, and my mood shifts dramatically. I’m never in a bad mood when I’m around a rink. From the time I was a kid until right now, everything about hockey, the rink, the ice, makes me feel at peace. Joyful, even. The Thunder’s head coach meets me at the door to our offices, which are tucked in just past the training rooms. “How’s Casco?”

“He’ll be okay, but he’s going to need about a week off at least,” I reply.

Coach swears under his breath. “We’re playing the Saints tomorrow. Do you think Carling is ready for them and fucking Westwood?”

I nod firmly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I spend the next two hours with Noah Carling, the team’s former starter and now backup goalie. Eli stepped in when Noah needed surgery last year, and despite a rocky start, Eli helped the Thunder earn a Cup last year, so he earned the starting position. Noah has been a little shaky since his return, and maybe a little bummed he lost his spot, but as we work together I know he’s going to be fine against the best team in the league right now.

As I leave for the day, I’m excited to see Sadie again. I dig in my pocket for my phone—all my pockets…I can’t find it. Did I leave it in the car? In my office? I start to mentally walk through my day.

“Excuse me?”

I realize there’s a young guy standing in front of me. I wonder if he’s a fan of the team. Sometimes they wait in the parking lot to get autographs and selfies with players after practice. “Players already left for the day. Sorry.”

“Are you Griffin Sullivan?” he asks.

“Yes,” I reply, and he shoves an envelope at me.

“You’ve been served,” he says, and abruptly turns and walks away. I stand there in the empty parking lot feeling like I’ve just been sucker punched. And then I open the envelope, and I feel like I’ve just been dropped into an abyss.

It’s a summons to family court. Lauren wants full custody.