Chapter Three

Trevor loved hockey.

He had been playing since he was a kid, being sent to Canada as an exchange student, and though it had been difficult to live without his family, he had hockey. Though he didn’t like to pump his own tires, he knew he was good, and that being drafted to Chicago might not have been his ideal location – he was a mama’s boy through and through – but the city loved him, and he loved them back.

However much he loved hockey, however grateful he was for the opportunity to play at the highest level, that didn’t make it any easier to be away from Gabrielle. It hadn’t bothered him for so long because he hadn’t had anybody to come home to. His apartment had been too empty, his life devoid of the things most of his teammates spoke about with appreciation. Now, with his daughter in his life, Trevor was starting to realize just what he had been missing.

“Rainer.” Patrick Jett had been Trevor’s mentor since his draft, but he was also the biggest pain in the ass on the team.

Trevor groaned, tipping his head against the window. “What do you want, Jetty?”

Jetty grinned, elbowing Trevor in the side. “Word on the street has it that you have a beautiful new girl on the scene.”

“’Word on the street’?” Trevor rolled his eyes. “What are you, twelve?”

“No,” Jetty said, dragging the word out. “Stop avoiding the question.”

Trevor shrugged, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. He wasn’t trying to keep Gabrielle a secret from his team, from his friends, but he had thus far managed to keep her a secret. If Jetty knew, that meant the whole team would know in next to no time.  “Who told you?”

Looking triumphant, Jetty’s grin flashed his teeth. “Our illustrious captain might have let something slip.”

“Of course, he did,” Trevor groused. Pears wasn’t a gossip, but he did have a tendency to run at the mouth when he was drunk, and Trevor had no doubt the fact that he had a daughter was a big piece of news, especially given his less-than-stellar past.

Jetty’s face shifted into something closer to affection and pleasure than mocking. “I’m happy for you, Rainer. Who’s the lucky lady?”

Trevor’s expression soured. “She’s not around.”

It took a minute for Jetty to understand, but as soon as he did, he let out a low whistle. “Fuck. You ready for single fatherhood?”

“No,” Trevor said, laughing. It was a touch hysterical, but he rubbed at his eyebrow and sighed. “It’s a pain in the ass. I know she hasn’t been mine for long, but I love her.”

His voice dropped on the last, but he shouldn’t have worried. Jetty had a kid and he would know exactly what it was like, but Trevor couldn’t help himself. Despite Pears having a big mouth, Trevor didn’t want the entire team to know until he was ready.

“Sure,” Jetty said. He was searching Trevor’s face carefully. Trevor trusted his advice, and he was a father to boot. “You got pictures?”

Trevor scoffed. It was a ridiculous question given how many pictures of their children his teammates had. “Of course I do, idiot.”

Jetty mock sniffed, wiping at an invisible tear. “You wound me, Rainer.”

Rolling his eyes again, Trevor dug his phone out of his pocket, noticing as he did so that he had three messages from his mother and one from Nick. His heart picked up speed, but two from his mom were pictures, the third was a lot of exclamation marks, and Nick’s was another picture. The panic about Gabrielle probably wouldn’t fade, given how new she was in his life, but he hated them both a little for making him worry over nothing.

Jetty was peering over his shoulder, and Trevor knew immediately when he saw the messages from the huffed breath and the poke to his side. “Who’s Nick?”

Trevor gave Jetty a look and opened up the gallery of his phone. “Why?”

“You’ve introduced him to your child,” Jetty said pointedly. “I might not have known for sure about her, Rainer, but I know you, and you wouldn’t let anyone around her that you didn’t trust.”

“The thing is,” Trevor said, bringing up the first pictures he’d taken of Gabrielle. “I trust his credentials and references. I also trust the agency that recommended him.”

Understanding crossed Jetty’s face. “A nanny?”

“Yep,” Trevor said, grinning. “This is his trial period. If Gabrielle likes him, he’s hired.”

“Gabrielle,” Jetty said, with a smile. “Nice name.”

“She came with it,” Trevor said dryly. At Jetty’s pointed look, he sighed and handed over the phone. “Nick’s the nanny, Mom is Mom and Gabrielle is my daughter.”

“Ha, ha.” Jetty took the phone and thumbed through the pictures. Trevor watched his face, could see the easy affection in Jetty’s smile and tapped his fingers nervously against his knee. He didn’t think Jetty would be critical of her, but so many people had questioned whether Trevor was adult material let alone father material, and he couldn’t shake the worry over it no matter how hard he tried.

It was obvious he didn’t need to worry.

“She’s a gorgeous kid, Rainer,” Jetty said, handing the phone back. “Makes me wonder how a hot mess like you could make such a beautiful child.”

“Fuck you,” Trevor said, knee-jerk. “I’m beautiful.”

Jetty tipped back his head and laughed, poking his head into the aisle. “Bars! Trevor thinks he’s beautiful.”

Trevor couldn’t help but grin at the raucous laughter that started up from the back of the bus – and not just from Bars. He really did love the guys on his team, all of them great in their own way. It was somewhat comforting to know that if he did tell the rest of them about his daughter, they would be happy for him, but he still couldn’t do it. Not yet.

Trevor thumbed a quick reply to both his mom – who had sent pictures of Gabrielle playing pattycake with Nick – and Nick had sent a screenshot of a picture Gabrielle had drawn him. Trevor was wearing skates, was a head taller than every one of his teammates and was holding a trophy. His little girl clearly knew Trevor needed another Cup to add to his collection.

“So,” Jetty started, and his tone instantly put Trevor on his guard. “Where did you find Nick?”

“He was about the fiftieth person I interviewed,” Trevor said, dryly. He would have been suspicious about Jetty’s teasing, especially as Jetty was one of only two people on the team who knew about his propensity for sleeping with anyone, regardless of gender. He knew how Jetty felt about his own kids and how protective he could be, so he figured Jetty’s questions were coming from somewhere genuine. “He comes from the top Agency in Chicago, Jetty. Abby recommended them.”

Abby was Jetty’s better half. “Well, if she recommended them, he’s clearly highly sought after.”

Trevor snorted. He didn’t know how in-demand Nick had been, but from the way he was talking, there hadn’t been a queue. He hoped that stringing him along – and having everything rest on these two days – wasn’t cruel. Just because he had enough money to retire tomorrow and be comfortable, didn’t mean Nick had the same security. Still, he doubted that Nick would have come to look after Gabrielle if he wasn’t intending to take the job, even if Trevor hadn’t been forthright in his plans.

“I should probably lock it down, huh?”

Jetty was looking at him strangely, and Trevor flushed at his turn of phrase.

“The contract, Jetty. He’s gonna be my kid’s nanny, Christ.”

“Doesn’t stop a lot of people,” Jetty pointed out.

Trevor threw him an unimpressed look and turned his attention back to his phone. Trevor had spent years being the team disaster and he probably would have fallen into that camp back then, but he was trying to be a better person. Being a better person involved not sleeping with someone who was working for or with him.

Thankfully, Jetty gave up on trying to get anything more out of him, and retreated to the back of the bus, probably to cause trouble with Bars. Trevor didn’t usually end up by himself, but his road roommate was out with a concussion and with the rest of the guys paired off already, he had been spending the last couple of weeks alone.

It wasn’t a feeling he was unfamiliar with, but it was one that he was trying to get rid of.