Hailey Dobson shoved her suitcase in the door and dropped her mail on the coffee table, shutting the door to her apartment and sinking onto the couch in exhaustion. It had been a long seven months since she’d been home and as she looked around, it appeared that things were different. Her roommate’s boyfriend had moved in while Hailey had been gone and they’d definitely made changes. Though the couch, coffee table and chair were the same, the walls had been painted a different color, there was actual artwork on the walls and… why was there a stack of boxes in the corner with her name on them?

Getting up slowly, a bad feeling coursing through her, she opened the top box and peered down at picture frames that normally sat on the dresser in her room. Why had Jean packed up her things? She’d just talked to her a few days ago, telling her she would be home, and Jean hadn’t said a word about wanting her to move out.

Turning on her heel, she strode down the hall to her room and flung open the door. A gasp escaped her as she stared at what used to be her room. Her bed had been disassembled and her mattress was on its side, up against the wall. More telling, however, was the crib in the corner. Why was there a crib in the apartment? Was Jean pregnant? What the hell was going on?

The sound of a key in the front door snapped her out of her confused reverie and she stood up to her full five-foot-eight-inch height. Not allowing herself time to change her mind, she strode into the living room prepared to find out what was going on. Jean and her boyfriend, Clay, stood there looking shell-shocked.

“I thought you said tomorrow,” was all Jean said.

“I’m pretty sure my text says the 16th,” Hailey said, pulling out her phone. As she scrolled through texts, she held out the phone showing their last communication. “I texted you on Saturday and said I’d be home on the 16th, which is today.”

Jean swallowed, one hand unconsciously traveling to her protruding stomach. “I, um, I guess I misunderstood.”

“Look, Hailey, we were going to tell you but it was the Olympics and then you were on the media tour…” Clay held up one hand in a what-are-you-gonna-do motion.

“You could have given me a head’s up when we talked last week,” Hailey snapped. “I’m exhausted and now I have to sleep on the fucking couch? What kind of bullshit is that? I have nowhere to go, Jean. What were you thinking?”

“You don’t have to leave right away,” Jean said hurriedly. “We just, I mean, the baby’s coming soon and we didn’t know what else to do…”

“Given me some warning?” Hailey threw up her hands. “I wasn’t planning to have to come up with security deposits and stuff. I don’t have a job yet or anything—this was really selfish, Jean.”

“I’m sorry, Hailey.” Jean’s lower lip started to tremble.

“Come on, don’t be a bitch,” Clay grunted. “She’s eight months pregnant. You could be a little more understanding.”

“I’m being a bitch?” Hailey gaped at him.

They glared at each other until a knock on the door broke the silence.

---

Kane “Hattrick” Hatcher rode in the Uber car that had picked him up thoughtfully. He’d planned his surprise for the woman he’d been dating carefully, getting enough information about where she was and what she was doing without giving away his plan. They hadn’t known each other long, but they’d been introduced online by mutual friends and had been pen pals for a few months before they’d met in person at the Olympics. The chemistry between them had been off the charts and the sex had been intense. They’d spent about thirty-six hours together and it had been hard to say goodbye. He’d been looking forward to seeing her again but now that he was about to pull up to her apartment building, he hoped she wanted to see him just as much.

Hailey wasn’t like anyone he’d met in a long time and he’d been thinking about really getting to know her despite the geographical distance between them. If things went as well in Boston as they’d gone at the Olympics, he’d been planning to ask her to go away with him once hockey season was over. The Blizzard wasn’t making it to the playoffs this year, so he’d already begun making summer plans.

The car stopped in front of her building and he grabbed his bag, waving to the driver as he jogged up the stairs to the second floor. Her address listed it as apartment 219 so he walked around several corners until he found it. He hesitated briefly before knocking, wondering what he might be walking into. Hailey was sweet, sexy and smart, but they’d only been together that one time. Now that he was here, he couldn’t stop a mild wave of panic. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if he was intruding? What if she had a boyfriend or something she hadn’t told him about?

Shaking his head, he refused to believe it. The woman who’d set them up was the fiancée of one of his teammates; she wouldn’t have done that if Hailey was involved with someone else. Besides, they talked almost every day. He might not know everything about her, but their time together in Seattle had been intense. They’d been completely immersed in each other, physically and emotionally, unlike anything he’d ever experienced before and he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since he’d left Seattle.

He knocked abruptly, anxious to see her and stop worrying.

A man answered the door with a scowl on his face. “What do you want?” he demanded.

Kane refused to be intimidated. “I’m here to see Hailey.”

“You invited someone over?” Clay demanded, his gaze darkening as he looked at someone over his shoulder.

“No, but—” Hailey broke off with a happy squeak and ran to Kane, throwing herself into his arms. “Hi! What are you doing here?”

“Surprise?” He looked down into her face.

“I’m definitely surprised.”

“Not really a great time for company, Hailey,” Clay muttered.

“Last I knew, I still lived here,” Hailey shot back, glaring at him. “If you’d given me a head’s up about all this, I’d have been working on making other plans.”

There was an awkward silence that caused Kane to instinctively wrap his hand around hers.

“We didn’t know there was a baby right away,” Jean whispered. “And then you were gone and we had to figure out what to do…”

“But why didn’t you tell me?” Hailey asked sadly. “I thought we were friends. How could you hang me out to dry like this?”

“I didn’t want to upset you while you were training for the Olympics and then I was eight months along and now you’re here.”

“With nowhere to go, no job and limited funds,” Hailey said dryly. She turned to Kane in frustration. “I’m sorry if this ruins your surprise.”

“It’s fine.” He kissed her forehead. “I still get to see you. Pack some of your stuff and let’s get out of here. We can get a hotel room.”

“I have a suitcase full of dirty laundry and I’m exhausted.”

“You can do laundry,” Jean interjected.

Hailey seemed hesitant but Kane squeezed her hand. “How about you throw in a load of laundry while I get on your computer and book us a hotel room? Then we’ll blow this popsicle stand.”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re the best.”

---

Two hours later they sat in the hotel restaurant, a bottle of wine between them. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet since they’d left her apartment, but he was determined to cheer her up, one way or another.

“You okay?” he asked after the waiter had taken their orders.

“I feel like I should apologize but I’m so glad you’re here. I was on the verge of a meltdown.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. I guess I’ll call my dad tomorrow and see if I can borrow money for an apartment.”

“I could lend it to you.”

She smiled but shook her head. “We hooked up for two days at the Olympics—I’m not taking money from you.”

“It would be a loan,” he pointed out, “but I’d like to think I was more than your Olympic hook-up.”

She met his gaze across the table. “You are, but you know what I mean.”

“Do you have any money at all?” He felt weird asking, but he couldn’t help if he didn’t have all the facts.

“There’s about a grand left in my savings account and the money from when I sold my car, but I don’t want to touch that because I’ll eventually need another one. I haven’t worked since the end of August, when I left for Olympic training, but I’d worked two jobs last summer and saved up. I’d planned to pay my half of the rent for the seven months I’d be gone but then Clay moved in and Jean said not to worry about it. I paid off some bills with what I thought was extra money but I figured I’d have a job before I had to start thinking about apartment and roommate hunting this summer. Jean knows I had no way of making money while I was training, so this came out of nowhere.”

“Clay seems to be in charge over there,” Kane murmured.

“Always,” she responded. “But this is really going to screw things up for me. I can’t afford an apartment by myself. I’m getting loans, but not enough to pay for tuition, books and an apartment of my own. I can’t believe she’s doing this to me.” She rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her clenched fists.

Watching from across the table, Kane itched to do something—anything—to ease the tension on her face. She was special, different than anyone else he’d dated, and he’d been looking forward to exploring more with her. That would never happen if she was across the country working two jobs over the summer and going to law school in the fall. An idea took root and he spoke up before he could change his mind.

“What if you moved to Alaska for the summer?” he blurted out.

“What?” Her eyes snapped to his.

“Move to Alaska, find a part-time job and live with me until it’s time for school to start.”

“But…” Her voice trailed off. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I be kidding?”

To be continued…

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