The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,76
the many that proclaim her as a daddy’s girl.
“Almost!” she calls back. I put the sandals on Evie’s feet that Riley picked out for her a few weeks ago.
“Ready for the park, baby girl?” I ask my daughter as I hold her up over my head as if she is a helicopter. All I get in return are some slobbery, smiles.
I love how lively she is starting to get. How much her little personality is coming out as every day passes. It still boggles my mind how Erica could just give this up. She still hasn’t tried to contact me, and I have to wonder if she ever will. Once the courts awarded me with full custody, I worried less that she would just swoop in as quickly as she did before, but this time to try and take her from me.
“I’m ready,” Riley says as she joins us in the living room. I take my time looking up her long, exposed legs. She has on a pair of chucks, shorts, and a tank top that shows off just a hint of cleavage. Enough to make my mouth water and my dick take notice.
“Let’s go, then!” I clear my throat then stand to walk out to the garage. I put Evie in the stroller then grab Riley’s hand as we head out.
We make it to the park and find it busier than I would have expected for a Thursday. Riley pulls Evie out of the stroller and beelines it for the swings. I stand a few feet back and just watch the two of them smiling and laughing together as she pushes the swing. The look of complete elation on Evie’s face has me smiling right along with them.
I tug my ball cap a little lower as I notice people taking note of me being here. I’m sure by the end of the day there’ll be pictures of us up on some website. I wish they’d allow my daughter her privacy, but people aren’t that kind.
“JJ!” I hear my name called. I look over and see Austin Jones and his wife, Reese. They are here with their daughter. He plays for the hockey team and his wife is a famous singer.
“Hey, man, good to see you,” I greet him as he stops next to me.
“You too. How’s fatherhood treating you?” he asks, offering his hand to shake. We have met a few times over the years. I would not say he is one of my close friends, but he’s a good guy, from what I know.
“It's going. Not something I ever thought I’d be doing right now, but I also wouldn’t change it for anything,” I tell him honestly. “How’s your little one?” I ask, nodding over to where Reese and their daughter are playing.
“She’s great, saying a few words now, almost walking. Reese thinks she’ll be walking before her birthday in a few weeks.”
“That’s awesome. Evie said ‘dada’ for the first time the other day, and it about brought me to my knees.”
“I remember when Nicole did that, and I had the same reaction. What is it with these little girls wrapping us around their little fingers?” he muses.
“No tour for Reese this summer?” I ask. I know most of the hockey guys leave town for the summer months.
“Nope. She wanted to take some more time off. She’s got a few shows spread out over the summer at fairs and festivals, but for the most part, she’s still enjoying being a mom first. We just got back home yesterday from a few weeks gone. She played the big CMA fest in Nashville earlier this month, and then we went to spend time with her family in Georgia for the rest of the month. I’ve got a youth hockey camp I’m helping with next week, so we came back for that.”
“Nice. Yeah, today is my one day off this week, so I’m just spending it with my girls,” I tell him.
“So, I’m guessing that headline was bullshit, then?” he muses.
“Don’t get me started.” I shake my head in disgust.
“Glad to hear that it wasn’t true. A good woman in your life isn’t a bad thing,” he says, and I notice he’s looking directly at his wife.
“I’ll agree one thousand percent with you on that,” I tell him as I notice Riley taking Evie out of the swing. They walk over just as Reese walks over with their daughter.
“Hi, I’m Riley,” she introduces herself to both Reese and Austin. If she