that.
And holy crap, if parenting is always this hard I wasn’t sure I was capable of any of it.
Still, I forced myself to power through when all I wanted to do was call the team doctor, tell him I’d be in another day. But I really wanted to get the blood test going so I could get my name added to Angelo’s birth certificate.
By the time I got the base secured in the car, hopefully doing it correctly, Angelo clicked in and the diaper bag ready to go, he was a screaming, unhappy mess and he cried the entire twenty minutes to the team’s practice and medical facility.
Where I’d missed morning workout but arrived at the exact right time for the team to be done.
They lost their minds when I explained what happened. Some died of laughter. Some looked ready to pummel Angela on my behalf, for reasons they didn’t explain but I can imagine.
And the others, they looked so damn scared they stepped back five feet as if me simply holding Angelo in their presence was contagious.
It was surprisingly Hendrix who stepped forward and took Angelo’s car seat from my arm, telling me he’d watch him while I saw the doctor. He’s a good guy, so it didn’t surprise me that he offered, but because he doesn’t have kids. Still, he unclipped Angelo like he’d done it a thousand times before. He held him with the ease I hold my hockey stick, shooing me into the office.
Overall, my first outing with a baby wasn’t the success I hoped for, but we survived.
And I only needed one beer when I got home to wash away the nerves and stress of it all.
Tonight we’re celebrating. The girls insisted they had to come see Angelo and my teammates are with them, even the single ones, because as of four o’clock this afternoon, it’s official.
I am, with ninety-nine point nine percent certainty, Angelo’s father.
I’m not sure how to feel about that except I know when I got the phone call the first thing I wanted to do was go across the hall and tell Paisley.
It’s hours later and I still want to tell her.
So it’s a huge shock to my system, but a complete welcome surprise, when Hannah and Byron come through my door, Silas and Sammy jumping and shouting with their usual ear-piercing volume leading the way, and Paisley trailing behind them, looking completely uncertain and pale behind them.
“Hey.” I go to her first and ignore the choking sound Byron makes as I slap his arm and pass him. “How are you?”
“Um. Well, Hannah stole my dinner in the elevator and insisted I come over tonight.”
“She did what?”
“See?” Hannah shoves a bag from Chipotle into my chest and I’m forced to grab it before it falls to the floor. “What luck, huh? We ran into Paisley in the elevator and insisted she has to come and hang out tonight. I said you ordered dinner and she’s free to eat hers here. Good idea, right?”
“Um. I don’t have to.”
Paisley is eyeing the bag in my hands like she’s desperate to bolt. I drop it to my side and out of her reach. If she can grab it, she might vanish. I want her here.
“It’s a good idea. Come on in.” Since I haven’t lost all manners, I squeeze Hannah with my other arm. “Good to see you, too.”
“Mm-hmm. Congratulations by the way.”
“Thank you.” My grin is so big it almost splits in two. It’s been five days since Angelo appeared and the bonding thing, I worried about over the weekend? That’s disappearing.
Now I can’t imagine leaving him. Impressively, we’ve gone for two morning walks and he didn’t scream or poop, once. In fact, he seems to love being pushed in the stroller. It’s not the kind of exercise I’m used to, but it feels good to know I’m no longer trapped in my home.
I guide Paisley farther inside since her feet are still right in the entryway, keeping her on the far side from her dinner.
“Congratulations?” she asks so quietly I can barely hear her over the noise. Everyone is excited to see Byron apparently. More than a few curious gazes are on Paisley. I ignore them all.
“Yes.” I set her takeout dinner onto my kitchen counter, away from the pizza so no one else thinks to eat it. “I had my blood tests done on Monday and results came in today. He’s mine.”
My chest aches as I say it and my grin