Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
"Stop," I growled to myself as I finished off the steak and the second beer. She wasn't worth thinking about, but I gave in to a few more thoughts as I made my way back down to the apartment and then banished all thoughts of her from my mind completely. I needed to focus on the upcoming season. I needed to be ready, to be sharp. There were always young players looking to steal my spotlight, and the closer I got to thirty, the harder the young bucks pushed. I wasn't ready to give up hockey yet, which meant I needed to focus.
I grabbed another beer from the fridge, because when training started I would only indulge in alcohol on the weekends, and never more than two drinks until the season was over, which wouldn't be for a good long while if we made the playoffs for the sixth season in a row.
That third beer had knocked me on my ass, or maybe it was the sun and the stress. Whatever the reason was, I woke up to a moonlit sky. I didn't usually sleep in the middle of the day because there was always too much to do, but I'd been laying low since Tatiana's interview had brought the paparazzi vultures to my front door once again.
I rolled off the sofa to go in search of dinner, but a whimpering sound stopped me. I lived in a penthouse apartment so it wasn't as if there was a stray animal inside, but I went to check the roof since critters sometimes found themselves stuck up there. A quick look around revealed nothing, so I shrugged it off and went back downstairs. The whimper came again and once again, I frowned.
"What in the hell is that?"
I had no idea how a stray animal could have made it all the way up to my floor without being noticed, but the sound wouldn't quit, so I opened the front door and froze.
A baby sat in a hot pink carrier on my doorstep. I looked up and down the hall, waiting for one of my players to jump out and take credit for this obvious prank, but there was no one there. No one but the whimpering baby kicking her chubby little legs in the air.
"Where did you come from?" It was a good damn question but since the hall appeared to be empty, I had no choice but to pick up the carrier holding the baby and bring it inside.
I set the carrier on the kitchen counter and stared at the tiny thing with a shock of red hair and big green eyes. How did a baby end up on my doorstep? Mine was the only unit on this floor and it required a special key card to gain penthouse access.
I picked up the phone on the wall that connected me immediately with the doorman. "Barry, has anyone been to my floor today?"
"No, sir. A few photographers tried to gain access but I got rid of 'em. Is there a problem?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know." I ended the call and turned back to the baby and the small bag hooked onto her carrier. There had to be some information on this baby somewhere. Right? Inside, there were a few diapers, baby bottles, and the smallest clothes I'd ever seen. Past the baby wipes and a tube of ointment was nothing except the bottom of the bag.
"Dammit."
"Ba-ba-ba-ba." The baby babbled with a watery smile as she kicked her legs like she was trying to tell me something. She kicked again and that's when I heard it, the crinkle of paper. Behind her kicking legs, I found a note.
Alex,
I'd like you to meet your daughter. She has your eyes, don't you think?
Before you curse me to hell and back, read this letter all the way through. She's yours and I have no doubts about that, but if you do, have a DNA test if you don't believe me.
Don't bother trying to track me down because I'll be dead by the time you find me, that's why I'm leaving her with you.
Please, take care of our little girl, give her a good life and make sure she knows I loved her more than anything.
I know you don't think you have it in you to be a father, to be responsible for someone so tiny, but I know that you do. Take care of her, and yourself.
That was all the note said, she hadn't signed it or anything. A ball of acid formed in the pit of my stomach as the situation started to sink in.
A baby.
Someone had left a baby on my doorstep and said she was mine. It couldn't be true. It had to be a play for cash. It was the only thing that made sense.