Baby Under The Christmas Tree. Teresa Carpenter
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played by a two-year-old. And then he wrapped his little arms around her neck and whispered, “I miss Donna.”
His grandmother, not his mother. Any subconscious sympathy for Amber disappeared. Her neglect of her child went way beyond these missing hours and bordered on the criminal.
The faces of her young niece and nephews rolled across her mind’s eye. She was such a softy when it came to kids she couldn’t just stand by and let Troy suffer.
Okay, all right; Elle stopped fighting her aggravation with the situation and decided to do everything she could to help Troy. If that meant working with Max, she’d do it. But from what she could see, putting Troy in Max’s care only moved him from one mostly absent parent to another mostly absent parent.
Troy deserved a happy home with people committed to his emotional and physical welfare.
Which meant Elle had some hard questions for Max. If he couldn’t give Troy what he needed, maybe they’d have to redirect their efforts.
Determined to get the kid settled, she made her way to a guest room and lay down with him.
He immediately slipped from the bed and pulled on her hand. “Daddy.”
Now he wanted Daddy? Feeling a bit like a yo-yo she allowed him to drag her back to the master suite, where she eyed Max with evil intent. Wake up and take care of your kid already.
Digging deep for patience and channeling her new resolve, she tucked Troy back into bed beside his father and sat on the edge of the mattress, prepared to wait until the boy fell asleep.
He smiled at her and pushed the blanket aside. “Night-night.”
He wanted her to lie down? With him and The Beast? So not a good idea. But she was exhausted and a glance at the clock on the nightstand told her this was her only chance of getting any more rest before work. She set her cell alarm for forty minutes and stretched out on the very edge of the bed.
Troy scooted close and within minutes his little body went lax in sleep. Elle considered leaving, but couldn’t get her eyes to open. The corner of her mouth twitched. The kid had gotten her into bed on their first meeting.
And she was in bed with The Beast. Nobody could ever know. Least of all Max.
It was her last thought before she drifted away.
* * *
A kick to the gut woke Max. Instantly alert, he powered up onto his arms and flipped over, ready to fight. A hard lesson learned from his time on the streets.
But it was only Troy turned sideways in the bed and reaching for more territory. That didn’t surprise him as the memory of last night flooded in.
Now, seeing the ever-efficient Ms. Austin also sharing his bed, that caused a brow to rise. And other body parts, too.
Long and lush with a waterfall of vibrant red hair, the woman made him want. Too bad she had the personality of a piranha.
Had he imagined her in his bed? Hell yeah. Had almost gotten her there last year at the Gala before he came to his senses. He’d love getting tangled up in those long, pretty legs, but getting entangled in a relationship? That was a no-go. And she had picket fence written all over her.
The idea of a street rat like him with Daddy’s little princess was ludicrous. The sex might be great but he had nothing more to offer her. Money and fame didn’t keep a couple together; he’d seen that often enough in the league. Seriously, what would they talk about?
What the hell? Since when did he worry about conversation with a woman? Never.
Which only served to show he was in a weird place.
He sat up on the side of the bed, scrubbed both hands over his face. And then he looked at Troy. His son.
Max had been on his own forever. The truth was hockey fit him to a T because he didn’t play well with others. What he contemplated was insane. No, it was beyond insane.
He was leery of letting a woman into his life. At least he’d know what to do with Elle if he gave in to that insanity. But taking on Troy? He’d barely survived bottles and changing diapers.
But he’d made up his mind. He was going to bring Troy to live with him.
Amber had messed up for the last time.
He glanced at the clock. Saw it was close to six. No doubt Elle would want him to wake her, send her off to work. But the sight of Troy sprawled out sound asleep between them decided him against that course. He wasn’t risking waking the kid.
But he did need to make plans for more permanent arrangements. The kid had responded to Elle last night, calming from his screaming jag much more quickly than he ever did for Max. That was recommendation enough for him. Reaching for his phone, he stepped out of the room and made a call to the Director of Public Relations.
Quickly laying out his problem, he asked for Elle’s help for the morning.
“I need her here,” Ray Dumond stated. “The Jaden issue requires immediate attention. Damn, Max, couldn’t you exert a little control?”
“I was under perfect control.”
“You know what I mean. The men listen to you.”
“Jaden was already buzzing when we got there. He was reminded of the rules. There wasn’t much more I could do except guard his back.”
“That’s something, I guess. No one was seriously hurt?” Dumond showed concern for the first time.
“We take a bigger beating on the ice. Ray, I need Elle for a few hours. And then I need your help. I’m going to claim custody of my son.”
“You already have custody of Troy. You made sure of that as soon as you had confirmation he was yours,” Ray reminded him. “I’ve never understood why you pay that witch when you don’t have to.”
“Because she’s his mother. Because I don’t know anything about raising a kid. Because I’m always on the road.” Because he’d thought she had to be a better bet than he was, but this latest stunt had proved him wrong.
This wasn’t the first time she’d left Troy with someone and not bothered to show when she said she would. But it would be the last. He’d warned her what would happen if she left Troy at risk again. Leaving him with a stranger was the last straw.
“He barely knows me, Ray. It’s my fault,” Max confessed. “I should have tried harder.” Amber had caught him in the oldest trap known to man. And he admitted he’d been resentful. Unfortunately Troy was the one to suffer. But that ended now.
“Ray, I need help. It doesn’t have to be Elle.” In fact, he preferred almost anyone else. “Maybe that new girl, Jenna, can help me. I have the minimal setup for him here, most of which he’s outgrown. I need to find a nanny. And it won’t take long for the press to get wind of this. You know Amber will make trouble. We need to be prepared.”
“You’re right about that. It would have been bad if this woman took Troy to the police.” Ray’s knowledge confirmed Elle had already filled him in on the events of the night before. “Okay, I’ll give you someone to help, but you owe me a player event for this, no skipping out on the Gala this year. And I want something from you for the auction. And you were right the first time. Elle is the best one for the job. Let me talk to her.”
Max stepped back to view Elle asleep in his bed. How perverse of him to take delight in her presence there. And how appalled she’d be if she were awake for this conversation.
She really was lovely. When she was asleep.
“She’s lying down with Troy and we just got him to sleep. Can I have her call you later?”
“Yeah. Listen, I need to know how bad this could get. People expect hockey players to be rough, they’ll forgive a little wildness. As long as no innocents are hurt. Tell me straight, Max, what’s the worst Amber could say?