Dad’s face lights up. “I’m going to be a grandfather.”
“Yes. I don’t know what to do, Dad.”
He steps forward to hook his arm around my back and leads me into the living room. “It’s okay, Trent. I’ve been in this situation before. Twice, actually. Once with Blake and then again with your sister.”
“Yeah, but you gave Blake up for adoption. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
We sit on the couch in the living room next to each other.
“Giving Blake up is still my biggest regret,” he confesses. “You know that. If I could have changed my mind after the fact, I would have done things differently. I’m lucky to still be part of Blake’s life. I won’t allow you to make the same mistake I did.”
I wave him off. “It’s not like that. Jemma doesn’t want to give the baby up for adoption. She wants to keep it.”
He takes a sip from his glass. “Do you?”
“Yes, I think.” I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers and then sigh. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. My entire life was planned out. College and then the NHL. And now…”
“You can still finish college and go pro,” my dad says. “Don’t look at having kids as something that has to stop you from pursuing your dreams. You can still have it all. Look at me. I was seventeen when I had Blake. My dad had convinced me there was no other option other than adoption. I was scared, and because of that, I listened to him.”
“I’m scared, too,” I admit. “What if I can’t do this? What if I’m a horrible father? What if I can’t give Jemma and the baby what they need?”
My dad covers his hand over mine on the couch, his eyes fixed on mine. “You’ll be a good father, Trent. I know you will. I’m not gonna lie to you. It’s hard being a parent. You constantly second guess yourself and wonder if every decision you make will work out. I’ve worried about you and your brothers and sister since the day your mother found out she was pregnant. I worry every time you leave the house, every time I don’t hear from you… it never stops. Being a parent is not something you can turn off. It’s forever.”
I clear my throat, ready to cry, but I hold back my emotions. “That’s what freaks me out. I’m so afraid of disappointing Jemma and the baby.”
“It will all work out,” Dad promises, squeezing my hand. “Just make sure you’re there for Jemma and the baby. She will need you. There will be times where her hormones are insane and you’ll want to run away, but you have to be there to support her. This is not an easy transition for her either. You have to put her first. Always.”
“I will,” I whisper. “I just wish I knew the right thing to say to her. We didn’t leave things on good terms after she told me. I kinda freaked out and she walked away.”
Dad shakes his head. “Trent, you have to go after her. Grovel and beg until she forgives you because you need to be there for her. When your mom was pregnant with Ava, she thought I was going to freak out. But it was one of the happiest days of my life. That’s not the same reaction Jemma got from you, but you can change that by making a grand gesture, a show that you have her back.”
I consider what he’s saying for a second and remember the Valentine’s Day dance at Kappa Delta is in a few days. Jemma had asked me to go with her. We haven’t spoken since she told me she was pregnant.
“I know how to get her back,” I tell my dad.
He smiles. “Good. Now, go get your girl.”
Thirty-One
Jemma
The entire chapter house is packed to the brim with my sorority sisters and their dates. In typical Kappa fashion, we broke out the hot glue guns and craft supplies, every room on the first floor transformed into a Valentine’s Day nightmare or dream, depending on how you look at it.
For me, it feels more like a nightmare. I haven’t spoken to Trent in days, too afraid to contact him after the way he blew up over the news. And it’s not like I was going to look for another date to the party. Trent is the only person I wanted to share this night with.
Jordan comes up to my side, her date across the room from us, chatting with one of the guys on the football team.
“Don’t look so miserable, Jem.” She nudges me in the side with her elbow. “Put on a smile and pretend like you want to be here.”
“I want to crawl back into bed and sleep until the end of my pregnancy,” I mutter under my breath.