He groaned but then purposely twisted his thoughts in a positive direction before he answered. “Hey, Fred. Tell me you’ve got good news.”
“I’ve got good news and not so good news.”
“Hold on a sec.” As they approached the bar, Beckett lowered the phone. “Hey, guys, I’ll be right in. Open a tab.”
When his teammates disappeared inside, Beckett leaned his back against a light post, grateful the icy wind wasn’t blowing tonight. “Okay, what have you got?”
“The good news,” Fred said, “is that Toby located Kim’s aunt at a nursing home in Sarasota, Florida.”
“That’s great.”
“Hold on,” Fred cautioned, pulling Beckett’s hopes down a little. “While she does corroborate your story about Kim dumping Lily on her and leaving without ever looking back, her health has deteriorated considerably over the last year. If her state of mind is challenged, I can’t guarantee her affidavit will be all that beneficial.”
Beckett winced.
“Also,” Fred went on, “inside sources say Kim and Henderson are a little on the rocky side. A lot of ups and downs over the last month or two.”
Beckett squeezed his eyes closed. “Fuck.”
“Hey,” Fred said, serious and steadfast, “I’m going to keep a titanium bubble around you and Lily, Beck. I’m giving you the big picture, but worrying, planning, and counterattack are my job. Your job is to focus on the ice. Securing that next contract is as important to keeping you and Lily together as holding Kim at arm’s length. You’ve trusted me for years. You’ve got to trust me now. You know it would kill me to see that bitch get Lily back.”
“I know.” Beckett exhaled, his jaw muscles pulsing as his teeth clenched and released. “Listen, I’ll feel better if we go all the way with this. Don’t stop with her aunt. Get all Lily’s medical records, get statements from Kim’s neighbors, friends, coworkers, talk to her ex-boyfriends, anyone who took care of Lily during that time. I want documentation on not only how Kim abandoned her that one time, but showing it was a pattern of behavior. Because we both know it was a pattern, the same way her calls to me for money are a pattern. And if her patterns hold true, that means her relationship with Henderson is going to fall through. Hopefully that will happen after a judge awards me full custody of Lily, but I want all the ammunition I can possibly get in case that relationship goes south before.”
“Beck, you know that’s going to take an enormous amount of manpower—”
“I don’t care what it costs. If you have to put Toby on it full time, three guys on it, five guys on it, whatever you’ve got to do, Fred, just do it.”
“Okay, okay.” He used his soothing tone. “I’ll do whatever you want, and I’ll get it done as fast as possible, but Kim hasn’t made any aggressive moves, so I think it’s best to play this cool. As if we’re confident. As if we’ll keep giving her money as long as she wants it. The less flack she gets as we approach the hearing, the less apt she’ll be to launch her own offensive maneuvers. You have to remember, she’s had a whole year to stash Henderson’s cash. There’s no telling what kind of resources she’s got now. And there’s a lot of talk about you being the hottest free ticket coming on the market in July.”
Beckett dropped his hand and stared blankly at the pedestrians passing on the sidewalk. God, the pressure felt like a vise. Holding on t
o Lily, staying close to his family, securing another contract. It seemed to build and build, with hockey being his only consistent outlet.
“I hear you,” he said.
Fred promised to keep him posted, and Beckett disconnected, then used FaceTime to call his parents’ house, searching for some good to offset the bad.
His mother answered, her familiar smile filling the screen. She was in the kitchen of his parents’ home in the hills of Arlington. “That had to be one of your best games to date, son. At thirty-one, you keep getting better.”
“Thanks.” His mother had sung Beckett’s praises since he first stepped on the ice, but it still made him smile. “It was a tough game.”
“That’s an understatement. Keep playing like that, and you won’t have to worry about where your next contract is coming from.”
He pulled up a smile for his mom. “That’s the plan.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be there.”
“Me too, but after decades, you’ve seen enough of my hockey games. You’ve got something more important to do now.”
“Yes, I do.” She stood and walked through the house. “Listen to this.”
She moved down the stairway to his parents’ finished basement, and a flurry of giggles floated over the line. Beckett laughed, and his stress melted. Nothing could relax him like Lily’s love and laughter. In ten short months, her happiness had become his absolute first priority.
“That is beautiful,” he told his mom.
“She’s come so far, Beckett.” His mom’s voice was soft, her expression drenched with love. “She’s a completely different little girl from the one left on your doorstep last year.”
He smiled, pleased with Lily’s transformation. “She is amazing.”