Tangled with the Tight End (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 24

twenty-four

GAbrIEL

The moment I get on the plane, my head hits the seat rest with a thump. Today has been the longest day ever. Flying in before dawn, the anxiety of the doctor’s evaluation, talking to Gunner about returning to the team, and not getting any sleep last night.

It doesn’t help that everything I do, Norah’s face swims in front of my vision. She’s like a prize that’s always out of reach, yet I ache to win it.

My cell phone rings as the pilot prepares for takeoff. It’s my attorney. “Hello?”

“Gabriel.” His voice is serious. “I’m sorry to call so late, but I’ve compiled everything from the security team and wanted to get it into your hands as soon as possible.

“Thank you, Baron.” The last person I want to think about is my ex. But if Norah is the fantasy that won’t go away, Sloane is the nightmare that lurks on the edges of my consciousness.

“The report was sent to your email….” He pauses for several seconds. “Are you in the position to discuss the new findings?”

“Yes.” The interior of the private plane is empty except for two flight staff up near the cockpit. They tried to engage me in a conversation, but my sullen frown sent them scurrying in the other direction. “It’s safe.”

“Truman indicated that Sloane was seeing Finn before you left town and was living there with him while you were gone. She only returned to your house a few days a week.” Likely to coincide with my phone calls to Gino.

“Where was my son during this?”

“She took him to Finn’s house with her.”

“Go on.” He may think his words impacted me, but they don’t. I expected nothing different. Although it does anger me that she dragged our son to this man’s house–this man who doesn’t want or like children, which was why she left him with me. Exactly who watched him for the last two years?

He clears his throat and says, “He was able to get a couple of her friends to admit that she had sex with several different players and other wealthy men during the period before Gino was conceived. All hook-ups where she used tampered condoms.”

“I used my own condom.”

“Which this one friend said happened intentionally because the men weren’t stupid. But she’d get around that by insisting on providing oral sex and switching out the condoms when the guy was…. Preoccupied. And there were a few times she slipped drugs in the drinks.”

Son of a bitch. Now it makes sense. The eagerness she expressed to put the condom on. How she managed to get pregnant with protection.

“Thank you.”

“I think you should get a DNA test done.”

“I did when he was born. I received my own test, took the sample without her knowledge, and the results were conclusive. I’m Gino’s father.” And he looks just like my side of the family, making the test unnecessary.

“Good. I was concerned that she was attempting to pass off someone else’s child as yours.”

“I thought of that from day one. The other….” I rotate my shoulders to ease the stabbing pain in my back as the engines fire to life. “I’m not surprised but couldn’t figure out how she pulled it off.”

“About Gino….”

“What?” My stomach cramps. If she thinks she’s getting him back from me, she has another thing coming, I’ll fight her for eternity on that. Making sure he stays with me is my number one priority and why I hired the top divorce and custody lawyer in Florida, and Truman Security to investigate everything about Sloane.

“An older woman who works for Finn has been watching him since Sloane started living there. This woman says that Sloane ignored him for days at a time, and he basically lived with her in her quarters.”

“Son of a bitch.” I lurch upright at the same moment the pilot announces to fasten our seatbelts and prepare for takeoff. That bitch. If she wasn’t going to take care of him, she should’ve sent him to live with me in the first place.

“I know these are not things you want to hear, but they all help our case.” I’ve not known Baron for long, but he’s a standup guy and a cutthroat lawyer. I know if there’s any chance of keeping Gino full-time with me and paying the least amount possible in alimony, he’ll come through for me.

“Thanks, Baron. I appreciate everything from your thoroughness to your insistence on keeping me informed.”

“You’re welcome. Are things going well with your son?”

“Yes.” For the first time, I smile. Nothing else may come from our trip to Evergreen Lake, but I’ve increased my bond with my son. The most important thing that I could’ve accomplished.

The blonde flight attendant stares at me like I’m a piece of chocolate. Not interested, so don’t even try. I shake my head and turn to face the window.

“At the end of the month, I’ll need you to take him to see a therapist and a pediatrician. I’ll set up the appointments.” Another part of his thoroughness is insisting that everything is documented.

After hanging up and taking off, I read every detail of Truman’s file. The more I read, the angrier I become until it feels like my brain is pounding out of my skull. My son was raised by Havana Lopez. She’s an unmarried, older woman, originally from Cuba, who adored him. I didn’t think reading it would leave me feeling like this.

Before I realize what I’m doing, I ring Norah’s number.

“Hello?” Just hearing her voice soothes some of my irritation.

“Hey.”

“I thought we weren’t seeing each other.”

“You said we weren’t seeing each other. This is a phone call, and I don’t have you on video chat.”

“You have a valid point.” When she doesn’t hang up on me, one corner of my mouth arches upward. “How was your day?”

“Busy. Very busy,” I sigh and sink into the seat. The pitch-black sky makes it feel like I’m encased in a void. A void with just me and Norah’s voice. I’d settle for that if it was my only option.

“Your knee?” Her voice is hesitant as she asks.

“It’s good. I know Marco is worried about my long-term health, but the doctor said it’s good to go, and there’s no increased risk of reinjuring it.”

“I’m glad to hear you don’t have permanent damage.”

The flight attendant glances at me and looks away as if she senses I’m taken. I’m taken? I swallow hard over the lump in my throat. I’m not taken, but I want to be.

How did that even happen? And what in the hell am I going to do about it? How can I convince her to agree to a long-distance relationship? It would only be for a few years, and I’m only required to be in Kansas City for half of the year. A lot of the players and coaches live somewhere else during the off-season.

“When do you go back?”

“A couple of weeks.” Would she come to my game? She could bring Gino. To have them both in my corner for my comeback would be perfect.

“I see.”

“I talked to Gunner about getting someone to watch Gino when I’m back in KC. He’s going to mention it to Jackson. His wife was his nanny for a bit before they got together.” But I’m holding out for my other plan to come through. It would be perfect for Gino.

“Okay.”

Each of her statements has grown shorter and more distant the longer we talk. Not that I blame her. We’re talking about me leaving. At least, for several weeks. The season is over in under two months, depending on how we do in the playoffs, and then Gino and I can stay near Norah.

“How was your day?”

“It was fine. I met with Marco to discuss business plans.”

“Is he thinking rationally?” The first time my brother mentioned our plan from years ago, I thought he was crazy, but now… Now, I see the appeal. It’s a great plan for retirement. “Yes, but you’ll have to discuss it with him. Gino was with him.”

My heart warms at the thought of Gino and Norah together. “Was he happy to see you?’

“Yes.”

Seriously? That’s all I get from her? It’s like pulling teeth. “Anything else interesting happen?”

I rake a hand through my hair as tension settles in my bones. The longer we talk, the more distance between us I feel. Even though I’m only twenty minutes from touching down in Nevada and then another thirty-minute drive to her place.

“Sawyer proposed.”

The laptop flies off my lap as I straighten in my chair. I had to have heard her wrong. My heart hammers in my chest.

“He did what?” My voice is a low growl as the words are forced from my lips.

“Sawyer asked me to marry him.”

The cabin spins in front of me. The fuck if she’s marrying that douchebag. What in the fuck is wrong with her? My hands ball into fists.

“Can I have your attention, it’s time to put down our electronic devices, snap on our seatbelts, and prepare for landing.” The pilot’s voice breaks through my hysteria, saving my cell phone from being crushed in my hand.

“We’ll discuss this later,” I bite out through clenched teeth. “I have to get off the phone to prepare for landing.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Yes, Norah, there is.” I jam my finger into my phone and stab out a message to my brother. Marry, Sawyer, over my dead body.