Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) Read Free Page A

you and Cody have. That baby you’re carrying… it’s very lucky to have two parents who have good heads on their shoulders and can make an educated decision like this.”
    “So, I should keep it?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow up.
    Val laughed. “I’m not gonna make that decision for you.”
    “Spoilsport.” Jo pouted, but she knew Val was right. This was their baby, their decision. And Cody was a part of her life, the biggest part. He deserved that much, even if he was being an ass. She’d made the mistake once already of not talking to him about it.
    “I bet Cody would be willing to help with the decision, if you let him.” Val was a mind-reader. That’s all there was to it.
    “What if he doesn’t want to be a father? What if I have to choose between him and this baby? What if I end up alone?”
    “I doubt that will happen, but if it does,” Val paused, thoughtful and then smiled at her, “I’ll be here for you to talk to. After all, that’s my specialty.”
    Jo leaned back in the chair. Somehow she’d ended up talking to Val when it was Cody she needed to be talking to. She thanked Val and left her office, dialing her husband’s cell.
    *~*~*
    Gavin Ferrara managed to sneak away from his signing table, telling Misha he had to use the bathroom. But once he was out of sight from the crowd, he swerved directions, and headed up the stairs.
    He was going crazy. That was the only explanation. He was stuck in some alternate dimension where he had a crush on his damn roommate. He pinched his brow, ducking his head as he rounded the corner, and nearly ran into a blonde blur.
    “Gavin!” Baker’s wife placed her hand over her heart as they sidestepped each other, letting out the breath she’d just gasped. “You scared the shit out of me.”
    “Sorry, Joey. Wasn’t expecting anyone to be in Val’s office. Thought everyone was down at the signing.”
    “That’s okay,” Jo said, smiling. Her smile was tight. She hadn’t been around as much as she usually was. “Haven’t seen you or the guys lately. How you been?”
    “Good,” he lied. “Just been playing hockey a lot.” And lusting after my very male, very hot roommate, but let’s not dwell on that.
    “Good.” She nodded. She palmed the phone in her hand, and her eyes shifted around them. “Well, I have to go. See you around.”
    “Bye.” He frowned as she walked away. Both Cody and Jo had been acting weird lately.
    He dismissed the strange encounter and faced Val’s door, only a few feet away. He took a breath, trying to gather the courage he wasn’t sure he had. Val knew most of the situation. He’d told her during one of the games near the beginning of the season, only because if he didn’t tell someone, he was literally going to lose his mind.
    The door to Val’s office was open, and Val was inside, but she wasn’t looking up. Instead she was sorting papers on her desk. He lightly rapped on the door. Her head shot up. A smile spread over her face.
    “Gavin. This is a surprise.”
    “You got a minute?” he asked.
    “Sure.” She sat down and gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “What’s up?”
    He sat down, leaning his elbows on the desk. “I just… I wanted to say thanks, Val.”
    “For what?”
    “For not… you know… telling Darren what I told you.”
    “This is my job, Gavin. I promised you confidentiality. For what it’s worth, Darren wouldn’t care anyway.”
    He shrugged. “He’s had enough to worry about this year.”
    Val sighed. “Fair enough. I still think you should talk to Misha.”
    “I can’t. He’s my best friend. And if the guys found out, they’d all hate me.”
    “You really think that?” Val frowned. “Because I’m not sure that would be the situation.”
    “I’ve lived it.”
    “Not with these guys, though. Look how they rallied around Leo Vasquez.” Leo’s unconventional relationship with a married couple had hit the papers a week earlier, leaving a shit storm