Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions) (17 page)

Thanksgiving Day arrived with much fanfare. The triplets were out playing with a soccer ball on the beach, supervised by Vlad’s father, Vladimir, Sr. Emma was helping Zoe get her last minute touches on the dishes for dinner, and Vlad was lounging in the living room talking to his aunt and uncle.

Only a little over twenty-four hours had passed since their arrival, and already Zoe felt as if she’d known them forever. They were such a fun loving family.

Dinner was a boisterous affair. The triplets never stopped talking and bickered constantly. Vlad’s uncle and father argued about hockey strategies while Emma, Zoe, and Aunt Anna tried to have a civilized conversation, which was next to impossible over the din of the other conversations flowing around them. Vlad couldn’t have been happier. He had gone too long without having a chance to visit his family.

He took a minute to think about how good his life was at that moment. Vlad was feeling like a new man. He had an exciting new job to look forward to, his hip was healing nicely, and he’d finally gotten the girl of his dreams. Everything was just sliding into place.

The only problem was, when things seemed too good to be true—they usually were.

Vlad’s penthouse was filled with aromatic bliss. The smells that pleasantly assaulted Zoe’s nose upon entering were spicy and fruity with just a hint of savory bacon cutting through the sweetness.

It was the day after Thanksgiving, and Vlad was hosting a late brunch. Zoe had tried to decline the invitation in order to give Vlad a chance to visit with his family alone, but he’d have none of that. “You
are
part of my family, Zoe,” he had said, encircling her with his arms. So, there she was—the triplets and their parents in tow.

Sasha, Julia, and Lena were still giggling and talking nonstop … in Russian. Vlad told Zoe that they were talking about how fun the ride over was. He had hired a limo to bring them over to his place. It might have been overkill, but Zoe couldn’t fit six people in her car, and he knew the girls would get a kick out of it—and he was right.

“Please speak English, girls. Remember Zoe doesn’t speak Russian yet.”

There was a chorus of apologies, and off they were again, this time jabbering in English.

“Yet? I doubt I’ll ever speak Russian, Vlad.”

“Sure you will. I’ll teach you slowly, over time,
moya lyubov
.”

“What did you just call me?”

Vlad smiled and pulled her close, putting his lips to her ear. “Moya lyubov. It means ‘my love’ or ‘my sweetheart.’” He felt a shiver run down her body as he placed a kiss just below her ear and then let her go.

Emma was calling them into the kitchen to help carry the many dishes that made up their brunch to the table, when the doorbell rang. Vlad walked over, opened the door, and froze. He was staring at a little girl who looked eerily like his mother. Confused, he called back over his shoulder, “Uh, Mom?”

Emma peeked out from the kitchen and promptly dropped the glass casserole dish she was holding, splattering French toast and shards of glass everywhere. “Oh my God. Who is that, Vlad?”

Vlad looked at Zoe, silently pleading for help. His entire family was in his kitchen. All of them. This little girl, who looked to be about seven or eight years old, could only belong to one person.

Zoe walked over to the door and held out her hand to the older man who was standing next to the sullen looking child. “Hello, I’m Zoe Millis. Can we help you?” It was obvious that the girl was related to Vlad, and Zoe could only guess how. It was also painfully obvious that Vlad didn’t know what to do. Zoe wasn’t exactly sure herself, but he was still frozen in the same spot, hand on the doorknob, looking back and forth between everyone in bewilderment.

The gentleman reached out and shook Zoe’s proffered hand. “I’m Thaddeus Blake, ma’am. I’m Carla Bonner’s attorney and was a close friend of her father’s.” He looked at Vlad and gave him a tired smile. “Vlad Bejsiuk?”

Vlad finally unfroze and let go of the doorknob. When he allowed himself another peek at the girl, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Yes, I’m Vlad.”

Those three little words had the girl’s lip trembling. She was the saddest little girl Vlad had ever seen in his life. In that split second, he swore he’d do whatever he could to make that sadness go away. His chest hurt with the need to do so. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was looking at his own child. He felt it bone deep. She felt like his.
Carla Bonner—that seems like a lifetime ago.

Vlad wasn’t thinking straight when he moved forward and abruptly pulled the girl into his arms, scaring her with his abrupt hug. “My God. Carla Bonner’s your mother.” He pulled back just far enough to tilt the girl’s chin up so that she was looking at him, her eyes filled with tears. He spoke quietly, trying not to spook her further. “Do you know who I am, little bit?”

She immediately stiffened in his arms. “Yes, you’re my father, but I’m not little, and I’m not a bit.” She pushed him away and turned to bury herself in Thaddeus’s jacket, sobbing like her world was ending.

Vlad didn’t have the first clue what he was supposed to do. He looked to Zoe again for guidance. She was a therapist, surely she could help him. “What do I do?” he whispered to her. “I don’t know what to do.” He’d never felt so helpless.

Zoe tried to communicate wordlessly with Vlad that he needed to get a grip. The poor girl was obviously freaked out, and Vlad’s actions weren’t helping anyone. She gave him a bright smile, and pulled him back to give the girl some space. “Why don’t you both come in? The three of you can use Vlad’s office to talk.” Seeing the girl take Thaddeus’s hand in a death grip, Zoe addressed her directly. “Or maybe you’d like to freshen up first. Would you like that?”

She nodded her head and released Thaddeus. When she took Zoe’s hand, she spoke for the first time in a tiny voice. “My name’s Crystal.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Crystal. My name is Zoe.” Pasting a confident smile on her face, Zoe led Crystal down the hall to the guest bathroom. “Here you go. There’s a clean washcloth in that vanity, if you’d like to wash your face with some cool water.” Zoe turned to give her some privacy, but she wouldn’t let go of Zoe’s hand.

“Could you stay in here with me? Please?”

“Of course, sweetie. Would you like me to wet a washcloth for you?” Zoe didn’t wait for an answer; she grabbed a fresh washcloth out of the vanity and ran it under cold water for her. “Here you go.”

Crystal stood there uncertainly with the washcloth in her hand. She had her head bowed, staring at the ground, and her shoulders were rounded in a look of utter defeat. She peeked up at Zoe through her wet eyelashes, and in a voice so soft that Zoe barely heard her, she said, “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Wash your face? Here, honey, I’ll do it.” When Zoe reached for the washcloth, Crystal looked up at her.

“No. I don’t know how to live without my mom.” She broke down again. “How? How do I grow up without her?”

Zoe watched with what felt like a vice clamped around her heart as Crystal slid down onto her knees and buried her face in her cupped hands. Zoe immediately sat on the floor with her, holding her tightly.

“Oh, Crystal. I’m sorry, honey. I’m so sorry.” Then she just let her cry until there was nothing left.

Vlad and Thaddeus were in Vlad’s office where he grabbed a shot of vodka to calm his nerves. “I know it’s a little early, but do you want some?”

“No, thank you. That stuff would knock me out.”

Vlad immediately thought better of taking the drink in front of his daughter’s guardian.
Holy shit, I have a daughter.

Thaddeus saw his hesitation and put him at ease. “No, you go ahead. I understand you wanting to calm your nerves a bit. Believe me, I’ve been researching and watching you for almost a year now. I know you don’t abuse alcohol.”

“You’ve been watching me for a year? Why? What’s going on? Why did I not know that I had a daughter?”

“I felt that Carla was getting ready to tell Crystal about you, and I wanted to make sure you were worthy of her.” He taped the folder he was holding. “She left you letters. I’m sure she explained things in them.”

“What happened to Carla? Where is she?”

“Carla died of breast cancer almost two weeks ago. I’ve had Crystal with me since. I kept her with me to get her through the funeral and Thanksgiving Day. My wife thought it was the right thing to do. I hope you’re not upset that we didn’t bring her to you straight away.”

“Upset? How could I be upset? That poor girl lost her mother, and God only knows how she feels about me.” He looked at Thaddeus, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m a father. What happens now?” Vlad threw back his shot of vodka and tried to sit down next to him, but his nerves won out. He stood right back up again and paced about the room, running his hand through his hair as they talked.

“Well, I’m hoping that you’ll want to keep your daughter. I’m hoping that you’ll want to raise her. She’s a wonderful little girl, Vlad. She’s become quite withdrawn in the past couple of months, but that’s to be expected. Carla did not have an easy death. We tried to keep Crystal away near the end, but she would just sneak in and hold Carla’s hand as she cried. Carla didn’t even know she was there.”

“God, of course I want to keep her. I would have wanted to keep her from day one. At least I think I would have. She probably hates me. What did Carla tell her about me?” Vlad had no idea if she painted him as a bad guy or not. Why didn’t she tell him she was pregnant?

He remembered meeting Carla at a bar after a game when he played for Vancouver. She was a sweet, petite girl—all sunshine and rainbows. They dated for about six months and then she broke it off. He had thought it was strange at the time, but he just moved on to the next girl. He could remember thinking
screw her, there are tons of girls who want me.
Now, of course, he could see that for what it was. He couldn’t say he was head over heels in love with her, but he cared for her, and it hurt when she dumped him.

“She told me that she never told Crystal about you, but she did give her your last name. I’m sure, given time, she would have come to find you. Especially if she became a hockey fan. Bejsiuk, as you know, is not a common name around here.”

Vlad pulled in a deep breath and held it. He let it out slowly as he looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “Is there anything I need to do to settle Carla’s estate? Is there a house to be sold or debt to be paid? I’ll take care of all of that, of course.” Thinking about all of the stuff he didn’t know was overwhelming. “Shit, I mean, does she have any pets? Do I need to go to Vancouver to get her clothes and stuff? What do I do now?”

Thaddeus got up from his chair and put a hand on Vlad’s shoulder. “I took care of all of that. She has some suitcases out in the hall. Carla donated most of the furniture in the house. Crystal’s furniture is at our house. We can arrange to have it sent here. There is nothing left for you to do but take care of your daughter.” He put the thick folder on Vlad’s desk. “Her birth certificate, school records, doctor’s notes, and a lot of other records are all in here. I put my card in there with my home phone number, my cell phone number, and my wife’s cell phone number. You can call us anytime, day or night.”