Offside
OFFSIDEBy
Bianca Sommerland
Copyright 2013, Bianca Sommerland
Smashwords Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Edited by Lisa A. Hollett
Cover art by Reese Dante
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the vendor and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
This e-book contains material not suitable for readers under 18. It also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, and one man erroneously labeled as vanilla. Author strongly advises care be taken when using ladders and gym equipment in ways other than originally intended. And sex on cruise ships whenever possible. The author advises that as well.
The Dartmouth Cobras
Game Misconduct (The Dartmouth Cobras #1)
Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2)
Breakaway (The Dartmouth Cobras #3)
Also
Deadly Captive
Deadly Captive (Collateral Damage)
Rosemary Entwined
Rosemary & Mistletoe
The Trip
Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. This year we have hope.
Rosie, for vanilla and sprinkles! Lol! Our little thing. You know how much you mean to me! To Cherise, so much love and respect. You taught me the meaning of affectionate revenge. ;)
To my betas, Missy, Ebony, and Stacey. You’ve become such an important part of this series and I’m so happy to have you along for the ride. To the fans of this amazing hockey team, thank you for cheering them on, for giving the team what it need to thrive. Because of you there are many books still to come!
And this last acknowledgement, probably the most important one I will ever make, is to my daughters. It will be a long time before you pick up one of these books, but by the time you do I hope all this hard work has gotten us where we need to be together. Sharing a bright future in which I can help you make all your dreams come true. There’s a lesson in this juggling act you see me perform every day. No matter how hard things get, you
can
do so much more than even you believe. Don’t doubt that no matter what anyone says. You’re
my
girls and that means no one will ever hold you back. I love you so much!
Early July
I
can’t do this.
Rebecca Bower hunched down, arms crossed tight over her stomach, keeping her voice low so her five-year-old daughter, who sat in the backseat of the car coloring, wouldn’t hear her. Her eyes burned as she glanced up at her mother. “Mom, I can’t do this.”
Lifting her hand from the steering wheel, her mother, Erin Bower, patted her shoulder. “Yes, you can. I know it will be hard,
ma bichette
, but Patrick is Casey’s father. He has some rights.”
A length of barbed wire seemed to wind around her stomach, around her heart, digging in and tearing her insides apart. The last time Casey had been with her father, she’d ended up in the emergency room.
I almost lost her because of him.
“Becky, get out of the car for a minute, please.” Her mother opened her door and stepped on to the parking lot. A big straw hat sat on her head, shielding her pale face from the glare of the sun until she tipped her head back to stare up at the planes leaving the airport. The fine lines around her mother’s eyes deepened with tension and exhaustion. She lived for her children, had dropped everything in her own life to come to Dartmouth, but as strong as she was, the weight of all she’d pulled on to her slender shoulders was beginning to show.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Becky whispered as she came around the car to stand beside her mother. “You’d be on your way home if I’d kept this to myself.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “I would have been very disappointed if you’d kept this to yourself. You’re staying with your brother because he needs you, which makes me very happy, but don’t be too proud to accept help yourself.”
“I’m not, I just—”
“You tried to hide how upset you were about this. You wouldn’t have told either me or your father if I hadn’t insisted. I understand your not wanting to talk to your brother, he’s dealing with enough, but since when can’t you talk to me and your father?”
“It’s not that I can’t talk to you . . . it’s just . . .”
Ugh, how the hell am I supposed to make her understand?
“This is my mess. I need to show my daughter I’m strong enough to manage on my own.”
“No. Right now, you need to show your daughter she doesn’t need to be afraid of her father.” Her mom took her hand and squeezed tight. “It’s as simple as that. She doesn’t remember much—if anything—about what happened last time she saw him. She’ll feed off your reactions, so you need to get better at hiding how you really feel from her. I know it’s hard. I wish you didn’t have to go through this, but you do. His mother will supervise the visits. She might be blind where he’s concerned, but she’ll keep your daughter safe.”
Becky swallowed hard, nodding slowly. She couldn’t argue with that. And Patrick
had
gone to a few parenting courses. Enough that her lawyer pointed out he was entitled to visitation, and denying him would put her in contempt of court.
Again.
The fines, the threats from Patrick’s lawyer, she could deal with. But the judge at their last hearing had warned her that she could do jail time if she refused to respect the visitation order. The judge had shown some sympathy when she presented him with reports from the doctor and the social workers who’d been involved when Casey had nearly drowned in the bathtub while in her father’s care. Because he’d left her alone. But the fact was that he’d eventually taken steps to become a better parent. The court believed it was in Casey’s best interest to get to know her father. The only concession was supervised visits since contact had been limited for so long.
Maybe he’s changed. Maybe he can be a good father.
Her instincts all screamed at her, fierce voices like a dozen fists pounding at the inside of her skull, telling her not to believe it.
But she didn’t have a choice.
“All right, I got it.” Becky leaned into her mother’s hug, then planted a broad smile on her face as she caught Casey peering out at them from the back window. She opened the door and unstrapped her daughter from her booster seat. “So,
poupée
, are you excited about going to Marineland with Daddy?”
“I like dolphins.” Casey picked up her little purse and her stuffed Shrek. Her tiny white dress shoes clicked on the pavement as Becky set her down. She tucked the purse and the toy under her arm to straighten the skirts of her pink floral sundress. “But I’d rather stay with Uncle Landon. I want to see the baby. And Silver is fun.”
Holding in a sigh, Becky crouched down to her daughter’s level. “You’ll only be gone for three weeks, Casey. The baby won’t be here yet.”—
I hope—
“Besides, you promised Silver you’d take lots of pictures for her. Since she’s stuck in bed, you’ll need to tell her all about your trip when you get back so she won’t be bored.”
“And I can talk to her, and Uncle Landon, and Uncle Dean every night,” Casey said, repeating what Silver had told her before they’d left Dean’s house. “But what if Daddy doesn’t let me use the phone?”
“He will.”
He’d better.
“You’ll talk to me too though, right?”
“Well, duh.” Her daughter giggled, sounding a bit too much like Silver Delgado for Becky’s liking. Then she topped it off with a statement that set Becky’s teeth on edge. “Silver said you need a break. Can’t you come with me?”
“I just started a new job, baby. I can’t take time off now.” She continued before her daughter could remind her she worked for Silver—well, more specifically, she worked for the Dartmouth Cobras as the Media Relations Coordinator, but her daughter didn’t know the difference. “Besides, this is a special trip for you, Daddy, and Nanny.”
Casey wrinkled her tiny nose, winding her pink beaded necklace around her fingers before sticking the end in her mouth and speaking around it. “I guess . . .”
Way too serious for a five-year-old.
Becky laughed and took her daughter’s toy and purse. “Come on. Daddy’s probably waiting.”