He'd probably would have stayed with her if he'd made his own choice. Found an alternate career. Instead he'd let other people run his life.
It was far past the time to let others run his life. He'd been waiting far too long to have Mandy and he wasn't going to let her slip away again. Because she was doing what she thought was best for any of them.
No, it wasn't time to sit back. It was time for action. He'd taken the challenge thrown to him by the NHL or the universe at large and he'd come up victorious. He just had to have a decent plan again. A plan to suck up to Mandy and show her just how wrong he'd been letting her decide what direction his life should take.
He smiled, relaxing into the jets. A plan was forming in his mind all ready.
****
Mandy snapped up the phone when it rang, hoping it was Kip. It hadn't even been 24 hours since she'd asked for space, but she was desperate to talk to him. Praying she hadn't pushed him away she sat at the kitchen table. "Hello?" her voice was breathy, full of fear and hope.
"Hello Mandy."
Mandy closed her eyes, a sinking feeling filling her gut. Eric fucking Tressor. What the hell did he want at 7:23 PM on a Wednesday? He only called on Saturdays and the rare Friday. "Hello Eric."
"You sound less than thrilled to hear from me."
She cleared her throat, trying to be at least civil to her child's father. "I was just expecting someone else."
"Yer fancy hockey man?" There was a meanness in his voice that she'd never heard before. "How did you pull of that kind of rich boy."
Mandy took a deep breath to keep herself from responding defensively. "Are you calling to talk to Colton?"
"I was thinking I haven't seen the kid in a while."
The kid? "Colton is your son Eric," Mandy hissed. Thankfully Colton was in the bathtub at the moment. "Something which you may have forgotten. You can talk to him, but I need to tell you something."
Eric interrupted before she could inform of Kip's influence on Colton's life. "You are right. He is my kid. He should be coming up here to visit me."
Mandy scoffed. "You haven't seen him in eight months Eric. He's not going to jump on a plane because you suddenly have the urge."
"You might have to if I take you to court over it."