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Chapter Two:

Easton

I'm a stickler when it comes to my routines. Everyone gives me hell over my insistence to follow one, but they don't understand. When you have the career that I do, or when you have a toddler to raise on your own, routines are a necessity.

They make my life easier. They make my son's life easier. Most importantly, they make the lives of the people I spend my days with easier. No one likes it when I'm whinier than my actual baby is.

Yet here I am, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me I will regret this decision tomorrow.

Neglecting my hot shower to decompress, I drop onto the cream sectional couch, wishing the plush cushions would swallow me whole.

As I steal a quick glance out of my living room's oversized window, I can't help but admire the breathtaking view of the downtown skyline. The setting sun casts a warm light into my home.

The sight isn't enough to distract me though.

My mind is preoccupied with the new addition I'll have to consider in my daily schedule. Ever since the phone call ended with Harper, she has been my only thought.

To find someone who fits all my requirements, let alone a twenty-three-year-old, and they're willing to uproot their entire life and move halfway across the country is nothing short of a miracle.

In an effort to alleviate my racing thoughts and get some rest, I grab my laptop. Despite already doing background checks, which revealed nothing, not even a speeding ticket for fuck's sake, I find myself inexplicably needing to search for more information on this woman.

I type her name into my web browser, hoping to find some clues about her life through social media. However, to my surprise, I find minimal accounts that even have the potential to be hers,

My mind races with even more questions. What woman of her age doesn't have any social media presence? Not even a Pinterest account with her dream wedding board?

With a week left to prepare myself and Rowen for Harper's arrival, I make a mental list of all the things I have to do. By the time I finished the list, the sky had turned dark.

I make my way to my bathroom upstairs and I turn the water to a scalding temperature, I step into my black-tiled shower and let the water run over my aching body, hoping to wash away some of my uncertainties.

It was an immediate no when my mother originally suggested a nanny for this season. But then she used her "I'm disappointed in you" tone and I promised I would give it a shot.

No one wants to let down Anna King.

My mom insisted that having a nanny would be a good change considering I'm entering a contract year, and I need to put all my time and energy into my game. I need to prove I'm worth the money to keep me here. That I'm worthy of staying on the team that I consider more of a family than I do most of my own blood.

Throughout the months of finding and interviewing candidates, I had to remind myself that the change wasn't only for my benefit. And that's really the only reason I'm changing my carefully constructed lifestyle.

I'm hopeful this change will provide Rowen with more stability than I have been able to offer him over the past three seasons.

When I found out my girlfriend of two years was pregnant, I was unprepared, to say the least. I learned the hard way to not take word for it when it comes to their birth control method.

Thankfully with the help of my mother, I was able to have a reliable caretaker while I was at away games and practices, but Rowen struggled whenever I dropped him off. I'm hoping with Harper being in-house, the lack of extended stays and drop-offs will ease the burden of my leaving. At least that's the goal.