Worth the Risk

Chapter One. Lennox.

When I moved almost 600 away from home to attend the University of Indianapolis, I never imagined my life turning out the way it had. The first two years of college had been some of the best years of my life.

I'd finally gotten out from under my all-star father and was able to be my own person, not defined by his fame. I'd made some of the best friends I'd ever had, and it was a consistent home. Yeah, my dad had retired from hockey when I was little, but we still moved around because of his love of the game and his inability to let it go, which left him coaching in the National Hockey League.

I'd also found the love of my life; or so I'd thought at the time. I met Trey my freshman year at a party and we'd hit it off immediately, becoming instant friends. We had classes together, we hung out together, and we laughed together, a lot. It was easy. We gradually moved out of the friend zone and into "more". By spring break of sophomore year, we were officially dating. 

The only thing that changed was the intimacy; there was a lot more of that between us. We'd had the time of our lives together and had even talked in depth about marriage. When I found out I was pregnant in November of our junior year, I wasn't scared; I knew everything would be okay because Trey and I's relationship was better than ever. 

At least, that was how I saw it.

Trey didn't take the news well and told me he didn't want a baby. He said he was already having second thoughts about us and me being pregnant only solidified his thought process. He broke up with me because I wasn't willing to even consider not having the baby. So he walked out of my life and never looked back. He'd had nothing to do with the baby, said he didn't ever want to see me, or the baby when I had it, ever again. So I walked away and have been raising my 15 month old daughter, Saylor, alone.

And because I had absolutely no help from Trey, financially or otherwise, and the job market in Indy wasn't what I would've liked, I found myself back home in St. Paul a couple months after graduating college.

Luckily I'd spent my entire pregnancy saving all of the money I made at my on-campus job and was able to find an affordable apartment in a nice part of the city for the remainder of my schooling.

My parents and siblings had just helped me move from Indianapolis back to St. Paul the day before, so my twin sister Caila and I decided to go out and get some stuff for Saylor's nursery since we'd only lived in a one bedroom and I hadn't had a nursery to decorate for her.

That had been one of the things I was most excited about when I found out I was pregnant. But when Trey left, I couldn't afford a two bedroom by myself if I was going to save as much as I could. My parents helped me out, but I refused to let them do everything for me.

We're in line at Target, two carts full of stuff for the nursery, when my phone rings. Digging through the diaper bag, I pluck it out and answered my mother's call.

"Hi, Mom."

"Lennox, how are you doing today?"

"Good. Caila and I are at Target picking some stuff up for Saylor's room."

"Wonderful. I do hope you accepted your father's help..." she comments.

"I did, Mom. He told me he'd deposit it himself if I didn't take it. But you guys don't have to keep doing things like that..."

"You're our baby, honey. We just want to make things easier on you. Especially until you find a job."

"Well, thank you. I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome. And that's actually kind of why I called. I know it has been a long couple of days for you, but your father and I would like to sit down with you and discuss job opportunities. Could you come over around 7 for dinner?"