Total pages in book: 11
Estimated words: 9744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 49(@200wpm)___ 39(@250wpm)___ 32(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 9744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 49(@200wpm)___ 39(@250wpm)___ 32(@300wpm)
“It’s hard to hurt when I’m loved so completely by such an incredible wife and sons,” I remind her, kissing her nose. “I just gotta find my new thing.”
Before she can stop me, I push the button, and the door slides open. As we enter, the first picture I see of is Baylor and me, her holding her gold medal and me holding my silver at the last Winter Olympics, as we kiss happily with the kids standing in front of us. Man, what a ride that was. We had such a blast and made so many awesome memories. Especially since Jude and Jace competed as well, so the whole tribe was there. I swear, we had the loudest cheering section. We were considering going for the next set of Olympics, but I don’t think Baylor wants to go without me. I hope she does if she’s asked. I know we’ll go with her, and I’m sure Jude and Jace will play too.
Hopefully soon, we’ll go for our kids.
Speaking of our kids, Dawson comes around the corner first. At fourteen, the kid is massive. He’s taller than me and builds muscle like Baylor. He is the spitting image of Baylor but with my darker features, while Louis is me made over. On cue, Louis shows up right behind his brother, growing like a damn weed. He’s already at eye level with me, which is annoying. I don’t know what the kids eat, but they’re going to make some great defensemen one day.
Or great football players. They do both.
My mom and River, her husband and my father-in-law, bring up the rear, all of them awaiting the verdict.
Dawson meets my gaze, and his shoulders fall almost immediately. I don’t know how, but he knows. He comes to me, hugging me tightly. And, mirroring his brother, Louis does the same. I hug my boys and fight back the tears.
“I’m retiring,” I say, mostly to our parents, and within seconds, my mom’s eyes start to fill with tears. I tap the boys’ backs, and they both look up at me. “But it’s fine. I’ll be able to coach your teams and take you to school. I know for a fact that I won’t miss any more art shows, Lou. And I’ll even learn a bit about football and maybe coach that.”
When I notice that Louis has started crying, I hold him closer as Dawson exhales hard. “I’m sorry, Dad. That sucks, but I’m glad you’ll be home.”
“Me too,” I admit, hugging him tighter. “Also, we’re going to go see Uncle Jude and Uncle Jace!”
The boys light up almost instantly. “Really?”
“Really. Probably leave tomorrow. I’ll look at flights.”
It’s not much, but it’s a welcome distraction from sending an email to Elli Adler about what the doctor said. She’ll want to talk, and I’m nowhere near ready for that. How do you tell the woman who believed in you so greatly that you can’t captain her team? I don’t know, and I’m not sure I’m ready to figure it out.
“Can I help?” Louis asks, and Dawson nods.
“Me too, Dad.”
“Sure. Let’s go get on the computer.”
Before I can get far, my mom wraps her arms around me, telling me she loves me before exclaiming, “We’ll come too!”
But then River says, “I can’t. I have those meetings, but I’ll keep an eye on the houses.”
“Meetings?” Baylor asks, and he nods.
“Yeah, with the university.” Her brow perks, like she knows something we don’t. “Reminds me, I need to talk to you.”
I want to ask about what, but I know she’ll tell me later. So, with my mom and my boys in tow, I go look for flights and call to work things out with Jace and Jude. The whole time, my family smothers me between them on the couch, but I’m thankful for it.
I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing keeping me together.
CHAPTER 3
Family Time
Baylor
I love when all the kids are together.
I also love and appreciate my in-laws. Jace and Avery drove up from Fort Lauderdale as soon as we got on the plane this morning. Even about to pop, Claire made sure the house was ready for visitors, and the fridge was stocked to the brim when we arrived. Dawson was quick to let us know. Kid is starving—all the time. Jude and Claire’s house is massive, with eight bedrooms, nine baths, a pool house, and a guest house. On the beach. It’s absolutely insane, but they both worked hard for this home. Now, they want to fill it with kids.
And they’re on the way. Claire is standing in the ocean with Harrison between her legs, letting him kick the water. Her belly is huge, and it fills my heart with so much joy to see her pregnant. She has wanted to grow a baby so badly. Though you wouldn’t know that Harrison didn’t come from her belly. Well, except if you notice his skin has a darker tone and he has a mass of dark curls and dark eyes. I hope they have a lot of babies or adopt or whatever. As long as that grin stays on her face.