Dirty Tackle: A Football Romance (22 page)

“I love you too,” she said. Then her face fell, and I wondered what in the world she was thinking. “I’m sorry that I doubted you.”

I understood her reaction. If I had come home and found the same thing, I don’t know what I would’ve done. “It’s okay. She meant it to look bad. I remembered that she was standing around earlier when I was telling Marvin that you weren’t staying over tonight. I’ve no idea how she got into my building, but I’m going to make sure somebody gets fired over it. You never have to worry about anything like that again.”

She shook her head. “I don’t care. It’s fine because it wasn’t you instigating any of it. I get that she some kind of crazy woman. Are you going to tell her father?”

I tapped my phone screen. “I’ll consider this insurance if she ever decides to bother us again. But I don’t think she will. I think the message has finally gotten through that she doesn’t stand a chance against you.”

Maddy smiled at me, and I thought that I couldn’t wait until Christmas day to make her mine. My surprise was hopefully going to cement our future forever.

When Christmas morning finally came, I couldn’t remember being so happy in my entire life. Scarlet woke us up at 5:30 AM squealing about opening presents. Although this was something that I was used too, it was a completely new experience for Shane. I had been surprised that he’d gotten a wink of sleep the night before. We had both been up putting together a brand-new bicycle for Scarlet that was waiting by the tree for her.

“Get up! Get up!” she yelled at us as she bounced around us on the mattress.

Laughing at her antics, we got out of bed and made our way to the living room. There was something that was absolutely right about waking up next to Shane on this most special of days. He looked so relaxed and happy. Of course, I knew some of that came from the fact that he had scored the winning touchdown in overtime in the last game of the season that took the division title. He was gearing up for the postseason, but for today, for a whole day, he was all mine and Scarlet’s. We were going to take full advantage of every minute.

Soon the room was filled with shreds of gaily colored wrapping paper. Shane had gone overboard in giving Scarlet presents, but I didn’t mind. They had both missed out on so much that I loved seeing their every moment together.

I had my one special gift for Shane tucked to the side hidden beneath the corner of my sweater. I watched as Scarlet walked over to him solemnly with her box. Somehow, she had managed to keep the gift a secret all week. I was so proud of her.

“I hope you like it, Daddy,” she said.

He took it gently from her with a soft smile. Then he gave her a tight squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. She squealed. I loved seeing the way the two of them interacted with each other. They had settled so easily into their roles as father and daughter. The only thing that I regretted was that I waited so long to bring them together.

“I am sure I will love it, pumpkin,” he said. Then he began to slowly unwrap the present. Scarlet became anxious and prodded him along which only made him laugh. I knew then that he was taking his time on purpose. I gave him a meaningful look. The only thing I had told him about it was that she had picked out all by herself. She was so excited to show it to him.
 

As he opened the box, I saw the look of surprise and shock on his face as he pulled the football in its clear case out of the box. His mouth fell open. “Wow. This is amazing, sweetie; it’s too much really.”

Scarlet put her arm around his neck and settled her head against the crook of his shoulder. “You are going to be as great as Jerry Rice, Daddy. I already think you are.”

Tears sprung to my eyes as I snapped a picture of the moment. I wanted to remember it forever. I could see tears in Shane’s eyes as well. He gave me a look that told me he was completely overwhelmed in the moment as was I. But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“Why don’t you go start picking up this wrapping paper so we can play with all of your presents without the mess? Grandpa and Grandma are going to be here soon, and we want to make sure the place is picked up and tidy,” I said to her. Scarlet scurried away happy as a clam.

Shane settled closer to me and put his arm around me. “This is amazing. I only told her that story about Jerry Rice once. I can’t believe she remembered.”

I smiled at him. “She remembers everything her daddy tells her.”

Hesitantly, I took the box that was hidden next to me out and handed it to him. “Why don’t you open this before she gets back.”

“Is it some naughty lingerie for Mommy?” he asked with a wicked grin.

I slapped him on the arm. “Stop it. Hopefully, you’ll like it.”

He ripped the paper open this time, not taking his time like he had with Scarlet’s gift. Inside was a photo frame. There was a caption above the place where the photo would go, and I heard him draw a deep breath. He looked up at me in amazement. “Is this what I think this is?”

I pointed at the caption, ‘Baby’s First Photo.’ “We can put the picture from the ultrasound in here. I have the appointment next week.”

Shane grabbed me in a tight bear hug, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. “Shame, I can’t breathe,” I said. He released me and then quickly touched my stomach. “I didn’t hurt anything, right? Everything is okay?”

I laughed in relief. This was not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but he didn’t seem upset at all. “Everything is fine. I hope this is good news. I figured I really messed up the last time, so this time, I wanted to get it right.”

Scarlet came back into the room, and I saw she had a look of confusion on her face. Shane looked at her. Then he looked back at me. “The two of you and now this,” he patted the frame, “are the best presents I could have ever asked for.”

He kissed me deeply, and I felt all of the tension release from my chest.
 

He pulled away from me and frowned. “I feel like there’s still something missing, though.” I felt my chest tighten again at his words. I had no idea what he was talking about. He looked at me and then clucked his tongue. “I know what it is.”
 

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to me. I heard Scarlet clapping in the background, but I just looked at the box. He opened it and inside was a solitaire ring with a diamond that was larger than anything I’d ever seen. Then he slid off the couch and down on one knee. “Madeline Thompson, will you marry me?”

I stared deeply into his eyes. I saw the love he had for me illuminated there. I saw a man that I could spend the rest of my life with. The father of my children and my soulmate.

“Yes,” I said. As he swept me up into my arms, I thought about how perfect my life had become. As Scarlet joined our hug, he scooped her up as well. We danced around the room singing Christmas carols and laughing. We were beginning new traditions for our small but rapidly expanding our family.
 

 
“Our new life starts today. I love you, Maddy,” he whispered against my ear as he gently touched my stomach.

I believed him with every bit of my soul, and I knew that there would never be anything else that would cause me to push him away ever again.

A Preview of
The Linebacker’s Second Chance

******

“Renata Young,” I say to my cousin, Wingate. I’m sitting on the brick wall in front of the dorm at Brooks University. Football has started up, which is fine by me. It gave me a full scholarship, and it’s something I love to do. But I could have played football at a hundred universities in the United States. I had offers from every place I applied—and some I didn’t. My whole career has been planned out for me—college football, then the NFL. And after that, a cushy retirement in a big house somewhere with a great view. Yeah, it didn’t matter where I went to school. So I chose Brooks—because Renata did.
 

“I thought you were over trying to convince her to go out with you, Mack?” Wingate is lying back on the wall, one leg crossed over the other, dark sunglasses covering his eyes. He’s already burned twice from being out here in California, so there’s a big dollop of sunscreen on his nose. “She went with you to prom, but that was all she did. Said we were all best friends, and that was enough for her.” Still lying down, Wingate shrugs. “It probably freaks her out that you followed her here.”

“She’s going to be my wife
and
my manager. Or else I don’t have a single chance of succeeding in the NFL. Renata is my reason, man.”
 

“You keep telling yourself that, cuzzo. I’ll get you to the NFL if it’s the last thing I do. You just have to survive four years of college and not go insane on all the women chasing you.”

“I don’t notice them much,” I mumble. There are plenty of girls. Older ones, freshmen like us, girls in my dorm, girls at parties. They’re chasing after me at all times, asking me for a date, to go to sorority formals, to take them out to the bars even though I’m only nineteen. It helps that I’m tall, and Renata did say once that my face made me look like a male model. I didn’t take it as a compliment at the time, but right now, I’m getting the picture. Not only am I on the college team, I’m the best damn linebacker they’ve seen in a generation. I’m also pretty.

But it doesn’t matter.
 

“She won’t say yes, Mack. It’s not that she doesn’t
like
you. She just doesn’t want to fool with you because you’re a prima donna football star, and she doesn’t have time for that. She’s in the business school, and she’s got a lot of shit going on at home with her family. Apparently her dad has roped your dad into doing something with the farms. Call me crazy, but I think they’re both insane. And I think Renata’s insane for caring about any of that farm stuff. If she wasn’t making straight As on everything, I’d have a sit down with her and tell her not to pay any attention to what’s going on at—” Wingate stops and looks up at me, tilting his dark sunglasses down. I can’t help but grin as he looks up at me. “What’s that look on your face?” he asks.

“She finally said yes,” I tell him, kicking my heels against the brick. One of the freshmen girls from my hall passes by and waves at me flirtatiously. I give her a thrill and wave back, but she’s not my type. There’s only one woman who is.
 

“Yes to what? Yes to going steady with you or—whatever y’all say?” Wingate still has his sunglasses tilted down on the end of his nose.
 

“It’s not the 1950s, Wing. No one is going steady with anyone, anymore. She said yes to a date. One date. I’m taking her out to Michael’s for dinner, and then we’re going to meet up with Kaden and whichever girl he’s seeing right now. He’s been seeing a lot of women recently and you know, I feel
bad
for him because he keeps mentioning this girl from back home and—well the girl I want is right here.”
 

“You feel
sorry
for him? I don’t understand straight people. And I don’t understand football people. Y’all in those fancy dorms and shit, with women falling all over you. Seems like you’d get the idea to live the big life, but I keep meeting these fake players like you. All you really want to do is settle down and have like a zillion kids with your high school sweetheart.”
 

“High school sweetheart isn’t quite right. Renata is more like—”

“The girl who never wanted to take it farther than friendship, yet somehow you’ve got her convinced that it’s a grand old idea to try for something more now that you’re king of the campus and have like sixty women following you wherever you go?” Wingate pulls his sunglasses back down over his eyes and crosses his arms. “I don’t know man. Doesn’t sound like a good idea. She’s serious about her life. About her job. About everything.”
 

“You’re saying I’m not?” I wave at several freshmen girls as they walk by. It does make my head a little big that I’ve got women staring at me everywhere I go. It makes it worse that I live in the best dorm on campus, while Renata lives in a triple dorm room with two other people watching her every move. Seems like my single room and the catered food and all the attention could go to better use. Even though I want to punch my cousin in his pretty face, I
get
what he’s saying and why he’s saying it. I get it instinctively. This is a career path, yes. But it’s not
serious
, not like marketing or public relations or the MBA Ren is planning on getting at Berkeley after this four-year stint is over. I’m just planning on playing ball and living in a big house.