Fourth Down (28 page)

I took her advice and focused on each
breath in and out. I closed my eyes and attempted to ward off the
rush of thoughts stampeding through my head.

When I realized I could no longer hear
the guys’ voices, I opened my eyes.

He was here. Standing right in front
of me. Looking better than I remembered. He wasn’t wearing a hat,
and his hair was sticking up like it did when he ran his fingers
through it. His cool blue eyes were filled with warmth as he looked
back at me with a crooked smile on his face.

I didn’t realize I was holding my
breath until Leah squeezed my shoulders and again instructed me to
breathe. Emotion overwhelmed me as tears immediately welled up in
my eyes, and I knew then that no amount of time could allow me to
get over Ford.

“Hey, hey,” Ford murmured as he walked
around the bank of chairs and took my hands to pull me up. Josh and
Leah had disappeared somewhere, taking Maddy with them.

Wiping the tears from under my eyes,
he quietly asked, “Can I hug you?”

Nodding, I threw my arms around his
neck as he wrapped his own around my waist and hauled me up against
him. Being in his arms again, the last few months slipped away. It
was like we had never been apart. My body remembered what it felt
like to be pressed against his, to be held in his arms. My heart
remembered what it felt like to beat again.

I had a million questions, most of
them some form of what are you doing here? And how long are you
staying? But I didn't want to lose this moment by speaking. I
didn't want to risk hearing that he didn't come back to see me or
that he wasn't staying very long. Because I was fairly certain both
of those things were what I would hear.

Ford didn't seem to be in any hurry to
release me though. One of his arms was banded tightly around my
lower back, and his other hand cupped the back of my head, holding
it in place against his neck. He nuzzled his face against my hair
and inhaled deeply.

It seemed like we stood like that
forever before Leah cleared her throat behind us and said, "Sorry
to interrupt, guys. But baby Hawke is here. Grady said we can visit
in a few minutes."

Reluctantly I loosened my arms from
around Ford's neck and let them fall to my sides.

"I'm going to stop in the ladies room.
I'll see you guys up there," I said with a shaky voice.

"I'll wait for you," Ford replied,
taking my hand in his.

Shaking my head, I gently eased my
hand from his grasp. "No, this is Lindsay and Grady's moment. They
don't need me in there like this. I need a minute to get myself
together, and I can't do that around you."

Ford looked less than pleased with my
answer but grudgingly followed Leah down the hallway. I waited
until they were out of sight before I walked the same path and
ducked into the restroom. It's a good thing I wasn't wearing any
makeup today, or my mascara would be making tracks down my cheeks.
My eyes were red and watery enough as it was. There wasn't anything
I could do about that right now, but I could stop the tears from
continuing to fall. Several deep breaths later I had summoned some
of the strength I had used not to cry the day that Ford left for
Louisiana.

Once I was somewhat confident I could
make it through the next fifteen minutes or so without breaking
down, I left the restroom. I stopped at the nurses' station to find
out which room Lindsay was in and get buzzed into the maternity
ward. Leah and Ford were standing outside the room talking in
hushed tones. They both looked serious, and Leah even looked a
little pissed off.

When she saw me approaching, she
smiled at me and gave Ford a shove inside the doorway.

"Come on, Poppy. Let's go see that
baby," she said, looping her arm through mine and steering me into
Lindsay's room.

The sun was streaming through the
large window, and Lindsay was in the hospital bed at the far side
of the room. She looked tired but peaceful and extremely happy. Her
eyes never strayed from Grady, who sat at the foot of her bed
holding a baby wrapped in a blanket with a tiny pink hat.
Pink.

“It’s a girl?” I asked
Leah.

“Yup. Maddy has a new
playmate.”

Ford and Josh stood off to the side
near the window, and I studiously avoided eye contact with
Ford.

Lindsay grimaced as she adjusted her
position in bed.

“You okay, baby?” Grady asked, finally
tearing his attention away from his daughter to turn he eyes on his
wife.

“I’m great. Are you going to let
anyone else hold Brie?”

Grady looked back down at his little
girl, his long hair falling over his face. “Nope.”

A nurse came in then, pushing past
Leah and I, who were still standing just inside the
door.

“All right everyone, it’s time for our
first breastfeeding lesson. So, unless you would all like to learn,
I suggest everyone but Mom and Dad leave the room.”

Lindsay gave us a little wave. “Thanks
for coming, guys. You can come back later, and I promise that Grady
will let you hold her.”

Josh clapped Grady on the shoulder,
and Leah went over to give Lindsay a quick hug.

“You will let me hold that baby, Grady
Hawke. I’ll be back in one hour,” Leah threatened. She set my brown
paper wrapped vodka bottle down on the windowsill. I had totally
forgotten about my vodka in all the craziness of seeing Ford
again.

“Poppy brought you a baby gift,” Leah
said sweetly. Damn her! If things went badly with Ford being back
in town, I was going to need that more than ever. The thought of
having to go back to the creepy liquor store made me want to take a
shower.

She took Maddy from Josh and they
headed out the door. I was still standing in my spot by the door
when Ford walked by, grabbing my hand on the way. Giving it a
gentle tug so I would follow him, he said, “Let’s go. We need to
talk.”

Looking back over my shoulder as Ford
pulled me from the room, I saw Lindsay give me a thumbs up and a
big smile. When I turned back around I saw Leah giving Ford the
“I’m watching you” signal. What the hell was going on? And why did
it seem like everyone knew about it except for me?

Ford kept hold of my hand as we rode
the elevator down to the lobby. I glanced at his strong profile,
noticing the tick in his jaw and the tension in his broad
shoulders. Though I could tell he was on edge, his grip on my hand
was soft. He rubbed his thumb softly over my knuckles.

When we exited the elevator, Ford
turned to me and finally spoke. “Did you drive here?”

“Um…no. My car’s not really working
right now…again.”

“Did you tell Josh? When did it break
down? How did you get here?”

“No, I didn’t tell Josh. It’s
summertime, and I can walk almost everywhere I need to go. It
didn’t start last Monday when I left for work.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly
waiting for an answer to his last question.

“Aiden gave me a ride
here.”

“Aiden?”

“Yes, Aiden. I ran into him at the
liquor store, and then…”

“You were at the liquor store? It’s
Wednesday morning.”

Oh, God. This day just keeps getting
better and better.

Chapter Twenty

Ford

Taking a deep breath, I attempted to
focus on what was important right now. We could deal with her car
later. And why she was visiting a liquor store on a Wednesday
morning. I scrubbed my hand over my face and back through my hair.
The corners of Poppy’s mouth quirked up.

“What?”

She stood up on tiptoe to ruffle her
fingers through my hair. “I missed your hair.”

“My hair?”

“Yeah. The way you run your fingers
through it, and it sticks up all over the place.”

I scoffed. “I’ve been gone for almost
four months, and what you miss about me is my hair?”

The hint of a smile fell from her
face, and the sadness returned to her eyes. Shit.

“Come on. I’ve got something to show
you, and a whole lot of shit to tell you,” I said, taking her hand
again and leading her out to the parking lot.

We reached my truck, and I opened the
passenger door for Poppy. But she hesitated and turned to me. I had
one hand on the door frame and the other on the door, effectively
caging her in.

“Why are you here, Ford? Did you just
come back to see Grady’s baby?” There was doubt and fear in her
eyes. Two emotions I never wanted her to have because of
me.

“No. I’m here for you.”

Poppy’s eyes immediately filled with
tears. She opened her mouth and shut it, pursing her lips tightly
to keep in whatever it was she wanted to say. I waited, watching
her internal struggle. I wanted to tell her what I needed to say,
but I stopped myself for now. There was obviously something she
needed to get off her chest.

“I…I changed my mind, Ford. I want to
go.”

“Uh, okay. Then get in the
truck.”

She shook her head in frustration.
“No, I mean I want to go with you. To Louisiana. I made a
mistake.”

I took her face in my hands and waited
until her eyes met mine. “No, you did exactly the right thing. You
don’t belong down there, giving up what you’ve worked so hard
for.”

“Yes, I do. I want to be with you. You
have no idea how much it hurts…every single day. It just gets worse
and worse until I end up buying vodka at 10:00 am on a Wednesday
morning. Please, Ford. I love you.”

Poppy was a sobbing mess now as the
words tumbled from her mouth in rapid succession. I hated to see
her like this. I hated that she was like this because of
me.

“Just get in the truck, Poppy,” I said
sternly. She obeyed, but her eyes wouldn’t meet mine and her lips
trembled.

There was so much I needed to tell
her, but I didn’t want to do it in the parking lot of the hospital.
I was already getting plenty of dirty looks from people walking by
seeing Poppy crying.

But there was one thing she didn’t
need to wait to hear. “Oh, Poppy?” I said, leaning in through the
open window. She finally looked up at me.

“I love you, too.” I pressed a quick
kiss to her lips and ran around the front of the truck. Thankfully
the drive to our destination was a quick one, because I could see a
million questions rolling around in her head as she stared at me
the whole time.

We pulled up in front of a large
Victorian house just a few blocks from downtown and only one street
over from Poppy’s apartment. I jogged around and opened up her
door.

“Where are we?” She asked, as I took
her hand and led her around the side of the house.

I unlocked the door and swung it open,
revealing a set of stairs leading to an upstairs apartment. Guiding
her inside and up the stairs with my hand on her lower back, I
said, “This is my new apartment.”

It took a moment for my words to sink
in, and she looked at me and then around the small living room that
had my furniture in it. She looked like she might pass out, so I
eased her down on the couch next to me.

“Ford, I don’t understand.”

I had never been a guy who was good
with words or expressing my feelings. Hell, I barely understood my
feelings half the time. But this moment was important. I had to
make her understand how I felt and what I wanted. It was crucial.
So, I said things as simply as I could.

“Poppy, I love you. It may have taken
me a long to get there and an even longer time to realize it. But
I’m there. I’m here with you.” Okay, that wasn’t coming out simple.
Try again.

“I quit my job at LSU. I moved back
here last week. I’m starting back at the pub on Monday, and I will
be the new assistant coach at the high school this
fall.”

Poppy’s eyebrows pulled together and
she frowned at me. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting. Did I
leave something out? Was there something else I should have
said?

“Why would you do that? You love
football.”

“I do love football. Just football.
It’s not the NFL or LSU. It’s football, and I can do that anywhere.
What I can’t do anywhere is be with you.”

Her voice broke when she spoke, “No…I
can’t let you give up your dreams for me.”

I took both her hands in mine and
looked into her eyes. “The thing is, Poppy…I don’t feel like I’m
giving up anything. I get you, and there is nothing in this world,
nothing, that’s better than that. You’re my dream.”

Finally a smile. Her eyes were still
filled with tears that threatened to spill over, but she was
smiling.

“So, you’re back in town for now. Then
what? I mean…I’ll be moving somewhere to go to medical school after
next year. What happens then?”

“I go where you go. I can get a job
tending bar in any college town you decide to move to. And maybe
I’ll be able to pick up some coaching gigs too.”