Warning Track (41 page)

Looking down into Molly’s arms, Luke made eye contact with the same eyes he was born with and a headful of blonde curls. The little cherub face that looked up at him was full of joy.
 

“Hi,” Luke said lamely, but he didn’t know what else to do.
 

A high-pitched squeal came out of Winnie’s mouth as she leaned toward Luke and held out her arms. Shocked that his daughter wanted to be held by him, he grabbed ahold of her and held her tightly in his arms. She bounced up and down and played with his nose as they both examined each other.
 

A lone tear ran down Luke’s cheek as he held onto his daughter for the first time. There was no mistaking it…she had his looks with her mom’s crazy spirit. She was, no doubt, the perfect combination of Luke and Molly.
 

“Hi, pretty girl,” Luke practically whispered, as she yanked on his nose and giggled. He looked up at Molly and said, “She’s perfect.” Tears streamed down Molly’s face as she nodded and smiled. “So damn perfect.”

“Damndamndamndamn.”

“Oh shit, she can pick up on things?” Luke asked, while cringing.
 

“Yes, so saying ‘shit’ probably isn’t the best idea.”

“Shishishishi,” Winnie repeated, as she threw her hands up in the air, making both Luke and Molly laugh.
 

“Why don’t you give Daddy a kiss, Winnie?”

Daddy, it was a name Luke wasn’t sure he would ever be called, especially when he was captured, lying naked on a cold warehouse floor, wondering what was going to happen to him next, but here he was, holding his daughter in his hands, crying like a chick and never feeling happier in his life.
 

“Go ahead, give Daddy a kiss,” Molly repeated.
 

Winnie leaned forward and presented her forehead to Luke. Luke raised an eyebrow at Molly, making her laugh.
 

“That’s her way of kissing, you’re supposed to kiss her forehead.”

Luke laughed and obliged. Once he pulled away, Winnie clapped her hands and wiggled to get down. Reluctantly, Luke set her down on the floor. Before he could turn to Molly to congratulate her on teaching their daughter how to kiss without using her lips, Winnie grabbed his pinky with her chunky fingers and ran toward her bedroom. Even though her running was more like clomping up and down the hallway, he went with her.

Once they reached her room, she sat him down on the floor and grabbed her tea set. She placed everything in front of him and then went to a bin that had what looked like a boa in it. She grabbed the long feather wrap and put it around Luke’s neck, then put a white floppy hat on his head. When she stood back and looked at him, she clapped her hands again.
 

Luke laughed as she put on a crown and long satin gloves that hung off her arms like creepy monster fingers. It was quite comical to watch her try to pour “tea” into his cup with the oversized gloves hanging off her arms, but it was a precious memory Luke was ingraining in his head. Luke sat cross-legged on his daughter’s floor, playing dress up and having tea while his girl, his love, watched from the doorway with a giant smile on her face as she snapped pictures on her phone. Luke didn’t care what kind of incriminating evidence she gathered. He was damn proud of what he looked like right now and who he was with. He would go through two more years of torture just to have another moment like this with Winnie. She was perfect, her mom was perfect, and at the moment, Luke’s life was perfect.
 

He had come a long way and he still had a long way to go; he still had a lot of demons to fight, but right now, he couldn’t ask for anything more. Not when he was so blessed with the most beautiful girls in his life. His heart, for the first time in two years, was filled with love rather than hate. He couldn’t have asked for a better holiday.
 

Luke still had to tell his story, he still had a lot to divulge, but right now, he was perfectly content. His time to tell would come, it just wasn’t right now.

“I love you,” Luke mouthed to Molly as he took another sip of tea, while Winnie spun around in circles with her hands in the air, while speaking in Winnie-gibberish.
 

“I love you, too,” Molly mouthed back.
 

This was it, this was his life and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He was finally home.
 

**Parker**

“Open the door, Margo. I’m not afraid to break it down.” Parker knew she was home, he could hear her phone ringing on the other side, her car was in her driveway, and her lights were on.
 

Parker was about to start running at the door to break it down when he heard the locks starting to move. Slowly, Margo opened the door, revealing her disheveled appearance, bright red eyes from crying, and the deep circles that lay right below them. Her hair was a mess and her apartment was even messier. Tissues and papers lay everywhere, as well as dirty dishes.
 

“Margo, come here.” Parker pulled her into his grasp, wanting to make everything better with just his touch.
 

She cried into his chest as he pulled her into her apartment and shut the door behind them. He walked them to the couch and sat down. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing words into her hair. He had no clue why she was such a mess and why she was trying to break up with him, but he was going to get to the bottom of it.
 

Once her crying was controlled, Parker pulled away and asked, “What’s going on, Mo? And don’t tell me nothing, don’t lie to me. I deserve to hear the truth. Why are you trying to pull away? If I was moving too fast, just let me know. I can slow down, I just can’t lose you.”

“You weren’t moving too fast, Parker. I wanted to move at just the same rate as you.”

“Wanted?” Parker asked, not liking the past tense she used.
 

“It’s not going to work out, Parker. We’re different.”

“Don’t give me that crap. You weren’t saying that a week ago when we were looking at possible jobs for you and you were applying for them, when we were planning our future in Atlanta together. What changed so dramatically from then? Last I knew, we were a couple, we were making decisions together.”

“Things just changed, Parker. People change.”

“I don’t, I don’t change.”

Margo shifted out of his embrace and threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Parker, you spent almost every day with me in college and you never noticed me, how am I supposed to move to another state, risk everything in my life to be with you when I am so unsure if this is going to work out between us. I would be giving up everything!”

Parker stepped back from her tirade. He had no clue what had changed in the last couple of days, but Margo was not the same confident girl he fell for. Then again, could he blame her? He was an idiot in college, he’d made that very well known. He could understand her hesitation, even if he didn’t want to.
 

Parker grabbed Margo’s hands and pulled her into his chest. Reluctantly, she allowed him.
 

“I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry I’ve made you worry about our relationship, about what’s to come. I thought I’d made it quite clear over the last couple of weeks, but I will reiterate. I’m in this for the long run, Mo. If you move to Atlanta, when I’m not training or playing, I’ll be glued to you. I need to be near you; it’s not even a choice, my body craves you every second of every day. If I could go back to college and change things, I would. I would have seen you that first day I met you like the day I saw you in Jake and Lexi’s pool. I wish I wasn’t so blinded back then; I’ve wasted so much time.”

“It’s so risky,” Margo said into Parker’s chest. “I would be giving up everything.”

“I know, Mo, and if anyone could do it, it would be you. You are so strong, so damn strong and personable. Everyone loves you.”

“But what about while you’re gone? What am I supposed to do then? Just wait around for you?”

“No, you would start a new life. You would meet new people, you would have your own job. You would have to start over, but I have no doubt in my mind that you would flourish. Love is a risk, Mo. Sometimes you just have to take the leap.”

“Love?” Margo pulled away and looked Parker in the eyes, making him smile.
 

“Yes, love. I love you, Margo. I thought you would have known that by now.”

Margo shook her head in disbelief, making Parker raise an eyebrow at her.
 

“Seriously? Margo, you are by far the most beautiful, charming ball-buster I know. How could I not love you and everything about you?”

A wet, snot-filled laugh escaped Margo’s mouth. “Ball-buster?”

“Don’t even try denying it.”

Margo pressed a kiss to Parker’s cheek and said, “You’re in for the long run?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I would need a job. I can’t just sit around your apartment, wondering when you’re going to get home.”

Parker’s ears perked up at her statement. “What about the one that was offered to you?”

“It wasn’t what I was looking for.”

“Then we’ll keep looking.” Parker lifted Margo’s chin so she had to look him in the eyes. “Does this mean you’re, in fact, not breaking up with me, but instead, joining me in Atlanta?”

A shy smile spread across Margo’s face as she nodded her head. “Only when I get a job. I need to be able to pay my own bills.”

Parker rolled his eyes. “You realize I make millions of dollars a season, right? You paying bills makes me cringe.”

“Don’t start with me, Parker, I’m serious about this.”

Trying to tamp down his frustration, he said, “Fine, but if you’re not in Atlanta by the time the season starts, I’m going to fly out here and bring you back with me. I don’t care if you’re kicking and screaming all the way. You’re mine…forever. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go. You’ve changed me, Margo. You’ve made my life better in so many ways; there’s no way I can go back to my old life.”

Placing a soft kiss on Parker’s lips, Margo said, “You’re my dream, Parker, always have been, always will be. I love you.”

A huge smile spread across Parker’s face at hearing those three little words from his girl.
 

“I love you, Mo.”

“Just hang in there with me. This is scary and I still feel hesitant, but knowing that you love me makes it easier,” Margo confessed.

“I love you more than anything. I’ll help you through this. We’re in this together and will always be. Whatever comes our way, whatever road block might get in our way, we will get through it together. You and me, babe. Kirby and Mo.”

Margo laughed as she gripped Parker tighter. “Then let’s start looking for jobs.”

“Music to my ears, Mo.”

**Jane**

She stood in front of a steel door, waiting for it to open. She had two suitcases on either side of her, and her purse was slung over her shoulder. She knew she looked like hell; she didn’t have to look in a mirror to realize she had massively dark circles under her eyes and her hair hadn’t seen a brush all morning. Her clothes were disheveled and sagging on her body, given the fact that she hadn’t eaten much in weeks. What was the point?
 

She left Brady, she had to. Every moment she spent in their house together, Jane felt herself slowly dying away inside. What she said to Brady last night was not true. She didn’t blame Brady for their daughter’s death. She blamed herself. She was the one who was supposed to keep their daughter safe and she didn’t; she was the one who killed their baby, and every time she saw Brady, she was reminded how he wasn’t going to be a father. She took that away from him, ripped it from his grasp and she couldn’t stand the thought of taking something so precious away from such an amazing man.
 

After her daughter died, she went through many stages of grief. Obviously, denial was number one, then she started blaming Brady for not caring, for moving on when, in fact, he was trying to forget the pain. She could understand that now. Then she went numb, where she didn’t move for days on end. Then she moved into acceptance, she accepted the fact that she was the one who did this, she was the one who brought this upon everyone.
 

Last night, when she was cleaning around the house, she saw Brady talking to Marc outside. She saw the slump in Brady’s shoulders, the way he was so deflated. She did that to him. She brought down a strong man and made him weak. She took away the one precious thing in the world he wanted more than anything. She took his baby away and she would never forgive herself for that.
 

That was why she needed to leave, she needed to get out. She couldn’t be reminded of the pain and hurt she’d caused Brady anymore. They were too damaged and they needed to move on…separately.

The door flew open and standing in a robe with iguanas with crowns gracing the fabric was Albert, holding a cup of coffee.
 

“Oh, sweet Jesus. Girl, you know never to visit me before ten in the morning. I look atrocious.”

Jane looked up at Albert with tears in her eyes. He took in her appearance and noticed the suitcases on either side of her and gasped in a very Albert-like fashion.