There have been such incredible highs, but they have been countered by crazy fucking drama like I have never experienced before. If I can finish my senior year without anymore more excitement, I’ll praise whatever God I have to.
A nurse comes in just before 5:00 a.m. to check my vitals. She glares at Natalie in bed with me. “Mr. Ryan, we may have allowed your girlfriend to spend the night, but you need your space. She should not be in that bed with you.”
Trying to flash her my most charming smile, I read her name tag and answer, “Nurse Macy, my girlfriend is the size of a large child. Having her next to me is helping me more than it’s hurting, I promise. Do you know what time I’m getting discharged?”
“Probably around eleven, Mr. Ryan. And she may be the size of a large child, but she has the determination of a four-star general. She didn’t care what anyone said. She was not leaving your side yesterday. You’ve got yourself a keeper there. How’s your pain level?” Nurse Macy points at a picture on the wall beside me, demonstrating smiley faces that show pain on a 1-10 scale.
“I’m at a six. I could use something for this headache.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try to get her out of your bed, please. I should be in again after breakfast to go over your discharge papers.”
I mumble thanks as she closes the door.
Closing my eyes, I try to catch a little more sleep, but hear Nat speak. “She’s not kidding. I had to play hardball to get Nurse Ratchet out there to let me stay. I did bribe them with Kings tickets in the end. There was not a snowball’s chance in hell that they were getting rid of me.” She leans up and kisses my cheek. We hear what sounds like the nurse walking back down the hall, and Nat lays her head back down and pretends to sleep.
Nurse Macy gives me two pills and helps me sip some ginger ale through a straw. “Get some sleep, Mr. Ryan.” Luckily for me, she shuts the door behind her.
“Who knew my girl is a sneaky little thing.” Kissing Nat on the top of her head, I whisper, “Thank you for fighting to stay with me, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I love you, Brady. When you were hurt yesterday, I lost my mind. I only just found you. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere. Not without me. Got it, QB?”
“I’ve got you, Sweetheart. I wish you didn’t have to go through all of the craziness yesterday, but if you did, I wish I was there to shoulder some of it. I’m glad that Cooper was able to help, but it should have been me. I love you, Natalie Sinclair.”
She kisses me again. “I love you too, Brady Ryan. I’m pretty sure the best thing that ever happened to me was moving to Kroydon Hills, because it led me to you.”
One day, I’m going to marry this girl and give her my name.
A few hours later, Chloe and the guys shove their way through my door to take me and Natalie home. My parents had to charter a private jet to get home from London. They should be back sometime this afternoon, so until then, I’m surrounded by the family I’ve made for myself.
When we get to my house, Natalie brings me upstairs and forces me to get back into bed while everyone else turns on the Kings game. I’m under strict instructions for no electronic devices, including the TV or iPad, for forty-eight hours.
“Come on, Brady. You are supposed to be relaxing and staying stress-free for the next two days.” She pulls down my blanket and glares at me when I don’t move. “Come one. Do you want me to get pajama pants for you?”
Stripping out of the sweats and t-shirt the guys brought for me to wear home, I climb into bed in my boxer briefs and pat the spot next to me. “You’ve got to be exhausted too, Nat. Come over here and lie with me.”
“Brady Ryan, the first time I meet your mother, it will not be while I am in bed with her concussed, broken-ribbed son.”
“If I put on pajama pants, will you lie down with me?”
“Put on pajama pants and a shirt, and I will lie on top of the blanket with you underneath it.” Flashing me that smile that I love, she hands me a pair of flannel pajama pants and my t-shirt, then sits on the bed. “I love you, Brady. I need your parents not to hate me, in case one day they are my in-laws. Now stop screwing around and get in bed.”
Pulling my girl into my arms, we hear a muffled TOUCHDOWN being yelled from two floors below. Kissing her head, I whisper, “Love you, Nattie.”
The End
Epilogue
Brady
As we sit in the sweltering June heat, in navy blue caps and gowns with golden tassels, retaining every ounce of humidity in the air, you can feel the nervous energy surrounding us all. At this point in the ceremony, the energy is a living, breathing thing. Natalie is holding my hand, running her thumb back and forth over it.
Tiffany is commanding the podium, giving her final speech as class president. I am sure that the families in the stands are listening to what she is saying, but most of us are lost in our thoughts right now.
What comes next?
This is really the last time that I will ever be on this field.
This year has been both the best year and craziest year of my life.
A myriad of thoughts are going through my head. My life doesn’t change today. For most of my friends and I, life is changing in two weeks. July first, we are moving into a four-bedroom house just off of the campus of Kroydon University. A house my parents bought as an investment opportunity. According to my father, he would rather spend his money on an appreciating asset than throw it out the window on room and board. Works for me. I won’t have to deal with the dorms, and my friends were quick to grab up the other bedrooms.
It had to be four bedrooms because Natalie’s father refused to have it any other way. It didn’t matter that she will be in my room or I will be in hers every night—he insisted that she have her own room. If that was what it took for us all to live together, the guys and I didn’t care. We have more than enough space.
One of the best things about going to Kroydon Hills Prep is that it is a feeder school for Kroydon University, a Division One University. Bash and I signed our letters of intent junior year. Murphy got his offer halfway through this past football season, and Nat had been initially waitlisted.
Lucky for us, she got accepted in the spring, and we will be going together. Cooper enlisted in the Navy and ships out for boot camp in Illinois in September. He’s going to spend his summer training with a retired SEAL to get his test scores where they need to be.
Nat, Declan, and their dad were pretty fucking upset about that when he told them last fall. College recruiters from all over the country were scouting Coop, including Annapolis, but he said his heart just wasn’t in it. Cooper wants to be a Navy SEAL. He’s told us he doesn’t want to live his life in the public eye. He doesn’t want to be his father. This is what he wants. Because he chose to go the SEAL route, he had to sign up for an eight-year commitment. The Navy will own his ass until he is at least twenty-six.
Natalie is excited for him and always supportive, but when it’s just us, she cries. She’s scared of Cooper getting hurt, scared of being so far apart for such long periods. She was really hoping he’d change his mind, but once Coop decided, there was no turning back.
Cooper and Nat’s brother Declan went as the number four draft pick last spring to none other than our own Philadelphia Kings. Nat told me that he has some reservations about playing for his dad, but Philly needed a quarterback, and his dad needs this team to have a winning season.
There is a ton of speculation in the sports world on whether he should have been drafted so high or if this is nepotism at its best. He has a lot to prove.
Natalie is excited to have him around. He seems pretty cool. He graduated Notre Dame last month and is staying with their dad until he finds a place. We keep telling him that there is a finished basement in our house, and it’s all his if he wants it, but really, his signing bonus was big enough for him to buy the entire street if he wanted to. He’s going to look at condos this weekend.
During graduation practice yester
day, we were all given strict instructions that we had to sit in alphabetical order, but not a single person in our graduating class of over one hundred seniors bothered to listen. My friends are all sitting in a line: Cooper, Nattie, me, Bash, and Murphy. Nattie is whispering something to Cooper that I can’t hear. Murphy is hitting on the cheerleader to his right, and Bash is taking it all in.
Not everyone that started the year with us is sitting here today. Darby and Aria were arrested. A gag order was placed and it was never discussed, but everyone knows their families made deals. Neither of them did jail time, but neither returned to Kroydon Prep either. It was as if they had never existed.
Nat squeezes my hand, and I realize everyone else has stood up. We join the rest of the class, turn our gold tassels from one side of our caps to the other and throw them in the air. Nat turns around and throws her arms around my neck. Lifting her off of the ground, I squeeze her as tight as I can and kiss her on this field for one last time. “You ready for the rest of our lives, Sweetheart?”
“I’m ready for anything with you, QB.”
A graduation cap hits me in the head. “Stop kissing my sister!” is heard one last time.
We all laugh and leave this field and this school behind, on our way to bigger and better things. Together.
What’s next?
Murphy’s book, More Than A Game, will be releasing in early 2021.
Want to see what our favorite linebacker is up to?
“Murphy, are you listening to me? I’m pregnant.”
Not a phrase I thought I’d be hearing tonight.
Yeah, Murphy, harder, or Just like that, Murphy.
Those are things I expect to hear when I am alone in my bedroom with a hot girl. I don’t get too picky about who the words are coming from. Big tits, nice ass, and I’m sold. Short, tall, blonde, brunette, it all works for me. I’m an equal opportunity kind of guy, and I’m all about ensuring everyone involved has a good time. But, I’m also a no strings attached type of guy.
I’ve got my friends.
I’ve got football.
If I play the next few years right, I’ve got the possibility of a career in the pros after graduation if that’s what I decide I want.
What I don’t have is a girlfriend or a wife, or the ability to take care of myself, let alone a baby. I’m a good cook, but I hate food shopping. I go commando more days than not because I don’t have clean underwear. My roommates are always up my ass about leaving dishes in the sink. I like to live in the here and now and not worry about next week, next month, or next year.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to all of the alphas in my life, big and small. Without your unconditional love and support, The Kings of Kroydon Hill would just be a group of stories in my head. I hope this reminds you that it’s never too late to go after what you want.
Kelly, I don’t know how many ledges you talked me down from or how many times you listened to me brainstorm a plot twist. You are my person. I’m so grateful for our friendship. I promise Murphy’s coming soon.
My Betas, Kelly, Jenn, Terra, Jenn ~ You ladies rock! Thank you for reading Brady and Nattie. Thank you for never judging my random questions, laughing at my crazy browsing history and for all of your feedback. I don’t know that I would have had the courage to publish this book without you.
My one and only Alpha Reader, Tammy. Your notes were the best! Thank you for fixing my terrible grammar, making me smile with your hilarious comments and all of your notes! You helped me more than you know. If Big Daddy Sinclair gets his own novella, it’s all because of you!
Bella, I have had the privilege of watching you grow into an amazing young woman. Thank you for answering all of my dancer questions and being my mini muse for Annabelle.
Waverly, I am so thankful I stalked your first book and convinced you to send me an ARC. I had no idea then that you would have such a huge impact on my life. Thank you for all of your voice memos. Without your guidance, I would still be stuck with a written book and no idea what to do next.
To my editor Liana, I hope I made the Queen proud. There would not be a single comma placed correctly without you. Thank you for making Brady and Nattie shine.
Olivia at Olivia Pro Designs, thank you for creating a stunning cover and for making my idea for The Kings of Kroydon Hills logo come to life.
Brittany and The Hatter’s Authors services, thank you for the gorgeous teasers and a great promo tour.
Savannah at Peachy Keen Author Services, thank you for not only taking All In and formatting it beautifully but for helping me get organized, and jumping in ready to do anything and everything I needed. You saved my sanity.
Thank you to all of the bloggers who took the time to read, review, and promote a brand new author.
And finally, the biggest thank you to all of the readers who took a chance on an unknown author. I hope you enjoyed reading Brady and Natalie’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
About the Author
Bella Matthews is a Jersey girl at heart. She is married to her very own Alpha Male and raising three little ones. You can typically find her running from one sporting event to another. When she is home, she is usually hiding in her home office with the only other female in her house, her rescue dog Tinker Bell by her side. She likes to write swoon-worthy heroes and sassy, smart heroines with a healthy dose of laughter thrown in.
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All In (The Kings of Kroydon Hills Book 1) Page 23