SPORTS BABY (A Secret Baby Romance)

by Mia Carson

  “Please,” she said.

  Jack brushed up against her again and frowned when she didn’t turn to him. “You can’t avoid me forever,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Who said I was?” she muttered.

  “Hard not to notice you are,” he argued quietly. “What are you hiding?”

  His words caused her to stiffen visibly. “Please, Jack… Not here, all right?”

  “When?” He didn’t mean to, but his anger grew as he realized she had been lying to him about something, and every voice in his head screamed it was Jenna. “Danny, I waited eight years to see you again. Don’t make me wait forever to know what’s going on with you.”

  He walked away and sat down at the table, leaving her at the stove. His mom asked questions left and right, and Jack put on a smile, as did Danny, sitting next to him at the table. The conversation turned to Danny’s and Jenna’s lives for the past eight years. Every answer she gave seemed almost robotic… rehearsed, even. Jack lost his appetite, desperate to whisk her away from this and demand to know the truth.

  There was no way to know what ran through her mind during the conversation, but he caught glimpses of it in her eyes. Guilt, pain, and bitterness. All of it was there, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Penny shot him look after look, her brow furrowed as she listened to Danny talk.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well,” Penny commented after Danny told her about her current situation. “Sorry to hear about the school, though.”

  “It’s all right. I’ll get back eventually, when the time’s right,” she insisted.

  “Don’t let your mom wait too long,” Penny said to Jenna with a wink.

  “I won’t. Aunt Hazel gets onto her about it all the time,” Jenna said, exasperated.

  Danny frowned at her daughter. “How often have you eavesdropped on me and your aunt?”

  Jenna didn’t answer and lowered her gaze to her chili, that smirk Jack had come to expect crossing her face. He knew the second his mom saw it. Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced from Jenna to Jack and back again.

  “I have to run to the restroom, Jenna. Behave yourself for five minutes,” Danny said and excused herself from the table.

  “Jenna, you said you were six?” Penny asked when Danny was gone.

  “Mom,” Jack said quietly, a warning in his tone.

  “Well,” Jenna said as if Jack hadn’t spoken, “yeah, that’s what I said.”

  Jack’s hand fisted on the tabletop as his mom raised her brow. “But not what you mean?” his mom pressed.

  Jenna shrugged. “I’m not supposed to say. Mom was kinda weird about it.”

  “Let it go,” Jack tried again, voice strained.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Penny said and pushed back from the table, ignoring Jack’s plea for her to sit back down. David tried too, but Penny was out the door.

  “What’s going on?” Jenna asked around a mouthful of chili.

  “You want some more, Sparky?” Jack asked, hoping it would distract her. Jenna nodded and held out her bowl. He got up to fill it, praying his mother wasn’t doing what he thought she was.

  ***

  Danny gripped the bathroom sink and told herself over and over that she could do this. A few more hours and she would tell Jack everything. That was what she planned to do, but in the kitchen, something had changed in him. He’d been angry. At her or the situation, she didn’t know, and that damn fear reared its ugly head again, making her shrink.

  After splashing some water on her face and fighting the complete breakdown, Danny opened the door to the hall bathroom. And came face to face with Penny.

  “Danny, is everything alright?” she asked quietly, her hand resting on Danny’s arm.

  “Yes, of course it is. Why? Did Jack say something?” Her mind raced. Had she noticed? Had Jack noticed and not told her? Why would he not say something if he suspected?

  “No, but Danny… I know you ran off to be with your mom. Your dad told us everything, but sweetie… Did you run off because of Jenna?” Danny sucked in a breath and sagged against the wall. “Is she Jack’s little girl?”

  The world shrank, and Danny’s mouth wouldn’t work right. She hadn’t even told Jack yet. If Penny knew, then he had to also. That was why he was mad. It had to be. She panicked. “Jenna! Jenna, come here!”

  “Danny, wait,” Penny begged. “Please, just stay and talk to us.”

  She shook her head, calling for Jenna again until she charged to the front door. “I can’t,” Danny whispered to Penny, tears threatening to spill over. “I can’t; I’m sorry. I can’t ruin his life… I can’t risk it!”

  “Mom, are we leaving?”

  Danny nodded numbly, throwing her coat on and Jenna’s. They had no car, but Jack’s truck keys sat on the front table. She told Penny, over her continued protests to stay, that she would leave the truck with her dad. They were out the door the next second, inside the truck, and speeding away as safely as she could for her dad’s house.

  “Change of plans, hon,” she said, words shaking as much as her hands. “We have to get back to Aunt Hazel.”

  “We’re leaving Jack? And Grandpa? We just got here, Mom!”

  “I know, baby, and I’m sorry,” Danny said gently. “We don’t have a choice.”

  She tuned out Jenna’s protests from the back seat and pulled up outside her dad’s. He answered the door with a worried frown, ushering them both in out of the cold.

  “That’s Jack’s truck. Here’s the keys. He’ll be by for it later,” she said quickly, handing over the keys and pulling out her cell. “Yes, I need the first available flight out of Billings to New Orleans.”

  “Danny, slow down,” Rick said, grabbing her shoulders. “What’s going on?”

  “Sorry, Dad,” she said. “Yes, I’m here. That works, thank you.” After she maxed out the credit card for emergencies buying the two tickets home, she called the taxi service. “Five minutes, and I’ll be out of here.”

  “Danny, just stop.”

  “No, Dad. He knows,” she whispered harshly, bitterness consuming her. “He knows, and I… I just can’t. Not now. I saw that look in his eyes, and it wasn’t what I hoped for. Jenna! If you have anything here, get it packed!”

  Jenna stomped to the front door, her arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t want to go.”

  “Look, sweetie, we need to leave, okay? I promise, I’ll tell you everything soon.”

  Rick ran his hand over his face, threatening to tie her to a damn chair so she’d listen to reason, but Danny yelled at him to drop it. She’d never raised her voice to him before, and the shock and hurt on his face hit her hard.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” she whispered and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, but this is what’s best.”

  A car honked outside, and she opened the door to see the cab.

  “Call me when you land,” he said, resigned. He bent down and wrapped Jenna in a bear hug. “Love you, kiddo.”

  Jenna cried, whispering bye until Danny told her they had to go. They rushed through the cold, piled into the cab, and took off for the airport. In a few hours, they’d be gone, and she’d make sure she never saw Jack again. He should have moved on. They both should have. Maybe now, he’d finally be able to.

  And Danny… Well, Danny would find some way to put it behind her once she moved again.

  ***

  Jack sped down the icy roads, cursing his mother as he drove. Danny had taken off with Jenna before he even knew had what happened. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw his truck parked in front her dad’s house, but when Rick answered the front door a minute later, Jack cursed.

  “Where did she go?”

  “New Orleans,” Rick said sadly. “She took off in a cab, but there’s a storm moving in. Her flight will make it out, but you won’t reach her. Not in time.”

  “Damn it!” Jack ran his hands through his hair, pacing around the front hall. “She’s running again, isn’t she?” he asked, even
though he already knew the answer.

  Rick sighed. “She’s got more of her mother in her than I thought. She’ll run, and if you can’t catch up with her in time, you might never find her again—either one of them.”

  “This can’t happen again,” Jack fumed. She was running away from him, and now, he knew exactly why she ran eight years ago. He couldn’t let her disappear, not with the truth hanging over him. It was not going to end like this.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Hazel asked, helping throw Danny’s clothes in her suitcases. “Danny?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, it is,” she muttered. “I’ll pay you back somehow.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just let me know when you get to New York.”

  “Mom? What should I pack?” Jenna asked quietly from the hallway.

  Danny’s heart broke. Her daughter looked so sad, and she didn’t even know what was happening in their lives. “I’m sorry we’re moving, hon, but I’ll explain everything when we get settled in.”

  “I left my football in Montana,” she whimpered, wiping her nose as tears welled in her eyes.

  “I’ll have Grandpa send it to us,” she promised. “Go pack your warm clothes for now, okay? Aunt Hazel will send everything else later.” She shooed Jenna gently back to her room and bit her lip.

  Hazel stalked passed her. “I’m getting a bottle of wine. You need it.”

  “I don’t need booze!”

  “Too late! Grabbing it,” she called back.

  Danny shook her head and hurried to the closet. She would have to find a job as soon as they found an apartment. Hazel had more money stashed than Danny had thought and offered to loan her whatever she needed to get them started again, with the promise that in a few months, Hazel might just join them. Danny wouldn’t mind the company, and Jenna would like it. Maybe have her there would be enough to get her mind off of missing Jack.

  His face appeared in her mind, and she leaned against the closet door, the strength draining from her. He would be pissed. She knew he would be. Leaving had been the only way to spare them both, to spare Jenna, the heartache that would follow. Though with the way her heart currently felt, her mind argued that it didn’t seem to matter what she did. She always hurt.

  A knock hit the doorframe and she sighed. “Hazel, are you drunk already?” She turned, and her mouth dropped open.

  “Hello, Danny.”

  “Jack,” she whispered. He stood in the doorway looking rugged as hell, his hair messed up and his face unshaven. His clothes were rumpled, and the look in his eyes warred between burning love, anger, and disbelief. “Jack, I can explain.”

  “Don’t,” he muttered angrily. “I’m going to ask you this one more time, Danny, and please be honest with me. For the love we have for each other, be honest.” All she could do was nod, her hands curling in on themselves. “Is Jenna the reason you left me? Is she… Is she our daughter?”

  Tears welled in her eyes as the words spilled from her mouth without restraint. “Jack… I got pregnant, and you had your scholarship. I knew what you would do. You’d stay with us, you’d give everything up, and it was my fault! And I couldn’t… I couldn’t ruin your life, so I ran, and I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m so sorry.”

  “You lied to me,” he growled. “For eight years, you lied to me! And when I asked you, you lied again!” He turned around in the doorway, muttering curses as his shoulders stiffened.

  “I understand if you hate me,” she whispered through her heaving breaths, the flood of tears torrential. “Jack—”

  “I believed you,” he muttered and whipped back around. “Tried to believe you. Jesus, Danny. She’s my daughter, too! You can’t just expect me to let it go!”

  She hung her head. It was over between them; it had to be. No man in his right mind would forget such a horrible betrayal of trust. “I don’t expect anything, Jack. I don’t deserve it, anyway.” Her hands curled into fists before she wiped the tears away with her fists. “I panicked, all right? And when I saw you again, I panicked worse.”

  “The truth. All you had to do was tell me the damn truth,” he hissed. “I pictured that asshole holding you, touching you and getting you pregnant. I was so angry about someone using you and tossing you aside.”

  She rushed forward a step but stopped at the burning anger in his eyes. “I know, and I’m so sorry, Jack.”

  He shook his head, inhaling and exhaling deeply through his nose. “I should’ve known she was mine. Her age, you lied about her age, but I could see it, every time she smirked… We have a daughter. All this time.” He shook his head in exasperation.

  “I thought I was protecting you,” she whispered, desperately wanting him to understand and at the same time wondering if he would. He stood in the doorway, fuming, and Danny didn’t know what to do. She was tired of lying and tired of trying to hide from him, from what she felt for him. “All I can say is I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m sorry.”

  Jack’s shoulders lifted heavily, and he hung his head, not saying a word. Danny didn’t know what to say, so they stood there, staring at each other across her room.

  “All that time we were together,” he finally whispered, his words strained with hurt.

  “I wanted to tell you the whole time, but I was scared, scared to lose you after you found me. I’m still scared of ruining—”

  The words cut off when Jack closed the distance between them in three long strides. He took her in his arms, kissing her fiercely as her tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “What makes you think it would have ruined my life?” he whispered, choked up just as much as she was, and though there was a twinge of anger in that question, she sensed the love there, too. She broke down completely. “Danny, I loved you… loved what we had together.”

  “I didn’t want you to hate me,” she choked out.

  “I could never hate you. Still mad? Hell, yes,” he told her firmly. “But God, Danny, it wasn’t your fault. We both decided to share ourselves with each other.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t want to be that girl.”

  “What girl?”

  “The one who got pregnant, and her boyfriend regretted everything they had together. I couldn’t bear it, so I ran.”

  “Well, you’re not running again, you understand me? I lived without you once. You won’t make me do it again,” he commanded, kissing her. “I love you, damn it. For everything we have together and for who you are.”

  Danny sank into him, letting his love surround her as he kissed the top of her head, whispering over and over that he loved her. It was impossible, but he did, even after everything they’d been through.

  “Mom? Is that Jack?”

  They pulled apart slowly, and Jack stared at Danny, uncertain. She squeezed his hand and pulled him around. “Jenna, there’s something I want to tell you,” Danny said slowly. “Jack… He’s more than my friend. He’s your dad.”

  Jack didn’t move as Jenna’s eyes widened and her whole body bounced on her feet. “He is?”

  “Yeah, he is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Danny stressed, hoping her daughter would forgive her.

  Jenna launched herself across the room, straight into Jack’s arms. He picked her up in a bear hug, kissing the top of her head as she cried into his shoulder, calling him ‘Dad’ over and over. She turned to Danny and said she knew it.

  “You did?” Jack asked, just as surprised as Danny. “How?”

  “I just did,” Jenna insisted. “Mom looked at you funny, but a good funny.”

  Danny laughed, and Jack joined her, wrapping one arm around her, holding the three of them together. This was how it should’ve been for the last eight years.

  Danny leaned into his embrace as they held their daughter between them. She had no idea what their life ahead would be like, but frankly, being with them both, she didn’t give a damn as long as they were together.

  Epilogue

  Confetti exploded in
the stadium, and Jack climbed up to the platform to receive the MVP award. Super Bowl XXXIX. His team had made it, won, and he had been named the MVP for his actions during the game. He couldn’t believe it, and that wasn’t even the best part about the day.

  His eyes scanned the crowd below him, and when he spotted Danny with Jenna by her side, he waved them to come up to him.

  “Thank you, really,” he said into the mic as the award was handed to him. “But I would not have made it this far if it wasn’t for my wife, my little girl, and what might one day be another great running back.”

  He grinned as Danny laid her hands on her pregnant belly carrying their son, due in a few months. Cameras went off around them when he wrapped her in his arms, crushing his lips against hers. Jenna cheered the loudest, but Jack only had eyes and ears for Danny and the pregnant belly cradled between them.

  Jack couldn’t ask for anything more than what he had in that moment. The kiss ended as the crowd continued to erupt in cheers around them. He took Danny’s hand and held it up between them as Jenna jumped into his other arm. Their picture would be plastered all over the next day’s paper—a picture he and Danny would cherish for many years to come, reminding them every day how important it was to believe in those you loved and never let them go.

  *** THE END ***

  Bonus Book #1

  SCORE

  (A Stepbrother

  Romance)

  By

  Mia Carson

  COPYRIGHT © 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  ALYSSA

  Blake’s bedroom, I thought with disdain as I set down another box in the empty bedroom upstairs. Blake was my new stepbrother, and I cringed at the thought of having to live with someone I’d disliked my entire life. As I walked downstairs to grab more boxes, I saw him walking around the house, looking like he was judging his new home and finding it lacking.