The Red Zone

by Knight, Amie

  Ella peeked around the corner of the doorway and I smiled big at her. She looked nervous. I knew the feeling. I was, too. I was terribly worried about how Ella was going to take a crying baby in the house. How she would feel about the wrench in her routines. How she would handle Luk’s attention being divided between her and Nelson. I loved her and above all wanted her to be happy.

  “Hey, Ells!” I called and waved her into the room. I patted the spot right next to me on the bed and she walked over and sat down gently.

  She bit her nails and stared at the floor instead of greeting me with a hug like she usually did.

  “You okay, baby?” I asked and shot Luk a glance in the chair next to me. He was still cuddled up with Nelson, but he gave me a look that said I should handle it. We’d gotten really good at this over the past several months. In fact, I’d say we were pretty awesome at co-parenting.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” She finally looked at me.

  I leaned up and rubbed my hand down her arm. “What’s going on? You sad?”

  Her head moved back and forth slowly. “No.”

  “Are you upset?”

  “No. Just worried.”

  Ah. Now, we were getting somewhere. “What are you worried about?”

  Her brown eyes shined back at me with tears in their depths from behind her glasses. “You. I was worried because you said having a baby hurts.”

  Aww, my precious girl. I pulled her to me and held her close in a long hug. “Oh, my Ellie Bellie. I am fine. It did hurt a little, but you can see for yourself that I’m fine.”

  “I’m so glad,” she choked out.

  I held her a minute more and then pulled out of our embrace. “Are you going to let Lulu hog Nelson all day or do you want to meet him?”

  She looked over at the baby and Luk.

  “You can’t have him! He’s mine,” Luk joked.

  I scooted over in the lumpy bed and motioned for Ella to sit next to me against the pillows. She scooted around until we were sitting in the bed side by side.

  I threw my arms out at Luk. “Bring us our baby!” I demanded.

  He grinned at me as he walked Nelson over to us and placed him gently in my arms.

  I held the baby near Ella. “What do you think, Aunt Ella? Is your nephew the cutest baby ever?”

  Nelson let out a small squeak and Ella laughed. “Yes, he is!” she exclaimed.

  “Would you like to hold him?”

  She looked nervously up at Luk and he gave her an encouraging nod. “Go on. He’s dying to meet you.”

  I used one arm to bring the baby over to Ella and my other to wrap around her to support Nelson on the other side. She brought her hands up the middle until we were both holding him securely.

  “Look how happy he is there with my girls,” Luk said, his voice watery enough to cause me to look up. His eyes were full of unshed tears as he gazed down at us.

  It was hard to believe there was ever a time that I didn’t think he worshipped the ground I walked on. The man was the most amazing husband in the world. And he wasn’t at all bad at this parenting thing either.

  He was living the dream. Football and family. And he was balancing it all with the kind of grace I greatly admired.

  I’d been dealing with my own juggling act lately and decided to take the rest of the school year off to be with the baby and Ella, but I’d be back next year. I loved teaching too much to give it up.

  “Well, what do you think, Ells? Should we keep him?” Luk joked, waiting on his sister to say anything at all. I had a feeling he was just as worried about her adjusting to life with a baby in the house as I was.

  She looked over Nelson’s face for a minute, really taking him in, and Luk and I watched on, nervous as hell and dying to know what she thought.

  But then she kissed the top of his head and uttered one small but significant word that set all our fears to rest and let us know that everything was going to be more than okay.

  “Dibs.”

  The Heart Series

  See Through Heart

  A Steel Heart

  An Imperfect Heart

  The Line

  The Stars Duet

  Beneath His Stars

  In Her Space

  This book was incredibly fun to write. And I know that the reason is mostly Ms. Ella, who was inspired by my sweet, wonderful cousin Dee. A lot of the sweet and funny moments that you read between Ella and Luk were all conjured up by her. So, thank you, Dee, for being amazing you. We love you so completely.

  Thanks to my husband, Tony and my kiddos, Jackson and Violet. You guys make writing books and being your wife and mom super easy!

  Thanks to my momma for reading every book I write and for always calling the latest my best one yet.

  Kelly, Megan, Miranda, Aly, Ashley, Danielle P., Jamie, Kate and Leigh. Thanks for being my book buddies. But really, thank you for being my real life friends.

  Maria Luis and Jennifer Van Wyk, I should give y’all the credit for this book. After all, it never would have been written if not for all of our sprinting. I love y’all! #sprint4yourlife

  To the most awesome, amazing, sweet, wonderful beta readers ever! Thanks for making The Red Zone something I can be proud of. Thanks for all your hard work, Danielle R., Megan, Danielle P., Dani, Kelly, Leigh, Miranda, and Renee.

  Hang Le, thank you for never letting me down. Your talent amazes me. Amber Goodwyn, you are incredible. Never leave me! Thank you! Amor Caro, I can’t believe how long we’ve been together. I feel so fortunate to call you friend! Stacey Blake, you make my books beautiful. And you don’t get annoyed when I change dates on you. I love you! You’re amazing. Julie Deaton, I wish you knew how beloved you are in this community. I can’t have a release without you. <3 Emily Lawrence, thank you so much for all your hard work. Sarah Ferguson at Social Butterfly, thank you for being patient with me and for all of your hard work on this book. I’m so glad to be able to call you friend.

  Renee McCleary, you’re priceless to me. I am so lucky you found me and stalked me. Best PA ever.

  And, finally, to all the authors, bloggers, and readers who support me and share and love my books, thank you, thank you, thank you!

  Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to ‘90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.

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