Home is Where the Heart is(53)

“I’m a little tired,” Cassie finally said, looking away from Jordan. Her eyes were focused on Jake in the bed. He was still asleep, and knowing how good of a sleeper he could be, maybe Cassie would be able to get some shuteye—even for just a few minutes or so. It was all she needed to gain a little bit of energy so she’d be ready for when Jake eventually woke up.

“I’ll let you know when he wakes up,” Jordan told her before she tucked her yoga pants-clad legs up underneath her as best she could, while still sitting in a very uncomfortable chair and closed her eyes.

Jordan watched the stunning beauty before his eyes drift off to sleep. He remembered watching her sleep when they had dated. She looked so peaceful, almost like an angel, except he remembered she used to snore. When he’d told her about it, she tried to deny that she snored, insisting he did instead. He studied her closely, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He too drifted off to a light slumber, forgetting all about the events of that night.





It wasn’t until morning of the next day when the early sunrise was gently streaming in through the hospital window that Jordan realized his light slumber had turned into actual sleep, despite the uncomfortable position he was sitting in. Jordan looked over at Cassie as sun lightly reflecting off her blonde hair, giving her a golden glow. He couldn’t help but wonder how he ever got so lucky in the first place that Cassie chose him to be with when they’d dated in high school. She was stunning, even though he knew Cassie wouldn’t agree right now with her hair sticking up and mascara smudged around her eyes.

His dark brown eyes shifted over to their son, and even now, he still had trouble absorbing he had a child. Jake hadn’t moved. His body was perfectly still besides his breathing, and something told Jordan this was the only time Jake wasn’t busily moving about. He ought to capture this moment forever of his two favorite people in the entire world while he had the chance.

He took his iPhone out of his pants pocket and snapped a quick shot of his girl and then his son before they both stirred. He knew Cassie wasn’t really his girl anymore, but once upon a time, she had been his, and he hoped she would be again. Life was simply too short to let her slip away again.

His phone buzzed in his hands, and Jordan was thankful it was on silent, which would’ve no doubt disturbed Jake and Cassie from their sleep.

What could Paul want? Jordan thought to himself when he read the name of the caller on the screen. Jordan paid Paul big bucks as his agent, mostly making his life run smoothly as he dealt with the press, tabloids, and business side of his life that came from being a professional football player, leaving Jordan to concentrate on the sport itself. He didn’t like dealing with trashy tabloids eager to make up a story over the real deal just to sell their magazine. Jordan thought of them as money hungry people, but he figured it was the life he asked for in order to follow his childhood dream.

Jordan’s finger slid across the screen to answer the call, then he slipped out of the room and talked to his agent in a hushed tone.

“What’s up?”

“How are you? I’m calling to check in with you and make sure you’re on track to return to Miami for training camp. I haven’t heard from you since the night you called to tell me about your kid. So tell me, how is fatherhood treating you?”

Jordan shook his head. He knew Paul couldn’t possibly be interested in hearing about his sudden thrust into fatherhood. When he’d made the phone call to fill Paul in on the recent revelations in his life, Paul hadn’t been interested in hearing about his news until Jordan confirmed through a DNA test that Jake was really his. Despite his reluctance, Jordan had managed to convince Paul to spin the story to the press in a positive way. Luckily, Cassie didn’t mind when he asked her for a DNA test. She understood that his job sometimes required an exact answer in regards to what happened in his personal life.

“You don’t really want me to answer that, right?”

“No, you’re right. I don’t. Despite everything, that isn’t what I called to ask you about.” Paul wasn’t the type of guy you could sit down and have a beer with. He only wanted to know details about your life when he needed to spin it in a positive way to the public. Jordan paid him a lot of money to do his job, and he had to admit, he did his job the well.

“We’re almost into July. That means training camp is approaching fast before the season commences, so the team is wondering when you’ll be back.” Paul was straight to the point.

“Yeah, that’s the thing,” Jordan said, his words running into each other. His hand ran over his hair. “I may not make it back by then. I’m not saying I won’t for sure, because I simply don’t know yet. But regardless, I will back by the end of July or beginning of August.”