Mr. Fiancé(156)

"Yeah, I guess I am," I answer, looking down at baby Travis. "He's cute. How old is he?"

"Two months," Whitney replies, watching as he kicks in his little chair and beams up at us. "We tried to get pregnant on our honeymoon, but it didn't actually happen until just before training camp. I still feel bad for the team. I swear, Troy was distracted in the playoffs because I had a pretty tough third trimester. Travis is like his father, huge and active. My belly looked like an alien movie."

I laugh. “Well, you are pretty petite. Getting yourself back into shape, though, I see."

"Mmm, can't be too strict though. Travis needs the milk, and Troy . . . well, he likes it too!"

Whitney's laughter causes me to smile, but my mind is still whirling. I feel tears well up in my eyes, and one escapes, trickling down my cheek. Whitney stops laughing and slides next to me, rubbing my back. "Hey, I’m sorry. I know it was a horrible joke."

I shake my head and wipe the tear away. "No, it was fine. Just . . . stuff's on my mind. Can I ask you some personal questions?"

"Sure. I'm hoping that we can become friends. I'm not trying to say a lot of the players’ wives and girlfriends and I don't get along, but I spent five years in Italy after growing up in a small town in the Seattle area. Just different backgrounds is all."

"Well, do you ever . . . I don't know, have any regrets about the way it happened between you and Troy? I mean, if Laurie’s six, you must have had her back in high school. That had to be tough.”

"It was. And yes, I do have one regret about it all."

"What's that?"

"I regret the five years that Troy didn't know he had a daughter. Oh, I guess I had my justification for it at the time. Troy was also in high school, I didn't want to hurt his football career, yada yada. I wasn't even sure I was going to tell him until I did. I didn't want him to think I was gold digging on him. But I forgot something in all my excuses. I forgot about Troy and who he is. He was such a player before we met. I called him a manwhore, in fact, at first, and we joke about it still. But when he and I clicked . . . it was magic. He changed and matured before my very eyes. Then I got pregnant and forgot about all that. I just went off my fears, and it took me five years to rectify that mistake. So yeah, I do regret that. Watching Laurie and him play on that swing set outside that Troy built for her . . . that's my only regret."

I wipe at my eyes and think with Whitney staying right next to me. She doesn't ask any questions. I think she's pretty sure what's going on, because as we see the guys come back, stopping outside to let Laurie play on the swings, she pats my back again. "Tell him. Don't make the same mistake I did. Besides, I saw how he looks at you. He loves you, Carrie. That man is head over heels in love with you. Have faith in that, and you'll be fine."

Duncan, Troy and Laurie finish playing outside, coming back inside with Laurie leading the way. "Mama," she says, and I can pick out now the lilt to her accent. It's Italian, "Duncan can skip a rock five times across the pond!"

"Really?" Whitney asks, giving Duncan a smile. "Tell me you're not trying out for quarterback now too."

Duncan laughs and comes over, sitting down next to me. "Nah. Just a lucky find of a good stone, and the pond's as flat as ice. So did you two have a good chat?"

"We did," Whitney says. "Carrie's quite a catch. I wouldn't let go of her if I were you."

"I'm not," Duncan says, taking my hand again. "Not if I have anything to say about it."





Chapter 23





Duncan





It feels weird, after spending the past three months slowly watching my bank account dwindle as my money ran out, to see five figures on the screen as I take money out at the ATM. The Wildcats, understanding my predicament, gave me an advance on my signing bonus, the team President cutting me a personal check before Carrie and I left Jacksonville. I'm good to go while the paperwork winds its way through the lawyers, which are a lot more numerous than I thought there would be.

I take out two hundred bucks and tuck the cash into my wallet, then get my card. I tuck everything into my jacket and head toward campus, pulling my backpack up over my shoulder. While my contract is signed, I still have a college degree to finish up, and the Wildcats have been really understanding about that. They're trusting me to continue working with Carrie and Coach Taylor in working with my elbow and staying in playing shape, and three weeks after graduation, I'm to report to Jacksonville to do my first rookie camp.

Actually, that's the only concern I've had this whole time since being drafted. Classes are going okay. I'll get my degree, but the move to Jacksonville seems to be causing stress between Carrie and me. I don't understand why either, because I'm more dedicated to her than ever. Each time I turned around with the Wildcats, I was asking someone on the team advice on how to help Carrie adjust. The team even said they'd be willing to work with Western, if Carrie wants to do her last year as a split student. She can do the fall semester in Jacksonville, interning with the Wildcats and doing studies via distance learning, and then we can go back in the spring semester in order to let her wrap up her brick and mortar classes that she can't do in Jacksonville. The most we'd have to be apart is a month, and only if the Wildcats go deep in the playoffs.