Quarterback's Secret Baby(69)

"I can't," I said, when Alisha gave me a nudge.

"Oh yes you can," she told me. "Because if they're positive, girl, you're going to need to face a whole lot more than some lines on a stick. Come on, I'll come with you."

So we walked into the bathroom and peered down at the little test sticks. Three bright, fat pink lines stared back up at me and I felt my heart skip a beat as a feeling of unreality washed over me. I looked up and met Alisha's eyes.

"You're pregnant," she told me, smiling and enveloping me in a big, solid hug. "Congratulations."

I couldn't say anything. Even when I stepped back and Alisha was waiting for me to do so, no words came out. My breath was coming quick and hard and I could feel my eyes welling up but I didn't know what I was feeling. Not happy, but not sad either.

"I don't-" I said, pausing to breathe. "I don't-"

"It's OK," Alisha reassured me. "You're in a little bit of shock, I think. That's normal. And I'm going to keep it to myself until you're ready to let everyone know. Tomorrow, I'll call the doctor and make an appointment for you."

The rest of the day was a blur, an exercise in keeping my exterior on lockdown when everything inside me was turmoil. When I went to bed that night I spent a long time looking down at my flat belly, completely disbelieving that there was something in there - a baby. Kaden Barlow's baby.





Chapter 26: Kaden


I had been in Texas for less than twenty-four hours before my manager had arranged a series of press interviews, so there wasn't a lot of time to settle in. In his favor, he had managed to arrange a house for me. A huge, bland and nearly entirely empty mansion. A set of cookware sat, unopened, on the stainless steel countertop in the kitchen and a brand new king size bed awaited me in the master bedroom, sheet set (also unopened) perched on top.

"Home sweet home," I muttered, tearing the sheets open to make the bed because what the hell else was I going to do? When that was done, I wandered the house. It was, as I said, huge. Much too big for a single person. It was also strangely reminiscent of show-homes or reality TV. All beige walls and over-sized hot tubs. There was a swimming pool in the backyard surrounded by stone decking. I stood looking out over the scene and tried to picture a group of people out there. Even that was difficult, because who would they be? Not my parents - not right away, anyway. There had been some talk of moving them out to Texas and they seemed open to it but things were still way too unsettled for them to be making big decisions like that. Friends? Sure, but not from Brooks, because they were all still at Brooks, halfway through their four-year programs. Only one of my Brooks teammates had been drafted by the NFL at the same time as me, and no one was sure if he was going to see any actual games for awhile. Friends from Little Falls? That was another no. They all had jobs. New friends, then.

And who would my new friends be in Texas? Teammates? Moving to Brooks had been intimidating but college is set up to nurture friendships. So far, Dallas seemed very luxurious and very lonely. I didn't even allow myself to picture Tasha out there, by the pool, despite the fact that no one would look better sipping a crazy drink in a bikini than her. Maybe she can come visit? For a long weekend? I shut those thoughts down before they got very far. Tasha wasn't a weekend type of girl. It was all or nothing with her - if there's one thing I knew, it was that. I wanted the 'all' option, too, but it was still, just like it had been after high school ended, impossible.

My manager Barry showed up the next day, waking me up at eight in the morning with a strange, melodious doorbell that bing-bonged throughout that house and was meant to be classy but ended up just seeming kind of lame.

Barry looked me up and down and cocked an eyebrow at me when I answered the door in my boxers, rubbing my eyes and trying to smooth my hair.

"You should be ready to go, Kaden," he said, sounding a little bit like a disappointed father. "Your first interview is at ten. This isn't high school anymore. It's not Brooks anymore, either. Everything you do matters now. The suits already have their eyes on you."

"The suits?" I asked. "I already got drafted, I'm done with trying to impress suits."

"You see," Barry said, and I couldn't tell if he was more amused or annoyed, "that's where you're wrong. Your time with suits has only just begun."

I rolled my eyes. "You want to come in? I'll just take a quick shower and get dressed."

Barry stepped inside. "Shower yes, dressed no. I have a suit in the car for you Kaden."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I didn't send that tailor around to your dorm to feel up your balls for nothing - I had three suits made for you based on those measurements and you can wear one of those today."