The Rebel's Own(17)

“I do,” Kennedy said as she walked into the kitchen, exhaustion etched on her features. She looked at their son. “He’s asleep.”

“That’s good; you should also get some sleep,” Ryan said, as his hand halted its work.

“I’m fine. In fact, you shouldn’t have let me sleep that long.”

“You need your rest, especially since you are going to have him on your own for the afternoon,” he whispered.

“My mom is coming over. I was wondering if she could come and stay for a while, with the game coming up. She could help and you could get a full night’s rest.” Kennedy didn’t sound sure and that only enforced the fear that Ryan felt.

“I know we only got married in a little chapel in Vegas, but this house is half yours. You can do whatever you want,” Ryan said as he quickly retreated to avoid the usual argument that followed.

He knew it by heart by now and waited for Kennedy to follow him, only to tell him that their marriage was just temporary, that she was leaving with both children once Riley was better. He waited for her to tell him that they were from different worlds that they didn’t fit together. The comment that usually ended the conversation was that he was trying to be something he wasn’t. A caring, loving, and responsible husband and father he was not. He was Ryan Carville, the high school boy who had done whatever Clara and the football team had told him to do, and his weakness had ruined her life.

• • •

Kennedy stood there staring at Ryan’s strong back, Riley’s tiny hands hanging loosely from his shoulders, as he walked away. She thought back to the impulsive decision she had made, the consequences of which she was living through today. Time was moving so quickly. It felt like one minute they’d been standing before an Elvis impersonator saying “I Do” and the next they were in his kitchen having breakfast.

“Getting married was for the best,” Matt said suddenly, as if he could read her mind.

Somehow Ryan’s best friend had become their biggest cheerleader. He’d said the same thing a week and a half ago when he’d had a team of movers pack up Kennedy and her family to move them in to Ryan’s. And again last week when they changed Riley’s last name to Carville and she hyphenated her own.

Maybe that’s what she would say to Ryan when she left his house with his children. “It’s for the best.”

She sighed and changed the subject. She could use someone to talk to, but no matter how supportive Matt was being now, he was Ryan’s friend, not hers. If she spilled her worries and misgivings to him, he’d probably just turn around and relay them to his best friend. “Tell me what Clara did.”

“When she saw our press release about the marriage and the story of you two being teenage sweethearts, she said it was a lie. And, uh, she also told the press about… about…” Matt hesitated and she knew what he was struggling to say.

“She told the press about the United Tastes game and the prom sacrifice,” she quickly filled in. There had to be more though. “Then what?”

“She said that Riley wasn’t Ryan’s and that you were loose in high school, and that the father of your child could be anyone.”

What Kennedy just heard fuddled her mind. She needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts. “Are we going to release some kind of a response?” All this politicking and publicity was so new to her, but she was quickly becoming accustomed to the kind of madness that a little celebrity caused.

“Right now, the team management wants Ryan to keep quiet. When the championship is over, you can deal with it however you want to.”

“My life seems centered around his football,” she groaned.

“While mine is centered on you and my children.”

Kennedy turned around to find Ryan behind her, shadows looming over his face. He skimmed his eyes over her, obviously wanting to say something but biting his tongue. She stared back at him and felt her stomach dance with nerves. She felt guilty. Parts of this were new to Ryan, too, but he was trying to be the best father—and husband—he could.

“I put him down in the spare bedroom. The cleaners are going to come by in about an hour. He barely ate his breakfast so you might want to give him something when he wakes up,” Ryan barked out his orders and walked out.

Normally Kennedy would have a retort of her own, but the guilt weighed heavily on her heart. She swiped at the tears now rolling down her cheeks. “Damn hormones.”

But she had been crying ever since she found out Riley was sick. It had only gotten worse when she found out she was pregnant. She was touched that Ryan would offer her a sympathetic shoulder, but she couldn’t let herself get too close. Ryan was a danger to her. The bumpy jerks her heart made when he was near her, the way her skin tingled when he touched her, and how she missed him when he went to practice was terrifying. She felt emotions for him that she hadn’t felt—hadn’t had time to feel—when they were teenagers. Hell, she’d barely known him. That was only infatuation, but now, seeing him trying so hard to help their son, she was in danger of falling in love with him.