Page 184 of Need You To Choose Me

She wasn’t fine. Yes, she’s become more like herself lately, but there were still these moments where she’d get a distant look on her face as if she was expecting something bad to happen.

“I hate leaving you now that we’re so close to the due date.” I rest my hand on top of her stomach, just in time to feel a strong kick against my palm. “Hello to you too, little one.”

I let my palm slip under the hem of her shirt and rub at the hard swell of her stomach; those blue eyes darken as they meet mine over her shoulder. “I promise to call you if I go into labor.”

“It’s not funny. I plan to be there.” I press my mouth against hers. “Every.” Kiss. “Single.” Kiss. “Second.” Kiss. “Of.” Kiss. “It.” Kiss.

Savannah lets out a shaky breath. Her cheeks are flushed, pupils dilated. And I’m seriously considering ditching Aaron so I can stay home and have my way with Savannah.

“Dad, go!” Levi grabs my hand and pulls me away. “Sav promised to play with me tonight.”

Savannah chuckles softly, biting the inside of her cheek. I give her a warning look as I glance down at my son. “You stealing my girl, buddy?”

Levi puffs out his chest. “Yes. Sav’s my girl tonight.” He pushes me toward the door. “Go.”

I shake my head, amused by his response. “Okay, you two have fun then.” I glance at Savannah. “And call me if you need me.”

“We’ll be fine.”

I’m still chuckling as I slide into my truck and drive to The Hut. The local bar is relatively full, although it’s the middle of the week. I scan the dimly lit space until I spot Aaron and Miguel sitting in one of the booths, their heads huddled together as theytalk. I glance at the bartender and point at the guys, signaling for another round of whatever they’re having before I join them.

“Both Fernandez boys? To what do I owe this pleasure?” I slide into the open seat next to Aaron.

“Becky threatened she’ll kick his ass if he didn’t get out of the house, so I felt it was in everybody’s best interest for him to come with me.”

Miguel’s scowl grows darker at his brother’s words, not that I can blame him. “Tough loss, man.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Miguel mutters, taking a pull from his beer.

If he was drinking this close to the end of the season, I knew things were bad. Miguel followed the meal and workout regimen the Lonestars staff provided us to a T.

“You guys still have a chance of winning the conference.”

Did the loss suck? Sure, it did. I’ve had my fair share of losses, and some hurt more than others, but you couldn’t allow yourself to wallow in self-pity. Instead, you had to focus on figuring out where things had gone wrong and find a way to fix them. No great team got to the top without a loss here or there.

“Maybe.” His eyes meet mine. “That last tackle in the fourth? Bryan got a concussion. He’s out for the time being. And Mike’s still not at one hundred percent after his injury from last season.”

“Shit. That sucks.”

Bryan was the starting QB. If he was out so close to the playoffs, the team was screwed, especially considering Lonestars traded their backup quarterback just recently and had to rely on the kid that was straight out of college to take the lead.

“It does, and then there is the whole thing with Higgins.”

Something about the way he says it has me pausing. “What with Higgins?”

Higgins has been Lonestars defensive coach for as long as I’ve been there. Even longer. He was cunning and took nobullshit, which was part of the reason why he was considered one of the best in the league.

“He’s been off this whole season. He’s there, but he isn’t there, ya know? And just the other day, I heard a rumor from some of the ladies in the admin office.” Miguel’s expression darkens even more, if possible. “Cancer.”

“Shit.” I run my fingers through my hair thinking back at the interaction I had with the man a few weeks ago when I was in Austin. I’d noticed that he lost some weight, and the circles under his eyes were darker, but I wrote it off as the stress that comes with the job. There is always a lot on the line, especially if you’re trying to win a back-to-back championship, and everybody wants to see you fail. “I guess some things make more sense now.”

“What?”

“They offered me a job.”

Miguel’s mouth falls open in surprise. However, before either of them can say anything, the server stops by our table with the drinks.

“They want you to play again?” Aaron asks the moment the server is gone.

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