Page 1 of Their Perfect Daddy

PROLOGUE

MICAH

Sitting in the Bellport Bulldogs stands has come to be second nature. I’ve been here enough times to know my way around without an escort.

“Ready to feel like you’re having a heart attack?” Finn bumps my shoulder.

I shake my head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ve seen him play before, remember?”

“Yeah, but it’s different now. And practice isn’t the same. They can’t go full out like they would against the enemy.”

The fierce way he talks about the opposing team is adorable. Finn is a tiny slip of a man, smaller than me. To know he’s this ferocious about sports cracks me up.

“Don’t let his bloodlust get to you,” Jake calls from my other side.

We’re all in the first row watching today’s big game. If the team wins this, they’ll be conference champions with another shot at the Super Bowl.

I know the guys want it bad. There’s been an energy to their practices since they won their two post-holiday games.

Raymond, who's sitting on the other side of Finn, leans forward. “It’s not bloodlust for us to want the team to win! This is a big deal.”

Jake lifts his hands. “I know, ok? It’s my brother out there too. You think he hasn’t been showing up to family dinners in game mindset mode? The man means business.”

Shaking my head at the pair, I focus my attention on my boy. He’s talking to the coaches about the various plays he wants to run. I know because he’s explained his role on the team to me in great detail these last couple of weeks.

“They all mean business. This is a big deal,” I tell the boys around me.

I didn’t realize it at first, but they were all boys, and I was the only Daddy around. It’s as if I’m on babysitting duty. Now magnify it by four since Jake Bellport is more than a handful on his own.

Thankfully, they all seem to have their routines of what they do during the game down to a science. I don’t have to do much other than grab food here and there for them. Plus, it’s not as if they’re fully Little all the time.

Thinking of our other friend group brings a smile to my face. I can’t wait until April when they show up for Jett’s surprise party. It’s going to be a blast.

As the game begins, the tension between the boys disappears. We’re all on the same team, all hoping for the same goal.

And it looks like we’ll get there.

Bellamy and Aries are perfectly synchronized on the field. Every throw gets caught. Every yard is well earned as Aries tears down the field.

Unfortunately, the other team is on their game as well.

The scoreboard is far too close to my liking. I can see it wears on my boy, too, as he paces the sidelines waiting for his chance to get back out there.

It’s in the third quarter that things turn to shit.

The play is called.

The men line up.

The snap happens.

Then fucking chaos.

Monty gets hurt.

I can’t see it in real time, nor do I want to. Why would I want to see my brother get hurt?

A hush moves through the crowd as the team doctors rush onto the field. I can’t move. Can’t breathe.

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