Page 80 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

“Mom, are you okay?” Alex asks quietly from the back seat. I glance back and see him hovering on the verge of tears, so I take a deep breath and pull myself together to give him a warm smile.

“Y-yeah baby, I’m fine. I…I just had to let go of something that was dragging me down for a long time, and it wasn’t easy.”

He looks at me for a moment, then reaches out and places his small hand on my arm. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, kiddo.” I give him a watery grin as Asher slides into the driver's seat and buckles up. He reaches over and captures my hand, his big hand swallowing mine as he gives me a reassuring squeeze.“Let’s go home.”

That night, I’m wrapped in Asher’s arms on our couch as we watch tv, with Alex on the opposite end lightly snoring. I’m still processing what happened today, but I think a part of me already feels lighter. Freer. Just being able to get it off my chest. I think about how heavy words are, and how once they’re said, you can’t take them back. You can wish that you never said them, but you can’t ever take back their impact. The feelings that they cause. And I have a lifetime of hurtful words I’ve been carrying.

Tonight, I let go of my parents. A part of me will never be the same, but with Asher and Alex, I know I’ll heal. Piece by piece. I’ll repair all of the broken pieces that they left behind, because I have my two boys who truly love me. There will always be a part of me that wishes things were different with my parents, but now, it’s truly time to move on.

“I’m proud of you,” Asher murmurs along the shell of my ear. “I hope you know how fucking proud I am.”

“Thank you…for everything, Asher. For being here through everything. I-I don’t know that I would be who I am today without meeting you.”

It’s the truth.

Since meeting Asher, I’ve changed. I feel like after searching for so long, I’ve finally found myself. Who knew that all it would take is falling in love with a man that’s too perfect for words? A man who touched my heart so easily that it scared me.

“You and Alex are mine, Auden. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I love you, unconditionally. When I say those words, I mean it. I know that for a long time, you’ve only had words…and I guess that means I’ll just work harder to prove it to you. My actions will match what I say, baby.”

I believe him with everything that I am. Twisting to face him, I ghost my lips along his as I cradle his jaw. “You are too perfect, Asher Hart. I feel like I don’t deserve you.”

He shakes his head, turning to kiss my palm. “You deserve the world, Auden, and I’m going to do my best to give it to you.”

Suddenly, he’s lifting me off the couch and covering my mouth with his to silence the yelp from my lips, kissing me until I’m breathless. “And I’m going to spend the rest of the night showing you what you deserve, Killer. Starting with this…”

After quickly checking that Alex is still sleeping, he whisks me away toward our bedroom. I can’t help but think…Thank god for broken roads because they led me right to him..

Chapter Twenty Five

Asher

“Alex just askedme if we could get a dog. You didn’t have anything to do with that now, did you?” Auden asks, her hand hitched on her hip, her eyebrows raised in question.

Fuck, yeah, I did, but I have to play my cards carefully to bring this one home for Alex and me.

“Maybe. Depends on what your answer was.” I grin.

I’m sitting on the bed, rereadingSense and Sensibilityfor the hundredth time when she’d pads into the bedroom. She’s fresh out of the shower, a white towel wrapped around her tiny frame, and I can’t help my body’s reaction to her.

I’m fucking obsessed with my girl, and really, that’s the only way it should be.

“Eyes up here, sir. Pay attention,” she says, laughing, “a dog, Asher? Really?”

I shrug, folding the page over to hold my place. I’ve always wanted a dog, and after talking to Alex, we quickly realized that there was a much better chance of bringing home a dog than a tarantula. Especially since dogs are the cute kind of hairy.

But, I told him that he had to be the one to ask. Apparently, he did.

“Well, why not? Let’s talk about it. Pros and cons.”

She sighs and sits down next to me on the bed. “Well first con…responsibility. Pets are a huge responsibility, and I worry that Alex might not be ready for such a big task, which would mean that I’ll end up taking care of it. You’ll be on the road a lot, which just leaves us.”

“Well, maybe that’s not a con. I’ll be gone a lot, Killer. I could use someone else here to protect the two of you. To keep you company.”

Auden softens slightly then twists toward me and straddles my lap, settling herself over me. I catch a glimpse of her milky skin as the towel opens slightly, and I groan.

“Auden, I can’t have this conversation with a hard cock.”

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