Page 51

Allie

Two years later

“Say hey to your big brother, Knoxey!” I hold my six-week-old son in my lap, positioning him to see Austin on the iPad.

“Hey, little Knox!” Austin waves at the screen. “You’re a big boy today!”

His dark-haired baby brother wobbles his head and blows bubbles at the screen. Kimmie walks through, and I nod at her.

“Want to say hey to Austin?”

“Oh, hey, Austin.” She waves briefly before lowering to her knees to hold her little brother’s finger and kiss his teeny nose.

Austin grins. “Hey, Peanut.”

She doesn’t respond, and my eyebrow arches. I’m not sure what Dylan told her after the wedding, but she hasn’t said a word about marrying Austin or Jack and me ever since.

It’s like the matter is closed—even if we never miss a Tennessee game, and we all have orange Number 17 jerseys.

“My dream team is Texas.” My son resumes our conversation about his post-graduate plans. “They’ve shown the most interest, and Jack knows everybody there.”

“I like it.” I smile warmly at my son, who’s quickly turning into a man. “It’s not as far as some of the offers you’ve told me about.”

“It’s no Buffalo,” he groans. “I don’t think I could deal with that level of cold. It was bad enough when we played in Minnesota for that exhibition game.”

“It’s nothing like we’re used to down here.”

“You can say that again.”

Knox starts to fuss, and I lift him onto my shoulder. “I’d better go. I miss you, honey.”

“Love you, Mom.”

We disconnect, and I shift my little boy around under my shirt to give him lunch. Leaning back in the swing, I look out at the water rippling on the shore.

An autumn breeze blows through the screens, and I look down at the leather-bound notebook I bought for my husband to record his thoughts, his short poems.

They’re so beautiful, and at times my heart aches at his words about his father, his parents, his family’s loss.

Then he’ll follow up with his love for me, his siblings, his daughter, his new son…

Light, hope, life, and all the dreams I ever had.

Bound in this little fist, this beautiful hand, this home.

“Can I hold Knoxey now?” Kimmie sits on the swing beside me, and I lift her little brother onto her shoulder.

“He just had lunch, so he needs to burp. Remember how I showed you?” She smiles, nodding, and it’s hard to believe she’s already nine.

She was so little for so long, a bossy, hilarious mini-Dylan. Now she’s approaching double digits, she’s quieter, and occasionally, I’ll see her and her best friend Maggie looking at pictures of boys playing football on her aunt’s iPad.

Maverick is in his terrible twos, and he shows zero interest in golf, no matter how many sets of toy clubs Dylan buys him. He doesn’t seem much interested in football either, for that matter, so who knows. Maybe he’ll surprise us all.

Gina and Haddy start kindergarten next year, which blows my mind, and Edward will be a senior in high school.

He’s also the starting kicker for the Captains, and Jack said with his talent and consistency, he’ll probably get offers from several schools.

Rachel starts to cry every time she talks about it, but Zane only laughs and pulls her in for a hug. She’s also pregnant with their first baby. She said she wanted to wait until Edward was settled to start another family, and he’s almost there.

I think about our little brood as Kimmie and I swing slowly. Then Knox lets out a burp so loud, we both exchange wide-eyed looks… then we burst out laughing.

“Good grief, Knoxey!” I pat his little back. “How much air did you swallow?”

“He really enjoyed his lunch.” Kimmie stands, holding her little brother, and I smile as I watch her carry him into the house.

She’s at the perfect age for a baby sibling. Everything he does is infinitely fascinating to her—except poopy diapers, which she commiserates about with Uncle Hen.

Jack meets her at the door, leaning down to kiss his baby boy’s head and muss his daughter’s hair, which makes her squeal. I rest my head on my hand, blinking up at him.

When my husband’s pretty blue eyes land on mine, he smiles. “Feeling sentimental?”

He sits beside me, and I scoot closer to him, loving his strong arms that surround me.

“I was thinking about second chances.”

“How so?”

“For so long I felt like a failure because Austin didn’t have a good dad. I felt like it was my fault.” Jack’s brow lowers, and I lift my hand to touch his lips. “Then you came into my life and changed everything. Now I have a second chance with Knox. ”

His lips poke out to kiss my fingers, and he takes my hand in his. “You’re not a failure. You’re brave and strong, and when things went wrong, you didn’t just fix them, you made them better. You make everything better.”

Shaking my head, I huff a laugh. “I don’t know about that.”

“You saved poetry.” He taps his book in my hands. “You saved Dare Night by making it a game. You saved Austin by bringing him here… And you saved me from a lonely life.”

I smile up at him. “I was always attracted to bad boys, but you’re so patient and good with the kids. You take care of everyone. I’m finally making good choices, choosing a nice man.”

“I’m not nice.” His eyebrow arches, and heat surges in my core.

Reaching up, I pull his face to mine. “You’re a bad boy in the best way. You won me the first day I saw you.”

“You won me with that first Mediterranean omelette.”

I can’t stop a laugh. “They say it’s the way to a man’s heart.”

“You’ve always had my heart.” His hand slides over my cheek, and he covers my lips with a devouring, toe-curling, blister of a kiss.

It’s a win I wouldn’t have any other way.

Thank you for reading The Way We Win !