Page 19 of Their Perfect Daddy

He’s quick to sober. “It really is. People assume I’m some mean person or something. I don’t usually give it to people when I first meet them in the community. It helps for a little bit until they find another reason to pass on me.”

The doorbell chimes before I can say anything else. We leave the room, making sure it locks back up as he rushes to get the bags from the delivery guy. I pay and tip him while Grizzly takes the food into the kitchen.

I want to talk more about his role in this community and what all he’s learned. I want to pick his brain about being someone’s boy, so I know I’m doing it right. I want to reassure him he’ll find his person when the time is right.

None of it comes out though.

Grizzly from the playroom is long gone. He’s still somewhat relaxed, but he’s definitely more focused than he was before.

“Now why don’t you tell me about those ideas of yours? It seemed like you have a lot to get off your chest.”

I nod, then dive into an explanation about my plans. At least, what I hope would be my plans. I have a long way to go to make it come to fruition.

“Honestly, that sounds amazing, Monty. It will be a lot of work. Do you have any ideas of who you’d want to bring in to run it?”

“Ideally, I’d like to in the off-season. During the regular season, I’d have to hire someone else to take control. It’s something I haven’t given much thought to yet.”

“Well, I think you definitely need to think it over more. I’ll help in every way I can. You’re the boss. I think your vision needs more expansion before we start setting it up.”

Grizzly’s words sit with me as time moves faster than ever. Before I know it, we’re at the end of January and about to play in the conference championship game. I’m a nervous wreck knowing how much the team is relying on me to help win the game for them.

To top it all off, things have been so busy I haven’t gotten to check in with Skye or Danny for a few days other than a quick text here and there.

Danny is in Vegas helping to plan the anniversary for his clients, which means between time zones and his workload, he doesn’t get much down time.

Skye is back in town, but he’s still helping his family when he’s not catching up on his delayed surgery procedures in the hospital.

I’ve been trying to not let any of it get to me. I want to be strong enough on my own to handle what life throws my way. We won’t always be able to see one another. I know that.

It’s still hard.

As we stand at the edge of the field waiting to be announced, I tell myself it’s going to be fine. My brother is here today, and Skye will watch the game at home after his shift. Since he’s probably busy working, Danny will have to check the scores between whatever tasks he’s handling.

It’s enough of a comfort for now.

That and having my teammates excited for the chance to be one step closer to the Super Bowl. It’s a really fucking big deal for us to reach this level again. I just hope we can bring it home for the Bellport fans. They’ve been so supportive. I don’t want to let them down.

Bellport and Merry lead the charge onto the field a few minutes later. I’m right behind them, smiling wide as I wave my arms to tell the crowd to get louder.

I spot Micah in the stands with Jake, Finn, and Raymond.

They all smile and wave to us, making sure to get the attention of the men in their lives.

Seeing as it’s Jake’s brother and not his partners in the game, he focuses more on being as outlandish as possible.

I can only imagine what the coverage of that will look like later.

When we get in the huddle before the coin toss, Bellport gives me a grin. “We’re going to win this,” he says, voice full of confidence.

“No doubt about it.” I give him a fist bump, then listen as he gives us a plan of action.

The game starts and it’s chaos from there. Both teams are gunning for the win as if it’s the last chance they’ll ever get to play ball. One minute we’re running the ball and the next there’s an interception. It’s back and forth, back and forth for the entire first half.

At half time, Coach gives us a small speech about teamwork and not giving up. Then he hands it over to Bellport who decides to motivate us via a different method.

When Beyonce comes on through the Bluetooth speaker Merry holds, the guys laugh. That laughter turns to shoulders bobbing, and eventually we’re all standing and dancing in full uniform. Seeing the guys attempt to twerk in their gear is just the thing we all needed.

It’s a reminder of how much fun we can have with this game. A reminder that we can go back out there and give it all we’ve got.

The third quarter starts with a bang. An interception turned touchdown gives us a small lead in points. It also seems to break the cordial spirit the other team had. Where we were dancing and singing in our locker room, they seem like they’ve been chewed out instead.

A few plays later, I’m facing off against one of the angrier players. He mouths off something to me, which I ignore. But then he says a slur. One I really fucking hate.

My eyes burn with rage as I stare him down. “Watch your damn mouth,” I grit out.

“Or what?” he taunts back. “Not like you’re going to do anything.”

Distracted by his taunts, I almost miss the snap. When we crash into one another, the guy hooks his leg behind mine and flips me onto my back. At least, I think that’s what he does.

I’m not sure because a blinding level of pain tears through my body, leaving me immobile on the field. The player spits on the ground by my head, chuckles, and then jogs off.

Left alone, I try to push up, but every tiny movement has my body crying out for me to stop. When Bellport comes into view through my helmet, his face is grim.

“Keep still, bud. The medic team is coming. Don’t try to move.”

I hear Merry shouting in the background. “Hurry the fuck up before I kill that bastard. Ref, did you see it?! Watch the fucking playback!”

Merry never gets this heated. At least not to the point where I worry he’ll get a penalty flag for shit talking. Plus, he’s usually mic’d up for the cameras. Hopefully they sensor him enough.

Why am I thinking about that? I’m injured.

Dammit.

I’m injured.

Reality comes crashing down around me with that realization. If I’m hurt bad enough, I’ll miss the Super Bowl. Hell, if it’s as bad as it feels, I could wind up missing a lot more than that.

The doctors and medical team arrive as my mind starts to sink into that dark place.

It’s a flurry of them stabilizing my leg—which really fucking hurts—and then getting me on the stretcher.

We ride to the sidelines as the crowd cheers.

I raise my hand to wave, though I don’t feel like comforting any of them.

I’m pissed off at the player who decided it would be easier to take me out than to be smarter about their plays. He got desperate enough to cheat in the worst way possible.

It’s underhanded.

I hope the footage shows what he really did. With the way they cover the field, I have no doubt he’ll wind up in a shit ton of trouble.

By the time we make it to the medical room, there’s a crowd gathered. I spot my brother in the mix. He’s too far away to speak to, not that I could find words anyway. The ache in my leg is more pronounced with all the jostling from the ride.

As I’m staring at Micah, Jett appears behind him and wraps his arms around my brother. I send up a thanks to the big guy for coming. I know Micah well enough to know his empathy has to be going through it seeing me like this.

I just wish my own Daddy was here right now.

It’s hard being alone and in pain.

Even surrounded by all these people, I don’t feel the comfort a single word from Skye or Danny would bring. Thinking of them makes me wonder if they’ll find out about this before I get the chance to call them.

My guess is yes.

“He’s got a bone sticking out. We need to get him to the hospital pronto. He’ll likely need surgery,” one of the men beside my leg announces.

No shit, doc. I could have suggested that without even looking.

Another voice chimes in with, “Get the ambulance ready. We’ll take him straight there.”

I don’t speak a word as I’m lifted yet again and rushed into the back of the vehicle with the EMTs. Two much friendlier faces greet me. The young woman’s eyes sparkle as she takes in my mostly naked form as her partner hooks up an IV and takes my vitals.

“I’m spoken for, darling,” I tell her with a smile.

She snaps her fingers dramatically. “Of course you are. All the good ones seem to be.”

Thankfully, she does truly listen to me and spends the rest of the short ride to Bellport General telling me about her weekend plans.

It’s distracting enough to get my mind off the pain.

It probably also helps that the IV is pumping something nice and relaxing into my system.

I kind of want to ask where I can get some for later since I have no doubt this pain is here to stay for a bit.

When we get to the hospital, there’s more rushing around and shouting. It’s then I hear the words that settle everything inside me.

“Someone page Dr. Gellar. We need him for this one.”