Uh-oh. It hit me suddenly what Alison had said this morning: the national wire services were picking up the story about me. About Alison and the baby. That meant my family must have heard it.
Just fucking great.
I knew that putting off this talk would only make it worse, and I’d rather that Alison wasn’t at home to listen. Not that I wouldn’t tell her about it—I would—but maybe I could soften it slightly. Spin it so that she didn’t have to hear everything that I expected my mother to say.
Sitting down in the living room, I hit the call back for my mom. The phone rang once, and then she began talking. The fact that she didn’t even say hello wasn’t a good sign.
“Noah, how nice of you to return my call.” Her voice was icy. “Guess what? This morning, I found out from a social media post that I’m going to be a grandmother again. While I love the idea of more grandchildren, I really would have rather gotten the news from myson.”
“Mom.” I kept my tone all business. “Listen. I understand this wasn’t optimal, but it’s not—I didn’t want to say anything until—“Shit.I should have thought out what I wanted to say before I called. I sucked in a deep breath. “Mom, it’s true. I’m having a baby with Alison. I—I spent some time with her before my second surgery, and that’s when the baby was conceived. Because of what happened after my operation, she couldn’t get through to tell me what was going on until a little over a month ago.”
“You’ve known for a month, and you didn’t have the courtesy to tell your family?” Mom sounded incredulous. “I’m so disappointed in you, Noah. I thought we raised you better than this.”
As criticism went, that was a direct hit. I swallowed down the hurt. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but it was our business and not yours.”
“Whoisthis woman, anyway?” my mother demanded. “Is she using this pregnancy to get money from you? Did you have a DNA test to make sure it’s really your child?”
“Mom, I’m willing to talk to you and tell you everything, but if I hear you say one more derogatory word about Alison, I’m hanging up, and you won’t hear from me again. Are we clear?”
“What about Juliet?” She changed tactics. “That sweet girl stuck by you after you were hurt, and this is how you repay her? How could you, Noah?”
“That so-called sweet girl didn’t care about anything but the attention I could get for her,” I retorted. “And she’s married to one of my teammates now. Leave it alone. Juliet has nothing to do with this.”
“Are you going to marry this woman? Will we even get to meet her?”
I hesitated. “We don’t have plans for marriage right now. But we’re doing everything we can to get along for the baby’s sake.” I paused for a beat. “You met Alison at the hospital, Mom. She’s a doctor. She’s very smart, kind, funny . . . you’d like her.”
“What about her family? Do they know about the baby?”
I rubbed my palm over my jeans. “She doesn’t have family. Alison grew up in the foster care system, and she’s really always been on her own. She’s strong, Mom. But she’s also a little scared of being a mother. If you were in her corner, it might help her feel more confident.”
My mother sniffed. “I don’t even know if this is actually your baby, Noah, so I hardly think I’m going to hold the hand of some gold-digging floozy—”
“All right, Mom,” I interrupted, my voice calm. “You were warned. I’m hanging up now. When you’re ready to speak politely and with compassion about Alison and the baby, I’ll be ready to listen. Until then, don't call me again."
Without giving her a chance to respond, I clicked end and tossed down my phone. Running my hand through my hair, I laid my head back and closed my eyes as a headache began to pound.
I loved my mother, but she had to understand that if she made me choose between Alison and my family, Alison would win every time. Realizing that truth was more than a little scary. I wasn’t sure Alison knew just how important she was to me . . . or how much power she held to hurt me. I knew she would never intentionally break my heart, but if she decided that I wasn’t a good bet, if she chose to protect herself instead of taking a chance on us, I wasn’t sure what I would do.
I didn’t want to find out.
Press Release
Tampa Football
Tampa offensive tackle Noah Spencer has announced that he is expecting a baby early this summer. Spencer, who was badly injured in a game last season, was married to Angela Rone Spencer until her tragic death from complications of leukemia over four years ago. He and the baby’s mother, Dr. Alison Wakely of Bayerton, Florida, have requested that the public respect their privacy during this time.
Chapter 10
Alison
“There’s the glowing mama-to-be!” Emma folded me into a tight hug as I stepped into the cabin. “Look at you, Alison. I don’t think you’ve ever been more beautiful.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Oh, tell me, what is it that you find more attractive? The way I waddle instead of walking? The swollen ankles? The red nose?”
She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s the whole package, sweetie. You just look . . . happy.” She studied me. “Are you?”
I hesitated. Answering that question in the affirmative felt . . . dangerous. Risky. The last time I’d copped to happiness, it had been cruelly yanked away from me. If that happened again . . .
