“It’s going to be a while,” she says. “Then again, I didn’t think I’d be here with you this weekend. So what do I know? I’m only the doctor.”
Her humor isn’t appreciated right now as Shelby takes my hand, and the floodgates open. “I fucked up…”
Like he knows I’m talking about him, I look up at the television through my tears to see Maddox leap through the air and pick off a pass. He jukes around one player, makes anotherone miss him, and then he’s off toward the end zone for a touchdown.
“Make the call,” I say to Shelby. “Tell him to get his ass on the fucking plane.”
CHAPTER 33
MADDOX
4:15 p.m. CT / 2:15 p.m. PT
“That’s what I’m fucking talking about!”
I nearly skip off the field, loving how this first half has played out. We’re up by twelve going at halftime—one of those touchdowns compliments of me and a quarterback who basically told me his target in his body language—and if we keep this momentum after halftime, I might not even play the fourth quarter. And the best part? We’re about to start the season 6-0.
“Good fucking half my man,” Linc says, patting me on the back.
“Can say the same to you.” Linc is having himself a game today, already catching for sixty yards. It’s like Los Angeles forgot we have one of the best catching tight ends in the league.”
“Now we need to keep the pressure on,” Coach McAvoy says as we all step into the locker room. “Great first half gentleman. But we’re not about to let up now, are we?”
A chorus of “nos” echo off the locker room walls before he continues. I go to check my phone, because I might’ve beenin game mode, but I need to make sure Gabi is okay, when I hear Coach McAvoy stop talking. My eyes look up to see what’s going on, but I can’t make it to him, instead seeing the woman standing at the door of our locker room.
Sadie Kincaid-McAvoy.
That’s when my heart drops into my stomach.
Coach McAvoy’s wife steps into the locker room, but doesn’t look at her husband. She doesn’t have her normal reporter’s notebook, but she does have a serious look on her face. And it’s pointed straight at me.
“I’ve been told a very specific message to give you Maddox,” Sadie says before she shows a knowing smile. “And that’s to get on the fucking plane.”
It’s a moment of silence before an eruption of applause hits the Fury locker room. I never told my teammates our code word, because I didn’t think I’d need to, and before I know it, I’m being mobbed by my peers who instinctively knew what the message meant, a few of them throwing out the term “Daddy Gallagher” before I step away.
“Coach? You need me for the next half?”
Coach McAvoy smiles and shakes his head. “Not at all. Congratulations Maddox. Now get home to your family.”
My family… holy shit I’m about to become a father…
I panic and freeze for three seconds before I start tearing off my gear. My teammates give me space as I strip faster than I ever have before. I throw on shorts and a T-shirt because it’s the first thing I see. I don’t even shower. There’s no time for that. I need to get on the fucking plane.
“Fuck! Linc!” I yell out. “I need?—”
“Already taken care of brother,” he says as he holds up his phone. “The call has been made. Plane happened to be on the West Coast. It’ll take a bit to get to the private airport, butit’ll still be better than flying back commercial. I’ll text you the address.”
I bring Linc in for a hug, so grateful for him and the family he’s going to one day marry into. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, patting me on the back. “Now get the hell out of here. We have a game to win and you have to go meet your son.”
5:45 p.m. CT /3:45 p.m. PT
Where. The fuck. Is. The God. Damn. Plane!
I’m sitting at the private air strip that Linc told me to go to, my knee bouncing in anticipation as I wait for the arrival.
Yes, I know that I’d be waiting even longer for a commercial flight. I know this because I looked it up, wanting to make sure. There’s only one nonstop flight tonight out of L.A., and that doesn’t leave for another three hours. And with the time difference, that doesn’t get me back until closer to midnight. That’s way too long for me to wait. Sure, I might be waiting now, but from what I quickly researched, private planes travel faster.
