about kids? Nothing.
Jace’s options were limited. He agreed to watch the toddler, and he knew this was a make or break opportunity for him. After all, if he really did have a child, he would have to get comfortable with the reality of parenting.
What better way than to start with a kid who makes him smile and steals his heart .
The possibility of having a son about six months younger than her made him sick to his stomach with the impending responsibility of being a father. He figured he should get all the childcare practice he could. How hard could it be with of one little girl?
Daycare decided, he and Roxi discussed plans for the renovations of the house. After a heated discussion about the intelligence of a professional quarterback taking the chance of falling off a roof, while the media was already preparing to have him lynched for what were hopefully false accusations, Jace agreed to hire a company to do the roof repairs. He would work on the front porch.
****
Before Roxi had even made it out of the driveway, Jace had a roofing company on the phone. To a small business, cash spoke the loudest. The company agreed to arrive bright and early on Wednesday morning to start the roof. It would have been Tuesday, but he requested the shingles with the longest warranty, and they had to be ordered. An extra day was not a problem because he wanted the best for the house that served as the shelter for three very important women in his life.
He put Ashlyn in a light jacket so they could go outside and evaluate the supplies he would need to make the necessary repairs to the porch.
When a tiny hand slipped into his much larger one, the sight of this child trusting him to take care of her made his heart stutter in this chest. The reality that he should prepping for minicamp and not babysitting had him questioning his decisions of the last few days.
Who are you kidding? You want to be here, just not for the reasons that made you come .
Walking out the front door, he knew he was where he needed to be.
Six hours later, he still hadn’t managed to measure the porch, but he had wiped Ashlyn three times after the potty, and one of them had been poopy. Thank God, she wasn’t still in diapers. That was one thing he could live without, but the sweet sighs of the sleeping little girl who snuggled into his side was something he didn’t know if he would ever be able to give up.
So now what are you going to do? You want the mother and you fell for the daughter, but you can’t decide if you are ready to put someone before football. You may have a son and you can’t remember his mother. How did things get this crazy in just a few days ?
Jace grabbed the chance to relax for the last fifteen minutes before he had to go get Ava.
****
The thirty-minute cab ride in from the city had Ava bouncing on the edge of her seat with apprehension and dread. Her imagination ran wild with all of the horrendous scenarios she could possibly face upon her arrival home.
Ava had to force herself to lean back into the seat. She pondered the day that had started bad and ended worse. When the morning began with Bob telling her she was going to work personally with Jace on his case, she’d thought dealing with the possible love child of a former lover was bad. When Roxi had called to invite her to lunch, she had convinced herself the day began to look up. That was until after she’d hung up with Roxi to discover Bob had been listening to her conversation and might have figured out Jace was staying at her house. When he smiled his sleazy smile, Ava relaxed with the knowledge he knew nothing. Bob would have started questioning her immediately if he thought she had direct contact with his newest high-profile client.
When he closed the door to her office, she silently pledged, if he hit on her again, she would quit. Ironically, it would have been easy to quit if he had made another pass at her, but he did the unthinkable. He
Jace’s options were limited. He agreed to watch the toddler, and he knew this was a make or break opportunity for him. After all, if he really did have a child, he would have to get comfortable with the reality of parenting.
What better way than to start with a kid who makes him smile and steals his heart .
The possibility of having a son about six months younger than her made him sick to his stomach with the impending responsibility of being a father. He figured he should get all the childcare practice he could. How hard could it be with of one little girl?
Daycare decided, he and Roxi discussed plans for the renovations of the house. After a heated discussion about the intelligence of a professional quarterback taking the chance of falling off a roof, while the media was already preparing to have him lynched for what were hopefully false accusations, Jace agreed to hire a company to do the roof repairs. He would work on the front porch.
****
Before Roxi had even made it out of the driveway, Jace had a roofing company on the phone. To a small business, cash spoke the loudest. The company agreed to arrive bright and early on Wednesday morning to start the roof. It would have been Tuesday, but he requested the shingles with the longest warranty, and they had to be ordered. An extra day was not a problem because he wanted the best for the house that served as the shelter for three very important women in his life.
He put Ashlyn in a light jacket so they could go outside and evaluate the supplies he would need to make the necessary repairs to the porch.
When a tiny hand slipped into his much larger one, the sight of this child trusting him to take care of her made his heart stutter in this chest. The reality that he should prepping for minicamp and not babysitting had him questioning his decisions of the last few days.
Who are you kidding? You want to be here, just not for the reasons that made you come .
Walking out the front door, he knew he was where he needed to be.
Six hours later, he still hadn’t managed to measure the porch, but he had wiped Ashlyn three times after the potty, and one of them had been poopy. Thank God, she wasn’t still in diapers. That was one thing he could live without, but the sweet sighs of the sleeping little girl who snuggled into his side was something he didn’t know if he would ever be able to give up.
So now what are you going to do? You want the mother and you fell for the daughter, but you can’t decide if you are ready to put someone before football. You may have a son and you can’t remember his mother. How did things get this crazy in just a few days ?
Jace grabbed the chance to relax for the last fifteen minutes before he had to go get Ava.
****
The thirty-minute cab ride in from the city had Ava bouncing on the edge of her seat with apprehension and dread. Her imagination ran wild with all of the horrendous scenarios she could possibly face upon her arrival home.
Ava had to force herself to lean back into the seat. She pondered the day that had started bad and ended worse. When the morning began with Bob telling her she was going to work personally with Jace on his case, she’d thought dealing with the possible love child of a former lover was bad. When Roxi had called to invite her to lunch, she had convinced herself the day began to look up. That was until after she’d hung up with Roxi to discover Bob had been listening to her conversation and might have figured out Jace was staying at her house. When he smiled his sleazy smile, Ava relaxed with the knowledge he knew nothing. Bob would have started questioning her immediately if he thought she had direct contact with his newest high-profile client.
When he closed the door to her office, she silently pledged, if he hit on her again, she would quit. Ironically, it would have been easy to quit if he had made another pass at her, but he did the unthinkable. He
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