Page 124 of Zone
“Ahh…” I wave her away, pointing at her. “It’s your turn.”
I grab Melody’s hand, leading her to the screen door off the side of the dining hall. It leads to a path that goes all the way down to the bay. The soft sand is cool from the daywithout sun. Small waves lap at the surface, and I thread our fingers as we walk.
A blue heron stands in the water, his slate blue wings tucked into his sides. As we approach, he lifts spindly legs, slowly moving away from our progress.
I’m practically bouncing as I walk. It’s all coming together now. She’s here, like I imagined her being weeks ago, and she brought my daughter home.
Stopping mid-walk, I turn, taking her face in my hands. She starts to speak, but I lean down to cover her lips with mine.
CHAPTER 28
Melody
My hands close over Knox’s wrists, and my lips part as he claims my mouth. I’ve been doing everything in my power to get here, to this place with his little girl, and when he wraps me in his arms on this shore under the moon, I never want to leave.
The Bradfords are everything he said they’d be—big, loving, hilarious, and full of wacky traditions. My own family is pretty much the same.
As I drove over from New Orleans, Coco and Lindsey called to tell me they’d been doing Fireside Ladies spells all day. Then when I said the baby was in the car with me, they broke into cheers and chanting “the palm is sacred.” I just shook my head.
Maybe it is?
Now we’re here, and it’s a perfect moment in time. We’re making core memories, but I can’t help wondering where I go from here.
Knox kisses my eyebrow, pulling me flush against his chest and wrapping muscled arms around me. “It feels so good to have you in my arms again,” he groans. “Feels like I can breathe.”
“I know what you mean.” I close my eyes, inhaling his scent of leather and sandalwood. “Your family is crazy.”
He turns his head, pulling my lips with his in another thrilling kiss. I might be worried about my career, but I can’t deny the things he does to me.
“It’s true, and they already love you for helping me.”
“I told you I’d help you.” I reach up, placing my thumb on the faint cleft in his chin.
My eyes drift from his full lips up to his eyes, and he’s studying me closely. “You also said you’d never lie to me.”
“I won’t.”
His arms loosen, and he catches both my hands. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”
I look deeply into his sapphire blue eyes, wondering what could ever possibly be wrong with this man loving me…
“What happens now?”
His brow quirks. “What do you mean?”
“Cricket is back. You’ll get back next week and hit the field, and I’ll… drive for Uber?”
“Why would you do that?” He lifts my hand, kissing my fingers. “Don’t you want to do your show?”
“Of course, I want to do my show.” I shake my head, and we start walking along the concrete path lining the bay. “But what even is my show now? Nobody’s going to buy me criticizing you anymore.”
“Why not?” He gives my hand a pull, dragging me to him again. “I’m still going to make mistakes when I play, and I still care about your opinion the most.”
He’s got me pinned against his hard chest, and I chew mylip. “I think I’m going to have to rebrand. It’s hard to criticize you now that I like you.”
His eyes narrow, and he pulls back his chin. “Likeme? Youlikeme?”
“I told you from the start I was a fan. Everyone was frustrated with the number of errors last season. Then y’all lost the playoff game, and it was… whooooa!”
