Page 26 of Jason

“Mommy,” the high-pitched squeal made me turn just in time to see Carter swinging Amelia, our four-year-old, up in his hands, over his head, and settle her to sit on his shoulders and walk my way.

The moment the words I’m pregnant came out of my mouth, Jason lunged at me, fucked me in our bed, and then pulled me out of it when we were done to drive here to tell him my vision. We got married the week after. We moved into the house that resided in my mind, which Jason made a reality, a year and a half later.

Amelia was a carbon copy of her dad in a little girl form. She was also spoiled rotten by every member of our family. But her favorite, besides her daddy, was her uncle Carter. I still couldn’t believe he held such a huge secret from me, and it took me a long time to forgive him. But I totally understood why he did it. “Are we gonna play?” she asked, pulling on Carter’s ears and bouncing up and down on his shoulders.

“Go easy on your uncle, princess, or I won’t be able to work tomorrow,” Carter chuckled, coming to me and pulling her down so I could take her.

“How dangerous is tomorrow’s gig?” I asked quietly, searching his eyes for any indication it was indeed dangerous.

“It’s routine,” he dismissed my concerns. “Do you think I would jeopardize what I have now?” He asked the question he always asked when I started to interrogate him. And I knew he wouldn’t, it was just that he held a huge part of his life a secret before it blew up in his face. “Besides, your husband holds me on a short leash.”

Four years ago, Jason went into business with Carter opening a security agency that did anything and everything under the sun, thanks to Carter’s expertise. Unfortunately, it meant Carter was a PI playing bodyguard. It did however bring him to the woman who was now his wife, and she held him on an even shorter leash, only allowing him to occasionally put himself in danger. The fact that he found her meant Carter stopped chasing that adrenaline rush and started to slow down, not that he would ever admit that.

“Mommy, let’s play,” Amelia whined, her little hands pulling my face to her.

“Okay, baby,” I murmured, smiling. “Go get Daddy and let’s play.”

I put her down and watched her run to her hero and tug on his hand. I started walking in their direction, and we met halfway just as Carter whistled to get everyone on the lawn.

“You okay?” I asked my husband and rounded him and our daughter, who was in his arms, with my own.

“I’m perfect,” he muttered, leaning down to me. “How are you?” he whispered. I knew he was asking about the morning sickness by the glint in his eyes. Two days ago, I shared the news we were going to have another baby, and we still hadn’t told anybody, since we wanted to wait for the first trimester to pass and we were sure everything was as it should be.

I shook my head and gave him a small smile in answer but asked, “What are you going to do now, QB?”

“He’s gonna play!” Amelia shrieked before Jason could open his mouth.

“I’m gonna play,” Jason repeated, his eyes dancing.

Five minutes later, we were split up into two teams, and as the whistle from the TV could be heard, I watched my husband as he threw a football for the last time in his professional career right in our backyard, cheered by the crowd that was miles away.

The End