Chapter 29 Brooks
Brooks
The house was dark when I slipped the key into the lock, quiet except for the low hum of the fridge. My bag slid off my shoulder with a dull thud, and for the first time all week, I let myself breathe.
Road series were always a grind, but being away while Dani was this far along in her pregnancy felt different, especially since she was under strict instruction not to travel anymore. I hated leaving her. Hated knowing she was counting the days until I came home, same as I was.
The funny thing was, I even missed the parts I used to groan about. Like the way she somehow always managed to rope me into those ridiculous social media trends with the rest of the team, insisting that as the coach, it was necessary for me to “lead by example.”
One week, it had been a TikTok dance challenge with Roman and Pink flailing around like idiots while I’d stood stiff as a board in the back, looking like someone’s pissed-off dad.
Another time, she’d strapped her phone to my chest in one of those harnesses during batting practice.
I’d spent the entire time trying not to swear like a fucking sailor.
And then there was the “finish the lyric” challenge she’d filmed during warm-ups one day—me deadpan, muttering lyrics from some boy band Carolina loved while the bullpen had belted them off-key like it was karaoke night.
And sure, I rolled my eyes and grumbled, but the truth was, I loved it. I loved her laugh when I messed up the moves, loved knowing she was the one holding the camera, spinning her magic out of our chaos.
Without her, the days felt too quiet. The wins were flatter. Even the losses didn’t sting the same. They just felt . . . empty.
The only thing that gave me comfort was knowing that she was waiting for me at home, in bed. Our bed.
I padded into the living room and froze.
Apparently, I had spoken too soon. She hadn’t even made it to bed tonight.
Dani was out cold on the couch, curled into the corner with her tiny tank top rucked up over her belly, and even tinier shorts bunched up around her hips. Carolina was tucked into her side, cheek pressed to Dani’s belly, her arm thrown over it like she was already hugging her baby sister.
Both of my girls. Together.
All three of them really.
My throat went tight. Christ. The sight hit me square in the chest—I hadn’t realized how much I needed it until just now.
I crouched beside them, brushing a hand gently over Dani’s hair. The vibrant blue she usually kept streaked through it had faded in the summer sun, softening now into a silvery pastel that glowed against the dark strands.
“Kitten,” I murmured softly, not wanting to startle her. “I’m home.”
Her lashes fluttered before her eyes blinked open, hazy with sleep. When they focused on me, a slow, sleepy smile curved across her face. “Hey, coach,” she whispered, her voice rough with exhaustion but warm enough to melt me straight through.
Something stirred low in my gut at the sight of her like that—soft, undone, eyes heavy-lidded in the dim glow of the lamp. It was the same look she got after I’d fucked her slow and deep, sated and wrecked in the best way. The kind of look that made me want to scoop her up and never let her go.
I bent down and kissed her forehead, lingering there for a moment just to breathe her in. She smelled like her shampoo and faintly of Carolina’s strawberry-vanilla bubble bath, the kind of mix I never wanted to wash away.
Carolina stirred against her side, shifting but not waking. Dani glanced down at her then back up at me, her smile soft but tired. I understood without her saying a word.
Carefully, I slid my arms under Carolina, lifting her small body against my chest. She murmured something unintelligible before burrowing into my shoulder, still fast asleep. Dani eased herself up with a quiet groan, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders before trailing after me up the stairs.
We moved together in silence, the kind born from knowing each other’s rhythms. I laid Carolina down in her bed, pulling the covers up around her and brushing a kiss over her temple. Dani smoothed her hair back with one gentle hand, eyes lingering on her like she could stay there forever.
When she straightened, she caught my hand and tugged me back down the hall. “Come on,” she whispered. “I have a present for you.”
I arched a brow, keeping my voice low. “Mm, that sounds promising. But I probably need a shower first.”
She smirked, lips quirking as she laced her fingers through mine. “Not everything’s about your dick.”
“But most things are,” I muttered, tugging her close enough that her hip brushed mine as we walked down the hall. She squeezed my hand, eyes sparkling with interest despite the exhaustion still clinging to her features.
“Take a load off, coach,” she said, closing the bedroom door behind us. A nervous smile tugged at her lips when she handed me a wrapped book before settling onto the bed beside me.
When I opened it, I damn near forgot how to breathe.
It wasn’t just a photo album. It was our story, pieced together in her hands.
The first page was the sonogram photo—the one we’d nearly lost to my shortstop’s demon dog—its corners still smudged and torn.
It was now pressed flat and safe behind plastic, surrounded by stickers—baby bottles, baseballs, and a jar of pickles—as well as a small, handwritten note in Dani’s loopy scrawl: 16 weeks, the size of an avocado.
I kept turning pages, each one punching a hole straight through me.
Dani with her bump framed between the dugout rails, her shirt riding up as she leaned on the bench like she owned the whole damn stadium.
Dani laughing with her friends at Thorn Tavern, one hand on her belly like she was already protecting what was ours.
A series of pregnancy progress shots she must’ve taken every few weeks—her growing stomach framed by the same bathroom mirror, the same cocky tilt to her mouth, like she was daring me not to fall harder.
Each picture came with a message, sticky notes with silly little captions only she could’ve written.
I went to field day and all I got was this beachball belly under the shot of her stomach painted in stripes, or The biggest wiener: Coach Daddy next to a particularly incriminating photo from my dadchelor party.
Every page was layered like that—photos, stickers, scraps of our lives woven together like she was building us a scrapbook in real time.
It wasn’t neat or polished, like something you might buy in a store.
Instead, it was messy and funny and so perfectly her, and it felt so much more like us because of it.
“Dani.” I choked. “I—”
My chest ached, full to bursting as I flipped another page, then another, each one anchoring me deeper to her, to this life we were building. The sonogram, the painted belly, her laughter, my smile—it was all here, proof that we’d lived it, that I hadn’t dreamed her up.
I closed the book gently, laying it on the bed between us. “This is the best thing anyone’s ever given me,” I finally managed, my voice shredded with everything I couldn’t say. I cupped her face between my hands. “You—fuck, Dani—you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Her lashes fluttered, her hands curling into my shirt, and for a long, quiet beat, it was just the two of us breathing the same air.
“I just thought one day, our little girl might want to see it all. What it looked like before she was here. And—”
She bit her lip, suddenly shy, like she hadn’t just destroyed me with the most beautiful gift I’d ever been handed.
“—how her mama fell in love with her daddy.”
Her voice was quiet, but it hit me like a fastball to the gut. For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
My head snapped up, eyes locking on hers. She just sat there, staring at me like she’d ripped her chest open and handed me everything inside it.
She loved me. Dani Bernal fucking loved me.
A slow, certain smile pulled at my mouth—no smirk, no front, nothing but the raw truth burning through me. “Say it again,” I rasped, my voice so wrecked I barely recognized it.
“I love you,” she repeated, stronger this time, like she knew I needed to hear it twice just to believe it. “I love you, Brooks.”
That was it. I was gone.
I pulled her over my thighs until she straddled my lap, bracketed her face with my hands, and kissed her like she’d just handed me the greatest victory of my life. Hell, maybe she had. I kissed her until my lips ached, until she was clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping us both upright.
When I finally tore my mouth from hers, I pressed my forehead to hers, breath ragged.
“Kitten,” I growled, rougher than I’d meant to. “You don’t get it. I’ve been in love with you. Since before the baby. Since before all this shit. You just beat me to saying it out loud.”
Her eyes shimmered. “You mean it?”
I barked out a sharp laugh, the kind that sounded more like disbelief than humor. “Mean it? Dani, I’d etch it into my skin if that’s what it took to make you believe me.”
Her hand slid over my chest, her fingertip finding the spot where, beneath the thin cotton of my shirt, the tattooed kitten marked my heart. She looked up at me through her lashes, a small smile tugging at her mouth. “I think you already did.”
The way she looked at me then—wild and wanting and mine—nearly leveled me. Heat surged through me, a sting pressing behind my eyes, and I couldn’t stop myself. I kissed her again, rough and greedy.
“By the way,” she muttered against my lips. “You missed a few pages.”
“I’ll look at them tomorrow,” I said between kisses, not about to break the spell of her body pressed against mine. Nothing was more important than this, us right now.
Her mouth curved against mine slyly. “Oh, I think you’re going to want to see them.”
That made me pause. Reluctantly, I pulled back just enough to glance at the album lying abandoned on the bed. Every part of me wanted to stay buried in her kiss, but the look in her eyes—mischief and nerves tangled together—had me reaching for it.
I thumbed to the back pages and—
Holy. Shit.
My cock twitched instantly.
There she was. Dani, stretched out on a set of white, rumpled sheets.
Naked. One shot had her lying on her side, hand draped low, her tattoos framing the curve of her stomach like art.
Another—fuck—had her on her back, thighs parted just enough, belly front and center, nipples tight and dark as if daring me to look away.
I couldn’t.
“Holy fuck, kitten,” I breathed, my voice ragged. My thumb hovered over the image, not touching, just tracing the shape of her like it could burn into me. “God, you’re perfect. Do you know what this does to me?”
Her teeth caught her lip, a flush blooming across her cheeks. She didn’t answer, and she didn’t need to.
“I have a pretty good idea,” she teased, rocking against the erection tenting my sweats. “But you’re welcome to show me your appreciation.”
And just like that, reverence gave way to need.
She gave a startled laugh as I shifted, guiding her back until she was stretched across the mattress. The album slid to the floor with a soft thump, forgotten, while I braced myself over her.
God, she was beautiful like this—hair fanned wild against the pillow, belly round and proud between us, lips swollen from my kisses.
“Look at you,” I muttered, my mouth dragging down her throat. “My perfect girl. My perfect mama.”
Her fingers tangled in my shirt, tugging, urging me closer. I shoved it over my head and ground against her, groaning at the heat radiating through her thin sleep shorts. She arched beneath me, gasping when my hands slid under her top to cup her tits, thumbs brushing over her sensitive nipples.
“Brooks,” she moaned, her hips rocking up, hungry. “God, I need you.”
And just when I was ready to tear those shorts down her legs and bury myself inside her, a sharp sound cut through the room.
“Mrrrow.”
I lifted my head, blinking toward the closet door. A small orange tabby sat there like she owned the place, tail flicking, green eyes fixed on us with pointed disapproval.
“Umm, Dani?” I muttered, half out of my mind with lust.
Dani bit her lip like she’d been caught red-handed. “Oh, yeah,” she said, her eyes dancing. “Funny story—”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” I said, my voice low, already caving even with my hands still full of her tits.
She pushed at my chest just enough to sit up on her elbows, cheeks flushed and hair mussed, looking equally guilty and smug.
“So, I’ve been spending a lot of time at Pawsitive Vibes since I’m not allowed to travel anymore.
Which, I get—doctor’s orders and all that—but a girl has to find a serotonin boost wherever she can.
And the cats have basically become my support group. And this beautiful girl—”
She nodded toward the tabby, who was now licking her paw like we weren’t the rudest interruption in the world.
“—was abandoned by her owners. Just left behind when they moved. Can you believe that? And she’s sweet, Brooks.
Well, sweet in that prickly, I-only-like-you kind of way.
She follows me around the café, sits in my lap while I work on social posts.
She even headbutted me once, which I’ve realized is basically a feline declaration of love. ”
The cat meowed again, as if to back her up. Great, they were already double-teaming me.
Dani’s voice softened. “I just . . . I couldn’t leave her. Not when she’d already been tossed aside once.”
Something in my chest just cracked wide open. Of course, Dani had done this. Of course, she’d taken one look at something abandoned, something unwanted, and had decided to make it hers. To make it family.
My throat went tight, my hands still cupping her breasts because I couldn’t seem to let go. “Kitten, you’re gonna make me fall in love with you all over again.”
Her smile was small and knowing, the kind that told me she already understood. My mouth brushed her cheek, my voice dropping low, filthy. “But don’t think this gets you out of what I promised. Once we get her—”
“Velma,” she cut in, grinning.
I pulled back just enough to give her a look. “Seriously?”
She laughed, wicked and unrepentant. “Don’t act surprised, coach. You knew what you were signing up for.”
I smirked and slid my hand lower, over the curve of her belly, teasing the waistband of her shorts. My voice turned rough again. “Once we get Velma settled for the night, I’m still gonna lay you back and eat your pussy until you scream my name loud enough to wake the neighbors.”
Her breath hitched, her pupils blown wide as her nails dug into my shoulders. “Deal.”