Always My Comfort: Secret Baby Sweet Romance (The Dexter Brothers Book 4)

Prologue

10 YearsAgo

“Touchdown! Ladies and gents, did you see that? Jaxon Dexter scored the first touchdown of the game, following right in the footsteps of his brothers! You better keep your eye on him, scouts! Football runs in his veins.”

The crowd screamed, waving cowbells in the air, their hoots and hollers echoing around the small field. My teammates tackled me, and the turf scratched my skin, but I couldn’t feel it. Not with their loud voices booming with praise.

The cheerleaders were waving their poms and cheering, all of them screaming my name.

At this moment, I was the king.

I was Jaxon Dexter, the younger brother of Archer, Dante, and Gage Dexter, all known as royalty on this field. I had a legacy to live up to, and I hated it.

“Dexter! Dexter! Dexter!” my teammates screamed, helping me to my feet. I stole a look into the crowd at the men who would decide if I would live the same legacy as my brothers—the scouts.

Archer, my oldest brother of four years, had gotten a full ride to a school with one of the best football programs. Just as he was about to hit NFL status, he sustained an injury, ending his football career.

Dante, older than me by three years, had followed in his footsteps, but he had made the league. His name held power and stature, a god I had to somehow live up to.

And then, there was Gage. Only two years separated us, but sometimes, it felt like a lifetime with how strained our relationship was at times. He also graduated with a full ride to college because of his talent, but he hated the game just like me, and he was the first Dexter to quit football.

And I was going to be the second.

Our dad had wanted us all to be in the league. He taught us the rules of the game before we even started elementary school. Archer had followed along his path, the perfect prodigal son… until he wasn’t. And Dad was so bitterly disappointed.

Mom had been the soft place to fall when Dad yelled at us for not running fast enough or throwing far enough. She was there with fresh lemonade and a smile so big that everything else melted away.

Dante attempted to please Dad. He had made it to the league; his name was always on the tips of everyone’s tongues in town. Dad was proud. Dante was now the favorite son, while Archer hid away in his room, denying seeing any of us and refusing help. My oldest brother had lost all hope.

The sport we had been groomed to love was something we were all starting to hate. Gage hated the game when he graduated from high school two years ago. He tried to keep it hidden from Arch and Dante, but I knew. We’d often talk about the possibility of a different life.

A row above the scouts sat my father. He was wearing a shirt with my jersey number on it, a big grin cracking his weathered face. This made him happy.

Us following in his footsteps made him smile like nothing I had ever seen before, and I wanted nothing more than to make him proud of me, just like he was of my older brothers.

I scored another touchdown by the end of the second quarter, and then, it was finally halftime. Dad was waiting for me outside the locker room, arms crossed over his chest lips, curled into a grin.

“You did good, son.” He clapped his hand onto my shoulder pads and yanked me in for a hug.

“Thanks, Dad.” I swept my wet hair off my forehead and looked out back toward the bright lights.

“Go refuel. The scouts are impressed. You should see an offer from them soon. Try to score another one before the game ends.” I nodded and headed into the locker room, where the water boy handed me a Gatorade.

“Good job out there, Dexter. You might just be the best Dexter I’ve had on my field,” Coach complimented. Red crept up my neck. Archer had been a king on the field; I couldn’t imagine throwing him off his throne, nor did I want to. Football had been everything to him, and now, it was gone. “Keep up the good work and bring us to the championships!” He slapped my back and then moved on to the next player.

I sat alone for the next few minutes, trying to regroup my thoughts. My phone buzzed on the bench next to me, and Archer’s face flashed on the screen.

I put the cold phone to my sticky face. “Surprised to hear from you,” I muttered, looking at my grass-stained cleats.

“You’re doin’ a good job out there, but your head isn’t in it. You could be better. I know you, Jax. You’re better than Dante and I put together.”

Arch had always known the inner workings of my mind before even I did. But voicing my thoughts on a game that was too important to my family felt damn near impossible.

“Just tired Arch. Tired of carryin’ the whole team,” I whispered so none of the other guys could hear me.

“You just need to impress the scouts. Doesn’t matter if the team loses. So long as you look good and score points, they’ll be interested.”

“Because of Dante, I know. Dad briefed me before the game. Everyone is watchin’ me because of him.” I chugged the bottle of Gatorade and tossed the empty bottle to the floor.

“Not because of Dante. Cause of you. You’re a damn good player, brother.”

“How’s the leg?” I changed the subject because I knew it pissed him off to talk about his injury. There was one thing all us Dexter boys had in common. We hated showing any weakness.

“I didn’t call to talk about me,” came his gruff response.

“Off the phone, Dexter. Time to get back on the field and kick some ass!” Coach shouted from the front of the locker room. The entire team turned to look at me. I quickly ended the call without a goodbye.

Following my teammates out onto the field, my name was a cheer across the stands as I waved. Dad shot me a thumbs up as he settled back into his seat. It was going to be hard to give this up. Once he found out I planned on quitting, he would never look at me the same way again.

I scored another two touchdowns. My name was screamed from every corner of the field as we won the game. My teammates lifted me into the air, and Coach yelled his excitement.

“Hell yes, Dexter! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

“Jaxon! Jaxon! Jaxon!”

“Dexter, you’re a beast!”

My eyes found Dad’s, who was looking nervously at the scouts, but he had nothing to worry about. They were grinning, jotting down notes on their clipboards. I was in. I played the way Arch said I could.

God-given talent, I had been told my whole life, but really, it was years of practice.

My team finally put me down on my feet, and I reached for the Gatorade the water boy was passing me. After chugging the bottle, I threw it in the trash and walked over to Dad, who was hanging by the edge of the field, the bright lights shining down on the biggest grin I had ever seen him wear.

“You did good, Jax. Wish your brothers could have seen this game. They would’ve been proud.” He slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “Those scouts—they were damn speechless.”

The scouts he was talking about were walking over to us now, all three of them closing the space between us and the grandstands quickly.

“Jaxon, that was quite the game,” one of them said, adjusting his peak hat on his balding head. Dad pushed me forward, and I stumbled over my cleats, hand outstretched like I had been taught.

“Thank you, sir. Been playing with my brothers since before I could walk.” I cracked the joke, and the three of them chuckled.

“The Dexter name is well known in the league. It was an unfortunate loss when Archer tore his ACL, but Dante seems to be making up for it.”

Internally, I cringed. Dante wasn’t making up for anything. He was playing the sport he loved to the best of his ability to make Dad proud.

“He’s the reason I play. Archer and I used to play on this field together.” I nodded toward the field behind us.

As much as I hated the sport, some of my best memories were on this field with my brothers. In my first year of high school, we were all on the team together, and now, we were all in different stages of our lives.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on you for the rest of the season. Hopefully, you’ll consider playing for us in college.” The scout handed me a business card with the team logo and his name. I nodded and accepted the card.

This was an offer.

This was a chance to make Dad happy.

This was my chance out of this town, where I wouldn’t be Jaxon Dexter, the little brother of Archer, Dante, and Gage Dexter.

“Thank you, sir; I’d be honored.” Shaking hands with the head coach, I sealed my fate.