Chapter 8
Winnie
“You’re living in my neighborhood?” Wheeler asks as I give him directions to Jamie’s house. I know they live pretty close to each other, but I'm not sure if he knows where Jamie lives.
I’ve spent the entire week with Jamie and Tali. I’ve gotten used to living with other people and Martha’s filled me in on Tali’s schedule and everything Jamie didn’t tell me.
He’s right, she really runs the household for him and handles everything. I don’t think he’ll be lost without her, but it will definitely be harder. I'm hoping to fill in the gaps and help as much as I can.
Jamie’s been great this week. I feel like we’ve settled into an easy routine.
Every morning, I have coffee ready and waiting for him when he wakes up.
We chat in the kitchen while we drink and then he begins getting Tali up.
He says he likes to wake her up in the morning and get her ready, even though I’ve assured him I'm happy to do it.
After dinner each night, we watch TV together or chat while Tali plays on the floor. I know this time together is going to happen less and less often once the season starts and that really makes me sad.
“It doesn’t belong to you, Wheeler.” I roll my eyes, but don’t try to hide my smirk.
“This is awesome. It will be a lot easier to find time to see you if you don’t live on the other side of the city.”
Internally rolling my eyes, I keep my mouth shut. I won't be coming to his house to hang out because I know what he’s really expecting and I don’t want that. I want a man who actually loves me, not just someone who wants my body.
I tell him to turn right and then left. When I point to which driveway to pull into, his eyes narrow.
“This is Schmidt’s house. Why are you living with Schmidt?”
“Because I work for him?”
“What the heck, Winnie? Why didn’t you tell me? I was nervous you’d be working for some perv who would try to touch my girl.”
“I'm not your girl, Wheeler. We’ve dated in the past, but we’re not dating now. I don’t belong to you.”
“You’ll always belong to me, Win. If you’d go out with me, we could solve the dating issue. You act like I don’t want to date you, but you’re the one who constantly turns me down.”
“Oh, please. You don’t want to date me.” I wave him off.
“Wait… You’re a nanny. Who are you nannying?
Schmidt doesn’t have kids… I swear if he’s into some weird crap where he’s going to dress up like a baby and wants you to take care of him, I’ll beat the crap out of him.
Man, I’ll pay you to live in my house and walk around in skimpy clothes.
” He winks at me, thinking he’s being cute.
“Shut up, you idiot. Jamie isn't dressing up like a baby and calling me mommy.”
“I’ll call you mommy.” Wheeler smirks as he pulls up in front of Jamie’s house. “Seriously, Win. What are you doing working for him?”
Before I can answer, Jamie walks out the door with Tali in his arms. I watch Wheeler carefully. His jaw goes slack and his eyes widen. He opens and closes his mouth several times, but nothing comes out.
“Meet Tali, Jamie’s daughter.”
I climb out of Wheeler’s truck before he can respond and go straight to Jamie. I say hi to Tali and give Jamie a gentle smile.
“How’d he respond?” He asks quietly.
“He’s confused. If he says something stupid today, let it go.
It’s Wheeler. He’s an idiot and needs time to process.
On the bright side, if he says something stupid, you’ll get some incredible gift baskets until you forgive him.
” I lean in closer and lower my voice. “Make him sweat it, his gift basket game is on point and the longer you make him suffer, the more amazing they get.”
“Since when do you have a daughter, man?” Wheeler approaches us with a box in his hands.
“Since a little over two years ago?” Jamie runs a rough hand through his hair. I’ve noticed he does that whenever he’s uncomfortable and doesn’t know what else to do.
“Why didn’t you tell us? That was before you even joined the team.” Wheeler’s voice comes out with a hint of hurt and sadness. He cares about his teammates, especially the guys on the starting lineup.
“Yeah, I know… It was a painful time for me and I didn’t want to talk about it. Then it felt weird to let people know.”
“Were you going to hide this adorable angel forever?” Wheeler coos at Tali, making her face light up in a bright smile.
Jamie blinks at his teammate, more than shocked with his reaction to Tali. I knew Wheeler was great with kids and would quickly be won over by Tali. Even if he’s hurt about Jamie not sharing this part of his life with him, he’ll understand when he gives himself some time to process.
“Yeah, kinda. Then Winnie made me realize how ridiculous that was. I'm not ashamed of her, so there’s no reason to hide her.”
“Holy crap, Schmidt has a kid?” Liliana appears next to Wheeler with Smithy right behind her.
“We’re not reporting this to the world, Lils. Tali stays out of the media.” I point a finger in my best friend’s face.
“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes. “No one needs to be in our personal lives… But how did we not know?”
“I just told Wheeler. It was a painful time in my life when I joined the Pit Bulls. My wife died giving birth to Tali and I was traded only a few months later. I didn’t want to talk about her or how we lost her. I didn’t want people to pity me or ask questions. I just wanted to play the game.”
“Leave your personal life off the field.” Smithy nods his head. “We can all understand that. You know we’re here for you though.”
“That’s why you don’t come out with us and when you do, you don’t stay long,” Wheeler says softly.
“Yeah, I don’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Tali during the season so I like to soak it up while I can.” Jamie nods his head.
“We assumed you didn’t really want to spend time with us.” Smithy shrugs.
“You know, we’ll be a support system to you if you let us.
We’d come over here and hang out or do stuff at our own houses.
You know Wyatt and Cord aren’t going out as much since they have little ones on the way.
Man, they’d probably love to be able to chill at someone’s house and have everyone together still. ”
“I didn’t want to take away your fun.” Jamie shrugs his shoulder.
“The starting lineup is quickly moving into the phase of marriage and kids. You’re not the outcast, Schmidt. Others have families too. Let us be there for you. Let us get to know your little girl.” Smithy smiles sadly.
That man has the biggest heart and I'm sure it’s hurting him to a certain extent to know Schmidt’s been hiding this from him. From what I know, the two of them are fairly close.
“I'm sorry, Smithy. I just… I couldn’t do it. Winnie made me see how ridiculous I was being.” Jamie smiles over at me.
“Yeah, she has a way of doing that. My girl is the most amazing woman in the world,” Wheeler says with a bit of a warning in his voice.
I narrow my eyes on him, but I don’t say a word. I don’t want to argue with him in front of Tali, but we will be having words.
“I’d like you all to officially meet my daughter, Tali.”
Everyone says hello to Tali and she smiles at each one of them. When Tali reaches for me a few minutes later, I'm stunned for half a second before I happily sweep her into my arms and rest her on my hip like this is a normal day for me.
“How about we get everything unloaded, then I can order something for dinner?” Jamie rubs his hands together like he’s excited to get me moved in.
“That sounds great, thanks, Jamie.” I place my hand on his forearm before motioning to Liliana to follow me into the house.
“That’s why you wouldn’t tell me who you were working for,” Liliana says softly as she moves down the hallway with me.
“She wasn’t my secret to spill.”
“You’re a good person, Winnie. Schmidt’s lucky to have you. So is Tali. I know you’ll be good for them. He needs someone to pull him out of the darkness and I think you’re the perfect woman for the job.”
“I'm not dating him, Lils.”
“I didn’t say you were.” She grins.
“No, but I can see it in your eyes. You’re already scheming. This isn't Smithy. Jamie and I don’t have years of history together. He’s my boss and friend, nothing more.”
“Whatever you say, Winnie.”