Chapter twenty-one Grady
Chapter twenty-one
Grady
One Month Later
“So, now that the season is over, how do you feel about your first coaching experience?” Parker asks me as he nurses his drink.
“It was harder than I expected in some ways, and exactly what I needed in others.”
I know the season only ended two weeks ago, but I’m already excited for the next one. I signed a contract with the high school to return next spring, and since then, my mind has already been making notes of things we can improve on and tweak as the boys get older.
It feels so fucking good to have baseball in my life again.
Parker nods. “And this? How do you feel about this?” He gestures to the crowd of people around us.
I look around the white tent full of people we know and love, gathered here to celebrate our daughter’s impending arrival.
Astrid and Willow went all out throwing this baby shower, creating a beautiful theme of an apple orchard to pay tribute to Scottie’s craving that hasn’t dwindled at all, and Scottie looks absolutely breathtaking.
“I’m happier than I ever thought I could be, man,” I tell him, searching the crowd for Scottie, only to find her just a few feet away, smoothing her pink dress over her bump, smiling and talking with Dolly, who runs the Carrington Cove Inn.
When Astrid and Willow told me they wanted to throw a coed baby shower, I was a little apprehensive about the idea. From what I’ve heard, baby showers are a sacred female-only event where discussions of childbirth and nipple creams take place.
However, now that the woman who owns me has finally let me in, I figured it would be more of an opportunity to celebrate Scottie and me moving in together officially this coming weekend, especially since any details of childbirth don’t scare me anymore.
I’ve read the books, and I’ve asked so many questions that I think Scottie has considered smothering me with her pillow multiple times by now.
But in a few months, we’re going to be parents, a family of four—and I can’t fucking wait.
I just have one more thing I need to take care of before our daughter arrives, and hopefully that goes off without a hitch later.
“I can’t believe I’m the only one still single now,” Parker grumbles under his breath.
“I thought that’s what you wanted?”
“I mean, it is,” he says, a tad too defensively. “I came so close to getting married, but now that I dodged that bullet, I can’t believe I ever considered it.” He shakes his head before turning his gaze to mine. “Aren’t you going to miss your freedom?”
I glance over at the woman who woke me up with her mouth around my cock this morning. “Nah. Freedom is overrated.”
“Well, I won’t be giving mine up ever again.”
I hide my grin behind the rim of my glass. “Okay, Parker. Whatever you say.”
“I’m serious. Casual hookups only.”
“Sure.”
“I met a smoking-hot woman in New York last month, actually. We met on the plane after I talked her down from a panic attack.” He waggles his eyebrows. “And then we had a great night together.”
“You didn’t tell her the story of how you tried on breast pumps, did you?”
He glares at me before flipping me off and walking away. Part of me feels bad, but the other part knows that all it’s going to take is the right woman to show up in his life and make him see the error in his thinking.
The right woman changes everything.
“You pissed him off already?” Penn asks, striding up to me.
“Of course. Doesn’t take much these days.”
“True story.” He clasps his hand on my shoulder. “So, how are you feeling, dad-to-be?”
My lips curl up of their own accord. “Really fucking good, man.”
“You look happy.”
“Happy isn’t strong enough of a word. The only thing missing is Scottie having my last name,” I say, which surprises him.
“Are you two ready for that?”
“I am. But is Scottie?” I think out loud. “I want to believe she is.”
“Then what’s holding you back?”
“What are you two talking about?” Dallas comes up to us now, inserting himself into our conversation.
“Grady is thinking about proposing,” Penn tells him.
Dallas turns his eyes back to me. “No shit. Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s not like you guys aren’t already having a baby together or anything.”
“Exactly. And I want her to be my wife.”
Dallas blows out a breath. “I know that feeling. If Willow didn’t want to plan a wedding, I would have married her the minute after she said yes to my proposal.”
Penn nods. “Astrid wanted to wait a year before we talked about it, but I bought a ring two months ago. The second that day comes, I’m sliding it on her finger.”
I shake my head at my friend. “God, you sound the way I feel.”
“And how’s that?” Penn asks.
I look back over at Scottie, fighting the urge to growl as I look at her, swollen with my child. “Possessive.”
Dallas and Penn nod in unison. “Yeah, welcome to the club,” Dallas says, patting me on the back.
“All right, everyone. It’s time to open presents!
” My sister claps her hands, gathering everyone’s attention.
“If you could move into the tent, grab a cupcake as you sit down, and get ready to see just how spoiled this little girl is already, that would be great!” She says something to Willow, and then heads straight in my direction. “Hey, big brother.”
I lean down and press a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you again for this.”
“My pleasure.” She lowers her voice and continues. “By the way, I have Chase and his friends on duty for later.” She flashes me a wink and I feel a slight relief in my chest.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure how we were going to coordinate all of that, but luckily, teenage boys can be pretty eager to help with the right bribe.”
“What did you offer them?”
“A pool party at your house next weekend.” She pats me on the shoulder and then begins to walk away. “You’re welcome!”
Grumbling under my breath, even though I can’t deny that my sister has been the biggest source of support for me throughout the past few months, I remind myself that all of this will be worth it once Scottie says the one word I need to hear from her later tonight.
As if my heart conjured her, Scottie waddles over to me, rubbing her stomach. “You ready to help me open gifts?”
I lower my head and press my lips to hers. “Of course, baby. How are you feeling?”
“Big as a house,” she says, glancing down at our daughter.
I line my lips up to her ear. “You look so fucking gorgeous, Scottie. God, I want to defile you so badly.”
She giggles. “You have issues.”
“No, baby. You’re carrying my child. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that is sexier.”
When she pulls her head back, she smiles up at me. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Scottie.” Taking her hand in mine, I lead her over to the chairs Astrid has positioned in front of the backdrop of an apple orchard.
A sign that says She’s the Apple of Our Eye hangs above the two chairs, and wooden buckets full of apples are scattered around the scene.
As soon as Scottie takes a seat and I sit right next to her, we begin opening the gifts our family and friends have brought for us, only confirming for me how I’m right where I’m supposed to be in my life—with Scottie by my side, and hopefully soon, as my wife.
***
“What a day.”
I lift Scottie’s hand and press my lips to the top of it as I drive us back to my house. “You doing okay?”
She lets out a yawn, the fifth one that’s left her lips since we left the baby shower. “Yeah, just tired. Who knew opening presents would be so exhausting?”
“Well, we were at it for almost three hours, so I agree…didn’t know it could be that tiring.”
The sun has set on the day, and even though the shower was over two hours ago, I had to keep Scottie at the house until night fell.
According to Astrid, everything is in place, and as soon as we pull into the driveway, I’ll be prepared to give Scottie one last gift for the day—which, in my opinion, is the most important one.
Scottie lets out another yawn. “I might even just skip a shower and go straight to bed.”
“Aw, I was looking forward to scrubbing you clean.”
She eyes me knowingly from her side of the truck. “Scrub me clean, or make me dirty first, Grady?”
I wink over at her. “Both, baby.”
“Men. They only have one thing on their mind…always.”
“Actually, I currently have two things on my mind, Scottie.”
“Oh yeah? What’s the other one?”
I don’t have to reply because as soon as I pull into the driveway, the light from the electric candles in my front yard comes into view.
“Grady…what is that?” Scottie leans forward in her seat as I cruise toward my house, inching closer to our home and hopefully the beginning of our forever.
When I shift the truck in park, Scottie looks over at me with tears in her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Let me help you down,” I say, exiting the truck and walking over to her side, taking in a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. I’m fairly certain this woman wants the same things I do, but it still doesn’t diminish the nerves that I feel racing through me.
“Grady…” Scottie holds on to my hand intensely as I lead her over to the giant tree in my front yard, the one that currently has a tire swing and a baby swing hanging from two of the branches.