Chapter eleven Shane #2
His jaw ticks and I can tell he wants to say something back, but he thinks better of it and turns his back to us, addressing his parents. “They’re keeping Em for the night for observation in case she goes into early labor from the fall. But if all is well, we’ll be heading home in the morning.”
“Let’s hope for the best,” his father says, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a light squeeze.
“You can head back to the house now, I’m sure Ronnie, Gabe, and Noah will want to see the Burkley twins when they arrive,” Greyson tells his parents.
“Of course, we’ll watch the kids until you all get back.” Nancy hugs her son. “Keep us updated on Emma. I called Lance earlier to tell him about what happened.”
“Yeah, he already called Emma to check on her.” Grey nods.
“We’ll video call later to wish goodnight to Gracie.
” He hugs his parents and then leaves without sparing his sister a second glance, like she wasn’t standing right behind him.
I can feel her shaking in my arms as she tries desperately to stay in control.
Nancy comes to her daughter, wrapping her arms tightly around her in a comforting hug.
“It’s going to be okay, just stay strong, my beautiful girl,” she whispers in her ear before kissing the side of her head.
Nancy then turns to look at Cecilia and Silas.
“Don’t worry about Dante, we’ll watch over him as long as you need. ”
“Actually, my mother should be picking him up any minute. But thank you for the offer.” Silas smiles as they all say goodbye.
Three hours later, Burkley comes strolling out the double doors where they had taken Morgan with an exhausted look on his face, but the proud grin stretching over his lips quickly overshadows it. “Ready to meet the two newest members of our little family?” he asks, his voice thick.
Everyone jumps to their feet, including Aubrey, who takes my hand and pulls me along with her.
A part of me feels like I’m intruding in this intimate moment between friends.
I know they’ve always included me wherever they could, but it always felt like it was out of respect and not because they actually wanted me there.
But I suppose the fact that Aubrey and I are together now and starting our own family will change all of that.
“We’ll need to be quiet. Morgan was resting when I left the room,” Clay instructs as he pushes the door open and lets everyone in.
Aubrey releases my hand as she wanders in, and I stop in the doorway beside Clay. “I can wait out here. I don’t want to intrude on this special moment.”
“I get this must feel weird, Coach. It does for all of us. But you being with Aubrey means you’ve joined our little family.
You belong and are welcome anywhere we are, including this room.
I know Aubrey would want you in there, and I know my wife would too.
” He nods for me to go in with the rest of them.
“Thank you, Burkley.” I smile warmly and head in.
Clay has always been one of the players I’ve struggled the most to read. He’s quiet and almost seems broody most of the time, but he’s never one to really get into fights or even get angry.
The only time I’ve ever seen him get mad at anyone was Silas when it involved some wrongdoing toward Cecilia.
The man is loyal to a fault when it comes to his family.
But he also knows right from wrong and isn’t afraid to distance himself from someone when they are in the wrong, even if it’s his best friend.
He always looks at the bigger picture before judging someone; it’s what makes him a great alternate captain, and I have a feeling that’s what he’s doing now. Despite his tight friendship with Greyson, he sees that I have no intention of going anywhere and chooses to accept it rather than fight it.
Entering the quiet room, I find Veronica with Noah and Gabriel looking into one of the hospital bassinets at a little baby with a blue hat sleeping soundly.
Cecilia and Silas are at Morgan’s side, who seems to be waking up slowly from her little nap.
I walk up to them as Morgan looks up and smiles at me.
Leaning in, I press a soft kiss to her cheek. “Congratulations, Morgan.”
“Thank you, Shane,” she says tenderly with tired eyes.
I turn and walk over to my Angel who’s at the side of a second bassinet, this one containing a tiny little bundle with a pink hat. There’s a small little tag taped to the end of the plastic basket with the name Trinity written on it.
Aubrey’s eyes twinkle as she looks down at the little wonder with a soft smile on her lips. She looks up at me, biting her lip, then looks over at Morgan, who watches us. “May I pick her up?”
“Of course,” Morgan says quietly with a warm smile gracing her lips.
Aubrey delicately lifts the bundled-up newborn and holds her in her arms, close to her chest. She brings up a finger, tracing the side of her puffy face with a featherlike touch. “She’s so beautiful,” she whispers when I step closer.
I place one hand on her back, the other on her flat stomach that soon will begin to grow with our own child. “I hope we have a girl and that she looks exactly like you.”
Aubrey looks up at me with devotion written all over her features. “I hope she has your eyes,” she murmurs to me, and I can’t help but lean in and kiss her pretty lips.
To think this will be us in a few months. I never could have predicted our lives taking this route so quickly. Everything between me and Aubrey has moved at a snail’s pace, and now it feels like we’ve jumped onto a high-speed train with no plans of getting off. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I know we’ll have challenges along the way, certainly where her brother is concerned, but we’ll make it work. I have no plans of ever letting Aubrey go. She’s the woman I’ve loved from afar for so long, and now I get to love her up close.
Can life get any better?
~ Two Days Later ~
The boys are just starting their morning skate and, as predicted, Ford is being an ass.
Every time I’ve tried speaking to him about anything related to his game, he either ignores me or has some snarky comeback. I’m letting it slide for now since the wound is still fresh, but if this starts interfering with our sessions and games, I’ll need to put him in his place quickly.
As I expected, Randy was more than happy to take over morning skate, but I’m still here to look from afar.
It’s still my job to oversee everything.
When I came into the office yesterday, everyone was curious to know what had happened.
I kept it vague since it really wasn’t any of their business, and I promised my girl I wouldn’t say anything. I keep my promises.
Of course, when Paul cornered me in my office demanding answers, it was a little hard to lie to him.
I trust Paul, but he’s also the one that could cause me some problems if word gets to him about Ford.
In the end I told him some drunk guy was being an ass to my girlfriend, and when I asked him to back off, things got physical.
He seemed to believe it for the most part, but there was a hint of skepticism in his eyes.
And I’m sure once he sees Greyson’s behavior and finds out exactly who my girlfriend is, he’ll put the pieces together.
I just hope by then Grey will have settled down and everything will be back to normal.
It’s one thing for players to hate on each other, which happens more often than we think, but it’s an entirely different thing when it involves one of the coaches.
Coaches are easy to replace; great players aren’t.
Randy instructs the guys to do some drills, with a few focusing on specific skills they need to improve, then skates over to where I’m standing behind the boards. He stops, resting his elbows above the wall and keeping his eyes on the guys.
“Mind telling me what’s up Ford’s ass and why he felt the need to fuck up your pretty face?”
At the mention of my bruised face, I dart my tongue out and lick over the slowly healing cut on my lip. “Should have known you wouldn’t buy my bullshit story.”