41. Chapter 41
Seren
Cai woke this morning with enough energy to fuel an entire fleet of big trucks.
I blinked into the rising sun, disoriented for a second before the weight behind me shifted and a warm arm tightened around my waist.
Jake’s voice was still thick with sleep. “Is he up?”
“Mmhm.” I rolled onto my back, and Jake’s arm slid with me, his palm settling low on my stomach.
His hair was a mess, sticking up in every direction, lips pouty and plump, and he looked so unfairly good like that—rumpled and relaxed in a way I loved to see.
I also enjoyed having him in my bed more and more.
The weeks we’d been spending together were easy and comforting, and I craved being around him all the time.
Cai shouted, “Morning time! Wake up, my awake!” from the foot of my bed, waving his little arms like he was conducting an orchestra.
Jake grinned. “He’s got a lot to say this morning.”
“He always does.” I pushed myself up, stretching. “You can go back to sleep if you want.”
Jake sat up with me instead, rubbing a hand over his face. “Nah. I want to spend it with you two.”
My heart stuttered. I was so used to it just being just Cai and me that as much as I wanted Jake here, sometimes it was a little jarring having another person to think of. Not in a bad way, but in a way that I knew things were changing.
I cleared my throat, trying to get my voice back under control. “Okay, well…if we’re all up, we should probably feed the tiny dictator before he stages a coup.”
Jake laughed, low and deep, then kissed the side of my head like he’d done it a thousand times before and this was one of our many mornings together.
He swung his legs over his side of the bed and grabbed Cai in a swoop that made him squeal with delight. “I caught a monster. Look, Mommy, he’s so wriggly and”—he dipped to blow raspberries on Cai’s belly—“delicious too. Yum, yum, yum.”
Cai shrieked with laughter, kicking his legs as Jake hoisted him higher.
“Jakey monster!” Cai crowed, absolutely delighted with himself.
He just nuzzled Cai’s cheek and growled dramatically, “Monster? Me? Never. I’m a gentle giant.”
Cai giggled so hard he hiccupped.
As I watched them with renewed warmth blossoming in my chest, I realized that this wasn’t something I’d ever pictured for myself again.
Not with someone who wasn’t Cai’s father.
Not with someone who actually wanted to be here, fully and without hesitation.
It still felt new and fragile, but it also didn’t.
He was familiar to me, to us, and everything always settled when we were together.
“Alright,” he said, shifting Cai to his hip. “Let’s get this tiny tornado fed before he eats me next.”
Cai gasped dramatically. “Eat Jakey!”
Jake laughed. “See? He’s vicious.”
We made our way to the kitchen, Cai bouncing in his arms. My phone lit up on the side, but I wasn’t ready to check it yet. I wanted to stay in this bubble.
Jake set him in the highchair with practiced ease, buckling him in while Cai kicked his feet like he was revving an engine.
“What’s the breakfast plan, boss?” Jake asked him.
“Toast!” Cai shouted, slapping the tray.
Jake looked at me. “Toast, it is. And coffee for you,” he said, bopping my nose as he passed.
I felt like I was in a daze as Cai babbled happily and Jake sliced strawberries, and when Jake handed him one, Cai held it up proudly.
“Look, Mommy! Red!”
“I see, baby. Good job.”
Jake glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes soft. “He’s in a good mood today.”
“He likes mornings,” I said, leaning against the counter. “And he likes you.”
Jake’s expression changed from concentration to pure joy, lighting up his blue eyes, tipping up his full lips…The sight made my stomach flip.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I like him too.”
When the toaster popped, Cai cheered like it was a fireworks show, and Jake grinned as he plated everything.
“Alright,” he said, sliding a mug toward me. “Fuel first.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him over the top of the mug.
My phone buzzed again, and Jake leaned back, passing it to me with a frown. “That’s been busy. You should check it.”
“It’s probably Derek,” I said, taking the phone. “He’s probably asking about today at the stadium.”
Opening the messages, I could see that he was asking mostly about the family day and what time it started, but he also said “thanks for helping me yesterday” with a few too many kisses. I decided to ignore that and just texted him details of the event.
Jake sipped his coffee and smiled at Cai, but I could tell he wanted to ask about the messages. Truthfully, I wasn’t willing to linger on that much, but I was ready for one big positive that would come out of Derek being around.
“You know, you and I are going to benefit from this extra parent in town situation…”
Jake swallowed, the movement visible. “How’s that?”
“We’ll have more alone time,” I murmured, tilting my head so only he could hear it.
Jake’s hand twitched at his side, something I’d noticed he did when he was trying to show restraint.
“Yeah? More free time, huh? Uninterrupted?”
I nodded slowly.
He exhaled, a soft laugh under his breath. “You’re dangerous this early in the morning.”
“I’m just stating facts.”
“Mm.” His gaze dipped to my mouth for half a second before he caught himself.
Cai banged his spoon against the tray, jolting us both back to reality. “We should finish breakfast before I start eating you,” he whispered into my ear, then reached for my son.
***
A couple of hours later, we were at the stadium, but this time, there was zero training, pressure, or crowds; it was just the Knights’ and the Valkyries’ players and families.
There were tables set up along the sidelines, foil trays half-open, the smell of grilled food mixing with the cold air, and music playing from speakers hidden around the perimeter.
Cai didn’t wait for me.
The second I set him down, he took off, small legs carrying him toward a group of older kids who were already kicking a ball around. I knew some of the Knights players had kids, so it was a comfort that Cai would have others to play with. And one thing my son was not was shy.
“Look at him go,” Jake mused.
I let out a breath I’d been holding. “Yeah.”
Evie, Lola, and Micah came over then.
“Rude,” Evie huffed, hands on her hips as she watched the group pass the ball between them. “My guy didn’t even high-five me before he ran right past.”
Cai missed the ball completely, spun himself halfway around, and then laughed like it was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Lola snorted. “Kids are weird.”
Teddy, Connor, and Bobby joined us too.
“He’s fearless, I’ll give him that,” Connor said, watching Cai barrel straight toward the ball again like he hadn’t just missed it entirely seconds ago.
“Or just unaware of danger,” Bobby added, a grin pulling at his mouth. “Bit like Jake, actually.”
Jake didn’t even look at him. “Careful, man. You’re one comment away from me telling everyone about that thing you did at pre-season last year.”
Bobby held up his hands immediately. “Alright, no need for threats.”
Micah frowned. “What did he do that I don’t know about?”
Bobby smoothed his arm around his girl. “Nothing, baby, I swear.”
“Nothing involving a dare and a—” Connor began, but Bobby leaped toward him, covering his mouth.
“I don’t care if you’re my captain right now, I will hurt you.”
Nate came by my side. “Why’s Connor getting manhandled by Bobby?”
“Apparently, Bobby did some reckless dare during pre-season that I don’t know about.” Micah said, glaring at him.
“Oh, shit, yeah,” Nate laughed, like that explained everything, and then offered nothing else.
Micah’s eyes narrowed. “You’re all useless.”
The group dissolved into easy, familiar laughter as more families drifted in—people setting down picnic blankets, siblings, parents, moms and dads all greeting each other with quick squeezes, little pockets of people falling into their own orbits.
As I watched them settle in, a quiet awareness crept up on me: I’d wondered how many of these kinds of events he’d endured without family here for him. I hated the thought.
Grabbing his hand, I squeezed twice just as a petite brunette woman strode over to him, pulling him into a hug.
“There he is,” a voice cut in, warm and laced with an Irish lilt. “I should tap ye upside yer head for not coming to see me sooner.”
My mouth opened and closed. I had no idea who this woman was, or who she was to Jake. “Siobhan, love of my life, nothing could keep me from you.”
“Good to know where I stand on the pecking order, Mam,” Connor said, and suddenly it started to make more sense.
I watched Jake soften in a way I hadn’t seen with anyone else outside of the team. His shoulders dropped. His smile was real. He leaned into her touch like someone who’d been starved for it.
And I understood—this wasn’t just someone he knew. This was someone who loved him.
“I’m sorry I’ve not been around much. I’ve been a little busy.” His voice was genuine, and his gaze tracked to me, coupled with a flush sitting on his cheeks. God, he was adorable.
Her attention flicked to me. “Would this beautiful woman right here have anything to do with that?”
“Siobhan,” Jake said, taking my hand and squeezing it twice. “This is Seren. She’s—”
“The current new winger for the Valkyries. I know. Your debut was sensational, my darling girl.”
Heat rushed up my neck. “Thank you,” I squeaked out. It threw me a little. Nate had always been the one people recognized, the one strangers stopped to praise after matches. I was still getting used to the idea that anyone outside my own little bubble even noticed me.
And now that I was finally living the thing I’d dreamed about for years, I still knew I had room to grow into the version of myself everyone else seemed to see.
“I’m Siobhan, Connor’s Mam. And I’m very glad to finally meet you.”
“Likewise,” I said.
Jake huffed a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “She basically adopted me. I didn’t get a say.”
“You absolutely did,” she corrected. “You just needed someone to feed you and tell you when you were being an eejit.”
I wasn’t sure what that word meant, but her Irish accent made me smile, as did her take-no-shit attitude.
I was still smiling when movement at the edge of the pitch caught my eye—a familiar tall figure weaving through the folding tables, scanning the field. I squeezed Jake’s hand twice again, then lifted onto my toes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be back.”
Then I headed for Derek, every step tugging me out of one world and into another.