Page 30 of Baller's Surprise Baby

“And how are you treating my baby niece?” I roll my eyes at this. Once I told Rachel about the baby, she gave up on her ultimatum about crying and ended up sobbing in my arms at the thought that she would be an aunt again and that Ryder would be a daddy. It hadn’t hit me until that moment, but this would not be her parents’ first grandchild. Ryder’s older sister Rebecca has kids, but this one will still be a pretty big deal.

“Your nephiece is doing just fine, nice and quiet.” I know it’s silly, but I merged the words nephew and niece to cover all my bases until we know the gender.

“Please tell me you’ve made a doctor appointment, Everly Marshall.” I roll my eyes for the second time since we started our call.

“Yes! I’ve made an appointment, so chill, girl. I’ll send you the info when I’m parked. I just wanted to check in.”

“Have you told him yet?” she asks. I shift uncomfortably in my seat before answering quietly.

“Honestly, I don’t know how, Rachel.” I hear silence and then a heavy sigh from her end.

“Look, you know I got your back. If for one second he doubts you or challenges you or says any stupid thing whatsoever, or makes you cry, I swear to God I’ll come and kick his ass. I would do that for you, you know…To be honest, I’ve been wanting to do it for years anyway.”

“Oh my God. You’re just a delinquent.” I shake my head, and we sit in silence for a few more seconds until she continues, “You do know that you won’t be able to hide this much longer, right?”

“Yes, I know that.“ I mutter, because I’m half mad at her for bringing it up and half mad at myself for not being brave enough to just tell the man he’s going to be a father. We chat a few minutes more, and when I get closer to the cancer center, I hang up to focus on parking.

Inside the building my hands are shaking, and I focus on calming my heart and taking deep breaths as I ride the elevator up.

When I finally get there, Aunt Sharon meets me, and we walk to a private examination room where my aunt and I sit in relative silence. I give her hand a squeeze and she offers a small smile in return, but we both go back to our brooding thoughts until Dr. Lazario steps into the room.

“Hello, how are we doing today?” It’s the standard doctor’s greeting, and she hardly glances up from her board as she shuffles into the room and pulls up Aunt Sharon’s chart on the computer. When finally she seems to have everything showing on the screen properly, she turns toward us and squints over reader glasses.

“I see you’ve brought family. That’s excellent.” We go through the pleasantries, and at last the doctor starts into the report.

“So today we’re following up on your most recent lab tests. It shows here you’ve been cancer-free for almost nine months now. Congratulations! That’s really wonderful news, and so today we’re checking your organs. Now, we did find some unusual tracers in the urology report, and this is the results from your CT scan.” She pulls the screen closer and I feel my brow furrowing. What we need to do is schedule a few follow up tests, because the CT scan results are showing a mass growing on one of your kidneys.” I stare at the doctor in horror, the rest of her words hardly registering as she describes the size and the location and next steps to evaluate whether or not it is benign.

When we finally step outside and make our way to the parking deck, I stare at the buildings around us wondering what just happened. Turning my eyes to look at Aunt Sharon, I can see the lines of disappointment and worry around her mouth. And as much as I want to be strong for her something very selfish inside of me wants to cry, because I’m not sure if I can do this again. I don’t know if I can face the thought of losing her again so soon after she has recovered.

22

Ryder

“Hey, Ryder! You got guests!” I glance up from my charts when I hear Marvin calling me from the entrance of the locker room and then hustle around benches and down aisles until I reach the door. Rachel and Everly are waiting together with one of the on-site guards when I step out into the hall.

“Hey!” I wrap my arms around Everly and rest my cheek on the top of her head. “It’s my favorite person!” I stand there, staring Rachel dead in the eye while she taps her foot and clears her throat repeatedly. Finally, I let Everly loose and spread my arms wide for Rachel to duck in for a hug just as I say, “and someone else!”

At that she jerks back, but it’s too late. I’ve got her in a bear hug grip, and she struggles to no avail. When I release her, I’m careful to dance back quickly, barely dodging a swinging fist aimed at my arm. Everly shakes her head as she holds out a hand and says, “Children, please!”

I take advantage of the lifted arm to slide into a side embrace, managing to sneak a quick kiss that leaves her pink and breathless.

“You ladies all set for a great game?”

“Of course!”

“Absolutely!”

They both chime in at once and I hold a finger up to them, saying, “Hold that thought,” just before I run back into the locker room and grab the bag I brought with me. Back out in the hallway, I hand out our latest jersey in their sizes. Rachel already has a few, but Everly’s eyes widen and she jumps up and down with excitement.

“Oh my gosh, It’s official! I’m dating one of the Mavs!” She squeals and hugs me. “Thank you, thank you!” Then she pulls it on over her t-shirt right there in the hall to model for me and Rachel. It’s adorable, and I’m gratified to see that somehow the jersey makes her boobs look even bigger.

“Alright, you ladies got your tickets? Do you know where you’re heading? If not, I can ask one of the security guys to walk you to your spot.”

We’re in LA playing the Clippers tonight at the Crypto.com Arena, and the girls reassure me they are okay on their own.

Rachel lives here in LA, but I’ve invited Everly as my special guest and left her a key to my hotel room. It’s our first night away since we started seeing each other, and after driving her home from my place after making her dinner, I really thought she wouldn’t come.

I stare down at her, still wondering how the night will end, but she’s all smiles and staring right back at me.

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