Page 86 of Pretty Broken Promises

“Just Shaw women. I don’t need anyone else.”

That means Tessa and my little angel on the way. I lost touch with my mother shortly after Wendell’s funeral. The one we didn’t attend. The fact she mourned the man who hurt my wife and tried to ruin my life more than once was the final insult to our relationship. I wish her well, as long as that’s away from me.

The season is starting again in a couple of months, and I’m already at practice for hours on end. Tessa wants to travel with me, but that’s getting harder and harder as our family grows. She doesn’t know this yet, but I’m not renegotiating my contract after this year. People are going to think I’m crazy, but everything I want is right here in front of me. Money is nothing more than a tool to provide what you need in life. My family has more than enough, but what I haven’t had enough of is time to spend with them.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks me.

“How lucky I am that you gave me another chance. I once promised myself I’d move on from you. I’ve never been so happy to break a promise.”

* * *

Tessa

I was never one of those girls growing up who thought that a prince would swoop in, marry me, and my life would be perfect from the moment I said, “I do.” But that is kind of how my life has been for the last five years.

Well, it wasn’t exactly magic. Without my father around to constantly try and destroy my relationship with Ford we were able to start our marriage and our family with very little drama. The fame that came along with Ford being drafted into the NFL, and even the occasional tabloid story, doesn’t hold a candle to the crap my father had pulled over the years.

There was a bit of scandal when some celebrity gossip rag found out Ford and I were stepsiblings, although not that we were for more than a few hours after our wedding thanks to a little trip to Ocean Bluff that Sin, Ford, and I took. Poor daddy dearest couldn’t handle the news of our marriage and died that night. At least that was the official story. The actual truth is he found himself on the wrong side of Sin’s moral compass. Child predators don’t last long around Jackson Sinclair.

After surviving my father’s schemes, the fame of professional sports is a breeze. We went through so many trials before Ford signed on with the Wolves, that no jersey chaser, paparazzo, or crazed fan could penetrate the shield we built around ourselves. The honeymoon just keeps going on and on.

I only have one tiny complaint, and it’s that Ford Shaw makes huge babies.

“Where is he,” I say through gritted teeth.

My mother pushes my sweaty hair out of my face. “He’s on his way.”

“And Bennie?” I ask.

“He’s with his Uncle Benji. They’re perfectly fine. Bennie is only torturing him a little bit. You don’t need to worry about him though either, because Aunt Lydia is there to back him up. Tracy will be here to back them up as soon as her plane lands,” my mom answers.

I’d laugh if my stomach wasn’t currently trying to eject Ford’s latest progeny. The doctor comes in and checks me again. “You’re fully dilated, and your contractions are less than a minute apart. We’ll bring him in when he gets here, but it’s time to have to have a baby.”

“I’m here,” Ford announces as he rushes through the door.

“Cutting it close, don’t you think?” I say panting.

“I left as soon as you called and I could get my pads off.”

I know he hates missing things, and there’s no way we could have known that our little girl would decide to come this quickly.

A few hours later I crack open my eyes to see Ford holding our little girl, Josephine, against his chest. As much as childbirth hurts, I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of seeing him hold our baby for the first time. I pretend to sleep a bit longer, loving to peek in on these moments when he thinks it’s just him and the baby.

There have been so many moments I thought I couldn’t love him more, then another comes along proving me wrong. Now I know that with him there’s no limit to how high he can bring me, or how low. We’re done exploring the depths though. There may be low times in the future, but we will handle them together.

“Hello, my little angel. Look at those big dark eyes. You look exactly like your momma. We’re going to have to homeschool you. I haven’t told your mom this yet, but after this season, I’m going to be with you guys all the time. I don’t want to miss any more moments like I almost did today.”

“I’m still traveling with you this season,” I say, interrupting their moment.

He gets up and climbs into the hospital bed with me. It’s a tight fit, but his fame and fortune does come with some perks. He kisses the side of my head. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Forgiving Ford was hard, trusting him was even harder, but I’d have missed all of this if I hadn’t taken that leap. Once we were both broken people, but from those jagged pieces we’ve built a family.

Our lives are a mosaic of pretty broken things, and the memories we carry around with us, and together they make us who we are. Thanks to this man’s determination ours came together to make a beautiful picture that I am excited to spend a lifetime adding to.

* * *

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