Page 89 of Always on My Mind

Before anyone could congratulate him, he collapsed into his grandmother’s arms and wept. Betty held him upright as he sagged against her, his body shaking with sobs. She rubbed her hand up and down his back, soothing him the way a mother would with a child.

“He’s here,” Ethan blubbered.

“He is here, honey,” Betty replied. “You have a little baby boy. You’re going to be the most wonderful father, I know it.”

Ethan squeezed his eyes shut and fresh tears rolled over his cheeks.

A lump formed in Tessa’s throat. She turned away, feeling as if she were intruding on something private. Questions burned in her mind about how Billie was, but she held them off to give Ethan a moment with the woman who raised him.

A small flash of light caught her eye. From across the lobby, a young woman had her phone aimed directly at Ethan. Then she pointed to him and showed the surrounding people while they all snickered. Anger simmered in Tessa’s belly. The nerve of people! To intrude on someone’s most vulnerable moment just because he was a famous footballer! Tessa had to warn him.

He had finally stepped back from Betty when she looked again, but still rested a hand on her shoulder. Betty squeezed his arm while he wiped at his face with his free hand.

“Billie did so great,” he said. “She’s resting now, but she worked so hard. She was truly incredible. God, I can’t believe I’m this lucky.”

Tessa’s heart warmed. She hated to break up such a beautiful moment, but she had to let him know.

“Ethan, I’m sorry to tell you this, but the woman on the couch behind us took your picture, and I’m pretty sure she’s tweeting it out to the world,” she said.

Ethan blinked. “What?”

Tessa nodded in the direction of the woman. “I saw her take your picture while you were crying.”

Betty narrowed her eyes, bristling. “You just say the word, Ethan, and I’ll snatch the phone right out of that nosy heifer’s hands.”

“Oh, aye, you get her, Betty,” Tessa encouraged.

Betty took one step in the direction of the other couch, but Ethan grabbed her arm.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”

“Are you sure?” Betty asked.

He nodded. “Thanks, but I’m sure. I love my wife and my son more than anything in the world. I ain’t ashamed of that, not one bit. I don’t care who knows it.”

“But. . . she’s going to post it online or send it to the press!” Tessa cried. “They’ll eat you alive!”

“I don’t care,” he said with a shake of his head. “Nothing could make me care about what strangers online or journalists say more than I care about my family. It just. . . doesn’t matter.”

The ominous feeling that woke Tessa suddenly slammed into her chest. She understood it now. The bad thing she felt was coming did not have to do with Billie and Ethan. They were simply the catalyst for showing her what she needed.

She needed to be with someone ready to love her as shamelessly as Ethan loved Billie. Someone who felt shemattered more than the online trolls and the press and the fucked up family. And that person was not Jamie. Not now. Not this time.

“Y’all wanna come and see him?” Ethan asked.

“Oh, hell yes!” Betty cried.

Tessa glanced at her phone and saw a text from Jamie, letting her know that she was parking and about to head inside.

“I’ll give you a moment first, Betty, my girlfriend’s here,” Tessa said.

“Alright, when you want a turn, you know the room number,” Ethan said.

Tessa nodded, fighting back the wobble of her chin and the tears in her eyes. She made her way to the lift, her heart already breaking.

In a haze, she made it to the main floor. She hardly remembered the lift doors opening or walking past the nurse’s station. The pleasant spring evening air couldn’t penetrate her sorrow. She didn’t hear the traffic or the birds. She saw only Jamie walking up the pavement, an unsuspecting smile on her face. A smile that dropped the moment she took in Tessa’s expression.

“What’s happened?” she asked. “Is Billie alright? Is it the baby?”

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