Page 39 of Second Down Scrooge

“I’ll take you to the airport,” he says.

“Don’t be silly. I can just park there or get an Uber.”

“It’s not silly,” he says firmly. “I want as many seconds as I can have with you two.”

I’m tempted to invite him to come, but I know he’ll just have to decline. The team has practice this week even though it’s Christmas, but part of me wishes I wouldn’t have booked this trip at all and I could just stay here with Austin so we could celebrate our baby’s first Christmas together.

I’m excited to see my parents. They don’t get enough time with Mia, and I wish they’d move out here. Maybe I can convince them while I’m in Chicago. I’m also excited to see my grandparents. They’ve been married fifty-seven years now, and my mom was an only child who had an only child, so I’m their only grandkid, and Mia is their only great grandbaby.

“Then I’d love that,” I say. “I wish you could come.”

He twists his lips. “So do I, to be honest. Or I wish you’d stay.”

“I do, too. But they’re all expecting us.”

“I know,” he says quietly. “And it’s fine. I’ve never really celebrated Christmas much, anyway.”

“How come?” I finally ask.

“I found out my parents were getting divorced the Christmas I was five.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry,” I say.

He lifts a shoulder. “It was fine. My dad basically bowed out of the picture, and my mom got remarried shortly after. My stepdad never really took to me, and I was the extra kid nobody knew what to do with. So I turned to football.” He clears his throat when he catches my sympathetic eyes at him. “Anyway, that got a little deeper than I was expecting over breakfast.” Hechuckles a little awkwardly and shoots me a tight smile, and then he gets up and brings his plate to the sink.

But it explains a lot.

He was abandoned early on, and I don’t think he’s ever recovered from that.

And I don’t know the rest of his history when it comes to dating, but I don’t think he’s been in any sort of serious relationship in his adult life until he met me. The rest were short-lived or only for one night. I think I get why now. He was scared he’d be abandoned again.

So why me? I’m the one who keeps running, who keeps telling him I’m not ready, but he continues to pursue me anyway.

It’s yet one more instance where I find myself falling just a little deeper for him. There’s something about our connection he trusts, and I need to be careful with what I choose to do with that.

Chapter 20: Austin Graham

Matching Sweater Day

Four Days Until Christmas

I'm surprised to find Asher in the locker room when I walk in. It’s not mandatory today since it’s our day off, but I’ve been working hard to show that I want to keep my starting position.

“You here for workouts?” I ask.

“Just finished. I usually come in after lunch on Mondays, but my son has a wellness check this afternoon, so I put in the work nice and early today.” He’s just finishing up, and I'm just getting started.

“How old?” I ask.

“Six months already. A whole half a year. How old is yours?”

“She'll be a year old next month.”

“Tell me it gets easier,” he says.

I chuckle. “I'm still pretty new at this, and I only get one day a week with her. For now, anyway.”

“For now?” He bends over to tie his shoes.

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