Page 32 of Forbidden Dunk

“Look, sir, I went about this all wrong. I know that. I should have come to you right away to ask you to date your daughter, even if we’re adults. But you need to know, I’m not a player nor a womanizer. I don’t mess with the hoop hoes, because that’s not me. Sure, I’ve pulled one or two, but it’s not a feeling I like afterward.

“I wanted someone real, someone to last, not someone right now.” I paused, looking down at my hands. I know what he wanted me to say, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn’t about to let him know without telling her. “I can’t say if I’m in love with Marketa yet, but I do know I care deeply about her, and she means the world to me. I know I want to do right for her and our baby.

“Coach, I’m not going to just abandon her, no matter how much you want me to. She doesn’t deserve someone that’s going to bail, someone that’s not going to take responsibility. So, I’mhere, like it or not, to love and support my family. Because even if Marketa and I don’t work out, she’s the mother of my child, which means she’s family, and so is this baby.”

That was it. That was my heart on the floor for him to witness. That was all things, or pretty much all things, that I had told her.

He cleared his throat, his eyes focused on the wall as he thought things over. Finally, his eyes landed back on me and he held out his hand.

“That confession, I felt how true it was. I’m sorry to have been a pain, son, but you have to understand that’s my baby girl. No one will ever be good enough for her. But, you, Shawn Colter, might just be the man that’s close enough to being good.”

I took his hand, giving it a firm shake and taking the small blessing he was going to give me.

“That’s my family in that room. I owe you both a huge apology because I know the stress I’ve laid on her. None of this is your fault. When you go in there, can you tell her to maybe forgive.”

I jumped up, ready to go.

“She loves you, sir, she’ll forgive you. She’s just that amazing.” I smiled at him before running down the hallway, ignoring the curious glances from the nurses. I believed he was going to fix that. “Knock, knock,” I exclaimed as I walked into the room.

“You’re here.”

I walked over to the bed and sat down, taking her hand. “I’ll never leave you, Shorty.”

Chapter 20:Epilogue

Marketa

“Give me one more big push, Marketa,” the doctor said, and I groaned. I wasn’t sure I had any more push in me. I was exhausted after fourteen hours of pushing and heaving this baby out of me.

“You’re doing so well, Shorty. Just a little bit more,” Shawn told me, holding tight to one hand and kissing the top of my sweaty head.

“Stop, you two,” my dad grumbled from the other side.

It might seem a bit unorthodox for my dad and Shawn to be in here, but after the rough pregnancy and all the bed rest, I wanted them both here in case anything happened. Not that I believed anything would, but I knew it would help ease their minds. I was also hoping it would help with the rough waters.

Not that it was still rocky, because it wasn’t. But a little more bonding time wouldn’t hurt, would it? After all, they liked to buttheads over everything, but I swear they did it just to tease each other.

“Okay, when I say go, Marketa, give me everything you got, and I promise that will be it.”

I looked down at the doctor and nodded before squeezing the shit out of both male hands as I pushed with all my might.

“That’s it, Shorty,” Shawn muttered.

I nearly laughed at the sweet cry that filled the air as the baby popped out.

“Marry me?”

I blinked a few times, a serene smile on my face, thinking those two words were nothing more than a figment of my imagination. After all, he wouldn’t be asking at the same time that a baby came into this world, right?

“Yes, I did. And yes, I would.”

“Huh?”

“You just said I wouldn’t ask you that very important question when you were done. But I did. And I mean it. Marketa Jones, you’re the only woman for me. You have been. I love you with every beat of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

I watched in total awe as he took my left hand and slipped on a plain gold band. I frowned. I mean, I wasn’t a materialistic person by any means, but didn’t I deserve at least a small diamond.

“I have your grandmother’s ring sitting in the safe. When your fingers are done being swollen, it’s yours,” my dad told me from the chair he was sitting on.

---