Training camp was the most intense and most exhilarating month of his life. Gabe had been in camps like this before, back when he was in the semi-pro league in the days when his teammates knew he and a few others were shifters, but kept it a secret, just like all the other teams did. But this was the pros now and everything was much more intense. Where their training before had been about getting the individual athlete in the best shape possible with drills and workouts and skill training, this was all about them working together as a team.
They explored each other’s weaknesses and strengths. They ran play after play, trying to find holes and fill them, trying to make every move as tight as possible so that when they played another team, they couldn’t break into their formations and make them miss the play. They worked together closely and got to know each other and each player’s unique style. Maybe the best part, though, was that now that they were all on the team, they weren’t competing against each other anymore. Now they all worked together to improve, they didn’t try to outshine each other.
But it had been brutal, too. There was little rest time. When he stepped off the plane back in Springfield, he was exhausted and looking forward to the week they had off. He was so tired walking through the airport that he thought he was seeing things when he saw Carolyn standing there. Because she was not only there, but because she also looked… pregnant.
Gabe had been walking alone down the wide hall, heading toward the bathroom while they waited for their luggage to be available. That’s when he saw her standing at the edge of a bookstore, looking at the new releases.
“Carolyn?” He walked over to her, sure now that he wasn’t just seeing things.
Her head snapped in his direction and her eyes widened. “Gabe. Hi.”
He gave her a quick hug and that confirmed what he thought. Her stomach was much more round than it had been last time he saw her. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. How have you been? You look good.”
“I feel great.” He grinned and pointed to his t-shirt and the Grizzlies logo. “I’m pro now. Just got back from training camp.”
She smiled back. “Awesome. I’m glad I got no more late night I’m-sitting-in-the-bathroom calls.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “You really helped me with that. If it weren’t for that night, I don’t think I’d be here right now. Thank you, Carolyn. Really. Thank you.” He surprised himself when his eyes filled with tears. He blinked them away, but not before she saw them.
She hugged him again. “I’m glad I could be there for you. And I’m glad you turned things around and didn’t go back. It’s always so easy to go back.”
“So, what have you been up to? Are you…?” He looked pointedly at her stomach.
She put her hand there and looked back up at him with a guilty expression. The look on her face made his heart skip. He thought back. How long had it been since they slept together?
“Wait a second,” he said, his face going pale. “Is it… mine?”
She pulled her lower lip into her mouth. There were tears in her eyes, now, too. She nodded and looked away from him.
“Whoa.” Gabe ran his fingers through his hair, letting the shock wash over him. “Why didn’t you call me? Geez, Carolyn, I would have—”
“What? Talked me out of having it?”
“That’s not what I was going to say. And no, I wouldn’t do that. Not if it wasn’t what you wanted. And clearly, it’s not, but you should have told me.” He felt the anger rise in his chest. It was easier to be mad than to think about what this all meant. Easier than being in shock.
“Well, considering the condition you were in at the time, I thought it would make things worse. I didn’t want to be the one to push you over the edge. And you never called me after, so I didn’t think what we had was that important to you.”
“It’s not that it wasn’t important—and you never called me, either—it was more like, it was so perfect, I didn’t want to ruin it. I wanted to keep it this perfect night where you came and saved me and I could look back and know that someone cared. It meant a lot to me. And besides, I was a complete wreck. It was hard to think about facing you after you saw me at my absolute worst.”
She nodded slowly. “This perfect night where I saved you and we made a baby. I guess it’ll mean a lot for a different reason now.”
“I guess so. Why are you in the airport? Are you picking someone up?”
“No.” She picked up the backpack beside her that he hadn’t noticed before. “I’m leaving.”
“To go where? When will you be back? We have a lot to talk about.”
“No, we really don’t, Gabe,” she said. “I’m going home. I’ve left school and I’m going home for good to have the baby, and I’ll stay there near my family.”
“Where’s that?”
“Colorado.”
“What! That’s across the country. Why? I mean, I know we don’t really know each other, but this is my baby, too, and I want to be there for you.” The tears came back to his eyes and he felt like his only mission on earth at this moment was to find a way to get her to stay with him, here. “Please. Stay. We can get a place, we can even get married if that’s what you want. I want to help you. I want to take care of the baby and of you. Please, Carolyn, let’s give it chance. We might be really great together. I think we owe it to our child to at least try, don’t you think?”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I have nothing here. I came here for school, to get away from everything, but my whole family and everything is there.”
“No. Not anymore. I’m here, which means half of your family is here. The father of your child is here.”
She looked up at him for a long moment. “You don’t know me. You really want to jump into a relationship with me, under all the stress of having a baby, when you’re just about to start a pro football career? Will you even be home ever?”
“I will be. I’ll travel a lot, that’s true, but it’s short trips mostly. I can bring you on the longer ones, and when the season starts, I’ll be making really good money. I can have someone help you while I’m gone. If it doesn’t work out, you can always leave later. But let’s give it a shot at least. Give me a shot. Please.”
She looked around the small shop as if it would give her the answer she was looking for.
“We don’t have to jump into a relationship if you don’t want to,” he continued. “We can get a place and have separate rooms and just get to know each other. We really don’t have to be in a relationship at all, I guess. We could just live together and raise the baby and be friends or something if that’s what you want. Co-parents or whatever they call that. I don’t know. This is kind of a shock to me, you know? And the only thing I know for sure right now is that I can’t just let you go and walk out of my life and take my only child from me. I have the right to be in my kid’s life, and I’m trying to do the right thing, here. I’m willing to do this however you want, as long as you stay.”
She closed her eyes and her face crumpled. She leaned forward into him and he wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry on his shoulder for several minutes.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re such a decent guy, Gabe. I didn’t give you enough credit. I judged you and assumed you’d write me off and wouldn’t want anything to do with either of us. I thought you’d try to convince me to give the baby away or something so you wouldn’t have to deal with it all. And I should have called you. If I would have known you were doing so well, I would have. But I didn’t know. The last time I saw you… you were falling apart. I didn’t want to make it worse, but I also didn’t want to be the one to have to put you back together. I’ve done that before and it was a disaster. And it didn’t work. I didn’t want to bring a baby into that mess. But if you’re really willing and you want to do this, okay. I’ll stay. I mean, I’m going to go right now, but I’ll make it a visit. I’ll come back. The ticket is just non-refundable and it’s been a while since I saw my family
anyway.”
“Promise?”
She nodded and wiped her eyes. “I promise. I will come back and we’ll see what happens.”
He gave her a tight hug. “Thank you. I’ll start looking right away for a place. I’m not making a lot of money right now, but I will be soon.”
“Well, I can get job or whatever until it closer if that would help. It’s not like I have anything else to do.”
“You won’t go back to school?”
She shook her head. “I’ve already withdrawn and it’s too late. And honestly, school is the least of my concerns at the moment.”
“Right, sure. That makes sense.” He took her hands in his. “Have a good trip. Call me, text me. Every day, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll find a place and I’ll come pick you up when you get home and we’ll go out. Our first real date.”
She chuckled and nodded.
“You will come back, right? Swear?”
“I will. I swear.” She tried to pull her hands free of his, but he held tight.
He was terrified to let her go. He didn’t know if he could trust her. What if she was just saying she would come back, and then she didn’t? It’s not like he could force her to stay, though, even if she did decide not to come back. There was little he could do, aside from trust her and give her every reason to return.
“Thank you,” he said finally. “For coming back, but also, for having my baby. This is a really big deal to me. So, thank you.”
She smiled at him. “You are not at all what I expected. In a good way.”
“Good.” He hugged her, kissed her cheek, and let go.
She walked away, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She looked back once and he waved. She held up her hand in return to wave, then kept walking. He watched her vanish into the crowd, knowing he had a lot of work to do. Not only to prepare himself and his life to have a baby, but also to win her heart. She didn’t seem like the type to be easily won over, but he’d do everything he could to make it happen. To give his baby the best life possible.
Chapter 7
Carolyn’s head was spinning when she got on the plane. She sat in stunned silence, going over everything he’d said. Never could she have imagined that conversation would have gone like that. That he would be so willing and so decent about it all. Most of what she felt was relief. Almost suffocating relief. She could sob her eyes out right there, but she wouldn’t. Not on a plane. She could do that later.
Now she wouldn’t have to go back to Sam. She’d spent so much time thinking and talking to him and her mom. They’d come to the conclusion that returning to Sam would be best, now that he was sober. She would be near her family, and he would take care of her and the baby like it was his own.
But his drinking wasn’t their only problem. Her and Sam had been a disaster from the start. Her stomach ached at the thought of retuning to that. Of reliving the hell that her life with Sam had been. It may have been the best thing for the baby, but it wasn’t the best thing for her. Not at all.
And there was Gabe, who had at the last minute, come in and saved her this time. They were even now. She’d saved him from ruining his life, and he’d saved her from ruining hers. That had to be something of a decent foundation for a relationship, right? Couldn’t be the worst. And he was the father, after all. He did deserve a shot. She owed him that much. She felt horrible now for not telling him. For knowing that she was never going to tell him. She was going to take his baby from him, and he never would have known it existed. And if she’d done that, she would have taken a child from a man who seemed like he actually wanted to be a father and be there for his kid.
Maybe it was because her own father had left her mother when she pregnant, but she’d assumed Gabe would want no part. That he’d do what her father had done and tried to make sure she never existed. Luckily, her mother had her family and she went to them. Otherwise, Carolyn might not even be alive today. She’d thought following her mother’s footsteps was the only way. And making it a tiny bit better by going back to Sam so at least the baby had some sort of father.
But now, if she could be with Gabe and make it work? Raise this baby together, with both of its biological parents? That had to be the best way. Had to be. And she wouldn’t have to go back to Sam.
She couldn’t help it. The tears ran silently down her cheeks. She would go visit, and she would get to leave. She wouldn’t be dragged back to her old life after all. And nothing felt better than knowing that.
Once she had gotten to the airport and greeted her mother and was in her mother’s car, she texted Gabe. He had seemed so adorably worried that she wouldn’t return. If only he knew the whole story. Maybe it would come out eventually, but now she would just do everything she could to assure him.
“Hey! It’s Carolyn. Landed and with my mom.”
“Great!” he texted back. “Have a great time! I have a list of places to look at this week.”
“Awesome. Send me pics!”
“Will do.” And he added a smiley face.
Her heart felt warm and light. Gabe seemed really sweet. He was a good guy. And he was hers now. Sort of? At least she had the option of making him hers. She wouldn’t rush things, but they would be in each other’s lives forever now. They had to make the best of it and try to make it work. So far, it seemed like things would be easy with him. She hoped.
Her mother took her home and during the drive, Carolyn caught her up on all that had happened in the airport.
“I am so happy for you, sweetheart,” her mom said, squeezing her hand as they stood in the kitchen. “I never wanted you to make the same mistakes I did, and it seems that you’re doing things right. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Well, I guess he’ll be traveling a lot. Is there a local team in the new shifter league?”
“I think so.”
“Then maybe he’ll come here to play them.”
There was a knock on the door a short time later, while they were having lemonade and talking. Her mom answered the door and came back to Carolyn with a hesitant look on her face. “It’s Sam,” she whispered.
Carolyn took in a long breath. She knew she’d have to do this, of course. The last time they talked, she told him she was moving home to be with him, and now everything was changing. This was not going to be easy.
“I’ll just go on upstairs,” her mom said.
Sam walked into the living room and greeted her with a hug. “It’s so good to see you, Care. I missed you.”
She ended the hug and went to sit on the couch. “We need to talk.”
“I know it’s not going to be easy, and I’m ready to work hard. I’ve already talked to the pastor, and he’s going to meet with us and everything.”
“Sam. I’m not staying.”
“What do you mean?” His face fell and he looked so sad. Her heart twinged at the sight and the tears that came so easily with her pregnancy hormones and all this heartache, returned.
“I’m so sorry. I know I said I would stay and we would be together again. But I told the father, and he wants to take of me, of us. He wants to make it work. And I think I owe him that much. It is his baby after all.”
MUNDO (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 2) Page 25
