The Guardian Groom_Texas Titans Romance

by Lucy McConnell

  “I’m his wife, Cedar.” She stood a little taller. “And this is our son, Akoni.”

  Owen couldn’t help but smile at the chubbiest set of cheeks he’d ever seen. He took in the beautiful woman and toddler, and his heart ached. He’d wanted all this with Bree—he wanted it more than he’d wanted to play pro football.

  The door swung open and Teo lumbered through.

  “Dad!” The boy squirmed to get down and Cedar let him.

  She shook her head. “That’s his first word, and Teo eats it up.” Owen looked harder at her. If he remembered right, Cedar was Teo’s second wife. He never would have guessed that she wasn’t Akoni’s mother—not with the way she beamed at him.

  Teo picked Akoni up and tossed him into the air before seeing Owen. “You good?” he asked, his forehead etched with concern. “You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m fine—physically.” It was his head that was a mess. Well, his head and his heart. “You have a beautiful family.”

  Teo flashed his pearly whites. “Thanks. Family is everything, you know?”

  Owen nodded like he understood, even though he didn’t.

  Cedar checked her phone. “Your family just landed. We should get going.”

  Owen fell in step with them on the way to the parking lot. “Big reunion?”

  Teo waved a beefy hand. “Just my parents and a couple brothers and their kids.”

  “Sounds like a houseful. You’re a saint,” he teased Teo’s wife.

  She laughed. “Not really. They treat me like gold.”

  “Because you make me happy, love.” Teo kissed her cheek.

  She ran her hand down his jaw in a tender caress.

  “Kiss me!” Akoni demanded. They all laughed, and Teo put Akoni between him and his beautiful wife and they showered the boy with kisses.

  Owen was on the outside, looking in. Like he had been his whole life. He’d seen families pile into the van and drive to Disneyland while his father plowed through work every day, too exhausted to come to his games. His mom was better, but more often than not she’d drop him off and tell him to find a ride home. His family didn’t play together, his older brothers caught up in their own lives and his sister too young to be a companion. He wondered if there was ever a moment when his parents had looked at him like that.

  Teo had the whole pie, and all Owen wanted was one little slice. He waved and made his way out to the car, the echoes of the Parata family’s peace following after him.

  He wanted to stay away from Schulenburg for a few days or a week … or two. Physical space from Bree and her hometown was good because he wasn’t reminded of the time they’d shared at every turn when he was in Dallas. His apartment was sparse and she hadn’t been there yet to leave an imprint of herself behind to haunt him. She was all over his beloved and well-planned home, from the bookshelf in his office to the couch in his weight room.

  He was halfway to his apartment in the city when the phone rang. He pressed the button to send the call to Bluetooth. “Hello?”

  “Owen?”

  The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

  “Doris Phelts.”

  He gripped the leather steering wheel. This was a new twist. “Hello, Doris.”

  “Hi. Listen, I wanted to apologize.”

  He stayed taut, his knuckles turning white.

  “I wasn’t really friendly the first time we met, and I feel like that put us off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine, Doris.”

  “See, I don’t think it is. I’m just sick thinking I cost you and Bree something wonderful because I was being stubborn. She’s torn up and I feel as though I’m to blame.”

  Owen’s foot slipped off the gas and the car slowed. Bree was hurting? Because of him? He searched for something to say that would argue Doris’s point. “It wasn’t you specifically.” He adjusted in his seat and sped up again. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad this evening.

  “Thanks for that. I want you to know that, as a mom, Bree’s happiness is what matters most. I think you and I could get along well—I’m willing to try if you are.”

  He sighed. “That’s nice of you to offer.” It was more than he’d ever gotten out of Tammy’s parents. “I’ve been thinking a lot these last couple days, and I’m not sure I’m good boyfriend material. Bree deserves someone without so much baggage.”

  “If I believed that, then there wouldn’t be any hope for me finding love either.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She paused. “I hate doing this over the phone. Is there any chance we can meet for lunch?”

  Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “I’m sorry. I’m in the city for practice this week.”

  “Very well.” She sighed. “Bear with me, this is personal. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it with Bree. I fell hard and fast for Bree’s father.”

  Here we go. She’s going to lay out the reasons she should be a part of everything that happens in her daughter’s life. How she’s there to protect her daughter—even from him, if necessary.

  “He was charismatic and driven and he drove right over me, leaving me pregnant and with only a high school diploma. You want to talk about baggage? About bitterness? About fear? I had all that in spades.”

  He grunted and refrained from commenting. When she told him to stay away from Bree, he’d agree wholeheartedly.

  “One day a nice guy in a business suit asked me out. I was at the grocery store; Bree was in the cart. And I was so shocked and afraid that I turned him down flat.” She gulped. “I kept thinking about him, wondering what he could possibly see in a single, stressed-out mother that was worth taking the risk of rejection over.”

  He shifted in the seat. So far, she hadn’t attacked him, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down now.

  “I worked on it—on me and my fear. I’ve had several serious relationships. They haven’t worked out, but I’ve decided love is a journey, not a destination. But you can’t take the journey alone.”

  He pulled off the highway and parked at a gas station. Was she really encouraging him to be with Bree? “What if I hurt her?”

  “You will.”

  “Wha—?”

  “It’s part of love. You’re going to hurt her and she’s going to hurt you. Not on purpose. But it will happen. Owen, I know you’re looking for a guarantee, but there aren’t any—not in life, and not in love.”

  Owen tapped the steering wheel. His brain was on overload. “Thanks for calling, Doris.”

  “Anytime, sweetie.”

  He smiled at her calling him sweetie.

  “And no matter what happens with you and Bree, I’d like to say you’re my friend.”

  Her request was unexpected. He hung his head. Was it possible that he’d misjudged the situation from the start? That he’d let his fears smear darkness over what was a healthy family relationship? “Yeah.”

  They said goodbye and he sat in the parking lot, staring at the neon “open” sign in the window and mentally chewing over the conversation like a rubbery steak dinner.

  Doris hadn’t called him a coward, but he certainly felt like one. He also didn’t like the fact that she’d shined a spotlight on his feelings of unloveableness. Calling him out for pushing Bree away when she’d done nothing to deserve it. And she’d done it all without calling him a name or demoralizing him.

  No wonder Bree was such a beautiful person.

  He’d been blinded by his past, by a need to maintain a sense of freedom from pain, and in the process, he’d hurt himself—and worse yet, he’d hurt Bree.

  He should call her. See her. Take her a dozen flowers and a new pair of boots. Anything that would get him five minutes with her ears and heart open enough to hear him.

  Flowers and boots wouldn’t do it for Bree. Books, maybe. He tapped the steering wheel. Not books—something bigger. Something that would show her he was through being selfish. />
  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Bree ran the packet of bookmarks to Audrey. “Here’s the prizes for the ring toss. If they get anywhere close, hand them a prize. I ordered way more than we need, and they say summer reading on them so we can’t use them this fall.”

  Audrey pulled a face. “Sorry about that.”

  Bree mentally kicked herself. Audrey was the one who’d designed the bookmarks. She really needed to keep her mouth shut. “They look great. And hopefully, they’ll inspire the kids to read all year long.”

  “Sure.” Audrey shook Bree’s arm. “Stop worrying about me. I’m fine. How are you doing?”

  She scanned the park. The sun was out, but the surrounding trees provided enough shade. Families milled in front of the stage, waiting for the mayor to start the carnival. She’d managed to pull together seven different booths and the hot dog roast thanks to a last-minute donation of five hundred dollars. She suspected it was Owen’s way of easing his conscience for not being here. If so, he had a cheap conscience.

  “Oh, you know. My big prize is a no-show, my heart’s been trampled, and the mayor glares at me every time I walk past the barbecue. I think he’s going to petition the board to have me fired.”

  “It’s not your fault Owen isn’t here. His agent said they had a summer workout.”

  “That was a fun phone conversation. Being let down easy by a guy’s agent is still being let down.”

  Audrey rubbed her back. “Yes, it is. And you have every right to fill that fountain in front of his house with dish soap.”

  Bree laughed. “Wouldn’t that be a sight? I wish I had your guts.”

  “Want me to do it for you?”

  “No! You stay out of trouble.”

  “Like anyone would suspect a librarian. Why superheroes have secret identities as billionaires and newspaper reporters is beyond me.”

  Bree chuckled. It was one of the few times she’d come close to laughing since Owen had kicked her heart to the curb. She was glad that she’d told him how she felt, though—at least she had some closure.

  “Miss Phelts?” Brax tugged on her tee. He wore a Texas Titans jersey with Owen’s number on the front. Owen’s name was probably on the back, though Bree couldn’t see it.

  Heaven help her now. The butterflies that Owen had so easily set to flutter drooped pathetically, their wings hanging low and their desire to fly gone.

  “Hey, Brax. How’s Last Man Out?” Brax was on his third football novel. Bree had given him the last one on the shelf and ordered several new titles in an effort to keep Brax reading.

  “Good. I like Tommy.”

  She smiled at hearing Brax talk about fictional characters as if they were real. She felt that way when she read a book too.

  “Is Owen Mattox coming?” Brax’s big brown eyes were so full of hope, it shone out of him like a hundred suns.

  Bree placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m afraid not.”

  He drooped like those pesky butterflies.

  “Ladies and gentlemen and summer readers,” the mayor blasted his welcome into the microphone.

  People all over the park covered their ears and ducked as if they’d been shot at.

  He backed off and tried again. “Is that better?”

  Heads nodded and thumbs went up.

  The mayor had dropped the ugly sweater vest and wore a simple red apron that said, oddly enough, “Mayor” across the chest. Capital M. “Okay. Well, I’m proud of our stellar readers this summer. My own daughter has worked hard to earn tickets for this event. Let’s give these kids a round of applause.”

  Parents enthusiastically applauded their children. Bree joined in, looking at Brax. His mom was at work and she wanted him to be recognized too. He grinned back at her.

  “When I heard that Owen Mattox wasn’t going to be here today, I was worried that this event would be a flop.”

  “Thanks for bringing that up,” Bree said through clenched teeth.

  “But I have a special surprise—Owen made it!”

  Bree choked on the air. Her hand went to her chest and she blinked a hundred times in the minute it took Owen to cross the stage and take the microphone from the mayor. The applause was louder than before as kids jumped and yelled in excitement.

  “I thought he canceled,” Audrey whispered.

  “He did.” Bree ran her hand over her hair. It was a mess from running from booth to booth and from her car to the barbecue.

  “Hello.” Owen waved to the crowd, and many waved back as if he’d singled them out. His smile was tight, his teeth barely showing.

  He looked so good in his Titans shirt and athletic shorts. His hair was perfect—as usual—and his skin was all tan and beautiful. Bree ached to be held in those strong arms just one more time. Tears stung her eyes. Why did he have to look so good, and why did her heart have to ache so bad?

  Being in front of everyone was not a place Owen wanted to be, but he’d come even when he’d made an excuse not to be here. The big jerk had to go do something heroic. She could kiss him and punch him all at the same time.

  “I’m not one for crowds.”

  Bree laughed painfully. She’d pegged that just right a moment before he did.

  “So I’d like to have someone come up here with me.” He shielded his eyes with his free hand. “Bree Phelts? Honey, will you come on up here?”

  “Honey?” Audrey placed her hand on her hip, offended on Bree’s behalf. “He’s calling you honey?”

  “It’s okay.” Bree hurried through the crowd, feeling people track her progress. She climbed the three steps and met Owen on the concrete slab that served as a stage. “Hi,” she whispered. This close, he smelled so good. The duct tape peeled away from her heart again, leaving her raw and open.

  “Bree Phelts, everyone.” Owen spoke to the crowd and motioned to her. “The amazing librarian who put together the summer reading program for your children, planned this carnival, and is responsible for convincing the mayor to roast hot dogs.”

  Bree smiled, her face turning red as the library patrons chuckled and clapped. The applause wasn’t as big for her as it had been for Owen, but she spied Brax in the back clapping loudly. All the work was worth it to see the happiness on his face and know that he’d found his way into the library and the library had found its way into his life. He was a strong reader now, and that was better than all the applause she could get in a lifetime.

  As soon as the clapping died down, Bree turned to go. Owen grabbed her hand and held her there. “There’s something I need to say to Bree while she’s up here.”

  She tried not to look at Owen, but she could see him watching her out of the corner of her eye.

  “Bree.” He tugged on her hand, prompting her to turn to look at him. “Bree,” he said, softer and with feeling. “You shouldn’t like me.”

  Bree cut a glance at the crowd. Every eye was on the stage and no one spoke. Smoke wafted up from the barbecue and even the mayor had stopped to listen. It was like the park had been frozen in time.

  “I’m rough around the edges and I pushed you away because I was afraid to let you break my heart. In the process, I broke yours. You shouldn’t like me, Bree, but I’m praying you do.”

  Bree’s free hand covered her mouth. Tears blurred her vision, making it difficult to see Owen.

  “Give us a second chance—give me another chance to prove to you that I love you more than my fear. I promise I won’t let my fears win out again.” He dropped the mic away from his mouth. “Please, Bree. I don’t want to be lonely anymore.”

  She sniffed, moving her hand from her mouth to his stubble-covered cheek. He was afraid? Him? “I don’t like you, Owen. I love you.”

  He threw his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. “I’m going to kiss you in front of the whole town.”

  “I’m going to kiss you back.” She tipped her chin up, and when their lips met, all the love Owen had professed to have for her rushed through her body like warm tingles and mu
sical notes.

  Owen was back and he loved her.

  “All right, you two—this is a family event.” The mayor pried the mic out of Owen’s hand and bumped the two of them with his hip.

  Owen released her just enough that she could touch her feet to the ground, though she wondered if she’d ever feel the earth beneath her feet again. Owen loved her—said so in front of a hundred people.

  “Who’s ready to play catch with Owen Mattox from the Texas Titans?” The mayor’s voice boomed through the park.

  Owen grinned down at her. “I guess I have to go play.”

  She giggled. “If you must, you must.”

  “Will you be here when I get done?” A note of vulnerability came through. “We should talk.”

  Bree ran her hands up his nicely formed arms. “I’ll be here.”

  He pressed a kiss to her cheek and then jogged down the steps to land in a group of eager football fans, children and adults alike. The lines around his eyes were tight; this wasn’t easy for him. But when he caught Bree’s eye, she could see that he was willing to do it for her. He was here for her. If ever there was an act of love that proved how much he cared, it was the Lone Ranger working a crowd.

  Later on, after the children had eaten every last hot dog and the parents had taken all the selfies they wanted, Owen and Bree sat on the edge of the stage. Their legs dangled over the edge, his much longer than hers.

  He took her hand, tangling their fingers together. “I’m sorry.”

  She leaned against his arm, soaking in the sturdiness of his body and his newfound determination to be a part of her life. “I know.”

  “I should have shared my past.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to, Owen. I have things buried too. A girl doesn’t grow up without a dad and come out without some issues. I think, as long as we understand that those are in the past, and that we are building new memories independent of those, we will be okay.”

  He put his arm around her and pulled her onto his lap. “You can tell me anything you want, or you can lock it away. It won’t change how I feel about you.”

  She cocked her head to the side and trailed her nails up the short hair on the back of his neck. He shivered. “How’s that?”