AllFreeNovel
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Ten.
Meg fights her way to me, forcing one simple emotion through.
Pure, unconditional love.
She’s a slant of sunlight in a dark room. The warmth, the light. Reminding me where I am. What I’m doing. Why I’m here.
I look up, absorbing the stadium full of screaming fans, the pound of my heart in my ears.
Fuck yeah.
We’re doing this.
I call the play and close down my bond, focusing. Our center snaps the ball. Our line shoves against the invading defense. Theo fakes the block until I’m situated and makes a break for it.
I hold.
Hold.
Hold.
And throw.
A buzzer sounds. The sting of Declan’s spiral echoes in my fingertips as confetti catapults into the air.
Orange and black.
We won.
We won.
The number flashes on the Jumbotron. 29-27, it says.
FINAL.
Holy fucking shit.
Someone pulls me up. Teammates immediately slam into my sides, tackling and hugging, whooping and jumping.
Bodies flood the field. Declan gets swarmed. Fellow Ospreys—players and coaching staff—fly at me while I make my way to him.
I’m so dazed, I forget I have all my bonds locked down. The second I rip the curtain open, a flood of pride and excitement lights up my insides. Ronan sends me an image of him maneuvering Meg down to the field for us. I change course and jog to the sidelines.
Archer and Ronan emerge from the tunnel with our girl. She’s already wearing an Ospreys—World Champions baseball hat. Ronan ordered two hundred of them as soon as we clinched the playoffs and we all thought he was insane.
Guess the fuck not.
I’ll let him give me shit later. Right now, I can’t think about anything except for getting to my girl.
She launches herself at me, jumping straight into my arms, laughing and crying. I spin her around, absorbing the swirl of joy and amazement zinging back and forth between us.
“You know what this means, right?” I shout.
She flashes her brightest grin. “Daddy is taking us to Disney World?”
“Damn straight he is,” I laugh. “Pack your bags, peaches. You and me are getting matching mouse ears.”
Her hands clutch my sweaty bun and my beard, holding me still for a dozen kisses. When she pulls back, her crystal eyes shine.
