Quarterback Daddy (14 page)

Oh, God. He knew where she was going with this now, but he didn’t stop her. He wanted to know everything on her mind. She turned her head, and he saw the tears.

“I cried for you the night I found that picture. I cried for her, too. And then I cried for me.”

“No, Ally, no. There’s no need to cry. I love you.”

“I believe you care. That you have true…affection. So let’s just continue as we are. What do they call it nowadays? Friends with benefits?”

“What?” he cried, not believing his ears. “That’s not good enough! It’s an insult to us both. I want more than that.” He caught his breath, spoke softer. “Ally, sweetheart, I want to come home to you every night and hold you in my arms, I want to share laughs, go on long walks—everything that’s part of an honest, full-time marriage.”

But she was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “I’m sorry, Dan. Truly sorry. But I won’t be—I
cannot
be—second-best, and that’s what a marriage to you would be like. Kim would be in the house with us.”

“Then we’ll get another house.”

“She’d be there, too. She was your true love. Not I.”

Silence reverberated in the room, while he wrapped his mind around all her assumptions. Did a joyful life have to end with Kim? In a long-ago time, he’d thought it did, but not anymore. How could he make Ally understand?

“No one, Ally, should settle for being second-best.
Not you, and not me. You’re right about Kim and me having a great marriage, a wonderful relationship. It’s exactly because of that marriage that I know what I’m missing—and I want it again!

“I want to live again. I want to love again. And with you, my wonderful, sweet tigress, I would not be settling for second-best. My heart pumps love, sweetheart. Lots and lots of love.”

She twisted around in his lap, looked at him with tears still running down her beautiful face. “Every woman in love wants to be first.”

“Deserves to be first,” he added, “and you are first simply by being uniquely you.”

She settled back against his chest, which was still so constricted it hurt to breathe. “You’re killing me here, Ally.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll move.”

If he didn’t laugh, he’d cry. “Stay where you are, woman, and just answer my question.”

“And what would that be?” But now, a tiny twinkle shone in her eyes, and he brought her close and kissed her once, twice, then again and again. She didn’t object.

“Will—you—marry—me?” The words between kisses were the best he could do.

“Yes—I—will.” Seemed Ally couldn’t do any better than he.

They laughed together. “I’m a happy man today. Thank you, Ally.”

Her tears threatened again. She wasn’t a barracuda at all. Just a sweet family goldfish.

His future looked bright, blessed with all the joy and noise of family, including a woman he loved with
his whole heart. He placed the ring on her finger. A perfect fit.

Dear God, please let it last this time. Let the beautiful promise be fulfilled. Amen.

T
RAVELING WITH
M
ICHELLE WAS
both an art and a science, and they were only going to Dan’s parents’ place. Ally hoisted the stuffed diaper bag from the floor of the baby’s room and slipped the strap over her shoulder. Amazing how one little baby required so much stuff.

She started down the flight of stairs, stealing glances at the ring on her finger. Dan had understood her hesitation. He hadn’t dismissed her fears with trite explanations. Later, he’d encouraged her to resume her career whenever the time was right—for her. He was tender, warm and sweet, a man who knew how to love. And she loved him back, one hundred percent. She had no doubts at all. He was no Calvin Brown.

Dan and Michelle were bundled up for winter and waiting for her at the front door with shopping bags full of gifts to bring with them. As she descended the last flight, she heard, “What is taking your mommy so long?”

The
M
word. So beautiful. “I’ll have to adopt her.”

Dan cricked his neck back. “So file the papers, and do it faster than you pack a bag. We’re sweating in these clothes.”

But his grin belied his complaint, and as soon as she came abreast of them, he said, “You are gorgeous.” And he kissed her.

“Ready for the hordes?” he asked, opening the door.

“I wish you’d warned them, you know, about us.” Not for their sakes, but for hers. She liked his family but still wasn’t used to crowds or to a fuss being made. Wasn’t used to twelve people talking at once. And what if they weren’t happy about the engagement? How would that affect Dan?

She stepped outside to threatening skies. “Looks like snow coming.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Ten minutes later they were finally packed into the big car, with Dan behind the wheel, and on their way to Rita and Nick’s.

“It’s not too late,” said Dan as they entered the highway.

“Too late for what?”

He spoke his mom’s name aloud for his hands-free car phone, and a moment later Rita’s voice came through the system.

“Hi, Mom. It’s Dan. We’re on our way. Need anything last minute?”

When he glanced at Ally in question, she whispered, “Give her a heads-up.”

“Ah, one more thing, Mom. Yeah. Ally and I have something to tell everyone. Something good. So crack open a bottle of ginger ale.”

That’s all it took for Rita to start screaming for Nick, and Dan disconnected. “Feel better now?”

“Yes.” But the dancing butterflies were having a ball in her stomach.

“Anything else on your mind?” he asked.

“Like a million things.”

“Such as?”

“The tabloids will have a field day smashing your reputation again. Maybe mine, too.” She sighed and bit her thumbnail. “I don’t like that.”

“Who cares? The legit papers will get it right. What else?”

She thought about it. A different house? A new job? Life during the off-season? It was too much to think about at once.

“We’ll figure it out as we go along,” she said. “It’s the only way to handle it all.”

“That’s my girl, going with the flow.”

She was his girl for the entire visit. He was either at her side, or searching for her, or meeting her gaze across a crowded room. Her gaze and her smile.

“You’ve been smiling all day,” Dan said, sliding up beside her after dinner.

“Well, life is good. Your family’s been great.”

Until Rita asked about the wedding as they cleaned up the kitchen.

“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” said Ally. “But certainly after the season’s over. Way over.”

Rita nodded. “We know your sister’s gone, honey, but we’d love to meet the rest of your family. I can invite them to dinner.”

Ally shook her head. “Not in a million years. Cal and Peggy are so
not
in my life, it’s better you think of me as an orphan.”

Rita frowned. “I don’t understand. Won’t they want to come to the wedding?”

“Drop it, Mom. She won’t invite them. Heck, I won’t invite them,” said Dan, as he brought in more dirty dishes from the dining room. “Her father’s a lifelong al
coholic. Her mother does what he says. Both are totally irresponsible. In fact, Ally wound up paying for all of Sherri’s burial expenses.”

“The subject’s now dropped,” said Rita, standing up and hugging Ally. “No more talk about your family. It’s you who are special. You’re a wonderful woman, a strong woman, and we count our blessings that you knocked on Dan’s door. Welcome to our family, Alexis.”

Tears threatened to spill onto Ally’s cheeks. Rita’s lovely words of praise and approval had surprised her. She’d waited thirty-one years to be warmed by such support from a special woman. From a mother. If it couldn’t be her own, Dan’s mom would do.

Just as Ally would do for Michelle.

“W
AIT INSIDE WHILE
I clean off the car.”

Dan left Ally in the doorway of his parents’ house and jogged to the curb with the baby’s travel bag, which he threw into the SUV. He and his brother had shoveled the front path and sidewalk a few minutes ago. Now, he heard the sound of snowplows in the near distance clearing the roads.

A white Christmas, all right. Snow had continued to fall quietly all day, resulting in a five-inch accumulation so far. His nephews and nieces had piled into the back-yard after dinner, first building a snowman, then pelting each other with snowballs. That’s when the adults joined in, taking the fun to a new level, causing shrieks from the kids to echo in the air.

He’d had a lot of fun just playing with the family, but more important, Ally had had a great day. His family had welcomed her, Mary Ann and Theresa were generous with their hugs. Ally would have some more new friends in addition to Roz.

Sprinkled with snow, he returned to his “women.”

“Ready to go?”

“Definitely. This baby is so off schedule.”

He kissed her and tried not to laugh. She was very
Ally with her schedules. “I’ll take Michelle, and you can hold on to my jacket.”

“Hon-ey,” she said, drawing the word out. “Look, I’m wearing boots. I can walk on my own.”

“But you’re spoiling all my fun,” he complained. “I’m the big he-man, remember?”

“Ah. Little woman. Big man.” She pointed to herself and to him. “Almost forgot.”

He enjoyed their bantering until they were strapped into the car and on the street, watching the snow hit the windshield. Ally became quiet, tacitly acknowledging his need to concentrate on the road.

“It’s not too bad,” Dan said, after driving several blocks toward the highway. “Unless there’s black ice on the ground already, which I doubt, we’ll be fine.”

“These side roads haven’t been plowed yet, so either you’re a great driver or this is a safe car.”

Her words sounded confident, but her hands gripped each other, turning her fingers white. He would have rolled his eyes if he’d dared. Ally knew nothing about automobiles, wouldn’t know a “safe” car from a lousy one, didn’t even have a driver’s license. As she’d explained to him several times, a city-dwelling pedestrian with access to great public transportation doesn’t need a car. Investing in her condo made much more sense. He wouldn’t argue that.

“This car,” she said now, looking around the spacious interior and cooing at Michelle in the backseat, “is like having a little tank around us.”

“You’re in a Lexus four-wheel drive SUV, sweetheart. My winter vehicle.”

“Winter? Geez, Dan, do you have a different car for each season?”

“Corvette in the summer. But I’ll need something else now. No way is Michelle going in that one.”

“Big boys, big toys,” she murmured. “I guess I’m not in Kansas anymore.”

Dan chuckled, but pointed ahead. “Nope, instead you’re crawling up the I-93 ramp.”

“Slow is good, Danny-boy. Slow-in-snow, that’s what I say.”

She was babbling. He recognized the signs and couldn’t blame her, as the snow continued to accumulate on the road and on the windshield, where the wipers were moving at full speed. She might never have been caught on the roads in the middle of a winter storm before.

He glanced, as usual, into the rearview mirror and almost lost his grip. “What the f…? That guy’s crazy!”

“What guy? Where?”

“Behind us.”

Ally twisted in her seat while he checked the mirror again. The pair of headlights behind him wandered from the left lane to the right, weaving wide and narrow across the highway and back again. Vehicles were maneuvering to stay far behind the jerk—or trying to—but Dan and a few others were in front of the maniac, not knowing where he’d go next, not knowing if they’d be in his path.

“9-1-1,” he said out loud.

He sensed Ally glancing his way, but she kept silent. Smart move. He had to watch the road in front and behind them.

He heard the phone dial, heard the voice on the other end and described their situation and location, while his
eyes constantly moved from the rearview mirror to the road ahead. Planning, visualizing, judging distances.

Ally turned around. “She’s sleeping.”

“Good. Relaxed is best.” He glanced up. “Ally! I don’t see him.”

She twisted her body. “Behind you on the left.”

Must be in his blind spot. Dan moved over a lane to the right. Off in the distance came the faint sound of sirens.

“Oh, God. Now he’s coming this way,” Ally warned.

Where the hell was the next exit already? He’d leave this Russian roulette highway in a nanosecond, if he could.

The other car was moving closer behind them. Right or left? Right or left? A blind choice. Dan moved one lane over to the right again and prayed the guy would go straight.

He almost did. Then the other car swiped Dan’s side and spun-out, turning and sliding until it hit the guard rail on the right edge of the highway and stopped. Dan gently turned his wheel to the left and tapped the brakes once. The vehicle caught traction and hugged the road without skidding. Sweet! The antilock brakes performed the way they were meant to.

Dan counted to five and remained calm only until he pulled up in front of the damaged car and stopped. Without a word to Ally, he got out of the SUV, fists clenched, ready to kill.

A
LLY FOLLOWED HIM
. Sure, she was shaking at the close call, but Michelle was still sleeping, miraculously, and Dan—well, Dan’s expression told the story. With his
head forward, mouth pressed flat, eyes wide and unblinking, the man was breathing fire and ready to charge. She’d try to prevent him from doing bodily harm and landing in jail.

He was already pulling the other driver’s door open when she got there. Easy enough when it hadn’t been locked. But the man behind the wheel was leaning back in his seat, seemingly asleep.

“For crying out loud,” shouted Dan. “You caused enough trouble, you no-good drunken ass, now get up!”

The car stank like a brewery. Ally stepped next to Dan and peered inside.

“For crying out loud.” She echoed Dan’s disbelief. “I know this man. From the old neighborhood. A drunk then, and a drunk now. He and Cal, a couple of losers.”

The driver’s eyes opened. He blinked once, twice.

Stepping in front of Dan, she pounced. “Up to your old tricks again, are you, Mr. Murphy? Drinking and driving until you kill someone?”

The man squinted up at her, looking confused. “Where…?” Then a split second of recognition. “Is that Cal’s daughter? Hmm…hmm…the older one, is it? You know I’d never hurt a fly.”

“You can tell it to the cops, Mr. Murphy. From behind bars.”

“Why don’t you come around anymore? We miss you, darlin’. Your daddy misses you.”

She wanted to throw up.

“Ally, the police are here.” Dan’s warm voice, his arm around her, holding her tight. She clung.

One of Boston’s finest walked toward them. Ally
watched him closely, discerning the moment he smelled the liquor.

“Seems we have a situation. Step out of the car, please.”

“Aw, Officer. This little girl’s not pressing charges. I was just celebrating the good holiday with her own father. Indeed I was.”

Truth? Lie? It didn’t matter.

“We certainly are pressing charges,” Dan said. “You almost killed us! And a lot of other people, too.”

Ally said. “You’re an alcoholic, Mr. Murphy. You destroy lives. And I have no use for people like you.” Murphy and Cal were two of a kind, harming everyone around them, including children.

When they got back to the SUV, she felt Dan’s hands on her shoulders. He turned her around and pulled her close. “Ally, Ally. You look so lost, so haunted. Don’t look backward, look ahead. Your future is with me, and I am
not
an alcoholic. Hear me? I am not Mr. Murphy or Cal. I swear to you on my daughter’s life.”

He kissed her. Kissed her while the snowflakes blanketed them in pristine white, muffling the noise of the city.

“Can you take that devastated expression off your face now?” asked Dan. “I promise you, sweetheart, you have not lost your best friend.”

S
HE CALLED
R
OZ THE
next day. At work, something she always tried to avoid. But her friend sounded cheerful.

“Although I shouldn’t be,” said Roz. “Holiday times are stressful for clients, so we’re busy, but somehow, the staff wants time off, too. So, here I am, the helpful
Hanukkah-celebrating coworker, covering for three people all week. Did you have a great Christmas?”

“Yes, I did. In fact, a special Christmas. Until the end. Do you have time to talk for a minute, or should I call you tonight?”

“Uh-uh. It must be important if you called during the day. Shoot.”

She filled her friend in on the engagement, the family and then the car accident. The alcoholic driver.

“Remember, Dan was a drinker when I met him. I know he hasn’t touched a drop since, and he’s never expressed a desire for it—at least not to me. But he was right. That accident shook me up. Seeing Mr. Murphy brought back all those memories.”

“Well, that makes sense. Weird that the driver was someone you knew.”

“Should I take that as fate? A warning? I trusted Dan completely behind the wheel yesterday. I trust him with the baby, and I’m starting to trust that he’ll survive a game. But now I’m not sure I can believe what he says about himself.”

She paused for breath before crying, “He swore on Michelle’s life! But I’ve heard so many lies and empty promises through the years…I just don’t know. What if he grabs a beer with the guys? What if he gets drunk again? On the other hand, he’s given me no cause to mistrust him. Oh, I hate myself for doubting him now.” She sighed. “I want to believe him, Roz. I love that man so much. It’s just that seeing Mr. Murphy again…”

A thoughtful silence ensued on the other end of the phone before Roz spoke. “You love him, Alexis. And I think that’s the key to the whole thing. You’ve spent
your entire life being logical. Finding proof. Following rules. And now you’re in love, and love isn’t logical. It has never been nor will it ever be logical. For anyone. This time, Alexis, you need to follow your heart.”

It was an answer she could accept; it actually made sense. And it came from someone she admired and trusted. “I think you’re right. I have to follow my heart. I love him, and I won’t borrow trouble. Thanks, Roz. I really value your friendship.” She disconnected the call and sat quietly for a minute.

Please, Dan. Don’t let me down.

“I
F ONLY HIS SECOND HALF
…” Ally shook her head in disbelief. Was the guy never satisfied? She’d watched the game with his family, everyone agreeing that he’d been unbelievable yesterday. Hot, hot, hot in the cold northeastern winter.

Ally lifted her head from the morning paper when
she heard Dan’s key in the door. He’d remained in New York overnight this time because of the late game finish.

She ran down the hall and turned the knob. “Welcome home, hero!”

He grinned, kissed her, waved to Louis and closed the door.

“Some hero. I need the hot tub. And I need to stretch every single muscle before they all go on strike.”

“Thank goodness the season’s almost over,” she said.

“Are you kidding, honey? The best part is straight ahead. The race to the big game in Houston is just heating up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We need to get through the divisional play-off game and then the conference championship game first. And then, if all goes well, we’ll play in—well, you know, the big one.”

“Two more games before it’s over?” She heard the dismay in her own voice.

Dan laughed, picked her up and twirled her around the hall. “Hopefully,
three
games before it’s really all over. But it’s fun, baby. Lots of fun.”

And then she remember the conversation with Nicky at the stadium. Dan would go down as one of the greats. The commentators were now comparing him to Dan Marino and Joe Montana. Anything was possible.

“Then you go for it, Danny-boy. You go all the way.”

His kiss tantalized her. She was so hungry for more, but he needed the hot tub. She remembered another time in that spa…. Unfortunately, lovemaking would have to wait. She’d do something else for him instead, something loving and supportive for them both.

“I’ll take a class,” she said. “A football class—if there’s such a thing. I’m a good student. I can learn all this stuff.”

His shoulders shook, he threw his head back and his mirth filled the house. “So typically Ally,” he said, embracing her again. “You’ll slice it and dice it until it makes sense and you understand every bit. I love you.”

She nestled her head under his chin and against his shoulder, her arms loosely around his waist.

Follow your heart.

She would. Being held by Dan felt so right, she wanted his arms around her forever.

“F
UNNY
,
FUNNY
,
VERY PUNNY
. I like the third one best, though,” Alexis said. “Very clever. New York managed to get one of their teams mentioned.”

“A Pyrrhic cheer. Neither New York team made it to the end,” said Dan.