The Quarterback's Love Child (A Secret Baby Sports Romance Book 1) by Stephanie Brother Read Free Book Online Page A

like when Mom kissed Dad, which was only ever on the cheek. Not like when I’d seen a couple on the street kiss as they departed from one another.
    This was an intimate kiss that felt as if it had lasted a lifetime. It was brief, but looking back, it was nothing compared to what had happened a couple of years later. It was a taster. Something for him to let me know that he was interested in being more than just friends.
    His parting words that year was, “Make sure that no one else kisses those lips.”
    I pinky swore and couldn’t wait to tell my girlfriends that I had been kissed by a boy. Not just any boy, but the good looking one that I talked about endlessly when I went back to school. The tall one, who was not fourteen like us, but now he was sixteen. I’d been kissed by a junior. It worked, because the girls felt that I was their savior. The attractive one, even though I wore clothes the same as my mom. But when I hit school I would undo the bun that she would make sure was neatly put on top of my head every morning, and I would feel like a woman.
    I had my period before my girlfriends.
    I had a boyfriend.
    I was special and they made me feel that way.
    To everyone I was the priest’s daughter, but to my girlfriends I was the one with the older boyfriend and they had stars in their eyes as they asked me about the pain of having my period. They commented on my breasts no longer being nipples, but the fact that I was filling out. The problem was that they were not the only ones who noticed. My dad became even worse.
    No longer was I allowed to socialize with my girlfriends and even go on the odd sleepover. It wasn’t often, but at least once or twice a year. Those stopped.
    I was locked in this cage until Sunday, with only one thing to do, and that was to pray.
     
     
    Chapter Fourteen
    Carl
     
    Her friends had told me that she had the flu, so she was in bed resting. I asked if Harmony or Faith had seen her.
    “I went there like I said after school, but her dad was there and he said that it was best I kept away, because he didn’t want me to get sick too.”
    I could tell that she wasn’t comfortable with the whole situation. There was something she was hiding and I wanted to know what it was.
    “So, you didn’t believe him?”
    She didn’t answer, but instead whispered, “We’ll talk at lunch.”
    I nodded, thinking that at least we would get to the bottom of it and find out what was going on. I knew Mom didn’t care, she would probably say something stupid like, ”The demons have taken ahold of her and are making her sick.”
    But, Dad, he was a different man these days. He would listen. Someone had to listen in Stowe Peak. Someone had to stand up to Father Roger, even if it was only me.
     
    ***
     
    As soon as it was lunch time, I rushed out of class, as if I was on the field and heading to make a touchdown. No one was getting in my way. I knew that tomorrow we would win our final game. We always did against Rhinebrook, the neighboring town. The championships were in our hand, so I wasn’t worried about that. I was just concerned about Michelle.
    What had happened when I’d left?
    I checked my backpack a dozen times, thinking that I’d done something stupid, like leave an item of clothing in her room. Or, even worse, left my damn backpack there, but I hadn’t. I was so damn careful. I knew what was at stake. And when I heard from Harmony that there was no choir practice this week or the next, I knew that something was really wrong.
    “Faith!” I waved to her as she entered the dining hall.
    She rushed over to me, “Okay, I just heard some news.”
    My heart skipped a beat, wondering what she had heard. I was getting to that stage that I didn’t care if she had any news. I needed to see Michelle. That was the only reassurance that would tell me that everything was alright. Unless Faith was telling me that Michelle was coming back to school tomorrow then her words were pointless.
    I didn’t