Touchdown Baby by Rose Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

not his biological father. While he was a kid most just assumed he’d been given his mother’s maiden name, since his parents hadn’t been married at the time of his birth. Now of course, the whole thing had come out. It was the price of fame.
    He’d had always made it clear to all the women he had been with that he was not making a baby and he never would. He had always been careful, he always wore protection, and contrary to popular belief, he was selective with the women he slept with. Of course, there were always female fans who hung outside the locker room after a game, and Jace had been known to let a few go back to his room and help soothe his sore muscles. The reality was a lot of the players had been known to do that.             
    When Ava leaned back and met the full force of his stare, her arms loosely wrapped around his waist, he watched her eyes flicker when she felt his reaction to their embrace. With every breath, the wisps of hair that escaped her ponytail gently caressed her cheeks. Right as he was about to lean down and take her mouth…
    “Mama, Ma, Ma-ma-ma!” Ashlyn tugged on her shirt. “More bubbles, peas .”
    ****
    Ava jumped at the interruption. Looking down into eyes identical to the man she currently had her arms wrapped around, Ava felt nervous as she smiled at her daughter. “All right, but this is the last time. We have to go get lunch because a certain little ladybug needs to take a rest.”
    Ava took a step away from Jace and began blowing bubbles for Ashlyn. With her back to him, Ava laughed as she watched Ashlyn run off. “I learned the hard way, never mention the word N-A-P until the last possible minute because even sweet little girls can have horns when they don’t want to do something.” Realizing Jace didn’t respond, Ava turned to look at him.
    Jace stood there frozen just staring at her. The expression on his face made Ava apprehensive. Did he recognize himself in Ashlyn? Did he hate her because of the secret she kept? What was she supposed to say? What did his expression mean?
    The smile that broke across his face made her feel so relieved. She knew she could keep her secret for at least one more day.
    Calling to Ashlyn, Ava held out her hand to her daughter and was shocked when Jace slipped his fingers into hers. Tilting her head up to look at him, Ava wasn’t sure why, but something had changed in the last few minutes. Having her hand intertwined with Jace’s felt natural. When Ashlyn came over and held out her arms to be picked up, it didn’t seem weird her child’s arms were raised to Jace.
    The three of them walked through the field, and Ava searched for a reason to spend more time with him. Once Ashlyn was buckled in the car seat, Ava asked Jace if he would like to join them for lunch. After an enjoyable fast food lunch and time spent wrestling in the ball pit and one broad-shouldered man temporarily getting wedged in a tunnel slide, the threesome headed home. Ava reached out for Jace’s hand when he pointed out his mom’s car in the drive as they pulled in. Apparently this was his day of reckoning.
    ****
    The first step into his sister and Ava’s house was like entering a minefield; Jace did not know when or if it was going to blow, but he felt prepared for the fallout.
    Ava stepped into the family room with Ashlyn on her hip. The perky little girl who was chasing bubbles and munching fries thirty minutes before was gone, and in her place was a sleepy baby sucking her thumb and on her way to the dreaded N-A-P.
    That was, of course, until she saw Lexi and John, and she immediately began to whine to be held by her Grammy. The shock of watching his mom and dad take care of the little girl sent a longing through Jace he didn’t understand. Unfamiliar with the emotion of seeing his parents react to a grandchild, Jace cleared his throat and said, “Hi Mom, Dad. What’s new?” The glare he received from his mother was enough to bring any man to his