Fourth Down (Portland Pioneers 1)

She nods and pulls me into her arms.

“Now, it seems like we had a little mishap with protection. Do you think I should sue the condom company?”

Autumn chokes out a laugh and shakes her head.

“So, tell me about this baby of mine growing in your tummy.” I pull the blankets back and lift her shirt. “Hey there, baby. I’m going to be your dad.” I kiss her belly a couple of times. “If you can do me a favor and not make your mommy sick, I would really appreciate it. I don’t like to see your mommy hurting.”

Autumn’s hand goes through my hair, and I look at her. “I thought you’d be upset.”

I maneuver until I’m lying next to her. “This isn’t ideal, but it’s not a dealbreaker. You’re the one I want to be with no matter what. So, what if we’re doing things a little backward. No one says we must follow their rules. We’ll make our own.”

Her hand cups my cheek. “I love you, Julius Cunningham.”

“I love you, Weather Girl.”

Epilogue

Reggie, Roxy, and I make our way into the stadium. The atmosphere is surreal, and according to Reggie, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Every seat has a fan of football sitting in it. Every luxury box has a corporate sponsor, a celebrity, or some big shot, something or other. As a family, we chose to sit in the stands to be near the action. Because like Reggie says, we may only experience the Super Bowl once.

There are a few things in my life that I’m thankful for right now. One being, Reggie and I get along very well. For the first couple of weeks, after his mom left, he shut down. He reminded me that I’m not his mother and never will be. He would get angry with Julius if he invited me to dinner. Or when Reggie would wake up, and I was in the kitchen. The adjustment has been challenging for both of us, but I never stopped trying to be his friend. I never set out to replace his mother. Not then and not now. Elena is doing a stand-up job of separating herself from her children without any help. It took a picture of Elena on vacation, which she posted on social media, for Reggie to start seeing his mom in a new light. An unfortunate situation all around.

I’m also incredibly thankful for my job, for Leon, and the staff I work with. If someone told me six months ago, I was going to move to a vast city, fall in love with a professional athlete, and get pregnant, I would’ve died of laughter right in front of them. None of this was in my life plan—not that I had one to begin with. Thinking back, I feel as if I didn’t have any direction. If it weren’t for Leon, I wouldn’t be here right now, which made my decision to stay in Portland ten times easier. Of course, Julius was a significant part of this. I knew from the start he was going to be someone special in my life.

I’m beyond appreciative of this life I live. I love my job, friends, family, and this little family unit I’m in with Julius and his children. Even though Roxy isn’t mine, she’s becoming my mini-me more and more each day. She’s started doing her own weather reports in the living room each morning. Even though Julius still employs Miss Meghan, I take Roxy to the park each morning before heading to work. Meghan is there to take care of Roxy when neither Julius nor I are home, and she picks Reggie up from school. We plan to keep her when the new baby comes because I’m not ready to give up my career.

This baby growing inside of me is one of the best things to happen to me. At first, I didn’t think I was ready. My career is just starting to take off. Julius and I haven’t been together that long and the fact that when I told him about being pregnant, he was still married. The day his divorce became final was one of the happiest days of our new lives together. It’s also the day I officially moved in. Once I told him about the pregnancy, he wanted me to treat his apartment as if it were mine. He gave me a key and full reign to redesign anything I wanted. His office will be the nursery, and we’ll start on that once we tell people we’re having a baby. It’s still early, and I’d like to keep it a secret a bit longer. If it weren’t for Julius, people would probably know already. My morning sickness kept me sidelined for the first week or so until he gave me the bracelet I wear constantly. He said it was given to him by a psychic and that he had no idea it was for me until I kept getting sick. Of course, once he said the word psychic, we had to have a long talk on why he went to one.