next to him. I knew right then that Wren hadn’t prepared a word of what he said next. He blew out air as his eyes began to glisten. Wren Harland—former Exiled lieutenant and king of the stoic—was crying. “This is the last place I ever thought I’d be standing. When I found you in that snowstorm, I thought you’d be my end, not the beginning. I carried you like a burden on my shoulders for a long time, not knowing I held you in my heart instead. I accepted you as the penance I accepted for what I’d done because I was too blind to see that you were a gift. I had no idea just what you had in store for me. You were the knight to slay the darkness, my light and salvation. Stubborn and willful to the end, you kept me alive so we could be here right now, and for that, I am indebted to you. If my heart is worthy and yours is willing, please let me spend every breath I have left repaying it.”
My mouth dropped as I gaped. I then felt the well inside my chest, filling up fast—a force to be reckoned and too determined to stop.
Holy fuck, this is going to burn.
I didn’t care so much this time as I let the tears and mascara fall freely.
Seven years later
Boston
MY EYES DRIFTED OPEN, AND I immediately rolled over. After checking the time, I groaned, not at the early hour, but because I knew that soon, I’d be boarding a flight for the first game of the season. Taking Tyra’s advice not to give up on my dreams, four years ago, I signed with the Boston Breakers as their new quarterback after playing for the University of Massachusetts right here in Boston. Every decision, every move I made had been on the condition that I stayed close to home, and I didn’t mean Blackwood Keep or the beautiful condo I’d found in the suburbs.
Entering the en suite, I took a quick shower, dressed, and grabbed the bag my wife had packed for me before heading downstairs. I listened to the telltale sounds of my son eating his breakfast before school and pictured the mess he’d make for his mother to clean up. Just as I knew I’d find her, Tyra was darting around the kitchen dressed in charcoal slacks and a black blouse, packing River’s lunch while making herself breakfast at the same time. It was anyone’s guess when she’d find the time to eat again. She was two months into her five-year surgical residency at Massachusetts General, and of course, she had to be top of her class.
Dropping my bag and finally catching her attention, her stress seemed to fade away when she looked at me. It made me even more reluctant to go and guilty for leaving her to do this alone despite the fact that it was only for a few days. Even with River being in school, football season was always a rough time for us with my frequent absences and her long hours.
Palming my son’s head in greeting and feeling his soft, brown curls under my palm, I moved to stand before my wife. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
Tyra and I let the world pause long enough to share a kiss that deepened by the second. Our lives might be chaotic as fuck, but we still had this and more.
“We need to talk about this situation of ours when I get back.”
“What situation?”
“About needing help with River. We need to hire someone.”
Picking up her coffee mug, she stared at me over the rim with an amused twinkle in her eye. “We did discuss it, remember? And then we tried to find someone, but somehow, you find something wrong with each person we interviewed.”
I waved her off as I headed for the fridge, where I knew I’d find my morning smoothie already waiting for me. Goddamn it, I love this woman.
“I don’t care what you say,” I said as I removed the tumbler. “That guy looked like a—” Glancing at River, who always seemed to hear more than he let on, I spelled out the word, “P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E.”
“Mm-hmm. And the nice lady with all the amazing references? She was more than qualified.”
“If she was so qualified and amazing, why did all the others let her go?”
Tyra shook her head, a wry smile twisting her lips. “You’re impossible.”
Coming to stand behind her, I fingered the diamond ring I’d put on her finger four years