Unforgettable - Linda Barrett (ebook audio reader .TXT) 📗

to cry, her tears mingling with his as he rained kisses, and his tension melted simply by holding her in his arms. Tears flowed as he continued to embrace her and grieve while remembering Grace and Robert Delaney.

They’d been wonderful neighbors, wonderful parents, and good friends with his folks. The Delaneys had worked so hard to finally become “owners” instead of “renters,” and celebrated their move to Hawthorne Street each time they’d made a mortgage payment. Lisa had told him how her dad would brandish the check and twirl Grace around the kitchen every single month. With their growing family, it had taken them fifteen years to afford their own home.

“How long can you stay?” Lisa whispered.

“He can’t,” mumbled nine-year-old Andy, rousing slightly. “He has to go to the conference championship game. And maybe to the Super Bowl.”

“But not yet,” Mike said, rubbing the boy’s head with affection, but focusing his gaze on Lisa. “I’ll be here for the funeral tomorrow. You won’t be alone. Then I’ll be back in a week. One short week.” Which might feel like an eternity to Lisa.

“I’m glad, but-but everything has changed,” she said, pulling a tissue from the nearby box and blotting her face. “We need to rethink our plans.”

“The basics haven’t changed,” he replied quickly. “I love you, Lisa Delaney. And don’t you forget it.”

Her eyes shone. She pressed his hand, her fingers narrow and delicate around his broader ones. “I love you, too, but-but….” She sighed and glanced at the assorted children. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen next,” she said quietly.

“I am,” he said. “I’m going to kiss you again.”

And he did. When she kissed him back, when she lingered and leaned against him, he almost collapsed with relief. She was the one for him. No matter what. Her needs, the kids’ needs….

“We’ll sort it out when the time comes,” he said. “I’ll support you in every way I can.” The logistics would no doubt be complicated, but he had faith that he and Lisa could do anything as long as they did it together.

She offered a wan smile. “I know you’ll do your best, but you have commitments to the team. You’re so talented! We all know you’re being groomed as a starting quarterback, maybe even next year. So I think, for both our sakes, I need to handle this-this family situation by myself.”

No, she didn’t, but her brave effort tore a corner of his heart. “I think you’re right about my place in the team,” he said slowly, “but that’s in our favor. The money’s good.” He’d worked hard with his coaches, and his natural talents had been recognized. His dream career loomed just over the horizon.

“I must be weird,” said Lisa. “I never think about your salary. Even your first year minimum is like make-believe Monopoly money to me. It doesn’t matter. I’m just so…so proud of you.”

Men cry. Even big football players. But once that afternoon was enough. His throat ached as he swallowed to stem more tears. Lisa needed him to be strong.

“Have I ever told you about my conversation with your dad at the end of the summer you moved to Hawthorne Street?” he asked. “It was right before I went off to Ohio State on my scholarship.”

“All Daddy told me was that you were too big for your britches, but he was laughing.”

A surge of love and a wave of sadness—both raced through Mike. The words sounded exactly like something Rob Delaney would say. And the laughter–well, laughter was the norm in Lisa’s family. Her dad loved to tell a good story and could imitate the comedy greats and their jokes. Rob had been a natural “on stage,” and no one had a bigger heart.

“Before I left for college,” Mike continued, “I told him I was going to marry you someday.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! We were only eighteen. We’d just met that very summer.” For a moment, her expression lightened. She tipped her head back, and her eyes met his. “And what did he say?”

“He said that I’d better treat you like gold—always. And I promised I would.”

“O-o-h….” Despair once again etched her face. “Our lives… everything...”—she waved her arm— “has changed. I can’t-I won’t hold you to any promise.”

“You have no vote.” He kissed her again, vowing to keep that promise. Loving Lisa was the easy part. Building a solid future together…well, that goal might be more difficult to reach now. Lisa was in no condition to make any decisions. Their next steps would be decided by him.

His gaze rested on each of the youngsters, one at a time. Four sweet, innocent children. Without warning, his heart started to race, and his palms became covered in sweat. Fear. Like Lisa, he was almost twenty-three, and deep down, he was scared, too. He had no experience with kids, not even a younger brother or sister. But he wouldn’t give himself away, wouldn’t let Lisa know. A quarterback led with confidence on the field. Now he had to do the same at home.

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