The Final Play (2 page)

“OK,” Sydney continued. “Deirdre is off the table.”

“No, it’s a nice name. I think I ate too much.” Morgan touched her stomach and winced. “I forgot to tell you. Seth’s been tasked with naming the baby. I thought it would be nice for him to concentrate on something other than beefing up security.”

“I wonder what name he’s going to choose.”

“As long as it’s not the name of an ex-girlfriend, I’ll be thrilled.”

They all headed out of the private box, on their way to leaving the stadium. It had been a good day. She loved when the family got together in the private box to watch the games. She counted her blessings that they were a football family. Spending time with Seth’s hockey playing friend Derek at his restaurant, the Slap Shot, had even gotten her brothers and father interested in hockey. Derek had invited them to a few games and they’d become hooked. He and Tyler had since tabled their rivalry, much to the joy of Michelle. Derek was quite the history buff and had even given a lecture on the Alamo in the bookstore. Sure ninety percent of the women who attended were there to ogle him and hadn’t listened to a word he said, but he threw in some hockey analogies and all was well.

Soon it would all come to an end. The baby was coming, the boys were growing, and Seth was mulling over his next career move. She had to make some decisions of her own. She and Michelle loved the bookstore, but their lives were taking them in all kinds of directions. How could she move to Texas full-time and leave her friend and sister-in-law, who was already juggling a new marriage and a cooking show, with the responsibility of handling it by herself? The talk with John Jacob that day at the ranch reminded her that expansion was always a possibility, but how? Life was getting more complicated by the second, but she knew she didn’t want to let the bookstore go. It was stressing her out, and with the new baby on the way, she was already hormonal enough.

Later that night after the boys were asleep, Seth and Morgan got ready for bed. She was already comfy, dressed in one of Seth’s jerseys, the most comfortable thing she could wear when she was pregnant. She then held out a towel as he got out of the shower.

“The baby did an end zone dance when you threw that touchdown pass.” Morgan smiled.

“Are you sure? I think she may have been dodging heartburn from those nachos you were eating.” He put his hand on her belly, kissed her, and walked over to the sink.

Morgan frowned. “Oh, no. Did they get me on the munchie cam again?”

“Yep. And I saw you fighting with Connor for those cheese fries.” He slathered some moisturizer on his face and body.

“I was trying to make sure he didn’t eat too much junk food.” She giggled. “I have the game queued up in the war room for you when you do your late night stroll through the house.”

“Thanks, babe.” He followed her out of the bathroom and pulled back the covers.

“Have you come up with any new names?”

“I have a few in mind. Elton put Elmira on the table, after his mom.”

She shook her head as she slid into bed next to him. “We agreed you get no help from your teammates.”

“I know. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Plus, I want to get all the credit for naming our daughter.” He pulled her closer to him and put his hand on her belly.

“You could name her Petunia Rosegarden and she’d be thrilled with it. The two of you are already in cahoots.” Seth and the baby had bonded and it was endearing to see. He sang to her, talked to her about sports, and told her stories about his youthful antics on the ranch with his brothers.

“She told me she wants to be a ballerina astrophysicist who also does brain surgery in her spare time.”

“That’s ambitious and a wild combination of careers, but I think it’s awesome. Although, being a spoiled daddy’s girl will be her greatest achievement.”

“Takes one to know one.” He turned her to face him. “And don’t deny it. Curtis has been filling me in on your childhood exploits. Dance recitals in the living room during half time on football Sundays. You made Jared build that lemonade stand for you. Robert had to carry you on his back when you went to the beach because you didn’t like the way the sand felt between your toes. You made Charles dress up for tea parties.”

She glared at him. “So what’s your point?”

“I can’t wait for all those things with our little girl.”

“I think your sons would disagree, but we’ll see how it goes.”

“They’re going to grumble through it, but they’ll do it because they’re going to be crazy about their little sister.”

“I do like your optimism Mr. Blake. It’s that kind of attitude that’s going to get you that fourth and final Super Bowl win.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” She kissed him.

Seth’s cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID. “It’s J.J., I’d better take this.” He answered. “Hey, big brother.”

Morgan could see by how animated Seth became as soon as he saw who was calling that they weren’t going to sleep any time soon. It was a good time to get a snack before she really went to sleep. Morgan scooted out of bed and put on her bathrobe. She made a bowl and spoon gesture to Seth, so he’d know she was going for some ice cream. Since he was talking to J.J., it might be a good time to get in a chat with Sam without the prying ears of either of the men around. “Ask J.J. is Sam busy?”

“Hey, is Sam busy? Morgan wants to talk her.” Seth nodded. “She’s up, babe.”

“I’m going to call her now.” Morgan dialed up Sam on her cell as she headed for the kitchen. “Hi, Sam, I thought you’d still be reading to Jack.”

“That’s the advantage of Seth’s game days. All the cheering and yelling at the screen tuckers Jack out rather quickly.” Sam laughed.

“How’s work?”

“Good. Can’t complain.”

“Sam, tell me the truth. How bad is it?” She got out the half gallon of chocolate chip from the freezer. Depending on Sam’s answer, she just might end up eating the whole container.

“I talked them out of electrified fences so the livestock doesn’t get hurt, but they insist on the roaming security detail past all homes be increased to twice every hour. And we’ve tabled any talk of Rowdy going to train as an attack dog.”

“The only thing Rowdy will attack is a porterhouse steak.” Morgan retrieved a bowl, spoon, and the toppings. It didn’t sound as bad as it could’ve been, knowing the men around here. At least no one had mentioned minefields.

“No worries. They’re listening to reason. I drew the line on tracking microchips under the skin.”

Morgan nearly dropped the spoon. Microchips? She’d clearly spoken too soon about as bad as it could’ve been. “Thank you so much for keeping an eye on them. If anyone can convince them they’re going overboard, it’s you.”

“You’re welcome.” Sam laughed. “I have to tell you Jack is so excited about you moving here. He can’t wait to see his Aunt Morgy more often. The boys can participate in the huge Halloween spectacle for the kids.”

“I miss that handsome little devil too. I bet he gets lonely being the only child,” Morgan mused.

“He has Matt for company.”

“That’s not what I meant. Jack loves his cousins, but I bet he’d love a little brother or sister.”

“J.J.’s had stars in his eyes ever since you and Seth’s announcement at the reception. We’ve been talking about it.”

“That’s wonderful news.” She took a big bite of ice cream to keep from pressing for too many details. But another child, especially if it were a girl, would take the spotlight off her little one, who would surely be spoiled rotten before her first birthday.

CHAPTER TWO

Morgan smiled at Connor and Colby’s teacher as she gave their weekly progress report. The boys were doing much better in the class after the incident a few weeks ago. Orion, a bratty little boy who loved to cause trouble for his classmates, thought it would be fun to take Colby’s glue stick while they were working on an art project. The twins wrestled him to the floor and took it back. The boys promptly called their Aunt Cassie and asked her to fly up and defend them. Morgan informed them that she and Seth were more than qualified to handle the case. Channing and Cassidy came up for a visit anyway, claiming they were in the area to visit friends in DC. A few hugs and a pep talk from their legal eagle aunt and uncle seemed to put them at ease.

She and Seth and Orion’s parents had a conference to smooth things over. Orion’s dad thought it was pretty funny that Seth Blake’s boys had tackled his son, much to his wife’s chagrin. In the end they all agreed the boys should shake hands and apologize to each other, but Morgan stopped short at setting a playdate. She knew the boys didn’t like the little troublemaker and besides she sure it was a networking angle on his father’s part.

Before she left the school, she thought she’d peek in on Jake’s class to see how he was doing. Always the center of attention, he was working on a geography project with his classmates and most of them were in his group. He had that magnetic personality like his father and there was always someone trailing behind him, including Hayley Preston. The little girl had a crush on him, giving him her snack at lunchtime and always offering to share her chair with him when they worked on the school computers during technology time. As if he felt his mother’s presence, he looked toward the door, smiled and waved at her. She waved back and blew him a kiss.

Confident her kiddies were going to have a good day in school, she headed to the bookstore. She had a lot to get done before her lunch date with Nina. She felt like she hadn’t seen Nina in ages, they’d been so busy lately. But today both their schedules had opened up so they grabbed at the opportunity to get together and chat.

Michelle would be in later in the day. She’d been busier than ever, juggling married life, her bookstore duties, and taping her cooking show, but Morgan knew her friend was at home cuddled in bed with Tyler right now. The network had offered her another travel-themed show, but she’d turned it down. Despite Morgan’s protests that she could hold down the fort and do the show, Michelle insisted that she had enough excitement in her life. She and Tyler had found a delicate balance of both their careers and she didn’t want to mess with that. Marriage had mellowed the couple. It was good to see the effect they had on each other.

Morgan did a cheer when she saw a spot in front of the bookstore and parked the Range Rover. She opened the door and a sense of peace washed over her. The classical music oozing out of the sound system always made her feel at ease.

“Good morning, Morgan,” her assistant manager Shayla said as she arranged a table display.

“Hi, Shayla. Thanks for opening today.”

“Not a problem. Doesn’t it smell great in here?”

“You are absolutely right.” Morgan smiled. The aroma of the fresh baked double chocolate chip cookies coming from the direction of the café put her into a trance. She resisted the urge to go over and snatch them all up. The head barista’s special coffee concoction kept the café packed and was listed as one of the highlights in a magazine that touted Reed Bradley Books as a great place to grab a book and a cup of premium java.

“I received a shipment today, it’s just awaiting your signature so the invoices can be entered into the computer and filed away. An agent of a local writer who is launching their debut book in a few months stopped by to see if we could do a book signing. I did the basic fact checking and left the information and a promotional copy of the book on your desk. It’s a romance that has a lot of Philadelphia architecture mentioned in it, most notably a reference about a famous football player living in the Ashcroft.”

The Ashcroft was a beautiful building, and it was no secret her family lived there. It had even been mentioned on tours, but she still felt uncomfortable knowing everyone knew the general vicinity of where they lived.

“You are really on top of things. Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks. You have a visitor.” Shayla smiled then rushed to the register ring up a customer.

Who could it be? Hopefully it was someone she wanted to see. She prayed it wasn’t her Aunt Debra. She had mistakenly taken the family’s good will in Las Vegas when Lamont had abandoned Charisma in that hotel room as an open invitation to visit any time. There were still miles to go with her cousin even though they had come to an uneasy truce.

“Hey, mama. I thought I heard your voice,” Nina said as she came out of Morgan and Michelle’s office. “Where’s Michelle?”

“Still in honeymoon hibernation with Tyler. They don’t leave the apartment before twelve these days.” Morgan hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I remember those days fondly,” Nina mused. “All I had to do was put on some lingerie and Patton would forget he was a football player.”

“Not that I don’t love the early arrival, but I thought you were coming by around one o’clock?”

“I couldn’t concentrate on anything at work. I shredded important documents. Spilled my coffee, twice, narrowly missing getting this fabulous outfit ruined.” Nina did a dramatic half turn to show off her ensemble. “My assistant begged me to leave before I set the place on fire.”

“Wow. What’s got you so flustered?”

“Patton.”

Morgan gulped. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes. He’s fine. He has some really big plans for Seth’s retirement party, but I told him you wanted something simple.”

“Thank goodness.” Morgan let out a big sigh of relief. “I thought he got bad news from the doctor or something.”

“If being stubborn is a disease, then he’s got it.” Nina rolled her eyes. “I know you want a simple, elegant evening so I’ve been trying to rein in his enthusiasm. My husband doesn’t think a party’s good unless the cops are called.”

“I thought it would be better staying simple. If it gets too big it will turn into something else.”

“Like that week-long birthday celebration Elton had?” Nina giggled.

“Exactly. He almost got divorced.”

“Listen, I didn’t mail Lamont’s invitation out yet.” Nina put her hand on her hip.

Ever since the incident in Las Vegas, Seth had washed his hands of Lamont off field. But that didn’t stop the wide receiver from trying to insinuate himself into her husband’s life. He conveniently popped up at the parties they attended and even tried to join Seth and Patton for an evening out at the Slap Shot. Lamont tried to make small talk, but it felt forced and insincere.

“You can go ahead and send it.” Morgan let out a heavy sigh. “Seth and I discussed it and he feels like the chatter about him and Lamont not getting along is affecting the team. The event will probably be covered in the media, and if anyone gets wind that Lamont was the only team member that wasn’t invited, the rumors will start flying again. So in the name of team solidarity, send the invite. Who knows? Maybe he won’t show.”

“OK. But that’s not likely.” Nina grimaced. “Are you sure?”

“The last thing I want is to be around that sleaze bag, but I keep saying it won’t be long before Lamont and his childish bullshit will be a distant memory once Seth finishes the season.”

“I read on one of those sports gossip blogs that he came to some nightclub by himself. Are he and Charisma on the outs again?”

“I think so. Sydney said she’d been a doing pretty good job of staying away from him since Vegas, but my aunt Debra has been trying to talk her into taking him back.”

“Really? I would have thought after the Vegas incident she would’ve told her to run for the hills.”

“Well that would make too much sense. So how’s Patton handling things? It’s a good sign that he wants Seth to have a kick-ass party.” It was no secret that Patton was taking Seth’s retirement pretty hard. When Seth first made the declaration, he’d tried to talk him out of it.

“I think it’s finally sinking in and spurring contemplation about his own career.”

“I thought he wanted to play until they rolled him off the field in a wheel chair?” Morgan laughed.

“Well that declaration was made before his bromance with your husband. Before Seth joined the team, Patton was considering other options. They weren’t winning, and the coaching strategy was all over the place. Players like Lamont were more worried about branding themselves than playing well. Seth renewed Patton’s fire about the game.”

“Seth worries about him too. His friendship with Patton means the world to him.”

“He’s been mulling over his post football options, and I have to admit I’m not upset about it. It’s been nice to talk about the future. He’s researching good places to raise Gabby if we decide to leave Philadelphia. His family thinks we’re going to move back home to Alabama, but I don’t know.”

“I hear Texas is wonderful, but I am totally biased.” Morgan flashed her a smile.

“Is Operation Rapunzel still going on at the ranch?”

“Sam’s working on it.”

“And you laughed at me when Patton went on his rampage when I was pregnant with Gabby.”

“It was kind of funny at the time, but now I wholeheartedly sympathize with what you went through.”

“Oh. Before I forget, I have something for you.” Nina reached into a tote bag and pulled out a framed photo of Gabby and the boys that was taken at her recital. Gabby was wearing her ballerina outfit, and the boys wore slacks, dress shirts, and ties.

“How cute! Gabby was the best dancer on stage. I don’t know what those other little girls were doing.” Morgan grabbed the picture. “And the boys look so nice in the grown up clothes.”

Nina chuckled. “They look agitated but very dapper.”

“They hate any clothing that isn’t made out of denim. But Seth expressed how important it was to dress up for Gabby’s big day and they fell for it. He’s teaching them it’s not a crime to look your best when you’re out in public.”

“And it worked. Did you see the heads turning at the recital?”

“I think people expect nothing less than cover model chic from Seth and I’m the acceptable window dressing.” Morgan laughed.

“You like dressing up. I’ve seen a significant change in your fashion style since we met.” Nina smiled.

“I graduated top of my class from Nina Hawkes’s finishing school. I had to do a believable runway strut for the final exam.” Morgan batted her eyelashes. Nina was right though. Due to her intensive fashion sessions, Morgan felt like she had her own style and complemented Seth. A few of the magazines that often captured her out and about Philadelphia called her the always-fashionable Mrs. Blake. They’d even gotten a mention as one of the cutest families in the NFL.

“Well, you are my brightest pupil, and I am happy to say Michelle’s been letting me dress her for the cooking show too.”

Morgan set the frame down on her desk. “Let’s go shopping, then lunch. I want Seth to take to me to the opera next week and I want to be the cutest pregnant woman there.”

“There’s a new shop that opened up. I’ve been wanting to take a peek.”

“Let’s peek away.” Morgan laughed as she reached for her purse and coat.

Nina wrapped her decorative silk scarf around her neck and looked around the office. “I’m going to miss being able to drop in on you whenever I want. I remember the first day I walked through the door to see you, at the request of Seth and Patton, and I didn’t know what to expect. I found a friend and I’ll never forget that.”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“The thought of leaving the bookstore frightens me. It’s a part of me. It’s cozy and it’s always been like a home away from home for me. I can’t imagine doing anything else.” Morgan blinked rapidly.

“Maybe it’s time you think about expanding your horizons.”

“Seth’s dad said the same thing to me. Seth thinks I can do anything. His faith in me is a little inflated at times.”

“Nonsense, he loves you and knows what you’re capable of achieving. Since I’ve known you, each time you were presented with a new opportunity you rose to the occasion. We all have faith in you and you’ve now gotten advice from three brilliant people, I say you take it.”

“Easier said than done.” Morgan held up her hands in response to Nina’s perturbed look. “But worth considering.”

“Thank you.” Nina put her arm around her and led her out of the office. “Now let’s get you a decadent gown for the opera.”

* * *

Seth loved dining at the Slap Shot. Not only did his friend Derek’s restaurant have a great menu and atmosphere, but it also enforced strict rules about big egos and grandstanding. Seth grabbed his regular table and waved at Arnie the bartender to bring over his usual, the top shelf scotch Derek kept for him. When his drink was set down on the table, he looked up to see Derek.

“Hey, I was hoping to run into you.” Seth stood and gave him a hug. “I thought you’d gone out of town.”

“Change of plans. Blake, I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“I called an hour ago to see if Marlie could squeeze me in, and of course she did. I’m meeting Patton for dinner.”

“Uh, oh. If Hawkes is coming here I better tell the chef to go out and kill a whole cow.” Derek laughed as he took a seat. “You should try our special tonight. It’s pan-seared red snapper with a lemon garlic sauce and roasted vegetables.”

“You know I’m a steak man.” Seth chuckled.

“I’ll tell the chef to add a filet mignon on the side.”

“Sounds good. By the way, Morgan says thank you again for letting Nina use the Slap Shot as the venue for my party.”

“Anything for her, she knows that. I just wish I could be there. I have a game that weekend.”

“Duty calls,” Seth said. “We’ll have something at the house, so you can visit again.”

“Cool. Are the boys ready for their first hockey lesson?”

The boys had asked Derek a million questions when he’d had dinner at the house last month, which prompted the upcoming lesson.