19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Shawn

I couldn’t say if I was a believer in God, or any god, honestly. My mom raised me in a Christian home. I did believe in a higher power, that was for sure. And whoever was up there listening, that’s all I had been talking to for the last four days, making sure all was going to be okay.

I couldn’t lose Marketa, and I couldn’t lose my baby.

In that room, lying on a bed, was my future. I didn’t want to tell her that because the last thing I wanted to do was scare her away.

But she was everything I wanted in a partner. And she would only ever showcase the best thing for our kids.

She was strong, smart, resilient, unafraid, courageous, and beautiful. Amongst that, she was also playful and charming. You would have to be dumb to not want someone like that. So, yes, I was going to do what I had to do to keep that woman right by my side. Her dad be damned.

I’m not even sure how he managed to block me from getting in. I’m sure he told the nurses something, but because he got to them before I did, or before Marketa could tell them, I’m sure they had no choice but to listen to him.

I also fully believe that she doesn’t know that. So, I did the next best thing I could to let her know I was here. I sent her stuff that would make her happy, that would cheer her up, that would let her know I wasn’t leaving. I just wish she would answer her damn text.

I lifted my head from the back of the couch that I had used as my personal bed since I got here. Well, minus the times I had to rush home to shower, or they kicked me out for the end of visiting hours. Honestly, I had to laugh that they never allowed me back. They all talked to me, gave me some brief updates on her, but that was it.

“What are you doing here?”

“Coach,” I said, jumping out of my current bed.

“That won’t be for long. I’m going to make sure you’re traded far away from here. My daughter is in this mess because of you.”

“What mess? The hospital?”

“Yes. And being pregnant. It’s all your damn fault. So do share why you’re here.”

“Because that’s my woman that’s in that hospital room and I have every right to be here, just like you. You don’t think you’re the only one to care about her, do you?”

I watched him, watched his stance. I know I needed to step up, to make this man see what his daughter meant to me. I couldn’t tell him that I loved Marketa before I told her, but I would lay it all out on the line, and maybe he could stop being a dick about everything.

Though, as that was his nature in a lot of ways, I wasn’t holding out too much hope on that one.

“Sit down, Coach Jones.” I moved the blankets off the couch and sat down, waiting for him to as well. This was the olive branch I was going to extend to him, but it was his job to pick it up. After a few moments, he sat down.

“I don’t have anywhere else to be, so this should be a good story.”

“You kept me out of that room, and I get why. But just because I wasn’t there doesn’t mean I didn’t know what was going on. The nurses made sure to pass along tidbits, but they followed your request quite well. However, I knew she was going through a rough time. So, I did the only thing I could, I brought her happiness.

“Your daughter has simple tastes, but there’s a lot of things she loves. The juices, the flowers, the stuffed animals; they’re things she adores. I didn’t have to be in the room to know they brought a smile to her face. And if for just a few moments I could ease her worry and take away her pain, I was going to.

“Look, sir, I went about this all wrong. I know that. I should have come to you right away to ask you to date your daughter, even if we’re adults. But you need to know, I’m not a player nor a womanizer. I don’t mess with the hoop hoes, because that’s not me. Sure, I’ve pulled one or two, but it’s not a feeling I like afterward.

“I wanted someone real, someone to last, not someone right now.” I paused, looking down at my hands. I know what he wanted me to say, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn’t about to let him know without telling her. “I can’t say if I’m in love with Marketa yet, but I do know I care deeply about her, and she means the world to me. I know I want to do right for her and our baby.

“Coach, I’m not going to just abandon her, no matter how much you want me to. She doesn’t deserve someone that’s going to bail, someone that’s not going to take responsibility. So, I’m here, like it or not, to love and support my family. Because even if Marketa and I don’t work out, she’s the mother of my child, which means she’s family, and so is this baby.”

That was it. That was my heart on the floor for him to witness. That was all things, or pretty much all things, that I had told her.

He cleared his throat, his eyes focused on the wall as he thought things over. Finally, his eyes landed back on me and he held out his hand.

“That confession, I felt how true it was. I’m sorry to have been a pain, son, but you have to understand that’s my baby girl. No one will ever be good enough for her. But, you, Shawn Colter, might just be the man that’s close enough to being good.”

I took his hand, giving it a firm shake and taking the small blessing he was going to give me.

“That’s my family in that room. I owe you both a huge apology because I know the stress I’ve laid on her. None of this is your fault. When you go in there, can you tell her to maybe forgive.”

I jumped up, ready to go.

“She loves you, sir, she’ll forgive you. She’s just that amazing.” I smiled at him before running down the hallway, ignoring the curious glances from the nurses. I believed he was going to fix that. “Knock, knock,” I exclaimed as I walked into the room.

“You’re here.”

I walked over to the bed and sat down, taking her hand. “I’ll never leave you, Shorty.”