Quarterback Baby Daddy: Baby Daddy Romance Series, #7

By Lexi Banks

Garrett: I went from having nothing to playing professional football, but my success can't satisfy me like Jessica could. But she disappeared and left a Jessica-sized hole in my life. So imagine my surprise when I find her with a new name in my new city. She's going to fix my shoulder just like she did in college, when I fell for her before she vanished. I know she's keeping something from me, but I wasn't expecting that something to be a baby who looks just like me. She's afraid of her past coming back to haunt her, so I have to convince her that I can protect her and my son, or she'll vanish again. I refuse to let that happen. 

Jessica: My mistake is that I went on the run for someone else's mistake. I had to sacrifice the best thing I ever had, giving up a life with Garrett to keep him safe. But I wasn't expecting to end up starting a new life with a bun in the oven. I couldn't tell Garrett, for his safety and for my son's, but now that he's found me again, I'm not sure how long I can keep my secret. And when my father's mistakes come for me again, will Garrett's career survive? Will I? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: DM
• Release date: Aug 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393500216

Book preview

Chapter 1

Garrett

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Garrett! Garrett! Garrett! though the crowd was loud and raucous, I could still hear my name being shouted among the others. I couldn’t believe I was here. I’d made it to the big leagues, and now I was playing in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with my team.

Though the NFL had always been a goal of mine, I never really envisioned myself as actually making it here. I was a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, a team I never imagined I’d be good enough to make.

But, here I was, standing tall and proud while playing my heart out. We were ahead of the other team, and the clock was winding down. If we could just keep our lead, this would be the third win in a row.

And, being in our home stadium, I knew the crowd would go wilder than they were right now.

I loved living in Atlanta. So many sports fans and people who weren’t afraid to show their support for their team. The southern charm made the place feel like home almost instantly, though I had to admit I did still miss my family back in rural Tennessee.

I grew up poor. Very poor. My father walked out on my mother when I was ten, leaving her to take care of me and my three siblings on her own. She did her best, working two jobs while trying to be there for us, but it was barely enough to scrape by.

I got a job as soon as I was old enough to work, and handed over paycheck after paycheck to her. I knew she was doing her best, and if there was anything I could do to make her life a little easier, I would do it. I didn’t want my younger siblings to grow up with all the same hardship that I’d had to endure, though I knew they were going to still feel the effects of our financial situation.

Through high school, I played football to keep my spirits up. I was good at it. Tall, muscular, athletic – I was built for the game. Throwing in my unruly blonde hair and green eyes, I had the looks to go along with the power. I was team captain throughout all four years of high school, and I’d quickly been spotted for a scholarship.

I put myself through college, working when I had the time and still sending money home to my mother. But, my dream was to get into the NFL. And here I was.

I was getting used to having the money rolling in, and I vowed to take care of my family back home no matter what. I wasn’t going to leave her like my father did. And, though my siblings were all getting older themselves, I was still going to send money back home to her.

She had given up so much for me, it was the least I could do.

I always thought about my mother when I was out on the field. I thought about how I could make her life easier, and how much money I could send back her way. It made me feel good knowing that I was doing at least a little for her, but the thought was distracting to me and I didn’t see the player coming my way.

I didn’t have the ball, but he still slammed into me, sending me reeling. I hit the ground hard, twisting in the process and feeling a terrible pain in my left shoulder. It all happened so fast, then it was over. The coach was pulling me from the game and I was being sent back to the locker room.

Get that looked at! he called after me. I walked into the hall shaking my head. Of course it was the name of the game, but I felt it was in poor taste to take me out when I wasn’t the man with the ball. They were removing one of the best players on the team, and I knew that was going to give them a major boost for the remaining time.

Doc, I need you to look at this, I said when I reached the locker rooms.

I saw the play, that was shitty, he said. Take your gear off and sit down.

I pulled the shoulder guards off and removed my shirt, then took off the rest of my gear and sat on the bench where he indicated. He ran his hand over my shoulder, causing me to wince with pain.

I can feel a tear in here, he said as he firmly grasped my bicep. I’m guessing scar tissue from a previous injury?

I nodded. I was hurt in college. Nearly ended my career. Is it bad?

It’s not good, that’s for sure, he said. You’re going to really need to take care of this. You might be looking at surgery as it is, and we’re going to want to do everything we can to avoid that.

I winced. Surgery would put me out of the game for months – likely even the rest of the season. But, I couldn’t risk hurting myself further and losing my career altogether.

When will you know? I asked.

Before he had the chance to answer, other members of the team started piling into the locker room. They were jumping and grabbing at each other, laughing and talking about the victory.

We won! Dominic Martin, my best friend and fellow teammate, proudly announced when he sat on the bench beside me. We won!

Fuck yeah! I said with a grin. The doctor handed me an ice pack and I pressed it against my shoulder. I winced at the initial touch against my bare skin, but then I relaxed as my arm started to numb.

Is it bad? Dominic asked. He was looking at me with concern in his eyes, and I gave him a grim smile.

He said that it wasn’t good. I might need to have surgery on it, I told him.

He hit you that hard? Dominic asked.

It’s a residual injury from college, I told him with a sigh. He reopened it.

Fuck, Dominic shook his head. Are you going to for sure need surgery on it?

He’s going to need physical therapy, the doctor answered for me. We can see if that’ll be enough so you don’t have to actually go through with surgery, but we aren’t going to know for sure until you go through that.

Great, I said in a sarcastic tone. I had gone through physical therapy the first time I hurt my shoulder, too. And the therapist was someone I’d never forgotten. She was the most beautiful, charming woman I’d ever met. Jessica Lindon. She had helped me work through that injury, and she had done a fantastic job.

We’d clicked almost instantly, and a drunk night had landed us in bed together. She was on fire, and it wasn’t long before I fell in love. I couldn’t imagine living life without her, but it took weeks before I worked up the courage to tell her so.

I expressed my love to her, telling her that I wanted to get serious in our relationship. I didn’t want to just be sleeping together anymore, I wanted there to be something real between us.

Then, without warning, she disappeared.

No text message, no goodbye. She didn’t answer my phone calls when I tried to track her down, either. She was just gone, gone without a trace and leaving me reeling, wondering what the Hell went wrong and why she vanished.

I know someone, Dominic said, cutting into my thoughts. Her name is Morgan Collins, and she’s great. Helped me with my knee when I fucked it up last year.

Can I get in with her soon? I asked.

She’s referral only, but since I’ve already seen her I can take you in, he said. She’s really nice, I know she won’t turn you away if the two of us show up together.

That would be great, I said. The sooner I can get this taken care of, the better.

Agreed. I’ll make an appointment to see her tomorrow, and we’ll get you in right away, Dominic nodded.

Thanks man, I said as I rose from the bench. I’m going to get out of here and head home. I want to keep some ice on this for the rest of the day.

Not planning on coming out with the boys to celebrate? he asked. Probably for the best.

Next time, I told him as I headed toward the showers. It was pretty standard for the team to go out for drinks after a big win, but I felt the sooner I could get ice on my shoulder and wind down for the day, the better it would be for the injury.

I wanted to avoid surgery at all cost, and I was willing to sacrifice a celebration with the team to make that happen.

After showering, I grabbed my gear and headed home, walking through the door to my condo with a sigh. I was still getting used to the condo and the life that I was now living. I’d been with the Falcons for a few months now, but there were still times when the entire situation felt surreal.

Most of the time I felt like I was dreaming as I went through the motions of my day. But no, this was really my place.

It wasn’t anything to speak of compared to some of the houses of the other members on the team, but when I compared it to my roots and the shanty that I’d lived in growing up, this place felt like a palace. I’d shown my mother and siblings the inside of the place through video chat, and I could tell she couldn’t believe this is where I was living, either.

But now, I was worried I was going to lose it all. If I didn’t get through this injury and my career came to an end, that would be it for me. I would have go to back to getting a normal job, something nine to five and paycheck to paycheck. It would have to be pretty high paying for me to afford living here while sending money home to my mother, but I knew I would have to make it work if it came down to it.

There was no way I would let my mother slip back into poverty. She had worked far too hard to raise me into the man I was today for me to even think about such a thing happening.

I was going to work hard to get through this, and I would be back in the game. As long as the physical therapist Dominic recommended was good, I knew I’d make it work.

She wouldn’t be as good as the college student I’d seen a year ago, but if she could do her job, then I would be happy. I had to focus on my game and my career, not letting myself get side tracked again.

Right now, my career was the most important thing in my life, and I would prioritize that above all else. I didn’t care what it cost me to make it happen, I would make it happen.

In my mind, it was the only choice I had.

Chapter 2

Jessica

There you go! That’s my handsome boy! I said with a smile as I scooped another small bite of the applesauce into his mouth. Aldon gurgled and played with his hands while he ate, and I tried not to think about how much he looked like his father.

That was a thought that had often run through my brain lately. Ever since Aldon was born, he reminded me of his dad, but the more he grew, the more he looked like him.

I wondered if a day would go by when I didn’t think about Garrett. He had been so amazing – the love of my life, really. I’d never told him so, but he did tell me he was in love with me. He wanted more than what we had. He wanted things to get serious, and damn, did I ever want the same thing.

If my personal situation had been different, then I would have taken him up on his offer in a heartbeat. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

But, my fairytale wasn’t meant to happen, as it turned out. I was paying for my father’s mistakes, and that meant I wasn’t going to get the dream life I so strongly desired.

In fact, because of my father’s bad choices, I was living my life on the run. Well, mostly. I had to leave Tennessee and change everything about myself. My name, my identity, everything. I adopted the name Morgan Collins, then established my new practice in Atlanta, Georgia.

It had been a long battle getting to where I was right now, and Aldon had been a surprise along the way.

Three weeks after I left Tennessee, I found out I was pregnant. Of course, though I was trying to build a new life for myself and had to change so many things, I was going to be the best mother to the boy that I possibly could. I didn’t tell Garrett he had a son.

I couldn’t. I had left abruptly without telling him goodbye. There wasn’t any way in Hell I was going to call him back up and tell him that I had a baby.

Instead, I decided to push into my new life keeping my past as secret as possible. I couldn’t let anyone know I was on the run or who was after me. It wasn’t safe. I made few friends and focused on motherhood and my career, hoping that the past would stay in the past, but still struggling with the memory of the one who got away.

Though it had only been a couple years since everything had gone down, I still thought about Garrett as though it had just happened. The hurt I felt when I thought about what might have been ran through my brain almost daily, and I felt the sting running through my heart once again.

With Aldon sitting in his high chair, I pulled out my phone to check my appointments for the day. Monday’s weren’t ever that busy, but I was curious to know why Dominic needed to come in so suddenly. He had messaged me the night before, telling me that he had to see me as soon as possible.

I had helped him with his knee when he tore it on the field, and I hoped he didn’t hurt myself all over again. I hadn’t had the time to really talk to him with Aldon the night before, and I knew I was just going to have to wait and see what was wrong when he got there later that morning.

Besides