"I do love you, Dolly," I said gruffly, heart beating wildly. "I love you so damn hard."

"I love you, too, D," she whispered. "More than anything. Which is why I don’t want to be the person that holds you back from making your dreams come true. And football is your dream. I don’t want you to lose out because of me –"

"That's not even up for discussion, Molly."

"But –"

"No." I shook my head. "I won't leave you on your own in this. Not ever." Throwing all caution to the wind, I leaned in and kissed her, too fucking starved for her taste to stop myself. "I won't leave you," I repeated, knotting my hand in the back of her hair. "I won't become my father. I won't put football before you and our baby like he did to my mama and me. I won't."

Clutching onto my neck like her life depended on it, Molly kissed me back with just as much emotion. "I don’t want you to resent me –"

"That ain't ever gonna happen," I promised, stroking her nose with mine. "Whatever we do from here on out, or wherever we go, we do it together. As a team. You and me."

"A team," she whispered against my lips. "I like the sound of that."

"Yeah?" I grinned. "Well, spoiler alert: I make for one helluva teammate, Molly-Dolly."

She grinned back at me. "That's good to know, King Doofus.”

60 Daryl

"Tell me that you're joking," were the first words that came out of Rourke's mouth when I dropped the bomb on him later that evening. "Seriously, D. Tell me your girl in there –" he paused to point to where our girlfriends were standing in his kitchen before continuing, "ate a shit ton of cookies over the holidays and that big ole belly of hers is a result of sugar and not sperm!"

"I can't."

"Goddammit to hell, D." Blowing out a shaky breath, he ran a hand through his dark hair and paced the foyer. "Fuck me, you went a made yourself a damn crotch goblin."

"The hell?" I cocked a brow. "Crotch goblin?"

"I can't believe this. You're eighteen, D. Eight-fucking-teen." Rourke shuddered. "I knew trouble was brewing the second you told me that you went bareback with her. I goddamn –"

"If you're planning on saying that you told me so, then you might as well save your breath," I warned, folding my arms across my chest. "She loves me. I love her. She's pregnant. It's mine. I'm stepping up and standing by her. We're gonna make it work – and it will work. It is what it is, Rourke."

"What it is, my friend, is impending fatherhood," he urged, eyes bulging now. "You're gonna be a daddy, Daryl. Jesus Christ, you're gonna be someone's father."

"I know, Rourke," I bit out in a hushed tone. "Calm down, will you?"

"Calm down?" He gave me a crazed look. "Why are you calm? Aren't you scared? You've got a damn kid on the way. Shit!"