Drew + Fable Forever (One Week Girlfriend #3.5)(32)
He chose to go to the same college that Drew did instead. He wants to stay home. I think he’s afraid to live. I also think it’s a mistake but it’s not my life, it’s his. That means where he goes to college is ultimately his choice. He’s still a kid. He’s allowed to make mistakes.
But he was never my mistake. He’s my little brother, the kid I raised and took care of and never abandoned. I’m a better mother than our mom ever was.
For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I feel like I’ve got this. I’m going to be a mother. This little girl is going to be coming into the world sooner rather than later and I’m ready.
Owen’s right. I’m going to be a damn good mom, too.
Chapter Ten
Drew
I’m not only being tested, I feel like the entire world is against me, a giant obstacle in my race to get home and be with my wife when she gives birth.
Getting a flight back to San Francisco was easy. Too easy. I paid for my first-class seat and waited only a few minutes before boarding the plane, relaxing in the soft, oversized leather seat, refusing anything to drink from the flight attendant beyond a glass of water. I’m anxious enough. I don’t need liquor or caffeine flowing through my system to make it worse.
A woman sat next to me who’s a total Cowboys fan and she recognized me, giving me grief about being a 49er. I listened to her at first, trying my best to nod and be polite, but after her constant nagging of my team—and my game play—I pulled my earbuds out of the front pocket of my jeans and plugged into my iPhone, listening to music so I could tune her out.
I might have offended her but I don’t give a shit. She was rude first.
It was her audible gasp about an hour later that had me yanking out my earbuds to hear an announcement being made by the captain. A cargo plane had crashed on the runway in San Francisco. All runways had been shut down. SFO wasn’t allowing planes to land. We’d circle in the air for a few minutes and might be diverted to another airport.
I couldn’t f**king believe it. I wanted to stand and shout, But my baby is being born, damn it!
I held it in, though. I couldn’t make an ass of myself. I’d already offended the lady next to me. In fact, she was looking at me oddly right now.
“Are you okay? We’ll probably end up landing in Oakland or whatever,” she said reassuringly. “Though I hate those damn Raiders.”
I laughed because of course, I ended up sitting next to the one football fanatic in the entire plane. “I’m fine, it’s just …”
“What?”
“My wife is in labor.” I exhaled, but it didn’t loosen up the ball of anxiety in my chest whatsoever. “And I need to get to the hospital so I can be there when the baby’s born.”
“Wait a minute. Your wife is in labor right now?” When I nodded, she continued. “And this is your first baby, right? I saw that on ESPN.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed a hand along my jaw as I glanced out the window. We were not going to land anytime soon, I could tell. We were too high up. “She’s been in labor all day.”
“Oh my word. She could have that baby at any minute!” She reached out and snagged the sleeve of the passing flight attendant. “Miss, do you know who this is?” She jerked a thumb in my direction.
The flight attendant glanced at me, a polite smile on her face. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Drew Callahan, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.” The woman said it loud enough for the entire plane to hear. Jesus. “His wife is in labor. She’s going to have the baby at any minute and he’s missing it!”
“There’s nothing we can do—” the flight attendant started, but my seatmate cut her off.
“Don’t give me that crap. Tell the captain to divert the plane to Oakland. We have a celebrity on this plane. Someone important to this entire city, and he needs to get to his wife so he can witness his baby being born.”
“Hey.” I touched the lady’s arm. “They’re doing what they can. It’s all good.”
“No, no it’s not. Tell the captain,” she said to the flight attendant, giving her a little push. “Go on.”
The flight attendant scurried away and the woman turned to look at me, a smug smile on her face. “See? That’s how we get things done.”
“There’s probably nothing they can do,” I reminded her, but she shook her head.
“There is. Trust me. We’ll make this happen. You’ll get to see your baby being born.” She reached out and patted my shoulder, seemingly forgetting that she totally ragged on me not even an hour ago. “You’re no Tony Romo, but you’ll do. And I can’t stand the thought of you missing seeing your first child come into this world.”
Crazy thing is, all her protesting and telling everyone who I was spurred the captain into gear. The entire plane was abuzz with the fact that a 49er football player was on the plane. The freaking quarterback who was trying to get home to his wife so he could be there for their baby being born. They all started grumbling and it worked to my advantage.
We landed in Oakland within twenty minutes. There was a car waiting for me, one I didn’t arrange for, but someone had. Whoever it was, I offered silent thanks as I hopped into the backseat and gave the driver the address. I was on the phone with either Owen or Fable the entire time as we moved quickly through traffic, which wasn’t easy considering it was rush hour.