Breakthrough Read online

  Breakthrough

  Sarah Stevens

  Sarah Stevens Copyright © 2020

  Cover Designer: Melissa Gill Designs

  Photographer: Lindee Robinson

  Cover Model: Daniel

  Editor: Briggs Consulting, LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.

  For my brother for always being there for me and loving me despite my hockey team choice! Go Preds, Bruins are good too though.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  The Night He Saved Me Book 1 in the Saved by Love series

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Mandy

  As I sit here on the plane heading back to Nashville holding my little girl, I start reflecting about how everything I thought was going good for me collapsed in a matter of a few months.

  I had an amazing job, a boyfriend who I thought loved me, and an amazing apartment near the Boston Commons.

  Then my world came crashing down. My boyfriend, first baseman for Boston, Connor Davis, rejects his child I’m pregnant with, dumps me, and left a NDA on my counter for me to sign sitting next to a short handwritten note and a legal document saying he would pay me one million dollars if I stay quiet.

  Then, Grandpa’s cancer started to get worse; treatments aren’t helping him anymore.

  I went back home to have my little girl in Nashville, I completed my maternity leave and returned to the field where I was greeted with so much gossip behind my back, I started thinking it wasn’t worth it anymore.

  Now, six months later, I’m on this damn plane heading back home, because I lost the only man who ever meant the world to me.

  1

  Mandy

  Grandpa was sick and lived a long life, so now I’m on my way to comfort my grandmother because she lost the love of her life. Grandpa was like a dad to me since my goal keeping dad didn’t have a care in the world for me after Mom passed away. My grandparents, his parents, took me in as their own little girl when I was eight. I should have been there for Grandpa’s last days. I should have brought Callie to see him one last time. I have so many regrets not being in Nashville as his last days approached.

  I loved the life I’ve been living in Boston working for the baseball team as the athletic trainer, but my heart is pulling me back home, back to my grandma.

  With Callie in my arms, only a few months old, and her deadbeat baseball-playing dad who denies his daughter exists, is back in Boston. I sit here free to make any decision I want. Where to live and where to work. Nashville has an amazing hockey team, The Notes, maybe they need an athletic trainer?

  Baseball season is about to end and I’m at the end of my contract. When I get back to Boston, I have to let them know if I want to sign a new one. While I’m home, I have a lot of thinking I need to do. In reality, the only thing keeping me in Boston is my job and apartment. I wish I could say Callie’s dad was a reason to stay but his reputation is more important than anything. The second he found out I was pregnant he dropped me and had his lawyers on me in a quick second. Not exactly how I wanted to celebrate being pregnant, but I did it on my own, with all the questions I faced daily I stood strong and followed that damn NDA. People thought I was a slut. I always heard the people around me talking, but I ignored it. He made me deal with it, the bastard. Then the one day I had to bring her to work, he didn’t even acknowledge her or even smile, knowing it was his daughter I held in my arms.

  Professional athletes are a sorry bunch of men, they do what they want without caring for anyone around them. I should know, my dad was a goalie in the NHL, and my grandpa was a coach for the Nashville Notes when he retired. Grandpa was amazing though; he was always full of heart and treated the guys like his own kids. He was the only reason I wanted anything to do with a professional team or sports medicine. He made me see the heart of the game and look beyond the Neanderthal players.

  I suppose I’ll go home spend some time with grandma and Callie and enjoy the time off while I get my shit together. I know Boston isn’t where I need or even want to be anymore.

  Walking off the plane into the terminal brings me back to my roots from the live band at the bar on the corner, the country stars making announcements over the loudspeaker saying, “Welcome to Nashville” and then all the people decked out in hats and boots. If you’re going to Nashville, I guess you need to look the part.

  Callie and I make our way to baggage claim and then to the rental car counter to secure the car I reserved. Once settled into the car we make our way to Grandma Maggie’s, about a thirty-minute drive outside the city. As I approach the town I grew up in, I take in all the changes, from the new apartment buildings and new neighborhoods to the shops that weren’t there the last time I visited just a few months ago. Once I went on maternity leave, I came back home to have Callie and I spend most of my time off here. There wasn’t anyone in Boston who cared or wanted to help. The friends I had while I was on the arm of Boston’s star pitcher left as quick as they came—so not really my friends—and while working in a man’s sport, there weren’t any female co-workers I could get to know. The guys hated I was in their locker room which they made me aware of more and more as my belly grew bigger.

  These guys sure do look good on the outside but knowing all of them and working on them when they were injured made me realize who they really were, assholes with a God complex.

  We approach the house and struggle to find a place to park with all the neighbors who are there bringing enough food to feed an army. I feel as if I’ve gone back in time to a day, I’d rather not revisit but it slams me in the face the second I see all the sad faces turn my way when we walk in the
door. The last time I saw all these faces at once and food piled high on the kitchen counter was when my mom passed away. I was just a little girl; my dad was off playing hockey for Boston and my grandparents were there by my side. When my father was traded from Nashville to Boston my mom decided we would stay here in Nashville at least until the school year was over before uprooting me. So, my eight-year-old self could finish the second grade but on the last day of school no one arrived to pick me up, mom wasn’t answering the phone either which was very unlike her. Eventually, my school was able to reach my grandparents but when the lady at the desk hung up the phone, she had tears in her eyes.

  “Amanda, your Grandpa Jerry will be along soon to get you. Sit here and I’ll be right back.”

  A short time later Grandpa Jerry came into the office and he looked like he had been crying. Giving me a wink, he walked to the desk to sign me out and the receptionist gave him a sad smile. This was the day everything changed for me. Once out in the car, I asked what was wrong and tears sprung to Grandpa Jerry’s eyes, “Mandy girl, we’ll talk when we get back to the house.”

  I remember the car being so quiet and every so often I’d see Grandpa wipe a tear away.

  Arriving at my grandparent's house I could feel something was wrong before I even walked in the door. Walking into the kitchen I found Grandma Maggie sitting at the table crying.

  “Can someone please tell me what’s going on and where my mom is?”

  “Come here, baby girl,” Grandma said to me pulling me into her lap. Grandpa took the seat next to us while taking a hold of grandma’s hand.

  “Baby girl, right before school was due to be let out, we had a visitor, a police officer came to see us. He told us your mom had been in a car accident while on the way to get you from school.”

  More tears started to roll down both of their faces as I searched for the meaning in their words looking back and forth at each of them. “Is she okay?”

  “Sweetness, she didn’t make it. Your mom passed away and is in heaven now.” And he started to sob. Grandma hugged me tighter and I sat there, blank no reaction, no tears nothing. I thought if I didn’t react then it wasn’t true. I got up, leaving them at the kitchen table, and walked to my room they kept for me here at their house, not saying a word.

  I’m not sure how long I stayed there, but it was getting dark when I looked out the window. I fell asleep and the next morning I woke up to a house full of people looking at me with sad eyes and carrying dishes filled with food into the kitchen. Still, not a tear had shed until later that night when I couldn’t deny what had happened anymore.

  Walking into the kitchen, seeing Grandma Maggie in that same chair, with the same tears in her eyes, made me break. I wasn’t strong enough to ignore the reality of why I was there. Not this time.

  I set Callie on the floor in her carrier next to Grandma. I then pull Grandma into my arms and hug her with all the emotion I’m feeling, and she starts to sob.

  Turning to the community residing in the kitchen and living room I ask them as nicely as I can to leave to give us some time together. Slowly everyone trickles out of the house and I lock the front door.

  When I get back to the kitchen, Grandma has Callie in her arms and is cooing at her with a hint of a smile on her face, which in turn puts a smile on my face.

  “Grandma, I wish I could have gotten here sooner, but I’m here now, can I get you some tea?”

  “Thank you, baby girl, that would be nice. You got here within twenty-four hours, so I think you did all right.”

  “I guess you’re right. I’ll get that tea for you.” She ignores me to give all her attention to Callie. Bringing my little girl here is the best medicine for Grandma.

  2

  Mandy

  The next few days went by in a blur between taking care of Callie, Grandma, and making arrangements for Grampa Jerry’s funeral which became a bear of a project because he was the retired coach for the Nashville Notes, so I had to fend off the press too. What should have been a simple funeral for a well-loved man, became a media circus and didn’t leave much personal time to grieve.

  This morning was the day we all had to say goodbye. If it wasn’t for Callie, I probably would have stayed in bed or as long as I possibly could, so I didn’t have to face the entire day.

  Walking into the kitchen I find Grandma sitting at the table with her coffee in hand staring off into space like she was so deep in thought she didn’t even know the world was moving around her.

  “Mornin’ Grandma. Were you able to get any sleep last night?” I asked, trying to grab her attention. With a quick jerk to her head, she notices I’m standing in front of her.

  “Mornin’ Sweetie. Sleep didn’t come easy for me. It’s hard to sleep without that loud buzzing of a snore your grandpa had.” A small chuckle escapes her mouth as a tear falls from her eye.

  I shift Callie to my side and lean in and gently kiss her cheek before I turn to the counter to get a bottle ready and a steaming mug of coffee with just a touch of cream.

  “I miss him too.”

  Taking a seat at the table, I take hold of her hand and give it a little squeeze reassuring her that I’m there for her.

  “The ladies in town have everything all set for today, we don’t have to worry about a thing, not even company here at the house.” Callie grabs for her bottle and gives me a little glare because I was holding it hostage from her lost in my own thoughts for a moment.

  For the next few minutes, we sit there at the table in silence, lost in our thoughts then I realize I forgot to talk to Grandma about the Notes game tomorrow night.

  “Grandma, I have to talk to you about something.”

  “Go ahead girl, speak.”

  “I got a call from Jason Talbot, the owner of the Notes, yesterday, you’ll probably see him and his wife and some of the players today. Anyway, at tomorrow’s game they want to have a ceremony and honor Grandpa. Do you think you’ll be up to it?”

  “This team was a part of his life, heck our life. They are like a second family. I’m not surprised and honestly, I was planning on going to the game anyway. I can’t let our seats go to waste. Your grandpa made sure we would have hockey at our fingertips whenever we wanted, and negotiated two seats into his retirement. After I’m gone, those seats will go to you and so forth down to Callie until the end of time. I would be so happy to be there and have them honor the love of my life.”

  “Okay, then we’ll be there. Do you know of a good babysitter for Callie?”

  “Angie would be great, she’s still in town, married that Goodwin fellow a while back while you were gone.”

  “Perfect, it’s been forever since I was at a game, I think I was in high school the last time I went.”

  My excitement about going to the game dies down and I've called Angie to set up babysitting for tomorrow night when the reason for the day comes crashing down on me. I make Grandma and I a small snack while Callie is napping and before we have to start to get ready for Grandpa Jerry’s funeral.

  The Day goes by faster than I expected, Callie was amazing with all the people around. Jason, his wife and a few core players my grandpa coached on the team came together. The entire town seemed to be in attendance and the media tried to gain access to the service, but we made sure they weren’t allowed in. There was nothing we could do about them showing up at the cemetery, so we all ignored them and went about the reason we were there, to lay Grandpa to rest.

  At the town café, there was a reception, though it seemed to flow out into the street with the number of people who attended. By six o’clock we had had more than enough of the day. My eyes were red and puffy, as were Grandma’s and Callie was getting fussy. We made the rounds and said our goodbyes before making our way back to the house.

  Once the door was closed behind me, I sank to the floor. Exhaustion hit me, along with the tears that didn’t seem to want to stop. Grandma walked back into the foyer with Callie on her side and a fresh bottle in her hand.<
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  “Sweetie are you okay?” she asked with a hint of worry to her tone.

  “I’m okay, Grandma. Today took a huge toll on me and once I was back into the quiet space of this house, I was done pretending, smiling and worrying about what everyone else saw in me. My space, my quiet, and my breakdown. I’ll be okay, I promise.”

  She’s beside me on the floor and the three of us huddle together, we are all we have left. It’s at this moment, I make the decision to stay, leave everything in Boston and move here. I might be giving everything up, but this woman is more important than any job.

  “Grandma, I’m moving home. There is nothing left for me in Boston.”

  Looking down at Callie, I continue. “Her sperm donor made it clear many times he doesn’t want me around, he’s made my life hell in the locker room. I’m sure he’s behind most of the rumors about me. I can get another job here. Maybe the Notes need an athletic trainer.”

  “I would love for you two to come live here. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “More than anything, Grandma. This is home and this is where we need to be.”

  3

  Mandy

  The next day I wake up to a cranky Callie, still tired from yesterday’s activities. Once her diaper is changed and she has a bottle in hand, she is again a happy baby and I’m still exhausted. Tonight, we are going to the Notes game. It’s been forever since I’ve been to a game. My life consisted of baseball for the past few years and before that I was busy with college. Once Callie is settled in the play pen near the kitchen table, I go get my first cup of coffee. Grandma appears as soon as I take my seat at the table.