All Grown Up (Book 6)

Retirement Pending

|Zach's POV|

I've spent a decade in the NFL and couldn't be prouder of being a 4x Super Bowl Champ and 10x Pro Bowler among other accolades. Even with my setbacks, as my career progressed, everything else in my life fell into place. I have my wife and 4 kids: Zoe (7), Noah (5), Bailey (3), and Eli (1). Two girls and two boys. Kylie said no more and I'm fine with that. We were settled on 3. Trust me our youngest was a complete surprise.

How am I able to keep up with 4 kids being on the road as much as I am? I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Kylie does most of the legwork, but I've decided on retirement once my contract is up next year. I've had an amazing run and I couldn't be more blessed to have played the sport I love for all these years. I'm now ready for life after football and most importantly, being home with my family.

These past 7 years have been challenging as our family has grown. Our oldest, Zoe, has become a handful and her sass has been landing her in trouble. She's a spitting image of her mother, but has my temperament. I keep telling people, the Levesque rage is like no other. I just got home from a road game and I have to deal with the latest, Zoe hitting Kylie. Yeah, not putting up with that.

Entering the house, I heard Kylie on the phone. The kids are in school/daycare, minus Eli. Zoe was in 2nd grade while Noah had just started Kindergarten. Bailey was in daycare. I made my way into the kitchen and she smiled when she saw me.

Yeah, I'll have him give you a call later on. I think it's a great idea to open up a location here as well. He'll have the final say. Yeah, I can make some calls to the locations I've seen. Absolutely. Thanks, Ethan. Alright, bye.

"Hey, babe." she said, setting her phone down.

I pulled her to me, kissing her.

"Hey, beautiful. Where's Eli?"

"He's napping. I'm just catching up on some calls and emails. What do you think about opening up a rec center here in Cali? I know we have the one in Florida and Kansas City. I just think leaving a piece of you where you played is cool."

I nodded.

"I'm fine with that. I just..."

"Don't worry, Ethan is helping me with the legwork. I'll get you some options to look at and we can move on from there."

"Alright."

She moved to the stove and fixed me a plate.

I swear my wife was Superwoman.I don't know where she got all the energy from to keep up with me, the kids, manage my non profits, and still have time for herself. She had a lot on her and that was another reason I wanted to retire. She didn't and shouldn't have to do this on her own.

I sat at the island as she sat across from me, the two of us eating lunch in a comfortable silence. As we were finishing up, I decided to ask her about Zoe.

"So, what happened with Zo?"

She instantly rolled her eyes.

"She threw a temper tantrum and hit me."

"She put her hands on you?"

I wasn't here for every little thing, but this is out of the ordinary, even for Zoe. I be damned if any of our kids start hitting people, especially not their mother

"She was fighting with Noah over him taking one of her dolls. She hit him, I pulled them apart, and she hit me too."

"What?"

"She got spanked for it. You can talk to her about it later if you wish. I handled it though."

"Hitting is new or am I that out of the loop?"