You're Mine

Chapter 37

Harrison laid on the floor, flipping a football up in the air as Adam crawled around next to him.

"I should retire," he blurted out.

"What?"

"You heard me," he muttered, flipping the ball again.

"You want to retire?" Carrie asked.

"A little bit. I mean, I've been playing for a while..." he trailed off.

"Harrison you're only 24. You've got a lot more years left on your career."

He started massaging her feet. "Adam's growing up so fast. And I'm not around as much as I'd like to be."

Carrie raised an eyebrow hearing these words come out of her husband's mouth. "Why don't you finish out your contract? Then we can have this talk next year."

"Okay."

She went back to reading her magazine, which was this years version of ESPN's Body Issue. And Harrison was on the front cover of this years issue. The magazine featured pictures of famous athletes along with captions about their eating and workout habits.

"You know some of these views are for my eyes only," she told him, flipping through another couple pictures of him. In one picture he stood, wearing nothing but eye black. He looked straight forward, holding a football in his extended arm. For this picture, his hair was combed forward so it hung just above his eyes.

"You can have that view anytime sweetheart," he teased.

She rolled her eyes, playfully kicking him. Harrison caught her foot, pretending to pull her off the couch. "Harrison!" Then he started tickling the bottom of her foot. "Stop it!"

The noise woke up Chance who laid next to Carrie on the couch. "Harry stop it!" She laughed, but he only continued. "Please!?"

Then Chance growled at him until he let go of her foot. She moved back on the couch, laying her head against Chance's side. "Somebody told you," she boasted, flashing Harrison a smile.

"Dadda!"

He rolled over, seeing Adam trying to reach for his blocks which were up on the other couch. Crawling over, he pulled them off the couch for his son.

Adam flipped the box over, smashing blocks against each other. "Dadda!" Harrison built him a small house out of blocks that he happily smashed with another.

He kept building and building until Adam gave up with smashing and started to help him build. They had a huge castle built when Chance decided to get off the couch. He jumped down, accidentally smashing the castle.

Adam started crying. Chance, who'd already walked away, came jogging back. Seeing Chance, he stopped crying. "Dowgy!"

"That's Chance."

"Chwancey!" Adam tried, hearing his daddy's voice say 'Chance.'

Chance nudged his hand with his nose. Adam pet him with his little hands, eventually grabbing his ears. "Adam honey-"

Carrie stopped mid sentence as Chance picked his head up, not caring that the little boy was holding on to his ears. He moved slowly enough that Adam could hold on until his was standing on his feet, holding on to Chance's neck.

Then Adam did something both Harrison and Carrie thought he wouldn't do for at least another few months. He took his first steps. They both watched in awe as he walked over to his daddy who held his hands out.

"Carrie, get your phone out!"

She threw the magazine to the side, getting up and finding her phone stuck in between the couch cushions. Carrie recorded Adam slowly walking over to his dad.

Chance walked next to him. When Adam stumbled on a few blocks, he grabbed onto Chance's collar to steady himself.

"Sweetheart, are you getting this?"

Carrie nodded, holding her phone with one hand and the other covering her mouth. She couldn't believe it. He was walking already.

"Dadda!" He said, walking a little bit faster to get to Harrison.

"Hey little man! You did it!"

He looked up at his daddy, wondering what he was talking about. "You took your first steps!"

Carrie slid off the couch to sit next to the two of them. She clapped her hands and Adam mimicked his mommy.

Adam sat in Harrison's lap and for the next hour, the three of them just played with blocks, building all sorts of buildings and castles.

•••

Later that evening, Chance helped Adam with his walking. The two of them did laps around the couch. Chance walked on Adam's side, holding his head low enough so the little boy could easily grab onto his collar if need be.

Chance simply followed Adam around the living room. Getting to the edge of the carpet, Adam stopped and looked at Chance.

Carrie and Harrison sat on the couch, waiting to see what would happen next. Chance nudged his hand, before walking out on the hardwood floor. After seeing Chance walk on it, Adam followed his example.

They did a lap around the outside of the couch, Adam only slipping on the floor once. But he was able to grab onto Chance's collar. As they came around the other side of the couch, Carrie recorded Adam walking with Chance.

"When he gets older, he's never going to believe that Chance taught him to walk," she said, moving her phone a little bit.

"We'll he'll be able to believe it now."

Carrie could tell Adam was getting tired from all the walking. As him and Chance passed by, she picked him up. "Good job Adam!" She exclaimed, giving him a high five.

With Adam sitting on her lap, Chance nudged his other hand, giving him a doggy high five. "Who's ready for dinner?" Carrie asked.

"I am," Harrison whispered from next to her, giving her a gentle cheek kiss.

"Momma!"

"I guess that makes two," she said, giving Adam to Harrison before getting up and going into the kitchen.

Adam jumped off his daddy's lap, going over to the other couch and grabbing his little teddy bear. With the bear in hand, he attempted to run to his daddy, but ended up falling on the carpet.

Chance got right up after seeing Adam fall. He made his way over, attempting to help him up the same way he'd done before, but Adam was more focused on his teddy bear that got wedged under the couch.

"Chwancy!" He called.

Chance laid down next to Adam. He moved his paws under the couch until they closed on each side of the bear. Then he backed up, pulling the bear out between his paws.

Adam grabbed his bear and ran over to his dad. "Say thank you to Chance."

He ran back over to Chance, wrapping his little arms around the dogs neck. "Chwancy!"

Carrie came back in from the kitchen, watching the whole thing unfold. Seeing his mommy, Adam came over, still holding his teddy bear. "Momma!"

She picked him up, carrying him into the kitchen as Harrison followed. "I love you little man."