"You are already a good man, Daryl," my father interjected with a sigh. "And for the record, you have always been a good man when it comes to my daughter. Even when you were little more than a boy. It's one of the few things in life that I've never had to doubt."
"Thank you," Daryl replied, voice thick with emotion.
"It's true, D." Shivering, I squeezed his hand in reassurance, loving this boy more than was good for me. "Always." Turning to my father, I asked, "Can he stay?"
"I should say no," Dad replied, rising from the table. "But the circumstances are extenuating, and, to be quite truthful, I'm all out of reasons to keep you apart," he added, setting his empty coffee mug in the sink. "And while the circumstances are less than ideal, and I'm not happy about the timing of this pregnancy, I have faith in you," he continued. "In both of you."
Blowing out a shaky breath, Daryl nodded in relief. "Thank you, sir."
"We have a lot to discuss," Dad said, stepping around us and moving for the kitchen door. "Decisions to make and plans to agree on, but all of that can wait for another day."
"I thought your father was gonna kill me back there," Daryl said when we were getting ready for bed. After a pause, he frowned and added, "I still think he might."
"He won't kill you," I chuckled, pulling back the covers and climbing into bed. "He would never leave his grandchild fatherless."
"Maybe," he replied, not sounding convinced, as he climbed into bed alongside me. "Either way, I think I'll sleep with one eye open tonight."
"You're so ridiculous," I chuckled, settling down on my side, facing him.
"Molls?"
"Yeah, D?"
Resting on his side, facing me, he reached out and placed his hand on my stomach. "I love you."
A shiver racked through me. "I love you too, D."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
His hand moved from my belly to rest on my cheek. "My second chance with you."
"Thank you," I replied, reaching up to cover his hand with mine.
He frowned. "For what?"
"My second chance at life," I offered, my voice barely more than a breathy whisper.
His green eyes burned with tenderness and he leaned in close. "I'll always save you, Dolly." Stroking my nose with his, he pressed a tender kiss to my lips. "You call and I'll come running. Always."
A shudder rolled through me, and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest with love for this boy. "We're gonna be okay, aren't we, D?"
"Yeah, Dolly," Daryl replied, kissing me again. "We're gonna be just fine."
Epilogue
Alabama
Nine months later
Molly
"Look, Sawyer," I cooed, bouncing my healthy baby boy on my lap while adjusting the little ear defenders that protected my son from the screaming fans around us. "Look at your daddy go."
Clad in a miniature version of his father's jersey, Sawyer sucked on his chubby little hand, entirely unimpressed with the game unfolding in front of him.
Give it time, I thought to myself with a smile.
I had spent the majority of my life watching Daryl King from the sidelines or stands as he navigated his way through the ranks of his beloved game.
As a child, I watched him play in the peewee leagues, and knew that even at the tender age of nine, he was going to light up the world someday.
As a teenager, I had believed that even more.
But now, as a young woman, I felt pretty freaking smug as I sat in the stands of our college's football stadium, watching on as Daryl King threw one hell of a pass.
Screaming erupted around us, and I beamed with pride.
A mixture of awe and sheer adoration racked through my body as I watched him work his magic.
The spotlight was shining on the man I called my husband.
The man who was barely a boy when he ran into a burning house to pull me to safety, and barely a man when he held my hand in the delivery suite three weeks before our high school graduation when our son was born.
Like his father before him, the football field was a place Daryl always shone the brightest.
But unlike his father, Daryl proved that a person could be both.
Be more.
And have it all.
Watching him now, knowing that he had become everything he promised he would, and still managed to remain the same… well, it was incredibly humbling.
He looked into stands then, eyes locking with mine, and I knew in that moment that I would never not be in love with the boy across the street.
Thank you so much for reading Waiting Game!
I really hope that you enjoyed Molly and Daryl's story.
Please consider leaving a review on the platform you purchased this book.
Other Books by Chloe Walsh
The Pocket Series:
Pocketful of Blame – Pocket #1
Pocketful of Shame – Pocket #2
Pocketful of You – Pocket #3
Pocketful of Us – Pocket #4
Ocean Bay Series:
Endgame – Ocean Bay #1
Waiting Game – Ocean Bay #2
Truth Game – Ocean Bay #3
The Faking it Series:
Off Limits – Faking it #1
Off the Cards – Faking it #2
Off the Hook – Faking it #3
The Broken Series:
Break my Fall – Broken #1
Fall to Pieces – Broken #2
Fall on Me – Broken #3
Forever we Fall – Broken #4
The Carter Kids Series:
Treacherous – Carter Kids #1
Always – Carter Kids #1.5
Thorn – Carter Kids #2
Tame – Carter Kids #3
Torment – Carter Kids #4
Inevitable – Carter Kids #5
Altered – Carter Kids #6
The DiMarco Dynasty:
DiMarco’s Secret Love Child: Part One
DiMarco’s Secret Love Child: Part Two
The Blurred Lines Duet:
Blurring Lines – Book One
Never Let me Go – Book Two
Boys of Tommen:
Binding 13 – Boys of Tommen #1
Keeping 13 – Boys of Tommen #2
Crellids:
The Bastard Prince
Other titles:
Seven Sleepless Nights
Audiobooks
Titles Available as Audiobooks:
Treacherous – Carter Kids #1
Thorn – Carter Kids #2
Tame – Carter Kids #3
Binding 13 – Boys of Tommen #1 (Part One)
Binding 13 – Boys of Tommen #1 (Part Two)
Keeping 13 – Boys of Tommen (Part One)
Keeping 13 – Boys of Tommen (Part Two)
Pocketful of Blame & Pocketful of Shame (Books 1 & 2)
Pocketful of You & Pocketful of Us (Books 3 & 4)
For more information on audiobooks, please check out Chloe's website here.
Paperback copies of Chloe's books are available on Amazon and other online platforms.
Social Media Links
To keep up to date with Chloe's upcoming releases, you can follow her on any of the platforms listed below:
Mailing List
Facebook
Reader Group
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
BookBub
Spotify
Amazon
Website
Playlist
Playlist for Truth Game
Check out Daryl and Molly's full playlist on Spotify here.
2WEI – In the End
Grace Carter – Wicked Game
Aidan Martin – I Blame You
Black Honey – Bad Friends
Hillary Duff – Beat Of My Heart
George Ezra – Hold My Girl
The Black Keys – Lonely Boy (For Rourke and Mercy)
Taylor Swift – Lover
Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams
Taylor Swift – Love Story.
Meg Myers – Running Up That Hill
Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
Tedy – Can I
Tina Arena – Show me
Keith Urban – Somebody Like You
Cher Lloyd – Stay
Amy Studt – If Only
Khalid – Ocean
Hellogoodbye – Here (In Your Arms)
Luke Combs – I Got Away With You
Ben Harper – Diamonds On The Inside
Jamie Lawson – I'm Gonna Love You
Kodaline – Love Like This
Picture This – You & I
Chuck Berry – Childhood Sweetheart
Garth Brooks – Two Of A Kind
Chord Overstreet – Hold On
Cam – Burning House
Jessie J – Flashlight
Kid Rock – First Kiss
One Direction – Perfect
Stellar Kart – Do You Want to Build a Snowman
Nickelback – Far Away
Fifth Harmony – Work from Home
Athlete – Wires
My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
Chris Young – It Takes A Man
Deana Carter – Strawberry Wine
Ed Sheeran – Castle on the Hill
John Mellencamp – Jack & Diane
Uncle Kracker – Smile
John Mayer – Your Body Is a Wonderland
Acknowledgments
The readers –
First off, I want to thank everyone for reading this story – any of my stories, actually. You have no idea how deeply I appreciate each and every one of you. I really do hope that you have enjoyed Molly and Daryl's story and continue to follow me on my writing journey.
My clovers –
Lads, you know how much you mean to me. Seriously, I would be lost without your support and friendship. I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for always being there for me. You're the jam, lads.
My family –
My kids, my parents, my siblings and extended family, I love you all. Thank you so much for being there for me this past year – and all of the previous years. It doesn’t go unnoticed. I'm so proud to have a family like you guys.
Aleesha –
As always, I would be completely lost without you. Thank you so much for working with me even when I'm close to impossible. I couldn’t do any of this without you. Love you hard, girlie <3
About the Author
International bestselling author Chloe Walsh writes heart wrenching, emotionally gripping, young and new adult fiction. Her books will suck you into deeply emotive storylines, where you'll fall in love with the complex, sexy heroes, hilarious sidekicks, and lovable female leads. Every adventure with Chloe is an angsty plot designed to give you the ultimate book hangover.
Chloe hails from a small town in the beautiful West Cork on the south coast of Ireland, where she resides with her two children and the tall, dark, and handsome man in her life – Garry, her overgrown Newfoundland pup. When Garry isn't dragging her around the farmer's fields and countryside lanes, she can be found glued to her kindle or binging on Netflix, inhaling GOT, devouring all things rugby, drowning in her Spotify playlists, and being a kick-ass autism mommy.
Animal lover, music addict, TV junkie, Chloe is your typical twenty-nine-year-old, with a passion for reading and an even bigger passion for putting pen to paper. A fiercely proud champion of mental health awareness, Chloe makes no secret of her own personal battles and construes this in her writing.
At present, she has more than twenty novels under her belt, many of which are bestsellers in multiple countries around the world. Several of her titles have been turned into audiobooks.
The best way to get in touch with Chloe is in her reader group on Facebook Chloe's Clovers.
Join Chloe’s mailing list for exclusive content, release updates, and a free eBook:
http://eepurl.com/dPzXM1
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Playlist for Truth Game
Contents
Disclaimer
Author’s Note
1. Daryl
2. Molly
3. Molly
4. Daryl
5. Daryl
6. Molly
7. Daryl
8. Molly
9. Daryl
10. Molly
11. Molly
12. Daryl
13. Molly
15. Molly
16. Molly
17. Daryl
18. Molly
19. Daryl
20. Molly
21. Daryl
22. Molly
23. Daryl
24. Molly
25. Daryl
26. Daryl
27. Molly
28. Daryl
29. Molly
30. Molly
31. Daryl
32. Molly
33. Daryl
34. Molly
35. Molly
36. Molly
Daryl
37. Molly
38. Daryl
39. Molly
40. Daryl
41. Molly
42. Molly
43. Daryl
44. Molly
45. Daryl
46. Molly
47. Molly
48. Daryl
49. Molly
50. Daryl
51. Molly
52. Daryl
Molly
53. Rourke
54. Mercy
55. One month later
56. Molly
57. Daryl
58. Molly
59. Daryl
60. Daryl
Molly
Epilogue
Thank you so much for reading Waiting Game!
Other Books by Chloe Walsh
Audiobooks
Social Media Links
Playlist
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Acknowledgments