Tea Parties and Feather Boas (Luke Kuechly)

Chapter Seven: Late Night Waiting

Lydia sat on the couch, Isla's head laying on her lap. As the nanny watched Sunday Night Football, the small child slept peacefully seeing as it was past her bedtime. She had convinced Lydia to let her stay up until Luke got home, which would be past her bedtime. Her caretaker had given in after some debate and the fact that the little girl had to make sure her father was ok after sustaining a concussion in the game made it all that harder to resist Isla's pleas. Lydia figured she wouldn't make it to 10 or 10:30 and she's been right. It was 9:45 now and Isla had been asleep for a good 30 minutes.

Lydia smiled as she softly played with Isla's curls and watched the Giants-Cowboys game, reminiscing about all the Giants games she would watch with her cousin when they were teens. Laughing at how their Cowboys fan grandfather would always gripe about them being traitors to the family, both of them choosing to cheer for their fathers' favorite teams.

She wished she had treasured the time with her grandpa more before he passed two years ago. Lydia loved spending time with him, helping around the farm and eating lunch in the kitchen of the old farmhouse. There was a big contrast between grandpa's and grandma's farm life and her own life that had been lived with the upper class of Savannah, Georgia, her father being a partner at the biggest law firm in the state after all.

Grandpa and all the hard work she helped with had helped keep her grounded through life. He wasn't scared to put her back in check if she ever overstepped a boundary either. Lydia was so lost in her reverie that she didn't hear Luke arriving home.

Luke tiredly walking into his home Sunday night. He was exhausted, his concussion not helping matters but happy. They'd won, much to the happiness of the entire franchise. Tossing his bag to the side, the tired linebacker turned to go upstairs but caught sight of two forms on the couch.

His breath caught as he watched Lydia, with Isla's head on her lap, stroking his daughter's hair as she slept, the nanny appearing to be in her own little world.

To a stranger, the two may have looked like mother and daughter, despite the difference in hair and eyes. It pulled at the man's heartstrings to see Isla having this mother-daughter like moments with her nanny. She hadn't ever had much of a mother figure or female figure in her life. Luke had dated a few people but never introduced them to Isla. She didn't need to become attached to someone only for them to leave, plus not a lot of women his age wanted the package deal Luke and Isla were.

As a commercial aired, Lydia caught sight of Luke standing in the doorway. "When did you get in?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Luke replied, walking further into the room. "She's out, huh?" He looked at his daughter.

"Like a light," Lydia laughed slightly. "She sorta begged me to stay up until you got home, especially after you got hurt and I obviously gave in. I figured she'd probably fall asleep before you got home anyway."

Luke nodded. "That's fine. She behave?"

"Like an angel."

Smiling, Luke softly rubbed his daughter's back. "Isla..." He cooed. "Wake up baby doll, I'm home."

Slowly and groggily, Isla's eyes opened, taking a moment longer to process what she was seeing. "Daddy!" She smiled happily, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him. "Are you ok? I was worried."

"Hey Isla bear," he chuckled softly, holding her. "I'm fine I just need some rest. How's my little girl?"

"Tired," the young girl yawned, resting her head on her father's shoulders.

Luke smiled. "Let's get you to bed."

"Ok," Isla sighed, content to be in the warm, safe embrace of her daddy's arms again.