Touchdown - Leslie North Page 0,1

curls bouncing. Unka Mack was the closest she could get to saying Uncle Maxwell. The other two just called him Mack.

While Shelley repeated his name, Maxwell clapped along with her. But when he stopped clapping, a different pounding continued.

He twisted, listening closely. Thud thud thud.

The front door. He held up a finger to the triplets. “Nobody move. Unka Mack will be Unka back.” He smirked to himself as he jogged toward the front door. They were too young to groan—or appreciate—his bad dad jokes, which had started sidling out of him, unbidden, within the first week. Mark and James, his best buddies on the Sharks, both promised him this was a normal development in the parenting timeline. Maxwell just hadn’t thought it would hit so soon.

His footsteps squeaked over the recently shined marble of his foyer. He peered through the sidelight at the front door but couldn’t see who was there. He pulled the door open, half-expecting Kelsey looking for a forgotten item from her workday.

Instead, a gorgeous Black woman stood on his porch. A huge handbag dangled from the crook of her arm, and her black hair was swept off to one side of her heart-shaped face. She looked up at him with the biggest eyes he’d ever seen.

“Hi,” she started, maybe nervously. “Are you Maxwell?”

He blinked dumbly. He had no idea if he was Maxwell. All he could focus on was the way her shy smile revealed the golden-brown sheen of her cheeks. He blinked a few times, clutching the doorframe for support.

He’d wished for a gorgeous woman—he just hadn’t expected that request to be answered so promptly.

“Uh,” he began, swallowing hard as shards of clarity began clicking into place. “H-how did you get in here?”

Because that was the matter at hand. He lived in a gated drive; no one could enter without the key code or calling him first. No matter how gorgeous they were.

The beauty rolled her lips together, pressing a hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry if I barged—I spoke with the woman who just left, and she told me that it was fine to come up here since I’m looking to see the kids. I’m Gillian Collier—Wayne Collier’s cousin. He left me in charge of his estate.”

Realization thudded through him at the mention of the name Wayne Collier—his stepsister’s husband. The father of the triplets. He nodded, stepping aside as he gestured for her to come in. “Gillian. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Come in.”

His mind swirled as she stepped into the house, her wide, brown eyes sweeping across the foyer. “But call me Jill, please.”

“Of course. Jill. And yes,” he responded to her initial question, much too late, “I’m Maxwell. Call me Maxwell. Or Max. Or…Unka Mack. Take your pick.”

He wasn’t sure how he’d missed this addition to the extended family tree. He’d certainly never heard of a Gillian—or Jill—much less seen her hanging around the family events or reunions. An eyebrow lifted as she looked over at him.

“They always told me you were in football, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized you were the Maxwell Smith from the Sharks.”

He smirked, shutting the front door behind her. “Jeez. They must not have talked about me too much, huh?”

“Oh, here and there,” she said, sweeping some hair out of her eyes. Her lips curled at the edges. “But for the past couple years, I’ve been living overseas, so whenever I saw them, it was more about catching up. And getting to know the kids.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re excited to see them.” His heart thudded as he led the way deeper into the house, toward the living room where the triplets awaited. “Were you at the funeral last week?” He sure would have remembered this face.

“No, I wasn’t.” She sighed. “My flight was canceled, and I couldn’t make it back in time. It broke my heart that I couldn’t be there.”

Questions swarmed him, but none made the leap past his lips because the second they stepped into the living room, the triplets started screaming with excitement. The three toddled over, stumbling and laughing in the process.

“Auntie! Auntie!”

“There are my little stars!” Jill crouched down to receive their hugs as the three of them tumbled into her arms. Maxwell cocked his head, watching with interest. International traveler, yet somehow she knew the kids this well…yes, the questions were accumulating rapidly.

Jill kissed each of them in turn multiple times before releasing them. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you all,” she gushed.

Shelley began tugging at Jill’s