Down the Line (Sports Romance)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I did it because I was so in love with you,” he said, looking panic-stricken. “I still am. But I know you’re long over me. I get that you’ve moved on. I just…” He shrugged. “I’m having a harder time letting go, I guess.”

  She felt a stab of remorse, not because she wished she’d stayed with him but because he’d been hurt the way she had when she and Ethan broke up. And Joel had been there to help her pick up the pieces and believe she could move on. She hated what he’d done, but she didn’t want to ruin his life.

  “I’ll talk to my brother,” she said, standing.

  “Then you won’t be pressing charges?”

  She knew it was something she should probably talk to Ethan about before she made a commitment, but he would no doubt want revenge and she just wasn’t in that headspace. She wanted to move on. With Ethan. And leave her past with Joel behind her.

  “No, I won’t. But do us both a favor… keep your distance.”

  * * *

  Grace was sitting in the parking lot of Joel’s building, trying to process what she was seeing. Text messages from an unfamiliar number with images of her husband. One was of him walking into a prenatal genetics clinic and it read…

  Do you know where your husband is?

  The next was a photo of him having blood drawn with the question, Hmmm… what is he up to?

  She quickly Googled the clinic from the name on the overhead sign. He was in Tennessee, not in Kansas City, like he’d claimed. And what the hell was he doing at a prenatal genetics clinic? Was he afraid he had a genetic condition that could harm their baby and was afraid to tell her?

  Her stomach did a flip-flop as she tried her husband’s number. Voice mail. She fired off a text, her hands trembling.

  Call me.

  Since she couldn’t just sit around and wait for the phone to ring, she called her best friend. “Hey, sorry to bother you at work, but have you heard from your brother since he left town?”

  “Uh no, why?”

  “He’s not in Kansas City. He’s in Tennessee. At a prenatal genetics clinic.” She whispered the last few words, trying to process what they meant. Why was he lying to her about his whereabouts? And what the hell was he trying to keep from her? “What would he be doing at a place like that? Prenatal genetic testing.” She felt the hot sting of tears. “He was getting a blood test.”

  Bella swore softly. “How did you find this out?”

  “A text message.” She swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks. “I didn’t recognize the number.”

  “That bitch, no doubt.”

  “Who would…?” She closed her eyes, bowing her head as she curled her hand around the steering wheel. “Oh my God. Issie? She’s pregnant and she thinks the baby is my husband’s?’

  “No one knows anything for sure, honey. That’s why he’s there.”

  “You knew.” Grace couldn’t decide who she felt more betrayed by, Ethan or Bella. “You knew she was pregnant and that he was going to Tennessee for this test, didn’t you?” When Bella didn’t respond, Grace cried, “How could you do this to me? How could you keep this from me? How could he?”

  “Where are you?” Bella asked, sounding panicked. “I’m going to come there. Are you at home?”

  “No. I don’t want to see you. And I don’t want to see him. You can tell him that for me.”

  “Grace, don’t say that. I know you’re angry, but you guys can work this out. The baby may not even be his. And even if it is, Issie got pregnant before you and Ethan were even back together. You can’t blame him for—”

  “I can blame him for lying to me! For keeping this from me! And I can blame you for defending him. What the hell, Bella? I thought you were my best friend!”

  “I am—”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ethan felt sick to his stomach. He hadn’t eaten or slept in three days, not since he’d gotten that text message from Gracie and hadn’t been able to reach her. He’d hopped on the next flight, but he’d been too late. She was gone.

  Her realtor claimed she’d accepted a low-ball offer on her property and turned over the keys, promising a moving company would clear out the rest of her things before the closing date at the end of the month.

  Her parents hadn’t heard from her. Neither had Ash. And Bella didn’t expect to. Gracie was just gone without a trace. And he was slowly going out of his mind. Four more days before the paternity test came in, and even if the baby wasn’t his, it looked as though he’d still lost his wife.

  “What am I going to do, Bell?” He dropped his head in his hands as his sister put a mug of steaming black coffee in front of him.

  “If you’re not going to sleep, at least drink this. Honestly, I don’t know how you’re still walking around.”

  He didn’t want to be. He wanted to go to bed, pull the covers over his head, and pretend this was all a nightmare. But he couldn’t. He had to find Gracie. She was out there somewhere. Scared and alone and it was all his fault.

  “No matter what happens with the blood test,” he said, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes, “she’s never going to forgive me for this. I’ve lost her for good this time.”

  “You don’t know that,” Bella said, sitting down beside him on a stool at her breakfast bar. “Maybe she just needed to get away and think for a while. It’s a lot to take in, you know.”

  If he found out she was pregnant with another man’s baby, he’d lose his shit. He couldn’t imagine what she must be thinking and feeling right now. He hated himself for putting her through this, but he didn’t know how to make it better. “You honestly think she’ll ever come back to me?”

  She’d always told him trust was the cornerstone of any good relationship. Without it, they had nothing. And he’d broken that trust by lying and keeping things from her.

  “You thought you were doing what was best.” Bella sighed. “I’ll admit I thought it was for the best too. I seriously doubt this child is yours. We all know what a slu—”

  “Don’t make excuses for me.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I screwed up. I did this.”

  “I suggested it, E. You should be pissed at me too.” She rested her hand on his back. “But we were only trying to protect Grace. She’ll come around once she has time to process everything.”

  “No, she won’t.” Ethan knew that because if he was in her position, he wasn’t sure he could forgive and forget.

  “If she really is pregnant, she’ll have no choice. Even if she doesn’t want to be married to you anymore, you two will have to figure out how to coexist.”

  He didn’t want to learn to just coexist with Gracie. He wanted to spend every day for the rest of his life loving her and knowing she loved him too. “You think I should go see her brother? He should be able to find her, right?” He’d be able to trace her cell phone and credit cards. “Or maybe I should hire my own investigator. It’s not like Jason will want to help me.”

  “I think you should wait until you hear from the clinic. If you find out the baby isn’t yours, at least you can go to your wife with some good news.”

  “How the hell am I supposed to sit around here for the next few days doing nothing?” He turned his cell phone over and over on the counter, willing it to ring. He just wanted to hear from her, to know that she was all right even if she wasn’t willing to see him.

  “I don’t think you have a choice, E. You need to give her the space she needs to work this out on her own. You can plead your case and beg her forgiveness, but it’s going to fall on deaf ears until she’s ready and willing to hear it.”

  “How the hell am I supposed to know when she’s ready?” he asked, running a hand over his head.

  “She’ll call.” She sighed. “Or she’ll come home.”

  He groaned. “That could be weeks or months from now. Hell, she may not come back until she knows I’ve left for spring training.”

  “You don’t think this is killing me?�
� she whispered. “We’ve been best friends since we were kids. She’s never shut me out like this.”

  Ethan felt even worse as he put his arm around Bella and drew her in to kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, sis. I should have kept my big mouth shut and dealt with it on my own.”

  “Hey,” she said, giving him a weak smile, “we’re family. That means I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

  * * *

  Grace had been staying at a little cabin she’d rented in the woods. There was no cell service, no TV. Just her all alone with her thoughts. She’d done a lot of thinking, a lot of journaling, and a lot of crying.

  She was sitting in a lawn chair, looking at the lake, when Mrs. Macleod, one of the property owners, came out with two cups of tea. “You mind a little company?”

  “Thanks, I’d like that.” She’d been alone with her thoughts too long. She could use a little human interaction, so she took one of the mugs with a smile.

  “I hope you’ve enjoyed staying with us.” Mrs. Macleod was a matronly woman with soft gray hair and warm eyes. She ran the place with her husband, a quiet man who seemed to putter around his property from morning to night, tending to things.

  “It’s lovely.” Grace took a sip of the tea. “So quiet. Exactly what I needed.”

  Mrs. Macleod looked pleased. “That’s why most people come here. To escape the craziness of the city.” Her curiosity was obvious when she said, “We don’t get too many pretty young ladies coming up here on their own though.”

  “No, I don’t imagine you do.” The property and cabin were remote and the threat of bears was real, judging by all the warning signs posted on the trees. Fortunately, the proprietors had been kind enough to gift her with a can of bear spray when she checked in, for her daily walks on the forested trails.

  “If you want to talk about it, I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”

  Grace was certain Mrs. Macleod had had a lot of practice listening to people’s woes. Grace had spotted a family photo in the main office when she checked in, and it appeared the Macleods had an army of children and grandchildren.

  “I appreciate that.” But there was no way she could confide in a stranger about her marital problems. “But it’s kind of personal.”

  She smiled, nodding. “I guessed as much.” She glanced at Grace’s wedding ring. “Your husband know you’re here?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t mean to pry, but he didn’t hurt you, did he?” Her glasses slipped down her nose when she leaned forward and placed her hand on Grace’s arm.

  “Not in the way you think,” Grace said with a reassuring smile. “He didn’t hurt me physically. He just…” Lied to me. Disappointed me. Broke our trust. And oh, fathered another woman’s baby. “Made some bad choices, I think.” As angry as she was, she couldn’t believe Ethan had set out to hurt her. Though that didn’t change the fact she was heartbroken and furious with him.

  “Don’t we all, my dear?” She sighed. “I thought my husband made a bad choice buying this place twenty-five years ago.” She chuckled. “We sank every dime we had into it. We knew nothing about running a business.” She raised her hands. “And look around you. It’s out in the middle of nowhere. I thought there was no way we could make it work.”

  “But you did.”

  “Indeed we did. Because we didn’t have a choice.” She smiled. “And we were stubborn. Put those two things together, and it’s tough to fail.”

  Grace knew she and Ethan were stubborn. But they had a choice. They could divorce. Unless she was pregnant. Then it wouldn’t be so easy to walk away.

  “I married the love of my life,” Grace said, smoothing her thumb over the large diamond he’d given her when they returned from their honeymoon. “I thought it was going to be easy, you know?” She tipped her head back, staring at the small lake. “We’d already been through so much, apart for so long. I thought we’d already paid our dues.”

  Mrs. Macleod settled her hands over her full stomach. “I’m not sure it’s ever easy. My husband and I have been married thirty-five years and we still have our challenges.” She looked around. “As much as we love this place, it doesn’t always pay the bills. Yet, we couldn’t imagine living anywhere else now.”

  The Macleods shared a common goal, a dream, just as she and Ethan had when they’d talked about starting a family. Had he known then about Issie’s pregnancy? Grace couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d tried to get her pregnant because he knew a baby would make it harder for her to walk away when she found out his secret. Was he trying to trap her? She didn’t want to believe he’d do that, but she never thought he’d lie to her either.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” Grace knew she had no right, but she wanted to know if what she was feeling was normal.

  “Sure.” She winked. “As long as it’s not too personal.”

  “Has your husband ever lied to you or kept something big from you?”

  She bit her lip. “There was the time he lost his job as a long-haul truck driver. It took him two weeks to tell me. He’d pretended to be away on a job. Instead he was sleeping on his friend’s couch because he didn’t have the guts to tell me we’d lost our only source of income.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah. We had three babies under the age of six and no way to put food on the table. He wasn’t sure I could handle the truth, so he kept it from me.” She watched a nuthatch fly from one feeder to another. “He was out pounding the pavement every day, thinking he’d have another job by the time he had to tell me. But it didn’t work out that way. He was out of work six months that time.”

  “Were you angry with him for lying to you?” Grace asked, wrapping her hooded sweatshirt around her. It was just before dusk, and it was cooling off. “For keeping that from you?”

  “Sure,” she said, shrugging. “But I got why he did it. He was trying to protect me.”

  Had Ethan been trying to protect her? Did he think she couldn’t handle Issie’s pregnancy? How long had he known? Those questions plagued her day and night. “And that made it okay… the fact that he was trying to protect you?”

  Her lips thinned as she shook her head. “I didn’t say it was okay, but he knew I had a lot on my plate already. Three kids to raise on very little money, it wasn’t easy. He’d heard me cry myself to sleep enough times to know I was barely holding on.”

  Grace thought of her own situation. Getting married, trying to get pregnant, losing her business, selling her house, and relocating. Maybe Ethan had been concerned she’d go off the deep end if he gave her one more thing to stress about. “So you think it’s okay for couples to keep things from each other sometimes?”

  “I think it depends on the circumstances. It’s not that I’d ever advise it, mind you. But sometimes it can’t be helped.”

  Was that how Ethan felt? That he couldn’t help but keep the truth from her? So many questions. And she knew the only way she’d ever get any answers was to talk to her husband.

  “I guess I can’t hide out here forever,” she said, pulling her feet up onto the Adirondack chair as she curled her arms around her legs.

  “You can stay here as long as want. We’re happy to have you.” She smiled. “But if you’re here to hide out, you’re right. That’ll never work, ‘cause you can’t hide from your problems. You just take them with you wherever you go.”

  And that was exactly what she’d done. She’d removed her body from the source of the problem, but her mind continued stewing about it.

  “What do you think the secret to a happy marriage is, Mrs. Macleod?” She rested her head on her knees, facing the older woman. “Any words of wisdom to share?”

  She chuckled. “I’m not sure I’m smart enough to know the answer to that, but I can tell you what’s worked for us. We talk.”

  The very thing she was trying to avoid doing with Ethan.

  “We air our grievances. We yell, if we have to. But we don’t
do nearly as much of that as we used to.” She whispered, “I think it’s true what they say. You mellow with age.”

  “I’m new to this marriage thing,” Grace admitted. “I guess I have a lot to learn.”

  “It’ll come,” she said, patting Grace’s arm. “The most important thing? Don’t give up.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Ethan held his breath as he called the genetics lab. He’d received a message to let him know the results were in and while he was dying to put this behind him, he was scared to death he wouldn’t be able to. That this news could irreparably change all of their lives.

  After a brief exchange with the receptionist, they’d transferred his call. He’d received a code via email, which he would have to offer to receive the results. He recited the random letters and numbers to the person on the other end of the line, along with his birthdate and zip code, to confirm his identity.

  “The results are conclusive to a ninety-nine point nine percent probability, Mr. Shaw. You’re not the father.”

  He closed his eyes and sank against the wall. This nightmare was finally over. “Thank you.”

  His hands were trembling when he dialed Issie’s number. She answered on the first ring, as though she’d been expecting the call. “You knew all along the baby wasn’t mine, didn’t you?”

  “Anything is possible, Ethan.”

  “Bullshit! You did this just to mess with me. To extort a bit of money out of me and try to ruin my marriage. Well, your little plan back-fired, didn’t it?”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” she said, sounding amused. “You can’t tell me your wife is happy with you right now.”

  “You are such a bitch. Why do you get off on trying to ruin people’s lives?”

  “You mean like you ruined mine? Why should you get to be happy when I’m miserable?”

  “You’re miserable because you’re a lying, cheating, scheming…” He took a deep breath. “You know what, I don’t even care anymore. I just hope for the sake of that baby you’re carrying you get your priorities straight and figure out how to put someone other than yourself first. For once.”