He found Nikkie Jean easily, even if she hadn’t told him she’d be on short. Small and wiry and quick. It perfectly described her.
She was wearing a catcher’s vest loose over her front so it dangled low over her abdomen. She had her cap turned backward. The sports glasses looked like goggles. Hot-pink ones. He’d never seen her in the same pair of glasses two times in a row.
She was heckling a player from another team and grinning. Looking too damned adorable for his peace of mind. Caine smiled, just watching her for a moment.
It was nice to see some of the Nikkie Jean he had met that first night returning. He had been afraid he’d chased that woman away.
His gaze shot to the redhead on the mound. She also wore the extra padding. “How can she pitch with that on?”
“Pure stubbornness.”
“Seems there’s a lot of that going on at Finley Creek Gen.”
“You have no idea.”
In another life, if they had been raised together, he might have actually liked this twin of his. But now… “I don’t know what I am supposed to say to you.”
“Welcome to the club. I had this plan when I first got the letter. I wasn’t any happier about it than you were. I’d decided to stay the hell away from all of them. So I decided to track down the woman who wrote the letter. Tell her to just stay away. That’s the woman in the dugout yelling orders, by the way. Barratt’s wife. He’s a big backer of the hospitals that his family founded. You’ll meet him eventually, no doubt. I found her redheaded hellion of a sister instead.”
“And now? Your theory of how to deal with this?”
“No reason we can’t be friends, is there? The siblings I’ve met have been good people. People I’m actually proud to know. I wasn’t so certain that would be the case when all of this started.”
“How many are there?”
“That’s the question we’re still trying to answer. We didn’t even know our sister, Pen, existed until recently. She’s sixteen and a sophomore at FCU. We’re old enough to be her father. Hell of a kid. Simon’s thirteen now. We think there may be one or two still out there younger than Simon. Zoey is raising Pen. She’s twenty-eight and looks just like Ariella. Paige is in St. Louis and with the FBI. She’s got Simon. Luc’s the eldest. He’s Lucas Technologies and a real pain in the ass. Runs the whole thing. There are leads on three or four more of adult age. But nothing is confirmed. She bred like a rabbit. And there was at least another set of identical twins, but we’ve not confirmed that yet. Brynna, my sister-in-law, found evidence she made a business out of it, taking fertility drugs when needed. Acting as an illegal surrogate some of the time, and then there was the flat-out baby selling. She sold Ariella to her own father for one hundred grand. I went for two hundred fifty. I was four days old.”
“I wasn’t so lucky.”
“You were raised by our biological father?”
“Dumped on him. I had a heart defect. I was in NICU for the first three months. He took me home after that. Apparently, he gave her fifty grand to keep her mouth shut about some of his not-so-great activities, and he had to take me off her hands. He should have given me up. He wasn’t exactly father-of-the-year material.”
“I’m sorry. Hell, I’m not even certain which of us is older. My adoptive parents weren’t exactly forthcoming about who they bought me from.”
And there was a world of history in what Rafe had just said.
“I am, baby brother. According to the birth certificates I found when the old man died.” Some of the resentment he’d felt for the twin that had supposedly had a better life lessened. “What kind of people buy babies illegally?”
“In my case, ones who thought a second child made a nice looking accessory, as long as there was a nanny to take care of it, and they could abandon all their children when the third child came along.”
Dalton blew a raspberry at this new uncle he’d never met. Then giggled and reached. “Hold Dalty.”
Before he knew it, Caine was handing his son over to the closest relative the boy had other than the twins and Caine himself. The impact of that wasn’t lost on him. “He’s my youngest. Nineteen months old. Name’s Dalton.”
“Ariella said you had twins the same age as Katie.”
“Keller and Everett. They’re off with friends today. Everett just left with a friend of his. Keller’s in Value with her friend from school. Dalton and I were heading out to lunch. After we commandeer one Nikkie Jean Netorre.”
“Have you known her long? Nikkie Jean’s a favorite at the hospital. Patients just love her.”
He could see why. She was the most animated player out there today. “She needs to take it easy. Not be hopping around like that.”
“I’ve seen her doing cartwheels and backflips in the cafeteria. This is tame for Nikkie Jean.”
Pregnant women weren’t made of glass, by any means. But…that was his pregnant woman out there. It made a difference. And she was still recuperating.
He wanted to stalk out there and get her. Make certain she was safe. He felt like a damned caveman.
“Nikkie Jean always does everything enthusiastically. Including gluing my office door shut once. And various other things I can’t prove but I’m ninety-nine percent certain were her.”
“This thing between us is new. But if I had known she had been hurt, I would have been there. Even before she told me about the baby.”
His brother excused himself to return to his family. Caine didn’t know what to say. He had no doubt that they’d meet again someday. He knew where his brother was if he ever wanted to find him. Not like Rafe was all that hard to find.
He held Dalton on his hip and watched the woman who had changed his world with just a few terrifying words. Compared her to the estranged wife he’d buried nineteen months ago.
People were drawn to Nikkie Jean. Cared about her. And she made a point of encouraging them when she could. Of being supportive—and kind. To everyone. He recognized some of the players.
Her guard dogs were out there in left field and on first base. The sheriff’s deputy played third. Played very well. His brother’s wife, a damned good pitcher, was at the center of the action.
His sister was in right field. Poor thing had no business playing softball. That was evident. But she tried. Caine couldn’t help smiling as he watched her, thinking of how strange genetics actually were.
Keller’s resemblance to her aunt was uncanny. Caine broke out in hives whenever his daughter got close to any kind of sports equipment. Keller just wasn’t meant to be athletic. Apparently, neither was this little sister he didn’t know yet. He found he was actually starting to want to.
Caine smiled as he watched her, this sister he’d never known about until recently. His smile fell as the announcer plugged the charities represented again.
The knowledge that all of these women were there because they’d been deliberately hurt by someone sickened him. His sister. His sister-in-law. The guard dogs.
Nikkie Jean.
After the game, there was hugging and high-fiving among Nikkie Jean’s team. She hugged his sister and his sister-in-law, both. She did a little victory dance that sent the catcher’s pad wiggling in an interesting way. Another woman laughed and congratulated her.
On the baby or the win? Nikkie Jean patted her extra padding and grinned, and he got his answer.
Unlike the last woman to have his baby, this one was happy about it. His gut tightened at that thought.
This woman carried his child; he liked that idea, caveman that he was. He would be tied to Nikkie Jean forever now.
Nikkie Jean was the life of the party, and she kept up the enthusiasm for the rest of the women surrounding her.
Rafe’s words came back to him when she turned and looked toward the rest of her teammates.
Women who were all victims of violence and trauma.
Trauma. She was on that team because of trauma. What in the hell had happened to her?
He wanted to k
now every detail of her story.
“Dalton, we have some questions to ask of that woman. Let’s go get her.” Caine rounded the fence with purpose. Nikkie Jean was not about to escape him today. Or hide from him like she had been. He might not have all the answers, but he wanted the right to try to find them.
That woman out there was going to make one hell of a mother—fun, loving, kind, encouraging, and compassionate. He wanted that for this baby. Every child deserved that.
The baby Nikkie Jean carried would have that from the beginning. Would be far luckier than Caine had been, or his three eldest were now. With time, hopefully he could give them exactly that. With her.
It was time he got everyone used to that idea.
He and the children and this new baby were a family. Nikkie Jean was going to be a huge part of that, too. It was time they figured out how to make it work—for all of them.
His children weren’t ready for her yet. But he would get them there. Caine knew he had work to do to make sure they were before their brother or sister made their way into the world. There was no time like the present to get started.
Caine was going hunting. He had his woman to catch.
48
MOST OF THEIR TEAM was heading to a favorite diner to celebrate the win. Only Margo and Bailey had other commitments after. No surprise, Margo had flown in specifically for the game to fill in for another player. And Bailey had no other ride. Nikkie Jean had offered to drive the other woman, but it was obvious that the welcoming nature of the group was overwhelming Bailey a great deal.
Plus, there was a tall, handsome sheriff waiting to take Bailey home. One dressed in worn jeans and FCU T-shirt that had nothing to do with the TSP.
Sheriff Addy wasn’t on the clock now. And the way he was looking at Bailey made Nikkie Jean go all gooey inside.
Nikkie Jean planned to grill her friend on that relationship first opportunity she got.
She walked off the field with Annie and Izzie, chatting with her friends as she did. Izzie stopped walking, her eyes widening.
Nikkie Jean followed her gaze.
And there was Caine. Walking right toward her.
He stood glowering at her, surrounded by people she had no doubt he wanted nothing to do with. His son was chattering at people walking by.
“Don’t worry. We won’t leave you alone with him,” Izzie whispered.
Annie just grabbed her hand.
She appreciated their support, but Caine was her problem to deal with. Not theirs. “I’m ok. I’m not sure why he’s here.”
She wasn’t going to walk over to him. That was exactly what he wanted—his prey to come to him. So that he could play with her.
Damn her hormones; that thought wasn’t as terrifying as she’d thought it would be. She wouldn’t mind a little more playtime with Caine. Under the right circumstances, of course.
The man was made for faded jeans and BCGH T-shirts that made his shoulders look just a little wider than the brother’s standing next to him.
Shoulder to shoulder with Rafe, she saw the differences. There was just something more about Caine than his brother. Hands down.
Jillian saw Caine then. And she was fearless. She stalked right up to Caine and put her hands on her hips. She looked ridiculous with the catcher’s gear still in place and the apple-green T-shirt clashing with her hair, standing between two almost-identical men who towered a foot over her. “Well. Look what the cat has dragged in this morning. Yet another one. And it’s a clone this time!”
Caine shot her a look. Nikkie Jean waited for him to say something cutting to his sister-in-law, just like Rafe would have done before everyone realized what a softie he actually was. It didn’t come.
“You always this sassy, little sister?” There was challenge there—but humor, as well. Caine’s temper wasn’t as trigger-happy as his brother’s, apparently.
Yet she wouldn’t exactly say he was tamer than Rafe, though.
“Better believe it. You should get used to it. How old?”
Caine smiled at Jillian. “Thirty-five and a half. Aren’t I just the cutest little thing?”
Jillian snorted, then softened when Dalton chattered at her and clapped his hands. Reached for the bright-red hair. “Not as cute as he is. He’s absolutely adorable.”
“Of course you’d say that, Jillian. He looks just like Rafe did at that age,” the governor said from nearby. He held out a hand to Caine. “Marcus Deane. Ariella’s my fiancée. Rafe’s my brother.”
The way he said his fiancée’s name made a woman gooey inside, too. Caine’s sister was a very, very lucky woman to have her man love her like that.
“Caine Alvaro. This is my youngest, Dalton.” Caine barely looked away from Nikkie Jean long enough to introduce himself to the governor of Texas.
These were some of the most observant people Nikkie Jean knew. They were going to notice just where Caine was staring.
One and one were quickly going to add up to three here. And fast.
“Nice to meet you. And Dalton.” Marc was good at soothing awkward moments. But it didn’t matter.
Caine was intent. And he was prowling. Hunting.
Nikkie Jean stopped walking. She fought the urge to scurry off in a totally different direction.
Izzie looked at her. “You ok?”
“I don’t think so. He’s up to something. I suddenly feel like a little pygmy owl with a hungry dragon on my tail here.”
She’d seen Rafe look at Jillian just like that before. And not always in a good way. Rafe and Jillian had had some epic battles in the ER, after all. Battles Nikkie Jean had witnessed. Nikkie Jean was smart enough to learn from others’ experiences.
“We can distract him,” Izzie offered. “While you take off. If you run really fast, you can make it home, grab your things, and head to Mexico. I heard Mel say the new Barratt-South Padre is open now, too. All you have to do to get a free room is say the code word.”
“I think it may be too late,” Annie said. “He’s coming this way. And he’s very determined.”
Sure enough, when she looked up, Caine was stalking straight toward her, the mini-version of him riding on his hip.
“At least we know one thing,” Izzie whispered. “Your baby is bound to be beautiful.”
“No kidding.” He was close enough now that she had to acknowledge him. “Alvaro.”
Dalton babbled at her and waved. Then kicked his feet to get down. Caine lowered him to the ground, trapping the little boy between them, Izzie, and Annie.
Her friends weren’t going anywhere. And she knew it.
“Nikkie Jean, sweetheart.” He reached for her. She tried not to flinch, but she must not have been successful. He tensed. His hands went to the straps of the chest pad instead. Oh, nice move, Alvaro. Make it look natural. “Was this thing even long enough?”
“It covered enough. I am fine.” She never would have risked the baby on anything that she considered truly dangerous. Slow-pitch softball wasn’t that risky. Especially if caution was taken. And it had been—almost every time the ball had come her direction Bailey had been there first. But he wasn’t there to talk softball. Far from it. “What are you doing here?”
“Everett had a game on another field that ended an hour ago. He went home with friends.”
“And your daughter?”
“With the Hillers. Dalton and I stayed to wait for you.”
People were moving away. Except Izzie and Annie, who were listening to every word.
He slipped the straps free and caught the padding when it fell away. He looked at Izzie and held it out on one hand deliberately. “Here, Guard Dog Izzie, you can deal with this.”
Her friend took it after shooting him a glare.
He scooped his son up, then wrapped his free hand around Nikkie Jean’s arm. Capturing her. “We need to talk. Now. I’ve been trying to catch you for days.”
She almost thought the man meant literally.
Well, now she was caught.
Nikkie wanted to pull away but didn’t. Not in front of these people. Caine wouldn’t want to look like a jerk in front of his family. That would just make him angry at her, and she couldn’t deal with that right now.
But the last thing she wanted to do was be somewhere alone with him. Not with him looking at her like he was. His toddler wasn’t exactly much of a barrier between them.
In fact, the kid had his hand wrapped around one of Nikkie Jean’s braids and was using it to pull her closer to his father.
Little devil; he really was his father in miniature.
Nikkie Jean wanted to hold him again. Just for snuggles.
She looked at Annie for help. Annie expertly extricated the captured hair. Dalton wasn’t that much younger than the youngest little boy Annie would hopefully be adopting soon.
Izzie stepped between them. “Nikkie Jean has plans.”
“She’ll need to change them.”
Well, that was bound to set everything off. Especially Izzie. Nikkie Jean intervened quickly when she saw the younger woman bristle into full-out protective mode. “Caine, we’re going to lunch to celebrate. Mamaw’s Place. Almost the whole team.”
“Then I’ll drive you. We’ll come back and get your car after. I’ll follow you home afterward. We can have that talk.”
He wasn’t taking no for an answer.
49
HE KNEW HE’D RAILROADED her, but Caine would ask forgiveness later. They couldn’t resolve anything if he couldn’t pin her down long enough to get a discussion actually started.
Dalton babbled at her and then reached for her. The instant he did, Caine handed his son over. He wanted her to know his children. He wanted them to know her.
It would make things easier on everyone in the long run when he finally convinced her to move in with him in a few months or so.
She was easy, natural, with his son. She snuggled him close and kissed his forehead. So damned beautiful his teeth rattled with how hard he clenched them. He wanted her to kiss him next.
Lost in the Wind Page 18