Just a Little Hope

by Amy J. Norris

As he drifted to a stop, he looked for any sign he’d reached her. But he couldn’t know for sure behind her stunned look. Tori put her hand to her mouth and sat down in the chair previously occupied by Pax. “I still can’t believe you’re here. After weeks of hearing nothing, you appear right here, right now. I don’t know what I am supposed to say.” Her voice was soft, and he heard a tremble behind her words.

  Carter knelt down before her, aching to touch her, but he held back and clenched his fist instead. “I’ve been a terrible fool, Tori. When you left my apartment that day, my world seemed to fall apart. I thought after a couple of days I’d hear from you and we could work through things. But when a week went by, I grew more concerned. I went by your work, and Pax told me you’d gone to see your folks. I understood why, but then I saw you with Eric at Durango’s party.”

  Her eyes rounded, and she shook her head. “Wait… what? I didn’t see you there.”

  “You didn’t see me. I was sitting in my car. But I saw you get out of Eric’s car, and well, I guess a jealous streak I never knew I had ran away with me. I automatically assumed you’d found comfort with Eric.” He got up and paced the floor again, running his hands through his hair. “It was stupid of me, and I am so sorry. I don’t have an excuse. I just lost my head for a little while. But Eric explained everything to me the other night, and my next thought was to find a way to get here and beg you to forgive me.”

  Tori shook her head, and Carter’s heart sank.

  “Carter, my life has been turned upside down so much in the past few months I don’t know if I am coming or going.” Her gaze drifted away from his face and toward the floor. “Learning the truth about your childhood was some kind of tipping point for me, and I had to get away and try and make sense of it all.” She returned her face toward his, eyes wet with tears. “It wasn’t just finding out you’d had cancer. I was dealing with the fact my dad was sick, and even though the treatments were going well, there was still a great chance he wouldn’t make it. I think, in a way, I hadn’t dealt with the situation with my dad, and I guess the conversation with Dani broke the camel’s back.”

  “Tori, I planned to tell you. Please believe me—”

  She placed a finger over his mouth. “Shh. Let me finish. I realized after a long talk with my mom, and with Eric, that it wasn’t just the news of your cancer that upset me. It was how I found out. And I know you didn’t really have any control over your sister and what she was saying. I didn’t handle my response well. I hope you can forgive me.” She reached down and took his hand in hers, pressing it to her cheek.

  “And about Eric. He’s never been anything more to me than a friend. I’ve hardly spoken to him since that night at Durango’s party. He had no intention of trying to do anything but make me feel better. You understand, don’t you?”

  Carter lifted a trembling hand to her cheek. “I do understand. So much. And as far as I’m concerned, all of it — the argument, the misunderstanding, all of it is water under the bridge. I just want to focus on our future. A future where we can start planning our lives together, no matter what gets thrown in our way. I love you, Victoria Alberson. And I hope you feel the same way.”

  His heart leapt when a smile crossed her face. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to hers and then covered her face in kisses. With a gentle push, she lifted her face from his.

  “I love you too, Carter Manning. If there’s anything these past few months have taught me, it’s to never ever give up hope.”

  She kissed him again and grinned. “Now let’s go see our best friends get married. That’s a moment we don’t want to miss.”

  Author’s Note

  The day Tori experienced in learning her father had a brain tumor was not foreign to me. My sweet daddy was diagnosed with a GBM on October 17, 2008, and he passed from this life on January 14, 2010.

  But all is not lost for my family. My dad had amazing faith he demonstrated throughout his sickness and treatment that inspired hundreds of people all over the world. Because of his illness, I learned I might have it in me to write a book or two…

  I encourage everyone who’s endured being a cancer patient, or a caregiver of one, to find the hope within you. To reach out and discover what you can do with your life to turn a tragic event into a purposeful existence. Don’t let cancer take your hope from you.

  I want to personally thank Dr. Dan Kingsley who, like Clint in Tori’s story, took over my father’s care. It was a difficult decision and one that was made with only love and concern for my dad.

  I also want to thank the doctors and nurses at Clearview Cancer Institute and The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center for their continual efforts to find a cure for this dreadful disease.

  Finally, I ask all of you to pray for a cure and to pray without ceasing.

  About the Author

  An avid reader since she first recognized the letters “C-A-T,” Amy J. Norris dreamed of writing her own books which not only provided opportunities for readers to enjoy romance but also tug at their heartstrings through the tragedies we all face. A resident of Huntsville, Alabama, Amy works for one of the hundred government contractors in the area.

  Amy also spends her Monday nights singing with a not-so-local chapter of the Sweet Adelines International organization, the TuneTown Show Chorus, out of Nashville, Tennessee. When she’s not working or singing or reading or writing, Amy can be found refining her talents as the best sports fan in the world. She loves rooting for the Crimson Tide of Alabama and the St. Louis Cardinals and has been known to be enthralled with almost any sport, even the crazy Canadian sport of curling.

  Her primary goal is to get to Heaven to spend an eternity with our Lord and be reunited with family and friends who have gone on before, especially her Dad and Pepaw who instilled in her a love of writing in the first place.

  Also by Amy J. Norris

  Prologue

  Sitting across from his sports agent, Sebastian Quinn played with the paper cocktail napkin, tearing it apart bit by bit as he stared into his water glass, lost in thought.

  “Seb? That napkin do something to you?”

  “Hmmm?” Startled, Seb looked across the table at Jim who, with knife and fork in hand, nodded in the direction of Seb’s hands.

  “You tear that thing up any more and there won’t be anything left of it before the meal is over. I know you’re disappointed in the outcome of the game. It’s just one of those things. They were just destined to win this time around.” Jim returned his attention to the steak and potato dinner in front of him.

  Seb brushed the remaining pieces of the napkin into a small pile before he picked up his water and took a long drink. Placing the glass on the table, he rested both hands beside his plate and sighed. “It’s not the game. I mean, of course I’m disappointed.” He leaned back into the booth, skimming his hands along the tablecloth until his fingers reached the edge of the table. Gripping it, he exhaled. “Do you really think I should do this charity thing?

  Jim, still focused on the meal in front of him, didn’t look up. “Seb, we’ve been through this. The public needs to see you out doing some community work. It’s good for your image.”

  “I know that, but…”

  Sitting up straight, Jim put his utensils down and rested his elbows on the table. “You know you’re playing for one of the best teams in the Major Leagues, right? But there seems to be a sentiment out there that some are growing tired of. I know a lot of athletes can get away with the partying lifestyle. But people sometimes need someone to believe in. You can be that person, Seb, with just a little work. Don’t you want to be that person?”

  Seb held up his hand. “Come on, Jim. You’re making it out like I’m some kind of hardened criminal. This city loves me.”

  “They do, Seb. But they could love you more. Working with a charity will help, I promise.”

  “I didn’t like people using my image for money-making before; I sure don’t want people using it now.”

  “Just ha
ve a little faith, Seb. It might just surprise you.”

  Seb snorted. “Faith, huh? We’ll see.”

  Chapter One

  Seb hopped out of his black sapphire BMW convertible and slammed the door shut. He double-checked the time on his watch. Hadn’t Jim said to meet him at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society office? Noting no sign of his agent’s car, Seb studied each vehicle that passed with a frown. The aroma of a nearby coffee shop wafted through the cool breeze. He could almost feel the warmth of the bitter brew on his tongue, but knew grabbing a cup would have to wait.

  With his body against the frame of the car, and eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, Seb surveyed the parking lot and adjoining businesses. It wasn’t long before he spied a woman peering at him through the front window of the office building next door. Seb smiled. This wasn’t the first time he had garnered attention from the opposite sex. He’d been told his sandy brown hair and blue eyes drew people in, so Seb expected it to some degree. Plus, if there was one thing he’d learned in the past in this baseball loving town, an All-Star centerfielder couldn’t really live life anonymously. Maybe after the meeting, he could pop in and surprise the blonde.

  Seb’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his agent’s snowy white Mercedes slipping into the parking place next to his. Sebastian casually waved.

  “Hey, Seb.” Jim stepped out of his car with an outstretched hand. “You’re early or I’m late. I’m going with the former.”

  With a slight shake of his head, Seb rolled his eyes and chuckled.

  Jim’s head disappeared inside his vehicle and he popped back up, something in hand.

  “Here. Put this on.”

  Seb grimaced seeing the thin piece of crimson fabric in his hand. “A tie. Really, Jim?”

  “Seb, you need to make a good impression. Put it on, okay?”

  “You know how much I hate these things.”

  “Yep. I know.” Jim smiled, slammed the car door shut, then turned in the direction of the LLS office.

  Using his reflection in the car window, Seb hurriedly slung the tie around his neck and knotted it. He started to follow Jim to the office then hesitated. Resting his hands on the top of the car, he bowed his head. This is a complete waste of time.

  “Yo, Seb. You coming?”

  He looked up at Jim, who held open the door with an expectant look.

  “Yeah, yeah. Be right there.”

  The cool breeze penetrated his lightweight suit jacket. He rubbed his hands together to generate some warmth and stepped in Jim’s direction.

  His agent’s hand rested lightly on his arm. “You okay, Seb? You seemed to zone out there for a minute?”

  “I’m fine. Let’s just go in and see what they have to say and get this over with.”

  ****

  “Michael! Do you have the most recent pamphlet explaining Team in Training?”

  Thirty-two year old Paxson Taylor scooted her office chair back a few feet to thumb through the file cabinet to her right. Panic stricken, she rolled her chair forward and sighed in frustration. She closed her eyes, bent her head from side-to-side, and tried to release the knots that inched their way up her back and shoulders.

  “So, are you nervous? This is the first client Michael’s let you take on by yourself since you started here.” Paxson looked up when her receptionist, Tori, plopped in the chair in front of her desk.

  “I don’t know. Can we really call him a client when he’s only here because his agent thinks he needs ’to do some charity work ?’ I know we need the publicity, but I’m not sure this is the best way to go about it. But I guess it doesn’t matter what I think.” She glanced at her watch grimacing. “Great. They’ll be here in a matter of minutes.”

  “I know it’s not exactly what you were looking for in regards to someone wanting representation, but he’s a hot-shot professional baseball player, and an extremely good-looking one at that. That’s got to count for something.”

  “Tori, do you ever think about anything else?”

  “Yes. How I might look standing at the altar next to a handsome baseball player.”

  Shaking her head in frustration, Pax shooed her away. “Get out of here. They’ll be here soon, and someone might need to be at their desk, I don’t know, doing their actual job.”

  “Ha! Seriously though, Pax. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” Her attention was focused on looking for the brochure, until she noticed the clock displayed on her office phone’s screen. Her nerves got the best of her again. “Oh great, only five minutes till my nervous breakdown commences!”

  Pax glanced at the clock once again and stifled the feelings of anxiety. Rifling through her papers one more time, she spied a corner of the elusive brochure sticking out from between two pieces of paper. Relief ran through her body. “I just need to calm down for a minute.” She sat gathering her thoughts and asked God for peace and strength to get through the next half-hour.

  Finishing the silent prayer, her office phone buzzed. Pax paused, took a deep breath and picked up the handset. “This is Pax.” She heard her receptionist’s chipper voice report, “Sebastian Quinn and Jim Thompson to see you.”

  Pax took one last deep breath to steel herself and spoke into the phone with more assurance than she felt. “I’ll be right up, Tori. Thanks!”

  She smoothed out her black pencil skirt and tugged on her plum colored sweater. She skimmed her hand over her hair to tame the loose strands that had escaped the clip she’d put her long brown hair in that morning. “Why is it my hair always seems to rebel when I need to look my best?” Exhaling, she stood up with confidence, remembering God would see her through if she let Him. She took a deep breath and smiled. Even though she wasn’t thrilled to be meeting Mr. MVP, she knew she needed to get it over with.

  Pax pushed open the glass door which led to the lobby and chuckled as she witnessed starry-eyed Tori staring at their guests. Only when she reached the lobby chairs did Pax understand the receptionist’s reaction.

  From one glimpse at the all-star athlete, Pax’s pulse raced. Sebastian Quinn was the most attractive man she had ever seen. It was evident he never missed a workout, and displayed just enough muscled definition to cause a hitch in her breath. Seeing him on TV and at a live game at Busch Stadium didn’t do him justice. Although not an exceptionally large man, his presence made the room appear smaller somehow. Tearing her gaze away, she quickly put forth her hand and introduced herself to the two men now standing before her.

  “Good afternoon! My name is Paxson Taylor. It’s good to meet you.” She hoped her hand wasn’t shaking as much as her knees. She focused her attention on Sebastian’s agent, Jim. Being the age of her father, he offered a warm smile. From their brief conversations on the phone earlier in the week, she knew a polite businesslike man when she met one. His client’s penchant for playing hard but partying harder didn’t make Jim’s life an easy one in trying to clean up Sebastian’s image. Pax hoped LLS wouldn’t suffer the same problems as a result of taking Sebastian on for his community service.

  Switching her focus, she reached out her hand to Sebastian. He grasped hers in return. His hand was warm, yet the skin, abused from years of playing baseball, felt rough against hers.

  With a firm grip, his blue eyes twinkled as he surveyed her from head to toe. The attention sent a jolt of electricity to all her extremities. Yet she couldn’t decide if she should be flattered or annoyed.

  Jim cleared his throat. “Thanks for having us, Ms. Taylor. I’m sorry for the short notice. Seb’s in a bit of a time crunch getting back into town and having to clean out his locker at the stadium. I appreciate your willingness to work with his schedule. As you can imagine, during the season, it can be rather unpredictable. He didn’t know what day he would be able to meet. It all depended on how the Series went.”

  This morning, as Pax had prepped herself for the meeting, she’d decided not to acknowledge the failure of the Cardinals in the most recent World Series, but with Jim’
s comment, she felt the need to say something. Anything.

  “Oh, it’s no problem at all. It would have been nice to be able to wait another week after the Cardinals brought home the World Series ring...”

  Oh, my. That was not what she planned to say at all. Turning as quickly as possible to hide her red face she led them down the hall to her office.

  “Could I get you gentlemen anything? Coffee, water, a soda of some kind?”

  “Bottled water would be great for me. Seb, you want anything?”

  They entered her office, and Seb eased back in one of the chairs and crossed his legs as he shook his head. He and Jim sat at the small conference room table situated in the larger portion of her office and waited for her presentation to begin.

  Hoping her face had changed to what one could only assume to be a more pale pink than the heat of the fire engine red she felt only a few seconds ago, Pax grabbed a water bottle for Jim from the small fridge behind her desk.

  After handing them the brochures, Pax spent the next thirty minutes going over in detail the types of charitable works LLS helped to organize, and how the funds were used for research. She explained how the research not only helped leukemia and lymphoma patients, but all cancer sufferers.

  Pax turned directly toward Sebastian and looked him in the eye.

  “I’m confident you have gotten offers from several charities in the area. But after talking with Jim, I think we can each find a way to benefit. With your skill set, our Team in Training program might be the best fit. Even though you aren’t an endurance athlete per se, we thought having you support a program which emphasizes athleticism in running, biking, and swimming could be a great boost to participation in the greater St. Louis area. What Jim and I discussed previously was having you appear at a training event, or perhaps participating.”