Hit and Run (Summer Rush #2)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I’ve thought about that,” he said, nodding, “what this will do to them, but those guys are my brothers. I honestly believe they’ll support me if I do this now.”

  “Is this because of Mike’s threats?”

  “He just gave me the push I needed to come clean.”

  Dani would never forgive her ex-fiancé for using a painful chapter of her life to blackmail her and someone she cared about. “I hate that he’s winning,” she said, sinking back into the cushions with a sigh.

  “He’s not winning. We are. Or at least I am. I get to unburden myself finally. I get to publicly apologize to you and your family and hopefully help some other people in the process. I don’t expect your parents to forgive me. I just want them to know how sorry I am.”

  “I really admire what you’re doing.” She couldn’t believe how far they’d come since Rowan and Tenley’s wedding. Then, she’d never wanted to see him again. Now, the thought of not having him in her life was scary as hell.

  “I appreciate that.”

  “So, um, what does this mean for us?” When he didn’t respond, she rushed on. “I’m sorry, that was presumptuous, wasn’t it? It’s not that I think you’re doing this for us or me—”

  “You’re a really big part of the reason.” He reached for her hand. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. By anyone. I know that if he went to your parents, they’d never forgive you for seeing me again.”

  “You’re not the only one who’s had time to think, you know.” It had been a long time since she’d laid her heart on the line, but since he was risking so much, she felt it was only fair she do the same. “I have too. I’ve thought about how much I’ve let my parents interfere in my life.”

  “You’re just trying to be a good daughter. I can understand that. After what happened to Linc—”

  “It must be terrible to lose a child,” she said, raising her hand to stop him. “I get that. I’m not diminishing what they’ve been through. But I’m tired of living my life for them.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Yes, you do.” She’d always been the good girl, while her brother had been the wild child who always challenged their parents. “I never wanted to upset them or give them cause to worry about me. I did as they asked and never stopped to ask myself what I wanted. Until recently.” She looked him in the eye, terrified he would tell her it was too late. “I want you.”

  He blew out a slow breath before running a shaky hand over his head. “Wow, I didn’t expect that.”

  “I guess the only question is how you feel.” She inched forward on the sofa, holding her breath as she silently prayed he would reach out to her. “Do you want me too?”

  “You know I do. But…”

  Her entire body tensed as she waited for him to list all of the reasons it could never work.

  “I refuse to be the reason you’re miserable.”

  “How can you think that?” she asked, rubbing her forehead. “Haven’t you heard a word I said? I want you—”

  “That’s what you say now. But how are you going to feel a few years from now when your parents aren’t speaking to you and you get a call from some hospital letting you know that one of them has been taken in with some emergency?”

  She understood his concern, but he didn’t seem to understand that she had a mind of her own and was determined to make her own choices, no matter who agreed or disagreed with them. “That would be horrible, but it doesn’t have to be that way. They could still have a relationship with me, if they chose to.”

  “But you know they won’t want anything to do with you if you’re seeing me. They’ll see it as a betrayal.”

  “Then that’s their problem, isn’t it?” She wanted to shake him, to make him see that they could be incredible together, even better than before, if they were brave enough to let their past and all of the people holding them back… go.

  “It would be your problem too, Dani. Let’s be honest. You need them just as much as they need you.”

  She considered whether that was true. Her parents had always been a part of her life, with the exception of the past month. They’d never fought because she’d never challenged them. Early on, they’d taught her the rules and she’d always followed them.

  “I don’t want to play the game anymore,” she said, thinking carefully about the repercussions of her actions. “Not by their rules. If they want a relationship with me, they’ll have to accept that I’m an adult with the freedom to make my own choices. And I intend to tell them that, first chance I get.”

  “Please,” he said, leaning forward and caressing her face, “don’t do this for me. I couldn’t live with myself if I cost you a relationship with your parents.”

  She held his hand against her face, relishing the physical contact. “The only thing you’ve done is help me find my way. You’ve helped me to make decisions I should have made years ago.”

  “They’ll accuse you of being disloyal.” He looked tortured as his eyes moved over her face as though he was looking for some sign of indecision on her part. “Of choosing me over them.”

  “Then they would be wrong,” she said, smiling to reassure him. “I’m choosing to have a life. Something they seem unable or unwilling to do. Who knows? Maybe seeing me happy will make them realize it’s possible for them too.”

  “You don’t honestly believe that, do you?” He shook his head. “I don’t see how you being with me could be a positive thing for your parents in any way.”

  “They loved you once,” she reminded him. “They called you their other son.”

  He grimaced. “That’s what hurts so much about this. I’ve given them reason to hate me.”

  “They chose to hate you,” she said, gripping his chin and bringing his eyes back to hers. “They could have made a different choice. Forgiveness.”

  “Is that what you can honestly give me? Forgiveness?”

  “You wouldn’t be here with me now if I hadn’t forgiven you. I wouldn’t have made love to you, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have spent every waking moment of the past several weeks missing you if I hadn’t forgiven you. Ace, I want you in my life. I want to leave the past behind us. It’s as simple as that.”

  He brushed his lips across hers. “There’s nothing simple about this, and you know it.”

  “We’ll never forget my brother.” She brushed her thumb over his lower lip as her gaze tracked the action. “We’ll keep his memory alive. We’ll talk about him, laugh about the crazy things he did, and commemorate the special events, like his birthday.” She smiled in an attempt to diminish his sadness. “Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean we have to stop loving him, right?”

  “Right.” He lowered his head, his soft hair grazing her face.

  “And he loved both of us. That’s how I know he’d want us to be happy… together. He’d hate knowing that his death tore us apart.”

  “There was no way for us to get past it back then.” He hauled her into his lap before burying his face in the crook of her neck. “There was too much hurt, too much anger and blame.”

  “And we were too young.” She thought of everything she’d lost during that time. The loss Ace knew about, and the loss he didn’t. “Too immature to work through those kinds of raw emotions. But we’re not now.”

  “It’s not going to be easy, you know.” His hand moved up her thigh. “Things are still going to come up. There will be a lot of residual feelings that we have to work through. You’re probably still going to want to lash out at me from time to time.”

  “Are you saying you don’t have any lingering anger toward me?” She curled her hand around his neck when he looked at her. “I’m not blameless in all of this. I instigated the fight with you that night. I told my brother to look out for you. Then afterward, I cut you off, refused to talk to you or see you outside of that courtroom. I didn’t go to the hospital to check on you or call your parents to tell them how sad or sorry I was that you’d have to spend years in prison.
” Her heart still hurt every time she thought of his parents and how close she’d once been to them. “They’d already lost one son. Then they had to lose another, at least for a little while. They were like family to me, and I cut them off, just like I cut you off. You’re not angry about that?” She knew in his position, she would have been.

  “I never blamed you for a damn thing,” he whispered, his voice harsh and laced with frustration. “And neither did they.”

  “Do you think they’d be willing to see me?”

  His head snapped back as he curled his hand around hers. “Why?”

  “I have some unfinished business with them. If I’m going to be in their son’s life again, I feel like I should explain myself to them.”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to them. What happens between us is between us. End of story. My parents will support any decision I make.”

  And she envied him so much for having parents who would love and support him no matter what he said or did.

  “If my parents do disown me for this,” she said, feeling the pain that accompanied that very real possibility, “I may need a set of surrogates.” She smiled to let him know she was teasing. She didn’t know if their relationship would ever be serious enough for his parents to officially become her family.

  “You know they’d love that.”

  “Then I can go see them?”

  “Of course you can. But you don’t have to.”

  “Are they still in the same house?”

  He smirked. “Yeah, they refused to leave even when I offered to buy them one of those fancy new places on the golf course.”

  She loved that he wanted to take care of his parents, just as he’d once tried to take care of her. “Do you want me to be at the press conference?”

  He stared at her in disbelief. “You would honestly consider that?”

  “Of course I would.” She kissed him, smiling against his lips. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  “Dani…” He held her face as he released a shaky breath. “It may be way too soon to say this, but I’m falling—”

  She kissed him, cutting off his declaration. She felt the same way, but until they came clean about everything, she didn’t feel confident hearing or saying those three little words.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ace had sat in front of dozens of reporters countless times in his career, but always to talk about baseball. And never with the woman he loved sitting in the back of the room. He could have told Dani the truth last night—that he’d never stopped loving her—but he wanted to ease her into it instead of scaring her away by admitting the intensity of his feelings for her.

  She’d confessed that she intended to visit her parents and his after the press conference, to hopefully wipe the slate clean so they could start their new relationship with no secrets. He admired her courage, but he prayed her parents wouldn’t make it impossible for them to find happiness.

  “Thank you all for coming,” Ace said, adjusting the microphone. “I know you’re probably expecting me to tell you that we’ve worked out my contract extension.”

  When he and his team hadn’t been able to come to terms prior to the regular season, he’d told them he didn’t want to negotiate until after the post-season. But reporters had been speculating, given the season he was putting together, that he was trying to add more zeroes to his paycheck by delaying the contract talks. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He wanted a deal more now than ever.

  “But I’ve asked you all here to talk about something of a personal nature.” He looked around the room. There were no new, fresh young faces. He knew all of these people, had broken bread with them, and maintained a friendly and conciliatory relationship borne of mutual respect. He hoped they would understand that he was about to do one of the hardest, scariest things he’d ever done in his life. “When I was a teenager, I made a mistake that would change the course of my life.”

  Ace’s eyes met Dani’s, and he could feel her love and support across the feet that separated them. They’d spent the night together last night, making love and reinforcing their bond. He was grateful for that now, when he needed her strength more than ever.

  His agent nodded, encouraging him to continue. When Ace had told the team brass what he intended to do, they’d been shocked but ultimately told him to do what he felt was right and they would stand behind him.

  “I drove drunk.” A wave of shock moved through the small group before he added, “And I took my best friend’s life.” He allowed the room to quiet before he continued. “I was charged with manslaughter and locked up. Records were sealed because I was a juvenile, if you’re wondering how this has remained a secret for so long.

  “I’ve lived with shame and guilt and pain every day since it happened, but that’s nothing compared to what I put Linc’s family through. They lost a son and a brother that day, and nothing I say or do here today will bring him back. I know I can’t make up for what I did, but starting a scholarship in Linc’s name was one small way for me to keep his memory alive and give some deserving kids a chance at a better life.”

  When hands flew up around the room, Ace nodded at his agent, indicating that he was ready to take questions.

  “Ace, why are you talking about this now?” asked a long-time sports reporter with one of the local daily newspapers.

  “It’s time.” His eyes landed on Dani again, who gave him a slight, reassuring nod. “Time to take ownership. Time to stop living with this secret. Time to apologize to the people I hurt. Time to try to prevent others from making the same mistake I did. If I can.”

  He wasn’t naïve. He knew high school and college kids would always feel invincible. They’d always believe they were the exception to the rule. The one who wouldn’t get hurt or caught. But if his story could touch one kid, make him or her think twice about getting behind the wheel after drinking or getting into a car with someone who had been, it would be worth it.

  “Why didn’t you wait ‘til the off-season to talk about this, Ace?” another reporter asked.

  He couldn’t wait another six months to say the things he should have said years ago. “Like I said, this felt like the right time. I don’t want this to detract from our season in any way. The guys are working hard to make this our best season in franchise history. But this is important too, this message.”

  “What message is that?” a pretty blond reporter asked.

  “Call a cab. Walk. Use public transit or your Uber app.” He knew it sounded simplistic and it was a message various organizations had been trying to get out for years. He only hoped his voice could reach those kids, or even adults, in a way the others had failed. “Sleep it off. Whatever it takes. Just don’t drive drunk or ride in a car with someone who is.”

  “Ace,” a young reporter asked, “are you worried about the effect this announcement will have on your contract negotiations at the end of the season?”

  “I’m not thinking about that now,” he said honestly. “I’m hoping to be able to stay here, but obviously if that doesn’t work out, I’ll go wherever I’m wanted or needed. The most important thing to me is being able to play baseball.”

  He made eye contact with Dani and he could tell she was processing his words at the same time he was. He hadn’t intended to make it sound like his career was the only thing that mattered to him, but that was obviously her assumption as he watched her slip out the door.

  ***

  Dani rang her parents’ doorbell. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t sure she’d be a welcome guest.

  Her father scowled when he opened the door. “I guess I don’t have to ask what you’re doing here.”

  “May I come in? I’d like to talk to you and Mom about what happened today.”

  He stepped back, holding the door open for her. “Your mother is in the kitchen. Baking. You know that’s what she does whenever she’s upset.”

  Which explained why both of her parents had gained fort
y pounds since her brother’s death.

  “Hi, Mom.” Dani stood in the door of the kitchen, remembering casual family dinners around that table. This house was still the hardest place for her to be, the home of most of her memories with her twin. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Why haven’t you called?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she wiped her damp hands on the apron tied around her waist. “We thought you were still mad at us.”

  “I’m not mad. I never was. I was just frustrated and confused.” She still was. Especially after Ace’s press conference. “I needed some time to think. I thought maybe you guys did too.” She sat at her usual spot at the vintage wooden table and folded her hands.

  “I don’t know why you stormed out of here on my birthday,” her father said, still scowling as he sat at the head of the table. “What got into you?”

  Dani knew she shouldn’t be surprised they tried to make their argument her fault. That’s what they always did when they didn’t want to accept responsibility for a problem. “My message is the same now as it was then, Dad,” she said, looking him in the eye as she tried to breathe. “My life is my own. I get to make my own decisions, whether or not you agree with them. If I make mistakes, so be it. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

  Her mother propped a fist on her hip as she turned to face Dani. “You mean like breaking up with Michael just because—”

  “No, that wasn’t a mistake,” Dani said. “In fact, that was one of the best decisions I could have made. No regrets there.”

  “I don’t want to rehash that,” her father said, raising his hand. “You said you came to talk about what happened today?”

  “I did.” She knew this would be, by far, the hardest part, but she was determined to stand her ground. “I don’t know if you saw it, but I was at Ace’s press conference. I heard every word he said, and for the record, I believed him.”

  Her mother gasped, flattening her hand against her heaving chest. “You were there? How? Why?”

  “He invited me.” She sat calmly, waiting for the questions to start flying.