For the Win: A Standalone Baseball Romance

by Raine Thomas

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “I see. Well, I found her sitting in her car. She was visibly upset and I didn’t want her on the road like that, so I invited her in. I put the groceries in my fridge to keep them fresh while she was here. She explained what happened.”

  “Oh.” Hearing that Jasmine had been upset enough to alarm Gareth made Will want to kick himself again.

  Seeing his expression, Gareth said, “It’s done now, right? What’s important is that you talked about things between you.”

  “Sure.”

  “And did you get the answer you wanted to hear?”

  “I did,” he said, thinking again how grateful he was that Jasmine had forgiven him.

  “That’s great news,” Gareth said with a wide smile. “I told her everything would work out if she just shared her feelings with you.”

  His reaction seemed out of proportion for the conversation. Will started to wonder if they were discussing two different things.

  “Yeah,” he said, his gaze trained on the other man. “I brought her flowers, but now that you mentioned how upset she was, I’m thinking maybe I should do a little something more. Maybe a gift certificate somewhere.”

  “A gift certificate?” Gareth chuckled and shook his head. “A woman tells you she loves you and you think a gift certificate is a proper gift?”

  Will did his best not to choke on the mouthful of lemonade he’d just ingested.

  As he focused on swallowing, his brain ran back through the past two minutes of conversation. It finally clicked that Jasmine must have shared more than just her feelings about finding Carol Ann in his kitchen with Gareth.

  Had she told Gareth that she loved him?

  Not wanting Gareth to know he’d just revealed feelings that Jasmine hadn’t actually shared herself, he forced a smile and said, “No, you’re right. A gift certificate isn’t the right way to go.”

  “Jewelry,” Gareth said with a knowing nod. “Always the best bet when romance is involved.”

  “Good call.”

  Ryan texted about an hour later, letting them know he was at the house. Will collected Katie and thanked Gareth before they headed back home. He needed to get an update from the security specialist before he left for the ballpark.

  Ryan greeted them as they entered the house and headed upstairs to use the master bathroom. Will wanted to get the chlorine rinsed off Katie and then do the same himself. Gump jumped up to greet them as though they’d been gone for days. He looked utterly forlorn when Will kept him out of the bathroom with his foot as he closed the door.

  “Sorry, big guy,” he said. “We won’t be long. And don’t pretend you’re not going to try and sneak up onto the bed anyway.”

  He ended up shampooing and conditioning Katie’s hair since it was snarled from the swimming. Then he wrapped her up in a towel and sent her down to her room to get changed while he showered. When he was done and changed into the clothes he planned to wear to the stadium, he headed back downstairs.

  “Is Katie still in her room?” he asked Ryan, not seeing her in the family room.

  “Yep.”

  “Okay. I wanted to check in with you. Archer said he wanted to make sure Katie was safe through all of this video uproar, but I’m not sure he knew how long this might last.”

  Ryan smiled. “Believe me, Archer knows how these things go. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  “Are you sure? Is it normal for you to stay with a client for this long?” The specialist had only taken a few full days off, and he’d sent someone in his place to cover for him during those times.

  “As long as I’m needed.”

  Appeased, Will allowed that concern to fall off his plate. “Good to know. I appreciate it. I don’t think I’d be able to focus if I had to worry about Katie through all this.”

  “That’s understandable. You’ve got plenty to handle without Katie’s security being part of the equation.”

  Will figured he meant the situation with Carol Ann. “You’re right about that.”

  “How’d the flowers go over?”

  Smiling, Will said, “They were on point. Thanks for the advice.”

  “Sure.”

  The reminder of the previous day’s events brought Jasmine to the forefront of his mind as he headed to Katie’s room to check on her. Jasmine mentioned she wanted to discuss their relationship, but that was as far as the conversation went. While he hoped she meant that in a positive context based on how the evening had gone, there was always the possibility she had decided he wasn’t worth a relationship of any kind after how he’d responded to her after the concert. It was a fact he’d done his best to bury, not wanting to consider it.

  Gareth’s comment made him desperate to clarify things with her. He hated that he had to wait another day to have that conversation.

  Unsurprisingly, he found Katie practicing her positions in front of her mirror. She had dressed herself in a green floral sundress over a pair of bright orange and purple tights that he was pretty sure had come with her Halloween costume the previous year. He didn’t even know where she dug them up. The mismatched outfit made him grin as he stepped into her room and sat on the bed. Gump hopped to his feet and moved closer in anticipation of head scratches.

  She met his gaze in the mirror. “Look, Daddy.”

  Expecting to see her perform a dance move, he watched her reflection with increasing bafflement as she instead pushed against her top left tooth with the tip of her tongue. The tooth shifted the slightest bit.

  He was equally repulsed and thrilled.

  “Your first loose tooth,” he enthused. “Come here and let me check that out.”

  She hopped to him—literally bounded twice with her feet together—and opened her mouth so he could examine the tooth. Giving it a little wiggle, he nodded.

  “Yep. It’s official. Those baby teeth are about to start falling out fast and furious. You’re going to strike it rich with visits from the Tooth Fairy.”

  She gasped and lifted her hands to mime taking a picture.

  Amused by her excitement, he reached for his phone. “You want me to text it to Grandpa?”

  She nodded and said, “And Jasmine.”

  Thinking Jasmine might not want an image of Katie’s gaping mouth on her phone, he said, “Why don’t you surprise her with it when she comes over for your lesson tomorrow?”

  She considered that and gave him a thumbs up.

  After he took a photo and texted it to his dad, she returned to the mirror and her positions. He watched her for a moment, considering whether the time was right to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her about Jasmine. If things were going to get more serious between them—please, God, let things be getting more serious between them—Katie had to be aware and comfortable with it.

  Deciding to bite the bullet, he said, “You’ve been enjoying your time with Jasmine, right?”

  She nodded and transitioned to her next position.

  “You have fun when she’s around.”

  Another nod.

  “So it’s safe to say you like her, right?”

  “I love her,” Katie said simply as she moved into her next position.

  He stared at her, unable to speak.

  His daughter, someone who had barely been able to tolerate being around females five months ago, loved Jasmine.

  Just like that, all the pieces of his complicated life clicked into place. He knew with full certainty how he and Katie felt. Gareth had implied how Jasmine felt.

  Now all Will had to do was confirm it.

  Chapter Thirty

  Jasmine smiled at Ryan as he opened the sliding doors at Will’s the following afternoon. “Hi,” she greeted him. “Thanks for letting me in.”

  “No problem. Let me take those for you.”

  He reached for the grocery bags. She gladly handed them over and followed him into the kitchen, closing and locking the door behind her. When Gump lumbered up to her, she bent down to give hi
m some head scratches and murmured words of greeting.

  “Will’s on his way home,” Ryan explained as he set the bags on the counter. “He asked that you help Katie get ready if you arrived before he did.”

  She had anticipated that. He wasn’t usually home before five o’clock on days he played an afternoon game.

  “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

  When she finished loading the groceries in the fridge, she closed the door and asked, “Will you be around for dinner?”

  He looked over at her. “You going to make that chicken you just put in the fridge?”

  “Yes. With veggie mac ‘n cheese and strawberry shortcake for dessert.”

  “Then I’ll be around for dinner.”

  She smiled. “Great.”

  She’d texted Frank earlier to ask if he’d be coming over for dinner. He had said he’d stop by after the project he was working on and join them. Anticipating the need to feed a group, she’d taken the time that afternoon to do as much prep work as she could ahead of time, chopping veggies, shredding cheese, mixing the ingredients for the herbed butter she’d be stuffing under the chicken’s skin, and macerating the strawberries. The meal would still take about ninety minutes to finish prepping and cooking, so she wanted to start her lesson with Katie sooner rather than later.

  She brought her bag to Katie’s room with her, figuring she’d need to make use of the bobby pins in it to secure Katie’s bun. Somehow, Katie kept losing them. Jasmine had given her twenty or thirty of the things already. Will would likely find a secret stash of them somewhere under her bed one day.

  Gump followed her to Katie’s room, marching through the door and perching in his usual place at the foot of her bed. Katie stood in front of the mirror, already wearing her tights and leotard. She had gone with white today. Will had added several outfits to her options over the past few months, something that never failed to charm Jasmine.

  Seeing Katie attempting to secure her lopsided bun with a large blue barrette—which would make an interesting addition to the silver, red, and amber barrettes already clipped in her hair—she bit back a laugh.

  This kid was too freaking adorable.

  “Hi, Katie,” she said.

  Katie smiled and turned to hug her. Then she abruptly pulled back enough to look up at Jasmine.

  “Look,” she said, and wiggled her tooth.

  “Oh! That’s…exciting,” Jasmine decided. “Congrats.”

  Katie signed her thanks, a habit she hadn’t yet broken.

  Jasmine tilted her head and pretended to assess Katie’s hair. “I see you’ve gotten yourself ready. Good job. I accidentally shifted your bun while I was hugging you though. How about I fix it for you?”

  Nodding, Katie sat down on the bed and patiently waited for Jasmine to remove the barrettes and hair tie, brush her hair, and re-secure it with the hair tie and some of the bobby pins from her bag.

  “There we go. Ready to dance?”

  Katie smiled, jumped up, and dashed from the room. Gump clambered to his feet, seemed to debate whether to follow her, then issued a loud snort and flopped back down. Jasmine guessed the dog had experienced this enough to know he would be booted out of the loft for the lesson, so he might as well not waste his time. Seeing that Katie had forgotten her shoes, Jasmine grabbed them and carried them with her up to the loft.

  Will finally joined them about thirty minutes into the lesson. Because she was counting off a sequence for Katie, she just smiled at him and nodded a greeting. He smiled back.

  Something was wrong. The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  She had to ignore that for now. If Will wanted to pretend everything was fine for Katie’s sake, she would do the same.

  “Okay,” she said after the hour was up. “That’s a good place to wrap for today. You did a wonderful job, Katie.”

  Thank you.

  “Why don’t you go get changed, kiddo?” Will said, rising from his usual spot on the weight bench.

  She nodded and headed down the stairs.

  Jasmine turned to him and touched the side of his face. “Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

  “Yeah. After Katie’s in bed, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He leaned down to kiss her. “Thanks.”

  They headed downstairs. She watched him as he sat on the sofa in the family room. He pulled out his phone as she got the oven preheating. His fingers moved in a way that said he was texting.

  “Need any help?” Ryan asked, drawing her attention back to the kitchen and his position near the fridge.

  Time to focus on dinner, she thought.

  “Sure. Could you find a pot to fill with water for the pasta?”

  Ryan proved to be a competent assistant. While she got to work seasoning the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper and stuffing the herbed butter under the skin, he got out the pot, filled it with water, and added sea salt before setting it to boil. He then helped truss the chicken while she washed her hands.

  “Is there anything I can get ready for the pasta dish?” he asked.

  She snapped her fingers. “The recipe’s on my phone and I left it in my bag in Katie’s room. While I run and grab it, would you please pat the chicken down with a paper towel and stick it in the oven? The timer needs to be set for fifteen minutes.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Just to get the process started. I’ll take it from there.”

  “You got it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Will was no longer in the family room. Growing even more concerned, she walked back to Katie’s room. Maybe he was with her.

  When she pushed open the door, her eyes went wide. Katie sat cross-legged in front of her floor-length mirror. Jasmine’s makeup bag was beside her. Most of the products were scattered around her. Her eyelids were covered in sooty gray shadow. Bright pink blush covered her cheeks. She had used the eyeliner like a brow pencil to draw comedic arched eyebrows over her own. Her lips and a significant portion of her mouth outside her lips were caked with plum-colored lipstick. In her hands was a compact, which she appeared to be puzzling over how to open.

  Jasmine didn’t know whether to shout with laughter or dismay. She took a moment to calm herself before stepping into the room.

  Jerking and dropping the compact, Katie looked at her and said, “Hi,” as though the situation was normal.

  “Hi.” Jasmine moved into the room and squatted beside her, carefully lifting her open lipstick and twisting it back down. The shape of it would never be the same. “What’s happening here?”

  Katie signed the word pretty, one Jasmine had fortunately learned.

  “I see. Do you think your dad will be happy to see his six-year-old little girl all covered in makeup?”

  Her lower lip turned out. She dropped her chin and slowly shook her head.

  “I’d say you’re probably right.” Jasmine continued to collect the items spread across the floor. “I understand your curiosity about makeup, Katie. All of us girls go through it, and when you’re old enough, I look forward to teaching you things like choosing the colors that look best with your skin tone and how to properly apply them. But you know this wasn’t something you should do, right?”

  She nodded forlornly. “Will you tell?” she asked in a whisper.

  Jasmine finished replacing everything to the bag and leaned back on her haunches. “Well, let me ask you this. Do you think it’s okay to go through someone else’s things and use them without their permission?”

  She shook her head. Her big blue-gray eyes filled with tears.

  “Okay then. I think we can consider this a learning experience and keep it between us girls. You get a warning the first time you make a mistake. That’s how we learn not to make them again. Fair enough?”

  A tear fell as Katie nodded. Jasmine felt like a horrible human being.

  Reaching over and gently wiping the tear away, she said, “How about the next time you’re curious about something, you ask
me about it? We can have fun with makeup that’s appropriate for you.”

  Katie nodded again.

  “Okay, sweetie. I’ve got to run my phone out to Ryan in the kitchen. Stay right here for a minute. We need to get that washed off you before your dad sees.”

  Katie sniffled and gave yet another nod.

  Will was back in the family room when she hurried out with her phone. He looked up and met her gaze.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yep. Just had to get my phone.”

  “Is Katie coming?”

  “In a minute. I’m helping her with something.”

  “Do you need my help since you’re busy in the kitchen?”

  “No,” she said too quickly. “It’s a girl thing,” she finished weakly when he gave her a strange look. Turning to Ryan with her phone, she pulled up the recipe she intended to use for the veggie mac ‘n cheese and handed it to him. “Give me five minutes,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Roger that.”

  He looked amused.

  If only he knew.

  Thank God she had some makeup removal wipes in her bag. After a few minutes of scrubbing Katie’s face over the bathroom sink, she once again had her makeup-free. Maybe her skin looked a little pinker than usual and the area around her mouth was still tinged the slightest shade of plum, but hopefully it was good enough that Will wouldn’t notice.

  The rest of the evening went according to plan. Frank arrived in time to eat with them. Everyone raved about the meal, which pleased Jasmine. She especially enjoyed that Katie ate everything on her plate.

  Both Ryan and Frank left after eating their dessert. An Ordinem specialist would be monitoring the house overnight, as usual. Jasmine, Will, and Katie played a few games until it was her bedtime. Then Jasmine entertained herself on her phone as Will got Katie through her bedtime routine.

  When he finally returned, she rose from the sofa and held her arms out. He walked over and accepted the hug, pulling her against him in a tight embrace. The strength of it told her he needed her support.

  “You ready to talk?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Let’s go upstairs.”

  “Is alcohol required?”