Kelly sagged against the chair. Jill was dead. She still couldn’t believe it. “I’ll get to work on a press release. Do we know about funeral arrangements yet? I’m sure several of the players will be asking.”
“Those details will be forthcoming. Rick’s agent wasn’t sure if Rick and Jill’s family want a public service. It may be for family members only.”
“I can’t wrap my head around this.” Kelly crumpled the tissue and shifted to push it into her pocket. “When I talked to Rick he was so happy. He couldn’t wait to get to spring training.” She paused and sat up straight. “What does it mean for us if he doesn’t come back?”
“That remains to be seen,” Katherine said. “He may show up. February is still five months away. If he doesn’t, then we’ll have to adjust, just like we did when he was injured in July. I do know that Doug and Tom Morgan plan to contact Matt’s agent about the possibility of him staying with us for another year. He’s in the last year of his contract and with his resurgence, he’s a hot commodity right now.”
It was too much to digest. Jill and her unborn baby were dead. How could that be? How could someone so young and full of life be taken from her husband and family? And Rick. Oh dear Lord, it was obvious from the first moment she’d met him that he was head over heels in love with his wife. They’d grown up in the same small town and had been high school sweethearts. She couldn’t even imagine the pain he was going through.
And in addition to that, Matt might be staying in San Francisco. While one part of her—the part of her that was still in love with him—was thrilled at the prospect, the other part of her dreaded it. How could she work with him for another season when he hated the sight of her?
Kelly shook herself out of her reverie. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about her issues. A man had just lost his wife and baby. Her problems with Matt were minuscule in comparison.
“I’ll go get started on the press release,” she said as she rose from the chair. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Katherine gave her a wan smile. “Thank you, Kelly. I don’t know what I did without you. Hiring you was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I’m really sorry about Joey.”
After two weeks Matt was getting used to hearing that, or variations on it, wherever he went. But when it came from Lily, who was going under the knife tomorrow at noon, it scared him to death to think she might suffer the same fate as his son.
It wasn’t logical—the circumstances were totally different—but still, in the back of his mind, it was there. Another child could die. Another parent could go through the same hell he and Leslie had endured. He wouldn’t wish that on anybody.
“You know, you’re a lot like Joey.” He put his video game controller next to him on Dorie’s floral couch. They’d just played Lily’s favorite baseball video game and she’d kicked his ass. A rematch was definitely in order. Now that he was used to the controller he hoped to vindicate himself in the next round.
“But I’m a girl,” Lily protested so vehemently he had to smile.
“I know, but Joey loved baseball and so do you. He also loved animals and you love that big orange cat that seems to disappear whenever I come over.”
A smile wreathed Lily’s thin face. “Tabitha’s just shy. In a few months, she’ll get used to you and come out to say hi.”
Matt chuckled. “I can hardly wait.”
“I wish my surgery wasn’t tomorrow.” Lily leaned forward and set her controller on the coffee table. From the kitchen, he could hear Dorie’s low and melodic humming as she washed the dinner dishes. She and Lily had invited him over for dinner.
“Are you scared?”
“A little.” Lily flopped back and began twisting a lock of her hair with her finger. “I’m mad I’m gonna miss the game. I wish I could see you guys win the division.”
Matt shifted and stretched his arm out over the top of the couch, getting comfortable. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do that today,” he said. The Blaze had won game one, but this afternoon the Dodgers had beaten them with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. “But Rizzo’s pitching tomorrow so we’ve got our best guy out there on the mound.”
Lily looked at him pensively. “Matt, can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, kiddo.”
“Do...do you think I could meet Trey Gentry sometime?”
Matt’s jaw dropped. He wasn’t expecting that. “So, I’ve been replaced.” He grinned. “Is that it?”
Lily’s face turned pink. “No, you’re still my favorite player of all time. But...” Shyly, she averted her eyes.
“I get it.” He reached down and ruffled her hair. “And I think I can arrange for you to meet Trey.”
Lily squealed, turned and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “I love you, Matt,” she mumbled and then angled her head to gaze up at him. “Joey was really lucky to have you for a dad.”
“I was the lucky one.” Tears swam in his eyes as he gave Lily a hug. “And you know what else?” Lily shook her head, her glasses askew. He straightened them on the bridge of her nose. “I love you too.”
An hour later, after Lily had once again annihilated him at video baseball, Matt was driving down California Street and trying not to think about tomorrow. While Lily was having heart surgery he’d be playing in the most important game of the season. It wasn’t lost on him that to some people the outcome of the game meant a whole lot more than what would be going on in that operating room, or that Rick Taylor was mourning the loss of his wife and unborn child.
Losing Joey had changed him. He loved baseball and always would. He wanted to win the World Series more than anything, but if given a choice between winning a game and Lily’s life, he’d gladly lose the game if it meant Lily could live. He didn’t want to bury another child wearing his jersey.
Son of a bitch. The jersey.
He almost swerved into the other lane as what was bothering him about his conversation with Stacia became crystal clear. With an apologetic wave to the driver who had honked at him, his fingers tightened on the wheel and he hit the gas hard.
It took him twenty-five minutes to get back to his building, park the SUV in the underground garage and then walk to Kelly’s building. He took the elevator to her floor, all the while feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet. He hoped and prayed Kelly would forgive him. But if she didn’t, how could he blame her?
After sprinting to her door, he knocked and waited. But it wasn’t Kelly who opened the door. It was Stacia.
“Matt,” she said with obvious surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Is Kelly home?”
“No. She texted me a while ago and said she was driving her dad back to Pleasanton. She might stay the night, she does that sometimes.”
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “May I come in?” Actually, it was probably best Kelly wasn’t here for this. It could get ugly.
“Of course.” Stacia’s eyes took on a predatory gleam as she opened the door wider so he could enter. “Can I get you anything? A beer? Wine? Water?” She closed the door and turned to face him with a smile curving her lips.
“I don’t want anything except the truth,” he said, not wasting time with pleasantries. “I know you were the one who leaked the story about my son. Now I want you to tell me why you did it.”
As her smile faltered, Stacia put a hand to her chest and had the nerve to look affronted. She was a damn good actress, he’d give her that.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with that.”
“Save the innocent routine. I’m not buying it.” He pinned her with a hard stare. “A few nights ago when I left Kamu’s, I had this feeling that there was something very odd about our conversation. It’s been nagging at me ever since and tonight I finally figured it out.”
Stacia’s eyes flickered with unease. “Figured what out?”
“I�
��ve watched all the news reports and read every article written about Joey. And you know what? Not one of them mentioned that Joey was buried in my Dodgers jersey.” Matt pointed at her. “But you knew. And the only way you could know is if you were home the night I was here and were eavesdropping on the conversation Kelly and I had in the kitchen.”
“You’re crazy,” she exclaimed. “Why would I do such a thing?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was for the money. Or maybe you’re a jealous vindictive bitch who’s pissed off because she didn’t get what she wanted.”
“And what did I want?” Stacia crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
“Me,” he snapped. “And I bet it irritated the hell out of you that I preferred Kelly to you.”
Stacia’s snort was derisive. “Like I’d ever be jealous of that cow.”
“You should be,” Matt retorted and wondered if Kelly knew how much Stacia despised her. Probably not, or she wouldn’t be living with her.
“You can’t prove it was me.” Stacia’s tone was cool—it appeared she was just smart enough not to admit to anything.
“Are you sure about that?” He cocked his head and gave her a mirthless smile. “I could call that tabloid editor right now and offer him an interview in exchange for the name of the person who tipped them off about Joey.” Stacia pressed her lips together in a thin line as he continued, “These people have no scruples, Stacia. They’d sell you down the river in a heartbeat to get what they want. And what they want is an interview with me.”
“If I did do it, there’s nothing you can do to me.” Stacia’s expression went from worried to gloating in seconds. “It’s not like what was printed was a lie. It was all the truth.”
“You’re right.” Matt shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He wanted badly to shake the shit out of her but there was no way he was going to put bruises on a woman ever again. “The story is out there. Nothing can change that. I guess you’ll have to live with the fact that you’re a bitter and spiteful woman.”
“I think you should leave,” Stacia said and took a step back to pull open the door.
“No problem,” he said as he brushed past her and into the hallway where he turned to meet her icy gaze. “And by the way, Kelly has more heart, and more class than you could ever hope to have.”
Stacia’s reply was to slam the door in his face.
On the way back to his condo he called Kelly’s cell phone but it went straight to voice mail. He left a brief message asking her to call him but didn’t go into detail. This wasn’t something he wanted to share with her over the phone. No, apologizing for being such an insensitive prick was something that had to be done in person. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.
* * *
The next morning, it was eleven when Kelly finally got to her office. With hurried movements, she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. After quickly scanning her emails, she sighed with relief when she didn’t see anything labeled urgent.
“Where have you been?” Angie stood at the threshold. “I tried calling you but your phone kept going to voice mail. Katherine’s been looking for you.”
“I’m sorry.” Kelly reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “My battery died. I spent the night at my parents’ house and didn’t have my charger with me,” she said as she connected the phone to the charger she kept plugged into her computer. “Is something going on I should know about?”
Angie moved into the office and braced her hands on the back of the visitor chair. “The word on the street is that Rick Taylor is quitting baseball.”
Kelly’s mouth gaped open. “What? Quitting forever, or just next season?”
Angie gestured with her hands. “No one knows. But everyone in accounting is buzzing about it. I think that’s why Katherine’s trying to find you.”
“I was at the hospital visiting with Lily.” Kelly leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Her surgery starts in about an hour.”
“I didn’t know that was today.” Angie’s eyes filled with sympathy. “I’ll say a prayer.”
“Thanks. She’ll need all the prayers she can get.” She rose to her feet. “I should go find Katherine.”
“Will you keep me posted about Lily?” Angie asked as they walked out of the office.
“You bet,” she said and then strode toward her boss’s office while Angie headed back to accounting.
Half an hour later, Kelly walked out of Katherine’s office with instructions to hold off on the press release regarding Rick Taylor’s decision to stop playing professional baseball. Upper management believed that Rick was making a hasty decision in the wake of his grief, and after a period of mourning would change his mind.
But in case they were wrong, Doug would be placing a call to Matt’s agent. The Blaze wanted him to stay. But would he? The tide had turned dramatically from a few months ago. Now Matt was in the driver’s seat.
At one-fifteen, just after the singing of the national anthem, Kelly made her way down the steps of the lower level of the ballpark and plopped into the seat next to her father. Sweet man that he was, he always gave her the aisle seat—a gesture she greatly appreciated.
“I was wondering if you were going to make it before the first pitch. This is it, Peanut. One game, winner takes all,” he said with a grin and then signaled to the vendor selling beer a couple of rows up.
Kelly couldn’t help but smile. As usual, John Maxwell was decked out in his game-day attire of jeans, an orange-and-black Blaze T-shirt and a Blaze baseball cap turned backward on his head. He often joked about getting the Blaze logo tattooed on his arm but her mother had put the kibosh on that brilliant idea many moons ago.
“Do you want one?” he asked when the beer vendor stopped at their row.
“Hell, yes.” She pulled out her phone and checked her missed calls. There were a ton of them, and as she scrolled through them her breath caught when she saw two of them were from Matt. Surprised, she looked up. Matt was on the pitcher’s mound talking to Rizzo. He was even more imposing in his catcher’s gear; she drank in the sight of him, missing him more than she thought it possible to miss anyone.
“Here you go.”
She tore her gaze from Matt to find the beer vendor staring at her. “Sorry,” she said with a smile and took the cup from his hand. She slipped her phone into her pocket. The voice mails could wait.
* * *
Matt slapped on his batting helmet and strode to the on-deck circle as Marquis Lopes stepped up to the plate. It was the bottom of the fourth inning and the score was tied at two apiece.
The noise in the ballpark was deafening, and everywhere he looked all he could see were the orange rally towels the fans waved and whipped around in an excited frenzy. The atmosphere was electric and fraught with tension—this was a do-or-die game and everyone in the entire park was on the edge of their seat.
This was what baseball was all about. That one game when everything was on the line, and one hit or one error could win or lose a ball game.
He took a few practice swings and then watched as Lopes swung and missed on a slider. The crowd let out a collective groan. Scanning the field, Matt felt only a slight stab of nostalgia at the sight of his former teammates He was no longer one of them and he was fine with that—this was his home right now, and might be again next season if what his agent told him about Rick Taylor quitting baseball was true.
After the next pitch was called a ball, Matt glanced at the scoreboard and checked the time. It was after three. Lily’s surgery had started at noon and he had no clue what was happening. His cell phone was in his locker. The skipper had a strict policy about cell phone usage during a game. Getting caught with one could result in a huge fine.
Lopes swung and hit a ball into foul territory. Matt took a few more swings and then stole a glance at the seats behind the dugout. Kelly was sitting with her father. At the moment they were both standing and enthusiastically waving their orange
towels. Kelly hadn’t returned either of his calls and when he’d gone to her office when he got to the ballpark it had been empty.
He understood why she hadn’t called him back, but it was killing him not to be able to tell her about Stacia, and to apologize for his behavior.
The crowd groaned again. Lopes had struck out. It was the third out so Matt made his way back to the dugout. Just before going down the steps, he glanced up and met Kelly’s gaze. She was in the first row behind the dugout, so close yet so far away.
For several seconds he stood there, unable to move, and although the crowd around them was loud and raucous all he could hear was the thundering of his heart as he stared into her beautiful eyes. For one insane moment he wanted to jump on top of the dugout and pull her into his arms but then he heard someone say his name and he was jolted back to reality. Tearing his gaze from hers, he stepped down into the dugout, stashed his bat and strapped on his gear. There were five innings left and he had a game to win.
* * *
At the top of the sixth inning, Kelly had just finished washing her hands in the women’s restroom when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly answered it when she saw Dorie’s name on the small screen.
“How’s Lily?” she asked as she exited the restroom and moved to a quieter area a few steps from the door. She watched people stroll by, all of them dressed in Blaze shirts and baseball caps. These fans adored their team.
“The surgery went well,” Dorie said. “Lily’s in recovery right now and her doctor is very optimistic.”
Kelly put her hand to her heart. This was the best news she’d heard all day. “Oh, Dorie. I’m so relieved.”
“You and me both.” Dorie paused. “Hey, I know Matt’s playing right now. Would you mind giving him the good news for me?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “Lily told me about his visit last night and I know he’ll want to know as soon as possible. I might even be able to get a message to him in the dugout.”
The Winning Season Page 28