Though she didn’t want to leave JP, she put on her game face and said to him, “I’ll catch you in a bit.”
AS SONNY WALKED away from him, JP felt tightness grab his chest and rolled his shoulders to ease the ache. God that woman was beautiful. She did things to him he didn’t think were possible. It was hard to watch her leave because he wanted to be close to her, but he figured he had to share her, and he looked around the yard for a place to sit.
Mark and Peter were sitting by the pool in plastic lawn chairs. The pitcher had a guitar in hand and was absentmindedly picking at the strings, teasing out a simple tune. Mark’s brother-in-law Logan was sitting with them, his daughter Michelle in his lap. The little girl was growing so well since her heart surgery.
Picking his way through the crowd, JP looked out at the pool and laughed out loud. Drake was out there in a neon-pink Speedo, lounging on the back of a blow-up lobster. The skin on his chest was beginning to match the color of the inflatable plastic crustacean. One of the many kids in the water splashed him and he promptly lost his balance, going overboard. He came up soaking wet and sputtering.
Still laughing when he reached the guys, JP grabbed a drink from the cooler nearby and took a seat. “Did you just see that?” He tipped his chin toward the pool.
Kowalskin grinned and plucked a country tune. “That Susie Brewster is one tough six-year-old. Paulson’s in trouble.”
All three men turned their heads and looked at Drake. He was arguing with the feisty little redhead, all bluster. The girl knew it too and splashed him again before squealing and taking off. Drake shook a fist at her, though it was obvious by the look on his face it was all for dramatic effect.
JP spotted Sonny off to the side with Lorelei and felt something warm fill his chest. When she laughed he felt himself smile involuntarily and shook his head. That woman had a hold on him good.
Pete kicked his bare foot with a shoe. “Hey, hippie.” He was referring to the lack of footwear. “Have you had a talk with the kid yet?”
JP leaned back in his seat and laced his fingers behind his head. “Not yet.” He’d meant to ask Sonny about it when they’d been at his place, but things had gone off track after their conversation and had gotten tensely awkward, so it’d slipped his mind.
Mark leaned forward, joining the conversation. “Don’t you think you should double-check with Sonny before you do?”
He had a point. “Probably. Look guys, I’m sure it’s not even an issue. She’s no doubt already talked to him.”
Logan spoke up, his dark brown eyes confused. “Who’s telling who what now?”
Pete stopped picking his guitar. “JP’s been seeing a woman with a kid and he’s not sure if the boy knows about it or not.” As soon as he finished he started playing chords again.
There was a real serious quality to Lorelei’s brother. He squinted against the sun and replied, “I reckon that’s a tough spot to be in.” Logan’s little girl put her head on his shoulder and he cuddled her close.
JP agreed, but he also didn’t want to worry about it and told himself that the guys were just being gossipy girls and getting all up in his Kool-Aid over nothing. Especially Pete. That guy needed a hobby.
He changed the subject. “Have you found a place yet, Mark?”
The catcher shook his head. “Nah. I haven’t had much time. Lorelei though, she’s been working with a real estate agent. Every few days she brings me a small stack of homes for sale and I go through them with her. But nothing’s caught her eye so far.”
JP thought about Sonny’s modest place up near Longmont. He could see himself there. “When it’s home you’ll know it.”
Just then Charlie raced by with the same group of boys and they all dove into the pool, drenching Drake again. The guy had just gotten resettled on the lobster too. He went over so fast he didn’t even have a chance to catch his breath and came up coughing.
JP smirked and scanned the yard for Sonny. He found her talking with the woman from the kitchen who had the infant. Her hands and face were animated, and she looked like she was sharing a funny anecdote. No doubt something Charlie had done that the kid would be totally humiliated if he knew his mom was sharing.
Standing up, he left the guys discussing Logan’s chances at the next PBR bull riding final in Vegas and went to be with Sonny. It was like a compulsion, this need to be close to her. Every time she laughed or he heard her voice it beckoned him like a siren and he had to come.
When he came up behind her, JP slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. At first she was tense, but after a few moments she relaxed against him. Deciding that he could read into it or not, he chose not to and said instead, “Are you enjoying yourself, sunshine?”
She nodded against him, her soft hair rubbing against his chin. “I am. Rita was just telling me about her latest adventures in parenting.”
By the looks of the jelly-smeared kid she was packing around, JP figured she probably had some good ones. “Yeah? What’s the latest?”
Sonny waved him off. “Oh, nothing you’d be interested in.”
That comment nipped his feelings. Why wouldn’t he be interested? “Surprise me.”
Again she dismissed him. “Don’t worry about it, JP. It’s stuff you wouldn’t get.”
Now he was outright offended. “Try me. There were six of us kids, remember?”
She patted his hand, seemingly oblivious to his feelings. “But you weren’t their parent. It’s different.”
What the hell? Suddenly he didn’t have any credibility?
JP pulled away and let his arms drop. It didn’t sit well with him, this feeling that he had something to prove. Especially when he wasn’t being given a choice in the matter. That, in addition to the unease he was beginning to feel over what Charlie did or didn’t know, was making him feel insecure.
Did Sonny even see him as parent material?
Because her comments made it sound like she’d decided he couldn’t possibly understand what it meant to be a parent. Screw that. Whether or not it was true, didn’t he deserve the chance to figure it out?
She belatedly noticed he’d stepped away and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Are you okay, JP?” Her big blue eyes were full of innocence.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Yeah. Just fine.” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Charlie and his new group of buddies, and the frustration he’d felt moments ago began to churn in his gut. Needing some distance to calm down, JP kissed her briefly on the cheek. “I’m going to see what Charlie’s up to.”
Her reply barely registered. He was already cutting across the yard after the kid. By the time he’d reached the boy the other kids had taken off, leaving Charlie sitting on an oversized boulder in the shade.
“Mind if I join you?”
Charlie patted the bare rock next to him. “Nope. You can sit here. The rock’s super warm from the sun and feels awesome.”
Planting his butt on the granite, JP’s eyebrow shot up in surprise. He hadn’t been kidding about the rock. It was hot enough to fry an egg on. “You having a good time?”
Soft blue eyes sparkled at him. “Yeah, totally! Did you know that Peter has samurai swords and ninja stars in one of his rooms? They’re so cool!”
Why didn’t that surprise him? “You didn’t play with them, did you? I’m not sure that’s safe, slugger.” That was a good parenting call, right? Responsible and cautious.
Charlie ducked his head and muttered, “Couldn’t. They’re in a glass case that’s locked.” JP opened his mouth to reply and the kid rushed to add, “I didn’t try it. Another kid did. Mom would kill me dead.”
No doubt. “Speaking of your mom, she’s pretty fantastic.” Even though he was frustrated with her at the moment, it was still true. And it was becoming more and more obvious that they needed to talk. A plan was beginning to brew in his mind on how to make that happen. It involved getting a few days alone with Sonny—an idea which he liked mor
e and more the longer he mulled it over.
Scrunching his nose, Charlie tipped his head at JP and asked, “You like my mom, don’t you?”
A squirrel chattered at them from a branch above their heads. “Of course I do. What’s not to like?”
The boy shook his head vigorously. “No, I mean you, like, like her. Like girlfriend and boyfriend.”
JP narrowed his eyes and focused on Charlie. “What are you trying to say, kid?”
“You and my mom are dating.” The way he said it sounded like a statement.
So he knows, JP thought, and he felt tension that he hadn’t known he’d been carrying uncoil in his shoulders. Until that moment he hadn’t realized how much he’d been stressing over it. But he should have known Sonny would say something. “Is that all right?”
“I knew it!” Charlie said and jumped off the rock. The boy’s shoulders slumped and he looked away. “What’s gonna happen now?”
Alarm darted through JP. “What? Wait. Did you know already, Charlie?” He hoped like hell the kid already had, otherwise he’d really fucked up.
“Sure,” the kid said.
JP wasn’t convinced, but he saw the frown worrying the kid’s brow and had the strongest urge to say the right thing to smooth out the wrinkles. He wasn’t sure what the right thing was, so he settled for, “I was thinking about joining your guys’ team, if you’ll have me.”
He held his breath waiting for the answer. It didn’t take long. “Are you guys gonna kiss and stuff in front of me?” The kid looked totally grossed out by that thought. “I don’t want you to do that.”
JP could respect that. It was going to take time for the kid to get used to the new situation. But no kissing ever? That wasn’t going to happen. “How about I promise to try not to do anything that makes you uncomfortable?” That was the best he could do because swearing to never touch Sonny was an impossibility.
“Okay.”
He didn’t look okay. “What’s wrong, Charlie?”
The boy was quiet for a moment and then the words came rushing out. “Is she gonna stop wanting me now?” Big blue eyes got all watery as they held steady on JP.
Where was that coming from? “Of course she’s not going to stop wanting you. Why would you say something like that?”
Before Charlie could answer Lorelei came into view waving a magazine in the air, her face pinched and full of concern. Even though she was still halfway across the yard, she spotted JP and called, “You need to see this.”
Clearly using the interruption to avoid answering, Charlie gave JP a quick hug and headed off. “I’m going to find my friends,” he said over his shoulder.
“Wait,” he called after him. “When’s your next game?”
Charlie hollered back, “Next week!”
His mind made up, he replied, “All right. I’ll be there.”
The kid pumped a fist and said, “Sweet!” as he passed Lorelei.
“What’re you waving at me, Lorelei?” Whatever it was had her pretty upset. JP let out a sigh. Shit. Things just weren’t going his way lately.
Stopping right in front of him, the brunette planted a hand on her hip and thrust the magazine at him. “Here, take a look. I found this today at the grocery store. Sonny had a hard enough time with Charlie’s stint on the news. She said as much to me. But this”—she waved it in his face—“she’s going to be so pissed.”
Apprehension crept up his spine as he took it from her outstretched hand. Looking down he scanned the name and swore. It was that fucking Beat tabloid.
And right there, front-and-center on the front page, was a picture of him and Sonny from the day they’d gone tubing. Together. He had his hand on her breast and they were kissing on the riverbank. Son of a bitch.
Lorelei was right. Sonny was going to be pissed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
* * *
SONNY SEARCHED THE crowd for JP with a frown. What she’d said earlier had set him off. And she’d done it on purpose. It had been her chance to put some distance between them and send the signal that he was pushing too hard too fast. She was hoping he’d get the message and back off a little. She hadn’t expected him to get so upset though.
Men. They called themselves the less complicated sex, but they were dead wrong. Some of the things they did made absolutely no sense. No frigging sense at all.
And they called women irrational.
With a big sigh, Sonny excused herself from Rita and started off in search of JP. If she’d hurt his feelings, she was going to feel bad about it. And she wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew if he was okay or not.
But why, oh why, did he have to be so temperamental? She wasn’t used to it. For the past ten years she’d had relative peace and quiet in her life. With just her and Charlie there wasn’t much frenetic energy or drama. Even when she’d been facing finals at college while she’d had the flu. Although, that had just sucked.
Still. JP was so very different than what she was used to, and it was making her shifty and a little nervous. Like he was a big powerful presence and he was planting himself in the center of her life. And it was such a polarizing feeling because on the one hand it was incredible and wonderful and made her feel like the most precious thing. But on the other hand, he wasn’t a gentle energy that could be controlled. The man was cocky and temperamental and big-hearted as a bear.
And he just did things. He didn’t wait to ask permission.
It was how he’d won her.
There was so much to JP, she thought as she entered through the French doors to the kitchen. Being in his apartment the other night has made that clear. There’d been so much there that she wouldn’t have guessed of him in a million years.
Like fly-fishing. Who would have figured that he liked fly-fishing? Or that he had a well-used gourmet kitchen and a not-at-all tidy linen closet?
What about all the family photos? She never would have guessed that he would have so many. Seeing them really brought home to her how loyal to his family JP really was. It was clear for anyone to see just how much he loved them.
And that alone made her feel off and self-conscious. Her family had been a joke. The only real family she’d ever had was Charlie. She didn’t know what it was like to be a part of a large, loving family. The idea of it created an almost panicky feeling in her chest actually.
That was just so many people up in your business, judging and telling you what to do, she thought. Who wanted that?
A voice inside her said, “You.”
Sonny ignored it. It was wrong anyway. She’d decided that a long time ago. It was just her and Charlie.
She stopped cold in the middle of the open kitchen. It hit her that it wasn’t just her and Charlie anymore. Now there was JP. That’s why she was going after him, wasn’t it? Because he was a part of something.
Mulling over the information, Sonny glanced around the empty kitchen in search of a bathroom. She needed to make a detour on her way to JP. Spotting a short hall off to the left by the fridge, she made her way across the tile and saw a door.
Feeling hopeful that she’d guessed right, she went to the door and pushed it open. And came face to face with Leslie and Pete in a very compromising position. Not believing her eyes, she blinked hard and tried again.
Nope. Still there.
“Oh my Lord, Sonny! I’m sorry y’all. Wait. Stop! This isn’t what you think.” Leslie’s voice was a little shrill—and a lot breathless—as she tried to back away.
Really. Because it looked a whole lot like she had her bare legs spread wide while Pete kneeled before her. At least that’s what it looked like to her from this angle. Her shorts were so skimpy that if they were doing what it looked like they were doing, he wouldn’t have to work all that hard.
Wait a minute . . . wasn’t Leslie dating that other ballplayer?
Though she pushed hard against Pete’s shoulders, he didn’t budge. Instead, while Leslie blustered and stammered and tried to explain herself, he just
hung his head and laughed silently. Sonny could see his shoulders shaking hard from restraint.
What the heck had she walked in on?
Leslie gave up shoving against Pete and gave him a sound whack on the back of his head. “Stop it!” she cried indignantly. Her feline eyes were big and panicked like a cornered animal. But Sonny had been around her enough already to know that Leslie was no genteel little dove. That woman had teeth.
Peter let out a snort and all the laughter he’d been holding inside burst loose. He placed his palms on his knees and hung his head, laughing so hard he had to take big gulps of air.
Slapping his shoulder again, Leslie hissed, “Damn it. Get up.”
Peter looked at Sonny with sparkling eyes. His humor was infectious and she found herself grinning back at him. There was something incredibly alluring about the guy, though it was hard to put her finger on it. He just oozed charm and bad-boy fun.
With a roll of her tawny eyes, Leslie said frankly, “I got a bee sting, y’all, right on my lady bits. Peter was getting the stinger out because John had to leave.”
It was true. He held up a pair of silver tweezers, the light of the devil in his eyes. He wasn’t even trying to hide how much he was enjoying her predicament.
Leslie now, on the other hand, was downright miserable. Her normally flawless face was flushed, and her eyes were red and puffy like she’d been crying. Frustration pulled the skin tight around her eyes.
Taking pity on her, Sonny dropped the teasing and asked, “Would you like some ice to put on it?” That was the second time recently she’d said that exact thing to someone. Weird.
Finally relenting, Peter stood up, stretching to his full height. He was still having a grand time. With a wicked grin he slapped the inside of Leslie’s thigh, making her hiss like a viper and shoot him a glare. “This filly gets real pissy when she’s riled, sweetheart, so I’ve got her covered. She needs a man to settle her down.”
Playing the Field: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel Page 19