“Now, Mrs. Hudson, you know not to say such things about Ryan. He’s a tough guy, and this lady here is a friend of his.” Brock gestured toward Jamie. “This is Jamie Rush, and Jamie, as you’ve guessed, Ryan’s mother, Frances Hudson.”
“Oh, it’s so wonderful to meet you,” Frances said. “Although not in these circumstances. Forgive me for talking too much about Ryan. I’m just so used to worrying about him, and sometimes I worry out loud.”
Jamie gave Frances a pat on her shoulder. “I’m sure Ryan made the best decision for his career.”
“Ryan’s a legend,” Brock said. “No one can close a game as well as he can.”
“I know.” His mother blinked at them, pursing her lips. “But he’s jinxed. Injured every year for the last two years. First he gets hit by a line drive.”
“Off my bat,” Brock admitted.
“Last season he tore his rotator cuff.” Frances sighed. “And now this.”
“He’ll get through this,” Jamie said, knowing they were empty words mothers said to comfort each other. “He will, and then you’ll wonder why you even worried at all.”
“Oh, let’s sit down. I can’t take this not knowing if he’ll be okay.” The older woman wobbled toward a row of chairs.
“Can I get you two coffee or tea?” Brock offered.
Jamie started to say ‘no,’ but since Ryan’s mother wanted a cup of coffee, she figured she should have some too. This was going to be a long night, and hopefully, her mother could hold down the fort a little longer.
“May I call my mother for a minute?” Jamie asked Frances.
“Sure, go ahead, and if you don’t mind, may I speak to your mother and ask how it happened? I heard he was leaving your house when it happened.” Frances’s hand fluttered in front of her chest. “I’m a little confused, because it looks like you weren’t there.”
“I was out with my older son at the laser tag emporium with Brock and Marcia,” Jamie explained. “My mother was home babysitting, and Ryan dropped by.”
“Oh, how curious,” Frances said, but didn’t elaborate. She looked away while Jamie used Marcia’s phone to call her mother.
“Have you spoken to Ryan yet?” her mother asked as soon as she picked up the call.
“He’s in surgery, but he should be okay,” Jamie said. “Mom, what happened? Why did he leave?”
“Hurricane Andrew.”
“Andrew was there? How did he know Ryan was at my place?”
“I have no idea,” her mother said. “It’s like he has an antenna or something. Who knows? He came in frothing at the mouth, so Ryan up and left.”
“Is everything okay? Where’s Andrew now?”
“Gone. He apparently chased Ryan in his car, and texted pictures of the wreck to you on your phone. That’s how I found out Ryan had been in a crash. I called Brock right away and went outside. A neighbor told me he’d been taken away by ambulance.”
This was horrible. Having Ryan meet Andrew before she could even frame or explain her situation. She wasn’t going out with Ryan or anything, and Andrew had to come and ruin things. What if Ryan never wanted to see her or the kids again? Andrew must have threatened him.
Jamie put her hand over her forehead and pressed the tenseness between her eyebrows. “How are the kids? Is Ben home now?”
“Marcia’s here with Ben and Bianca. Drew is asleep. I was afraid they’d wake him up, but when I checked in on him, he was cuddled up under his blanket.”
Jamie closed her eyes and let out a tired breath. “I should be home as soon as I see Ryan and thank him for coming to help. Will you be okay?”
“I can bunk in the guest room after Marcia leaves,” Mother said. “Between me and Ben, I think we can handle anything that comes up.”
“If Drew wakes up, sit with him until he settles down again,” Jamie said. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Oh, and Ryan’s mother’s here. She wants to speak to you.”
“Okay, sure, put her on.”
Jamie handed Marcia’s phone to Frances. “I’m going to walk around some.”
“Sure, thanks.” Frances took the phone.
Jamie left her there to give her privacy. She supposed Frances wanted every bit of information about what Ryan was doing there, what happened right up to the moment when he left, and other background information. She was a mother, and if something had happened to Ben or Drew, she wouldn’t leave any stone unturned.
But then, Ryan was a full-grown man. He shouldn’t have to answer to his mother, should he?
Jamie massaged the area between her eyes and strolled around the waiting room. Andrew was getting to be a big problem.
The guy seemed to have an uncanny ability to appear at the worst possible moments. How would he have known where Ryan was? Her mother wouldn’t have said anything. Someone had to be tipping him off. A neighbor? Or perhaps a private investigator?
There was no way she could get a restraining order against Andrew since he hadn’t abused any of them. He was a nuisance, plain and simple, but a nuisance who paid the bills.
And he had visitation rights. Scheduled visitation in which he played only with Ben or took Ben out for ice cream. Drew could have been a piece of furniture, as far as he was concerned.
Ryan was groggier than he’d ever been. He cracked his eyes open, aware of the sounds of the hospital surrounding him. His hearing was extra sharp, even with the anesthesia they’d given him, and each beep threaded through his eardrums, making them ring while giving him chills.
“You’re awake.” His mother’s voice floated over him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’m floating on a cloud. Guess they took out my spleen.”
“Yep, it’s gone. You’re in the recovery room,” Mother said. “Do you remember what happened? How did you come to crash?”
Ryan tried to shake the fog from his brain. “No idea. Can’t put any pictures together. Everything’s broken into tiny, disjointed pieces.”
“You probably have short term memory loss.” His mother rubbed his hand. “Do you remember where you were before the crash?”
“Yeah. I was at Jamie’s house. I called her, just like you said, but she wasn’t home. Her mother answered the phone, so I went over and helped her with Drew. He’s autistic.”
“Like you were.”
“No, I was never autistic.” Ryan jerked his head, but given his woozy state, he probably only bobbed it. “They were wrong.”
“The important thing is you’re fine now.” His mother kissed him on the forehead. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“There is no secret, because that wasn’t what I had. If you go around telling people and the team finds out, they’ll cancel my contract.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you retired?”
“No.” Ryan turned his face away from his mother. She might be the most important person in his life, but she didn’t get to dictate his script. “Nolan Ryan was forty-six before he retired.”
“You’ve been getting hurt every year. I worry about you.” His mother fidgeted with the loose strings on his hospital gown. “The doctor says you’re out for at least six weeks. There’s no way you’ll make the active roster after spring training’s over.”
“I’ll be on the disabled list. They can call me back to play as soon as I’m ready,” Ryan said. “I have a contract with them, and they’re paying me a lot of money to pitch a few game-clinching pitches. If they don’t want me, I’ll be a free agent and can be picked up by any other team.”
His mother had no idea how baseball worked. He was a veteran, which meant his team couldn’t send him to the minors without his consent. Now that he was disabled, he could still stay on the expanded roster. He’d also have time to work on his shoulder without admitting to anyone that anything was wrong with his pitching arm.
“There’s someone out there who wants to talk to you.” His mother changed tack and put on an overly bright smile. “A woman.”
“Oh?” Ryan’s he
art leaped and he glanced around the room. “Who?”
“Jamie Rush. You like her, don’t you?”
The anesthesia made Ryan feel a little drunk, and it numbed his usual anxiety. He smiled widely and nodded. “Yeah, I like her. I like her very much.”
“Well, good. Because I’ve a feeling she likes you, too. She waited for you the entire time of your surgery and for you to wake up, even though her kids are home with her mother. That’s saying a lot. Let me go get her.”
“Wait.” Ryan grabbed ahold of his mother’s arm. “Nothing about the ‘A’ word. Okay? Remember we got kicked out of the support group because they said I never had it.”
“Okay, no ‘A’ word.” His mother disengaged from him and gave him another kiss on the forehead. “But promise me you’ll be truthful to her when the time comes.”
“I will be truthful, because I didn’t have it.” Ryan narrowed his eyes, giving his mother a warning.
“Narrowing eyes is not the right expression. It should be a stony look with tight lips.” His mother shook her head and walked to the door.
Ryan laid his head back on the pillow and consciously relaxed his muscles. He didn’t want Jamie to sense anything strange coming from him. As far as she was concerned, he was a baseball player, a popular guy on the team, one who flirted with women and enjoyed a high-status bachelor’s life.
That was the kind of guy women wanted. Confident, in control, on top of the world. Okay, so he was in a hospital bed, but he’d sacrificed his spleen to shorten the recovery time, and this October, when he saved the World Series, it would all be worth it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Hey,” Jamie said as she stepped into Ryan’s hospital room. It was already well past midnight, and she was bone tired, but seeing her injured baseball hero lying on a hospital bed brought a smile to her face.
“Hey, back at you.” Ryan flashed her a lopsided grin. “I’ve dreamed about you coming to my bed, but not in a hospital.”
She chuckled at his joke. He had to be in a lot of pain, or at least he would be if not for the painkillers which were making him loopy.
Taking his hand, she pulled a chair and sat next to him. “I know you’re going to need to rest, but I wanted to thank you for coming over when Drew needed you.”
“He’s a good kid.” He gave her a saucy wink. “Going to be a major league pitcher someday.”
“You’re too kind.” She squeezed his hand, and he turned his palm and threaded his fingers through hers.
“I missed going out with you and Ben tonight, but maybe it was meant for me to get to know Drew. He really talks a lot if it’s something he’s interested in.”
“I see you’re surprised,” Jamie said, leaning toward him as if she had a secret. “Most people think autistic children can’t talk. I mean, there are some who can’t talk, but many more won’t talk, except about what they’re interested in. Right now, it’s baseball and fishes.”
Ryan chuckled, looking proud. “The kid’s already got every pitch memorized, the finger grip over the baseball, the curvature of the throw as it approaches the strike zone, and also whether it rises or dips. I’m teaching him the hand signals from the catcher next.”
“I’m glad you had a good time with him. I’m sorry about my ex-husband ruining it.” She swallowed as her throat tightened. “He was out of line.”
“Hey, didn’t bother me at all. He told me to leave, so I left. Must have been fiddling with the radio when I crashed.” He shrugged and gave her a self-deprecating grin. “Surprising, isn’t it? I can pitch a no hitter, but I can’t drive and turn a knob at the same time.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t worse.” Jamie clasped his hand with her other hand. From what the doctor had said, he could have bled out in the ambulance and died. He’d hit so hard, it obliterated the entire driver’s side of his Porsche.
“If it got you here next to my bed, then it was worth it.” He brought her hands to his lips and dotted kisses over her knuckles. “Does this mean you’ll say ‘yes’ if I ask you to dinner?”
“Of course, I will.” Jamie snuggled closer and rested her face against his shoulder. “I’ll even claim the lunch date with my boys—the one where you’re not getting into my pants.”
“Ah, the darling little chaperones.” He chuckled. “Let’s get together and have the boys do some more pitching and hitting.”
“Sounds perfect. Guess you’d better hurry up and get out of the hospital.” She angled her face up and blinked, loving how protected she felt with him so close.
He took it as an invitation, and their lips touched, softly at first, questioning, exploring, and then with a moan, she turned her head and deepened the kiss.
It was like a warm, lazy drive alongside a lake, with the top down and the breeze tickling through her hair, sun shining hot overhead, and the promise of good times and exciting adventures ahead. The fresh cut grass, sweet tea, a barn dance, and skinny dipping after dark.
She let her dreams take flight, bringing him along, and when she came up for air, she felt him smiling, as if he’d shared the vision with her, their bare feet splashing in the water as they sat on a lonely dock, kissing to the accompaniment of crickets and toads, while the moonlight shimmered over the dark, still water, telling tales of love, sacrifice, and hope.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jamie powered through her household chores the next day, feeling like she was hungover. She’d returned late from the hospital to find the bathroom mirror broken, her mother sleeping on the floor in Drew’s room while he ran trucks and cars around and over her.
Drew slept sporadically and was always high energy when awake, even in the middle of the night. He would tap on the wall or make clattering sounds with his metal lids or jump on the bed. Sometimes, he either sleepwalked or he tried to run outside. Fortunately, he was unable to reach the deadbolts Jamie had put across all exit doors, and she always turned on the alarm in case he tried to climb out the windows.
Jamie finished folding up the last of the laundry and scrubbed down the kitchen, using the precious hours while Drew was at school. The kiss with Ryan replayed in her mind in an endless loop, and she didn’t know what to do about it, or if he’d even remember, given how he’d just come out from under the anesthesia.
She was putting away the dishes when her phone rang.
“Jamie, this is Marcia. How are you doing this morning?”
“Tired, but I had a good time at the movies,” Jamie said. “Is everything okay with Ryan?”
“He’s resting. Under observation,” Marcia said. “I was wondering if you’d like to have tea and take a walk along the canal.”
The Arizona Canal was the lifeblood of Phoenix, moving water through the desert into the urban communities. Bikers, runners, and walkers enjoyed the paved areas, and the water was a refreshing sight, especially during the long, hot summer months.
Jamie hadn’t vacuumed yet, and she had a few errands she wanted to do before it was time to pick up Drew.
But then, she didn’t have many friends outside of the home therapists and case managers, who used to visit more frequently when Drew was younger, and Marcia would be someone outside of the autism world.
“Um, sure. I don’t have to get Drew until two today. He’s transitioning to a longer day at school.”
“So far so good?” Marcia asked.
“My phone’s been silent,” Jamie said. “Shall I come by your place?”
“I can drop by with Brock, Jr.”
A twinge registered in Jamie’s heart, but nothing like when Drew was first diagnosed. Back then, she fell into the trap of comparing Drew to babies younger than him and torturing herself with jealousy over their every smile and babble. She’d kept a chart of missed milestones in her head and would grieve anew whenever someone else’s child surpassed Drew’s development.
“Come on over,” Jamie said, glad for a break in the monotony of cleaning. “The place is a mess, but we can have a cup of tea and then go for a
walk.”
After Marcia hung up, Jamie picked up and ran the vacuum cleaner as fast as she could. She ran to her room and put on a clean pair of jeans and a cotton sweater.
She heard a car pull into her drive, so she peeked out from the window. Marcia’s car was already parked, and she was getting her baby out of his car seat. Unfortunately, Andrew’s car pulled up next to hers, and he got out, giving Marcia an unfriendly glare.
Jamie rushed to the door and opened it, knowing she couldn’t avoid Andrew.
“Who’s that?” Andrew asked rudely. “Have you called to get the mirror replaced?”
“Yes, I have, and they’re coming in two days. Is there anything else you need?” Jamie stood at the threshold, not letting him in.
Marcia held her son in her arms, unsure of whether she should come in.
“Oh, Marcia,” Jamie said over Andrew’s shoulder. “Come on in. I just need to let my ex-husband know the cost of fixing the mirror.”
Marcia couldn’t move forward because Andrew blocked the way. He turned to her and said, “If you’ll excuse us. I have to talk to my wife about last night.”
“I’m your ex-wife, and I have nothing to talk to you about,” Jamie said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have company.”
Andrew didn’t budge. He narrowed his pig eyes and pointed at her accusingly. “You’re lazy. That’s what you are. The boys are at school and you’re sitting around gossiping. Last night, you left my son with a strange man.”
“My mother was there the entire time.” Jamie puffed all five foot three inches of herself up into his face. “You’re out of line. You’re not the custodial parent, and you don’t get to dictate who watches Drew. You gave that up when you walked out on us.”
“I wanted Drew to be safe and sound in a place with experts, not amateurs like your mother and that baseball player. How do I know he didn’t hurt him? How long was he left alone with him? I heard he gave Drew a bath and helped him with his nighttime routines.”
“My mother was there the entire time.”
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