Undone

by Shannon Richard

  Chapter Nine

  The Case of the Disappearing Bra

  The school’s baseball teams didn’t use the field during the summer months, so the county league got to use it for their games. Brendan had spent more hours on this field with Jax and Shep than he could count. From sixth to twelfth grade they’d practically lived on this field during baseball season, and for all of them, it was another home.

  Brendan pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Shep’s black ’67 Mustang. Brendan and Jax had helped him restore it ten years ago and it was Shep’s pride and joy.

  Brendan got out of his truck and opened the back door. Sydney jumped down next to him as he grabbed his baseball bag from the backseat. She followed him as he walked to the dugout. Out of the ten guys who were on the team, five were already there. Brendan walked down to the end of the dugout and dropped his bag onto the bench next to Shep.

  “Hey, Syd,” Shep said, rubbing her head.

  “Do you need me to pick anything up for this afternoon?” Brendan asked, leaning over his bag and digging through it.

  “Nope. Everything’s good to go. The steaks are already marinating. Is Paige still coming?”

  “Yeah.” Brendan’s head snapped up. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  Brendan had been a little nervous about the events of the night before. He hadn’t been embarrassed that Jax had caught them, but he was concerned that Paige might’ve been. He hadn’t seen her today, and there was only so much a person could infer from text messages. So there was a part of him that was just a bit anxious.

  “I was just asking,” Shep said, his eyes narrowing on Brendan. “You guys have an interesting night?” he asked as he bent over to tie his cleats. Except he didn’t really ask the question; there was an implied undertone in his voice.

  “Damn it. I thought Jax was supposed to keep his mouth shut when it came to sheriff business.”

  “I do keep my mouth shut.”

  Brendan turned to see Jax’s customary frown. Jax dropped his own bag onto the bench and sat down.

  “You and Paige got busted by Jax when he was on patrol?” Shep looked up and grinned.

  “I thought that was what you were talking about.”

  “No, I was talking about that huge hickey on your neck,” Shep said, pointing to a spot on his own neck, just below his jaw.

  “Doesn’t surprise me with the way you two were going at it,” Jax said.

  “So you did catch them?” Shep excitedly asked, slapping his thigh with his hand. “That’s just too good. Where were they?”

  “In his truck out front of her parents’ house. Mrs. Forns called it in.”

  Shep howled with laughter.

  “Thanks,” Brendan said, looking at Jax.

  “What?” Jax shrugged his shoulders. “It’s going to be in the paper. You know they report everything they find in the police reports. Doesn’t matter how uninteresting it is. And with the way Paige was riding you, that’s going to be interesting news.”

  “You put that in the report?” Brendan asked, outraged as Shep continued to laugh.

  “No. I just said you two were kissing,” Jax said, finding his own cleats and putting them on. “You’re lucky I didn’t fine you two for indecent exposure.”

  “Nothing was exposed,” Brendan said a little too loudly. The other guys in the dugout looked over at them. “We were still fully dressed,” Brendan said, lowering his voice.

  “Yeah, ten more seconds and that would’ve been a completely different story.”

  “If anything, Jax saved your ass last night,” Shep said, standing up.

  “Yeah, you should be thanking me,” Jax said as the corner of his mouth twitched.

  “I hate both of you,” Brendan said, sitting down on the bench. “You both suck at being friends.”

  “Aw, we love you too, man,” Shep said, grabbing his glove and going out onto the field to warm up.

  “Why did you have to file a report?” Brendan asked, pulling off his sneakers.

  Jax looked at him like he’d just said that the Red Sox were the greatest team in baseball.

  “Because Delta Forns called it in, and you know that woman always follows up. You want me to get in trouble?”

  “No, I don’t,” Brendan said, running his hands across his face. “Paige is going to kill me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because making out in my truck was my idea.”

  “The way I see it, she’s just as guilty as you. Just make sure that next time you’re in the privacy of your own home.”

  “Thanks for the advice,” Brendan said, not hiding his sarcasm.

  “Anytime. And here’s another piece, don’t let her near your neck anymore,” Jax said, pointing at him. “That hickey’s huge.”

  * * *

  Paige, alongside her parents, made her way down to the field. The breeze making the gauzy, black fabric of her skirt wrap around her knees.

  “Which team is Brendan’s?” Denise asked.

  “The Stingrays. They’re wearing black and white,” Paige said, scanning the field.

  She spotted Brendan crouched near the dugout. Jax pitched a ball to him and it sailed into his glove. All of the guys on his team were wearing black baseball hats with a white stingray over the bill, tight black baseball pants, and white jerseys that said Stingrays on the front and their last names over a number on the back. Brendan was number four.

  “Paige,” Grace shouted from the bleachers behind home plate. She was sitting on the bottom row in front of Lula Mae and Oliver, Sydney lying at her feet.

  After saying hello to Lula Mae and Oliver, Paige slid into the seat next to Grace. Denise and Trevor sat on the row above and started talking to Oliver and Lula Mae.

  “Where are Mel and Harper?” Paige asked as Sydney sat up and put her head in Paige’s lap.

  “Mel has to supervise the concession stand. The high school students run it and it switches off which teacher has to help. And Harper booked a client at the spa, so she’s going to join us at Shep’s house.”

  “Oh.” Paige nodded and looked out to the field again.

  Brendan was jogging over to them with a big grin on his face. Paige’s stomach flipped.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison.” Brendan stopped in front of them and nodded to her parents. “Can I talk to you real quick, Paige?” he asked, holding out his hand.

  “Yeah,” she said, reaching up and putting her hand in his. He pulled her up alongside him, his fingers lacing with hers.

  “We’ll be right back,” he said to them. “Stay, Sydney,” he said when she went to follow. Sydney whined as they walked away but she lay back down at Grace’s feet.

  “What’s up?” she asked as Brendan pulled her through the grass.

  He turned to her when they were a good fifty feet from the bleachers. “This,” he said, pulling her into his chest. His hand came up and cupped the back of her head as he pulled her mouth to his.

  She relaxed against him, putting her hands at his waist.

  “Did you get in trouble last night?” he asked, pulling back only a fraction of an inch from her mouth. She couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses, but his mouth said mischief.

  “No.” She laughed. “Did you get in trouble?”

  “With Jax? No. But I was worried about you being upset with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you ran into the house without your bra on,” he said as his mouth quirked.

  “You have sneaky fingers,” she said, pinching his side.

  “Ow.” He flinched but didn’t let go of her. “You didn’t have any complaints last night when you were sucking on my neck,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, well,” she said as her gaze traveled down. “Oh my gosh,” she said, seeing the purple bruise on his skin. “I gave you a hickey?” She reached up and lightly ran her fingers over the small mark.

  “Yeah. I haven’t had one of those since I was eighteen. Apparently last night
was full of high school flashbacks.”

  “You going to give me my bra back?”

  “To the victors go the spoils,” he said and grinned.

  “Do you make a habit of collecting bras, Brendan King?”

  “No,” he whispered against her lips. “Just yours.”

  “Brendan,” Shep shouted from behind the fence. “Hurry it up, we’re about to start.”

  “You should go,” Paige said, lightly pressing her lips against the hickey and pulling back.

  “Not yet,” he said, suddenly frowning. “Paige I need to tell you something.”

  Her stomach dropped. Those words accompanied with a frown never boded well.

  “What?” she said, trying to take a step back.

  Brendan’s hands dropped to her waist and he squeezed lightly. “Jax has to report all of the calls that he goes on.”

  The blood drained from her face. “What did his report say?” she asked, trying to remain calm. If Jax put everything that he saw into his report, she was going to kill him.

  “Just that he found us kissing. He left out the, uh, other details.”

  “Oh thank God,” Paige said as the blood returned to her face.

  “Paige, it’s still going to say that Mrs. Forns thought we were having sex. And it’s going to be in the paper.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “But—”

  “Brendan,” Jax was shouting at him now. “We have to start.”

  “Go,” Paige said, letting go of him.

  “You’re not mad?” he asked, taking a step back.

  “Not at you.”

  Relief washed over his face. He stepped back into her and kissed her before he turned and ran off to the field.

  It shouldn’t have surprised her that the whole town was about to find out about their little indiscretion. Nothing stayed a secret around here, and she was going to have to get used to it; otherwise she was going to go crazy.

  Paige made her way back to the bleachers and sat down next to Grace. The announcer came on over the P.A. system, introducing the teams, and then everyone stood up as three girls from the high school choir sang the national anthem.

  “So, are they named after the fish or the hairstyle?” Paige asked Grace about the opposing team that was unfortunately named the Mullets.

  “Both,” Grace answered as the Stingrays fanned out onto the field.

  Brendan grinned at Paige as he walked behind home plate, now wearing all of his pads. He flipped his baseball cap backward, and put on his catcher’s mask. Shep and Jax walked out onto the field together. They split as Jax took his place at the mound and Shep went to his spot between second and third.

  “So do their numbers have significance?” Paige asked Grace.

  “Brendan is number four because my mom’s birthday was August fourth. Jax is seven because his favorite Yankee has always been Mickey Mantle and that was his number, and Shep is thirteen because it’s his lucky number.”

  “Shep likes to go against the grain, doesn’t he?” Paige asked.

  “Always has,” Grace said.

  Paige watched as Jax stretched his shoulders, a grim look on his mouth.

  “Jax always looks so serious,” Paige said. “Has he always been that way?”

  “Yup,” Grace said. “He’s serious about everything, and I do mean everything,” she said, drawing out the last word.

  Paige looked at Grace, whose attention was solely focused on Jax. Paige was pretty sure that Grace wanted Jax to be serious about her.

  When the first batter came up to the plate, Brendan crouched down and Paige had an awesome view of his very nice butt in those very tight pants.

  Jax wound the pitch and it sailed into Brendan’s mitt.

  “Holy shit,” Paige whispered.

  “I know, right?” Grace said in an equally awed voice.

  The first batter struck out, but the next got a hit on the third pitch. There was a runner on first and second base when Jax struck the last batter out and the Stingrays ran into the dugout. The score was tied at zero.

  Shep was the first up to bat. Landing a hit on the second pitch, he made it to second base and some other guy on the team named Banners walked out to bat. Banners struck out, but McCoy hit a ball just over the first baseman. McCoy was tagged out at first but at least Shep made it to third base.

  Brendan walked out onto the plate, minus all of his pads and his baseball cap flipped foreword. He tapped the bat against the inside of his cleat twice before he brought it up, his fists wrapped around the neck. The pitcher wound his arm and the loud thwack of the wood against the ball echoed through the field.

  Brendan threw the bat down and ran as the ball sailed into the middle of the outfield, hitting the ground and rolling through the grass. Brendan ran to first base as Shep sailed past home plate, scoring the first run in the game. The next batter got Brendan to second but the third struck out and the teams switched places again. By the end of the fifth inning, the Stingrays were ahead four to three.

  * * *

  The Mullets tied it up by the end of the seventh inning. In the eighth, Brendan went up to bat with only one out left. He hit the ball far into the outfield and when the center fielder threw the ball to the short stop, he missed, the ball rolling in the red clay. Brendan tore off to second base and made it there just before the ball did.

  Jax came up to bat next, and Brendan could hear Grace shouting for him to knock it out of the park. Brendan looked past Jax to where Paige was sitting. Her hair was piled on top of her head now, a few curls trailing down around her forehead. She had one long leg crossed over the other. Sydney’s head was in her lap, her slender fingers scratching behind Sydney’s ears.

  Jax missed the first pitch but his bat connected with the second. Brendan went out a couple of paces, waiting to see where the ball went but there was no need. It sailed over the left corner of the fence. He rounded third and ran to home plate. He turned to find Paige screaming his name. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly as he walked by.

  The next batter struck out and Brendan put his gear back on for the last inning. By the bottom of the ninth, the Mullets were only one run behind. Jax struck out the fourth batter, Brendan catching the last ball in his mitt. He stood and stretched, walking over to the fence. Paige stood up from the bleachers and walked over to him.

  “Nice game, King,” she said, putting her hand against the fence.

  “Glad you liked it. Let me just grab my stuff and I’ll be right back,” he said, putting his hand against hers with the chain link between them.

  “I’ll wait here with Grace and Syd.”

  He walked over to the dugout where the team was already taking off their cleats.

  “Paige and I will be at your place before two. I’m just going to go home and take a quick shower.”

  Shep raised his eyebrows.

  “Don’t even,” Brendan said, holding up his hand.

  “Fine. But if you show up with another one of those,” Shep said, pointing to Brendan’s neck, “I’m going to assume the worst. Or should I say the best?” He smirked.

  Brendan just shook his head. Sometimes with Shep it was best to just not engage him.

  Chapter Ten

  Coming Up for Air

  Brendan lived on the outskirts of Mirabelle. Paige could see the Gulf of Mexico from the big bay windows that looked out from the back of the house. The water was probably a hundred yards away from his back door, and all of the land was his. The house had been built on stilts above the open garage, and the back porch had a staircase that led out onto the grass. There was a hammock just off to the side, tied between two sturdy trees.

  Paige clutched her sweating glass of sweet tea and looked around Brendan’s living room. He’d told her that she was free to snoop while he took a shower, and that’s exactly what she was going to do. She had to do something to take her mind off the fact that he was in the other room, naked and soaking wet…it was very distracting.

  Brend
an had a flat-screen TV mounted above the stone fireplace and white bookshelves lined the wall on either side. A massive brown leather sofa sat in the middle of the room and the coffee table looked like it was made of pieces of driftwood. The blond hardwood floors stretched out from the living room and into the hallway, and so did the light-green walls.

  Paige wandered over to one of the bookshelves, studying the scattered picture frames. There was a fairly recent picture of Brendan, Shep, and Jax, all wearing camo and holding hunting bows. There was another of the three of them in high school wearing their baseball uniforms. There was a picture of a little boy with blond hair holding a baby wrapped in a yellow blanket. His face was turned down to look at what was in his arms. Even though she couldn’t see his face, Paige knew that it was of Brendan holding Grace. There was a picture of Brendan and Oliver up to their elbows in grease as they worked on a truck, and another of a teenage Grace and Lula Mae cooking in the kitchen of Café Lula.

  Paige’s gaze wandered to an antique picture frame in the corner. She reached for it before she even knew what she was doing. It was of a blonde woman with Brendan’s eyes and smile. She was looking at the camera, her hands resting on her protruding belly. She was wearing a light blue dress that reached down to her ankles, the gauzy material blowing in the breeze.

  “That’s my mom.”

  Paige turned with the picture still in her hands. Brendan was standing in the doorway to the hall wearing faded jeans and a maroon T-shirt. His dark blond hair was still wet from his shower and his bright blue eyes were on her.

  “What was her name?”

  “Claire. Claire Elizabeth King,” he said, walking over to her.

  “She was beautiful,” Paige said looking down at the picture and tracing the hem of her flowing dress

  “She looked like Grace.”

  “She looked like you,” Paige said, looking up at him. “You have her smile.”

  “Grams tells me that all the time.”

  “Was she pregnant with you or Grace in this picture?”

  “Grace,” he said, reaching out and touching the frame.

  “How old was she?”