Chance for Home

by Traci Hunter Abramson

“Not particularly.”

  “It was worth a try.” Ben climbed out of the car. As soon as Kari was beside him, he added, “Of course, you realize you’re going to have to help me clean up the mess when Gavin sabotages my car.”

  One eyebrow lifted. “Why would I have to help?”

  “You’re the one who put the shaving cream on the bases.”

  “Only because you asked me to.” Kari fell in step with him. “You, of all people, should know it’s dangerous to turn on your allies.”

  Ben looked back at Ryan’s car. “Should I tell Ryan about his car?”

  “That’s up to you. I’ve barely met the guy.”

  Ben lowered his voice. “Don’t say that too loud. For all we know, Brandi could show up again today.”

  “Why doesn’t Ryan just tell her he’s not interested in her anymore?”

  “He’s tried a couple times, but she likes the spotlight. The last time she showed up, photos started showing up of the two of them on Instagram, and the rumors circulated that they were back together.”

  “How did she get pictures of them together if they broke up?”

  “She came with a bunch of us to dinner one night after one of our day games. Someone took a group picture, and Ryan was standing beside her. All of a sudden, he was dealing with the press asking about her again.”

  Her sympathy stirred. “Sounds like a pain.”

  “It was.” Ben nodded. “So if anyone asks about you and Ryan . . .”

  “I’m not talking to anyone about Ryan or anyone else on the team,” Kari said. “That will keep everything simple.”

  “Makes sense to me. Let’s hope it all stays simple while Brandi is in town.”

  * * *

  Ryan sat on the bench in front of his locker and unlaced his street shoes.

  Shawn Nills, standing beside him, turned to look at him. “I saw Brandi’s in town.” He buttoned up his uniform. “What’s with that?”

  “Not a clue,” Ryan said. “I didn’t invite her.”

  “That’s not what she said to my wife.”

  Part of him wanted to know what stories she was spinning now, but he resisted going down that road again. He hated the way Brandi could twist his emotions even after six months apart. Standing firm in his decision to let the past go, he responded, “She can say anything she wants.”

  “Does that mean she isn’t going to be your date to the concert tomorrow night?”

  “Are you talking about the Midnight Express concert after the game?”

  “Yeah. I thought you knew we’re all getting extra tickets so we can bring our wives or a date.”

  Suddenly Brandi’s presence made more sense. “Let me guess. Brandi told your wife she’s going with me.”

  “Pretty much.”

  Ryan let out a sigh. How was he supposed to move on in life if she kept trying to pull him back into the past? He had no doubt if he took Brandi to the concert, they would have a great time. The problems would begin the next day when she started texting him all the time to make plans for a future he knew wasn’t going to work between them.

  Ben walked into the locker room and called out a general greeting to the dozen players already inside. Ryan thought of the way Ben had rescued him last night. Ryan still couldn’t believe Kari had been willing to play along, especially to help someone she had never met.

  “Hey, Ryan. Do you have a minute?” Ben motioned to him.

  “Yeah, sure.” He followed Ben to the far corner of the room. “What’s up?”

  “I hate to break it to you, but you have Oreos all over your car.” Even though he’d said it apologetically, the corners of Ben’s mouth twitched, and Ryan could tell he was fighting back a grin. “I thought you might want to clean that up before practice.”

  “Seriously?” He huffed out a breath. “How is it that you came up with the shaving cream idea and I’m the one who paid for it?”

  “Gavin paid for it too.”

  “Gavin’s probably the one who cookied my car.”

  Ben grabbed a handful of towels off a nearby table. “Come on. I’ll help.”

  Ryan scooped up four water bottles, and the two men headed for the door.

  “Where are you two going?” Coach Wheatley demanded.

  “We have a little problem we have to take care of,” Ben said. “We’ll be right back.”

  “Team meeting starts in fifteen minutes. Don’t be late.”

  “We’ll be here,” Ryan promised. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, he muttered, “I hope.”

  Ryan thought of Shawn’s comment about the concert. “Are you and Maya going to the concert tomorrow night after the game?”

  “Yeah, assuming she’s up to it.”

  “What about Kari?”

  “I’m sure she’ll want to come.” Ben pushed open the door and headed into the parking lot. “I guess I’d better see what I can do about getting her a ticket.”

  “If you’ll let me tag along with you guys, she can have my extra one.”

  “Trying to make sure you don’t have a ticket to give Brandi?”

  “Something like that.” He stepped past an oversized truck to see his car, the windshield still half covered in Oreos. Standing by the driver’s side, Kari was plucking cookies off the car and dropping them into a plastic grocery bag.

  “Hey, Kari,” Ben called out to her. “I thought you were already inside.”

  “I didn’t have the heart to have Ryan find this mess after the game.” She pulled two more cookies off the windshield.

  Ryan stared, not quite sure what to make of Kari’s unexpected kindness. “That’s really sweet of you.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Kari said, stopping long enough to look over at him. “I think it might be guilt for being the one who actually put the shaving cream on the bases.”

  “That’s true,” Ben said. “This never would have happened had it not been for Kari.”

  Her attention shifted to Ben. “I think I liked it better when I wasn’t the person you were pointing the finger at.”

  “Especially since you’re the one who put her up to it,” Ryan added. He started removing cookies from the glass.

  The three worked in silence, Ryan and Kari removing the gooey mess and Ben using the towels and water bottles to clean the rest of it off.

  “I have to say, this is a lot more fun when we’re putting the cookies on a car rather than taking them off,” Kari said after a minute.

  Ben squirted some more water on the windshield. “I agree.”

  “You’ve done this kind of stuff to people before?”

  Kari looked up at him, genuine surprise reflected on her face. “Haven’t you?”

  “I can’t say that I have.”

  “And yet you got roped into helping my brother with one of his practical jokes?”

  “I’m pretty new at this kind of stuff,” Ryan admitted. “But it was great seeing Lanski with shaving cream all over him, especially after he put peanut butter all over my shoelaces.”

  “Well, whoever did this will be sorely disappointed if they find out your car is clean before the game even starts.”

  “I really do appreciate your help,” Ryan said. “By the way, Ben and I were talking about the concert tomorrow night.”

  “What concert?”

  “A few times during the season, they have promotional concerts after our games,” Ben told her. “Midnight Express is playing tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, I like them.”

  “I have an extra ticket if you want it,” Ryan offered.

  Kari looked at him, clearly not expecting the offer. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Ryan said. “But I was hoping you might act like you’re my date again.”

  “I gather the ex is still hanging around.”

  “Yeah.”

  “In that case, it’s a date,” Kari said.

  Before Ryan could process her choice of words, Ben turned around to look at them. “You’re alre
ady dating my sister? She’s only been here two days.”

  “We’re only dating if his ex shows up,” Kari corrected.

  Not sure whether he should be relieved or disappointed by her response, Ryan opted for the first choice. “Exactly.”

  Chapter 5

  Kari stood in the kitchen and sliced a cucumber while Maya sat on the stool beside her. “Do you want anything else to eat besides a salad?”

  “No, thanks.” Maya started to reach for a bowl, but Kari beat her to it. “You know, I really can take care of myself. You don’t have to fix my lunch.”

  “You still have a few more days of chemo. It won’t hurt you to take it easy and make sure your body is able to handle it.” Kari finished their salads and carried them to the table.

  Maya followed her into the dining room, carrying two glasses of water. As soon as they both sat down, Maya asked, “So what’s the deal with you and Ryan?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ben said Ryan asked you to go with him to the concert tonight.”

  Kari shook her head. “No. Ryan offered to give me his extra ticket, and I agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend if his ex shows up.”

  “Ah.” Maya took a sip of her water. “Have you heard anything from your ex?”

  Her stomach curled at the thought of Austin. “He still texts me every day. You’d think he’d clue in by now that I’m not going to respond.”

  “I still can’t believe he was engaged and never told you about it.”

  The stab of betrayal cut through her as though it had happened yesterday instead of two weeks ago. “I can’t believe his family didn’t say anything about it when I went home with Austin last Thanksgiving.”

  “That is odd,” Maya admitted. “Maybe he really was going to break up with her, and his family thought he already had.”

  “Maybe.” Kari stabbed a bite of tomato, considering. “Even if that were true, he should have told me what was really going on.”

  “I agree,” Maya said. “Have you decided if you’re going back to Vanderbilt?”

  “I’m thinking of taking a semester off to decide.”

  Her fork already halfway to her mouth, Maya stopped to look at Kari. “Your parents aren’t going to be thrilled with that idea.”

  “I know, but I can’t stand the thought of having to deal with Austin and his father next year. If I keep going with pre-med, I would have to take his dad’s class, and I’m sure Austin would be in it.”

  “Are you sure you want to do pre-med?” Maya asked skeptically. “That’s a lot of school.”

  “I know, but every time I think about what you went through, I can’t help but feel like I want to make a difference.”

  “You did make a difference,” Maya said. “Not only did you help me through my early treatments, but you made sure I could stay in the medical trial.” She paused, her rising emotions evident on her face. “I wouldn’t be alive right now if it wasn’t for you.”

  Kari swallowed hard against her own emotions. “You’re alive because you had the right doctors. I’m just glad I was able to help you find them.”

  Silence hung in the air for a moment.

  “Have you thought about going to school around here?” Maya asked.

  “I thought I might check a few out while I’m here this summer.” Eager to change the subject, she added, “Of course, I think we need to do some house hunting for you first.”

  “Ben has a day off tomorrow,” Maya said, considering. “I’m not sure how excited he’ll be to spend it driving around looking at houses though.”

  Kari’s eyes lit with humor. “Sounds like we should narrow down the possibilities.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  * * *

  Ryan tensed the moment he saw Brandi. The stage for the concert had been set up in the outfield of Nats Park, and one of the front sections had been reserved for the team and their guests. Ryan didn’t know who had given her a VIP pass, but there she was, twenty feet away, her red hair artfully styled, her clothes looking like she had just stepped out of a magazine.

  Sitting beside him, Kari reached over and put her hand on his arm. “Maybe you should talk to her.”

  He looked at Kari, amazed that she didn’t seem the least bit upset that he’d been staring at another woman when technically she was his date. “I’m not sure what good that would do.”

  “It would help you understand why she’s here. Go ahead. I’m right here so you can use me as an excuse if you need to get away from her.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Still, he wavered.

  “Go on.” She leaned closer and spoke quietly in his ear. “I’ll go get us something to drink. That will give you an opening without looking like you’re being rude.”

  Before he could agree, she stood and slipped past him. He watched her go, then looked back over at Brandi. Kari was right. He wasn’t going to be able to stop thinking about her until he knew what she was really doing here.

  Forcing his body to move, he stood and made his way past the dozen people between them. The music started right as he reached her, and he had to speak loudly so she could hear him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  She nodded and followed him away from his teammates and onto the lower concourse. With the concert starting, it was nearly empty. Ryan stepped beside a closed hot dog stand where they were afforded some privacy. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came for the concert.” She shifted her gaze toward the direction they had come from. “Rachelle mentioned it to me last week, and I thought it would be fun to come see everyone.”

  Well aware that Brandi was still friends with several of the players’ wives, he said, “You told Celeste you were going to the concert with me.”

  “That’s not exactly what I said.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. “I just thought you might be willing to let me hang out with you since you didn’t have a steady girlfriend. No one knew you were going out with Ben Evans’ sister.” Her voice took on an edge. “Are you really going out with Ben’s sister?”

  “Not that it should matter to you, but yes, I am going out with Kari.”

  “It does matter to me.” Now she morphed into the sweet woman he had once loved. “I miss you. I was really hoping I would get here and find out you were still single.”

  “We’ve been through this before. We don’t want the same things in life.”

  “Ryan, you’re never going to find someone who wants all the same things you do,” Brandi insisted. “Relationships are about compromise.”

  “And relationships end when you realize one person expects all the compromise to be on one side.” He stepped back and shook his head. “I’d better get back in there.”

  She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Ryan, maybe you should think about the fact that you have a date sitting down there and yet you chose to come up here to talk to me.”

  “I am thinking about that.” He looked down at his arm, staring until she reluctantly released him. “I think it showed a great deal of maturity for Kari to insist I come talk to you and clear the air.” He started back toward the concert, then paused. “I hope you enjoy your time in Washington.” He turned his back on Brandi, determined to make this the last time he let her play on his emotions.

  Chapter 6

  Ryan stood beside Ben on the sidewalk leading to the large house in a gated community and watched Kari and Maya lead the way inside with the Realtor. “How exactly did I get roped into coming with you today?”

  “Misery loves company,” Ben answered.

  “I thought we were going car shopping, not house hunting,” Ryan said.

  “That was my plan,” Ben grumbled. “I have Maya’s car all picked out. Ten minutes at the dealership to pick it up is all I need.”

  “You want to pick it up after all of this house hunting?”

  “Yeah.” Ben sent him an apologetic look. “Sorry this is turning into an all-day thing.”

  “It’s all right.” Ryan
fell in step beside him as they followed the women up the front walk. “I didn’t have anything else going on anyway.”

  “And being with us makes sure you aren’t home if Brandi tries to stop by.”

  “It’s like you’re reading my mind.”

  “Ben, look at this,” Maya called out to him the moment they passed through the front entrance of the house. Hardwood floors spanned the entryway and continued into the living room to the left. On the right, a decent-sized study sat behind closed french doors.

  Ryan followed them through the house, listening to Ben and Maya talk about the kitchen and the number of bedrooms. Even though Ben had put on a good show outside about not wanting to be here, Ryan could feel his excitement about the prospect of making a real home with his wife. He remembered wanting that and resented the memory immediately.

  Kari stepped beside him. “They’re so cute together.”

  “I don’t think your brother wants to be considered cute,” Ryan said dryly.

  “I know, but they are. It’s so cool to see them looking beyond Maya’s treatments. I wasn’t sure we would ever get to this day.”

  “What do you mean?” Ryan asked.

  “When I helped Maya move out here last fall, we weren’t sure she would still be alive by now.”

  Some of the bitterness from his own past relationship faded beneath the truth of what the couple in front of them had faced together. “What do you think? Is this the house for them?”

  “Maya likes it, but we still have four more to look at today.”

  “Four more?”

  “Well, yeah. It only made sense to check out several while we were in the area.”

  “It’s a bit of a drive to the stadium.”

  “I mentioned that too, but they both want to get out of the city and have more space.” She motioned to her brother. “Of course, as soon as Ben realizes having a yard includes mowing the lawn, he may reconsider.”

  “True.” He glanced at the expansive backyard, a five-hole putting green situated to one side. “It’s hard to believe Ben can afford something like this just because he’s good at baseball.”

  “I’m sure you could too if you wanted.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have any reason to buy a house yet.”