“Are you sure you want to stay in the house tonight?”
“Yes.” No. “I’m a big girl. Hunt is here.” Kade must’ve called him and tattled on me.
“I’d prefer if you stayed at Kade’s,” he said.
“That’s not happening.” Kade needed as much space to think as I did. If we were in the same house, it would be difficult to think straight.
“Sweet Pea, please reconsider.”
“Dad, I have to live here. I can’t let fear drive me. I promise if I feel I can’t stay, I’ll have Hunt bring me to Kade’s. Besides, you’ve met Hunt. He’s a monster of a guy.” I winked at Hunt.
He puffed out his chest.
“Oh, and I talked to Gloria today. I invited her, Jeremy, and Chloe over for dinner after your game next week.”
“Really? That sounds great.” It was the first piece of good news I’d had in a while. I’d like to get to know his family, including Chloe. She seemed nice and bubbly, a trait I could use to rub off on me, although I wasn’t sure of her intentions with Kade.
“I got to run. Love you,” Dad said.
When I hung up, Hunt’s phone rang. Kade’s name came across the screen. I handed it to him. Despite my anger with Kade, I was also concerned about him. I’d never experienced a migraine. My mom had had them. They’d knocked her down for the count. It wasn’t only migraines; stress overall wasn’t good for anyone’s health.
“Hey, dude.” Hunt answered the phone then left me alone, his voice trailing down the hall. “She’s fine. Man, get some rest. Stop worrying.”
I trudged up to Dad’s closet. His bedroom was simple, with a bed, a dresser, a chest at the foot of the bed, and an old worn-out red chair he cherished. It was the first piece of furniture he’d owned. In our California home, the red chair had been tucked in a corner in Dad’s office.
I dug my feet into the soft white carpeting of his walk-in closet. Like the bedroom, the closet was sparse. Shirts and pants hung from the rods, another dresser lined the back wall, and four pairs of shoes sat on the top shelf.
I snooped in all the drawers in both dressers and came up empty. I set my sights on the chest. Mom had always stored blankets in it. I opened it, and the scent of lavender filtered up—Mom’s favorite fragrance. Aside from the nice smell, several items were neatly packed inside—Mom’s jewelry box, our baby albums, old car magazines, music CDs, my parents’ wedding album, and a shoe box. But no ledger. I sifted through the jewelry box and flipped the top off the shoebox. In it were greeting cards that Dad and Mom had exchanged over the years along with some keepsakes—Dad’s old watches, cuff links, and an engraved bottle opener with Dad’s name on it. As a last resort, I did a once-through on the entire room.
Disappointed, I padded over to my room and flopped on my bed. Dad was right. How could we produce something we didn’t have? The book of nursery rhymes sat on my nightstand. I snagged it and flipped through the pages. The book’s cover was shiny and thick, and the pages were made of a cardboard like the cover’s, only of a thinner gauge. The pictures beneath the rhymes were raised slightly off the pages. I found “Humpty Dumpty” and read as I traced the outline of the colorfully dressed egg boy. Tears burned my eyes as I thought of reciting the rhyme to Kade at the airport. As I stared at the page, my dam of emotions opened and I let the tears flow.
I stood on the mound waiting for the batter, who was talking to his coach, to pony up to the plate. Over a week had gone by. I’d been sleeping in my own bed with Hunt babysitting me. The first night, I’d cried myself to sleep. The nights following got a little easier, although I wasn’t so focused on someone breaking in as I was about Kade, the ledger, and baseball. I’d seen Kade in school. He’d tried to talk to me a few times. I brushed him off. I wasn’t ready yet. Aside from the disappointment of not finding the ledger or any clues in Mom and Dad’s keepsakes, I was excited to meet Gloria and spend time with Chloe. Maybe Gloria would open up more about Dad’s mom and whether she’d missed something that belonged to Dad. Through all that, baseball had been first and foremost as I got ready for our first game of the season.
We were up by one run against Kennedy, and I was hoping to close the game with a win. The stands were packed with kids shouting and whistling. Since it was a home game, most of the school was watching, including the media. A local station was lined up on the sidelines with their camera pointing at us. I couldn’t say I was surprised. Renee and I were the first two girls to play again since Mandy’s death, and we were the only two on any of the teams we were playing this season.
Mark Wayland, our catcher, came running out to the mound. “Okay, three outs. That’s all we need to win this game.” His red hair stuck out of his ball cap.
The infield joined us, huddling close.
Finn, who played first, tapped my glove. “You got this.”
Tim, our second baseman, did the same as Finn then said, “What he said.”
Both returned to their positions.
“Let’s win this, Robinson,” Aaron said. “Maybe I won’t harass you so much.”
Kelton pushed Aaron. “Watch it, Seever.”
“Stop it, both of you.” I glared at Aaron then Kelton. This wasn’t the time to compare who had the bigger penis.
Mark gave me the ball and trotted back to home plate.
“In and tight,” Aaron said nicely before returning to third.
I turned the ball over in my glove, confused as to why he was acting like my best friend. I discarded the thought. I had to concentrate on my pitching and striking out the next three batters.
“My mom would be so happy if we won.” Kelton skimmed the stands behind home plate.
“Your mom is home?”
I’d wanted to meet her, but I’d never pushed the issue. Mr. Maxwell had said in due time. He’d been apprehensive about how she would react to strangers. I was okay with that. I didn’t know a great deal about mental health issues, except my own, and when I did meet her, I wanted it to be a warm and happy experience for her.
“Just for one night. If you would talk to my brother, you would know. He may be stubborn, but he does”—his face twisted in pain—“love the crap out of you.”
“Did he tell you to tell me that?” Kade had instructed Kelton to tell me that during tryouts last fall to help ease my nerves. I was more focused on his mom and that I hadn’t known she was home. This wasn’t the time for family matters, or love, or anything else, even though a pang of hurt was stuck in my chest.
“Fuck no. You two have to work out your own shit.”
I looked to the bleachers. Kade, Kody, and Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were sitting in the second row. Mr. Maxwell brushed his wife’s long black hair away from her face. She leaned into him and said something. Mr. Maxwell grinned from ear to ear like a little boy who was flirting with his first love. Then she sat up straighter, adjusting her large dark sunglasses. She reminded me of a movie star who was hiding from the paparazzi—beautiful, elegant, and poised.
“No pressure,” I mumbled, wishing my own mom was here. She’d cheer for me louder than anyone.
As Kelton slipped back to shortstop, I stole one last glance at my dad, who was sitting behind the Maxwells with Tyler and Becca. He’d invited the Pitts to the game and dinner, but they hadn’t been able to make the game. My dad touched the bill of his Kensington High ball cap, a gesture he always did to let me know he was cheering for me.
I dug my cleat in the dirt around the mound then set my sights on home plate. The top of Kennedy’s line-up was batting. The lead-off hitter had gotten a double off my first pitch in the first inning. I stretched my neck as the batter got into position. Finally, Mark gave me a signal for a curveball. I went through my routine, checking the infield and outfield, making sure everyone was ready. Satisfied, I relaxed my shoulders, placed my index finger on the ball, aimed at my tar
get, and threw.
“Strike one,” the umpire called with his right thumb up in the air and his index finger pointing outward as though he was shooting at someone.
On the next pitch, the batter swung and missed. The crowd was on their feet, shouting. One more strike. Kicking one foot out of the batter’s box, the lanky batter rolled his neck one way then the other, looked down to his third base coach, then stepped back into the batter’s box. Mark gave me the curveball signal. I readied the ball in my glove, wound up, and fired the ball into Mark’s glove.
“Strike three,” the umpire’s voice boomed before the home crowd roared.
The batter stormed away, banging his bat against the ground.
I got in a groove, my confidence and zone tightly reined in, and repeated the same pitch three more times. Now, with two outs, my heart raced with excitement. One more batter, and the first game would be in the record books—my first full game pitching for Kensington High. For a second, I couldn’t believe I was standing on the mound, pitching again.
Mark jogged out while the next batter took practice swings. “We got this. You got this. We win and the other schools will get wind that a girl struck out ten batters in a game. They’ll be running scared.” He placed the ball in my glove then tapped my shoulder with his catcher’s mitt. “Three strikes.” He trotted back.
If I could strike out the short stocky guy at the plate, then it would be my all-time best. Stocky Guy crouched low, back elbow high in the air, and waited. I tossed a glance over my right shoulder. Aaron punched his glove. I checked on Kelton. He nodded. Tim and Finn did the same. Kross was in left, Renee in right, and Dave in center. All three of them pounded their fists in their gloves. My stomach churned with a nervous excitement in anticipation of winning. A sense of warmth spread through me knowing we were a team. At that moment, I felt like I belonged there.
The crowd was on their feet, chanting my name. Mark gave me the signal for a slider. Back in September when I was trying out, my slider had been horrible. I’d had no control over it. Six months later, it was better than my curveball.
I held the ball a tad off center, cocked my wrist, and threw. The ball landed in Mark’s glove with a thud.
“Ball,” the umpire said, deep and loud.
Argh. I stretched my neck one way then the other, and, out of habit, checked Finn at first. Then I wound up, raised my left leg, and released the ball. In slow motion, it traveled down to home plate. The batter swung at air as the ball thudded into Mark’s glove.
“Strike,” the umpire called.
The fans were still standing. I stepped off the mound and caught the ball Mark threw. I returned to the mound, released a breath, settled into my stance, and threw another slider. The batter swung, and the ball popped off his bat behind Mark.
“One ball and two strikes,” the umpire announced.
One more strike, I chanted to myself. This time Mark signaled a fastball. While my fastball was the bomb, my slider was working with two strikes. However, Mark was one of those great catchers that could read a batter. Since he was expecting another slider, Mark had a point. The dude wouldn’t be expecting my fastball.
My gaze drifted to Kade. He angled his head. My eyes shifted to his mom then back to him. My hand trembled in my glove as I thought about Julie and Mom.
“Something wrong?” Aaron’s voice drifted in amid the crowd’s chatter.
Yeah, my life. Your life consists of baseball. Focus.
“Robinson, get your head out of your ass.” Aaron’s tone was snarky and hard.
I despised him, but his voice snapped me back. So I threw the pitch.
“Ball,” the umpire said.
Damn it. I circled the mound.
Mark returned the ball. Aaron jogged up, as did Kelton.
“Get back, Maxwell. I’ll handle this,” Aaron said.
Kelton pressed forward.
“It’s fine, Kelton,” I said. Aaron wasn’t about to do anything stupid.
Kelton hesitated a minute before he returned to his position.
“I want this win. You want this win. Pitch the ball like you have been. In and tight. Got it?”
I hadn’t expected any of those words out of his mouth. I was waiting for I’ll break your arm if you don’t win this game. “Yeah.”
He jogged back to third base.
I did want this win, and letting my team down because of my problems wasn’t an option. With all the energy left in me, I gripped the ball and let it fly. I didn’t hear the umpire. All I saw was the batter swing at air, and the next thing I knew, I was in someone’s arms and they were lifting me up. The way the guy was squeezing me, I thought it was Kelton until I went to smack him and locked eyes with Aaron. Oh, my word. Aaron Seever was holding me like he hadn’t seen me in ages and wanted to kiss me.
Shock rocked my body. I immediately squashed it. I wanted to savor this moment for all kinds of reasons. I’d pitched my first complete game. I’d reached my all-time best. We won the game. Aaron was lifting me high in the air, and I was on top of the world. For all the bad that had happened, the game and the win gave me hope that I was back. The last time I’d felt that elated had been when the coach at Crestview, my old school in California, had put me in to close a game with one out. The first batter I’d pitched to had popped out, and the second kept fouling the ball until he swung at one of my curveballs and struck out. That game had clinched the playoffs for us.
But within seconds of Aaron picking me up, Kelton snatched me from him with unease flashing in his blue eyes. I almost told him to chill. Then I remembered Chloe’s words of wisdom: you can’t tame a protector. And Kelton was just as protective as Kade.
After we celebrated as a team on the field, Coach came up to me. “You did good, Robinson.” He proceeded to pat my head.
The last person to bump fists with me was Renee. “Awesome, Lacey.” Her lips curled with one side of her mouth turned upward, reminding me of my sister, Julie. The resemblance was so uncanny that it had caused me to black out when I first pitched to Renee at tryouts last fall. Now I felt as though Julie was with me in spirit.
“You were awesome, too, girl.” She’d batted in a run and hit a home run, giving us two of our three runs to win the game.
I searched for Dad. He was standing with the Maxwells. He said something to Kade, who had been talking to his mom. Dad touched the tip of his ball cap, and Kade waved with a somewhat cheerful smile. When he said something to his mom, I tore my gaze away. My anger over his deceit had transformed into despair, and I was close to tears. I didn’t want to ruin the high I had over the win.
Renee and I walked off the field. The media barricaded us, firing off a barrage of questions. How does it feel to win your first game, Lacey? Renee, how does it feel to be responsible for two RBIs? Ladies, how did it feel to show the boys on the other team you could play like them?
Before I could answer, Aaron came up alongside me, mumbling under his breath. I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I was certain that he didn’t like us getting all the attention. After all, he’d hated when the media had paid attention to the last girl on the team, Mandy Shear.
“The win feels great,” I said. “The real credit goes to my teammates, though. I couldn’t have pitched a good game without them.” I wrapped one arm around Renee and the other around Aaron. He tensed. “These two are great ball players, especially our captain.” I flicked my head at Aaron. It was the truth. The guy could field a ball every which way, and he could hit. He was responsible for the other home run.
“So, how does it feel to be playing with two girls?” an attractive brunette reporter asked, shoving the microphone in Aaron’s face.
This I had to hear.
He moved away from me, flipped off his ball cap, then combed his fingers through his sweaty hair. “I see them
as just one of the players on the team. Gender doesn’t play a role on the field.” He jutted out his chin.
Renee had a wildly surprised look, and I imagined I did as well. What the hell? Given the confidence in his tone, I couldn’t decipher if he was telling the media what they wanted to hear, or if he was sincere. Whatever. I wasn’t going to complain, at least not right now.
When the reporter asked Aaron about college, I tuned them out and lifted my gaze back to Dad. It landed on Kade instead. He waved again, only this time with a wider smile. I went to return the gesture when out of nowhere Tyler came running onto the field. He lifted me up in his arms like Aaron had, squeezing me.
“Is that your boyfriend, Lacey?” a reporter asked. “Star pitcher dates star quarterback. Great headline.”
“Give me a break,” Aaron murmured, brushing past me.
“Tyler, you’re embarrassing me,” I said. “Please put me down.” I didn’t mind a hug from Tyler. When I’d told him that Kade and I were on a break, he’d given me a hug, telling me that Kade and I would work things out. I didn’t want to draw attention away from the win and the team to become a reporter’s headline, though.
He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “I love your slider. You’ve gotten so much better.”
At that moment, Kade appeared. “Put her down, Langley.” His voice was rough as he emphasized each word.
“You’re dating a Maxwell, too?” the reporter crooned.
Renee rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” she said to the reporter before she followed Aaron off the field. “See ya, Lacey.”
The reporter was worse than the gossip mill at school. As Tyler slowly released me, he planted a kiss on my lips. Next thing I knew, someone had pulled me away from Tyler, and Kade’s fist was flying into Tyler’s face. Tyler returned a punch to Kade’s chin.
The Maxwell Series Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 51