by Debra Elise
Kelsey listened, her heart aching for this young man. What she really wanted to do was grab Ian and give him a big hug. Not having kids of her own, she still knew he’d probably be more embarrassed than anything if she did, so she wrapped her arms around herself.
“He told me about how his brother died and how he was pissed off at everyone, even God, for the accident. He said he let it screw with his head and that’s why his team lost the division playoffs. Because he couldn’t throw worth a shit.”
Kelsey let out a chuckle. Guessing Ian had earned the right to drop a few cuss words, she refrained from scolding. Besides, he was right. So was Maverick. Last October Maverick couldn’t throw for shit, and everyone knew it.
But not now. No, he’d climbed his way out of his own black hole and in the process imparted some much needed wisdom to a young boy who, it seemed, had a few key things all figured out.
“So you and Maverick seem to have clicked. Tell me, what else has he talked to you about?” she asked.
Ian sent her a sidelong glance and blushed a bit, but recovered quickly. “Oh you know, guy stuff.”
“Guy stuff, huh? Well, that’s good.” She cleared her throat and didn’t ask what guy stuff. It probably had to do with guy and girl stuff and that was better left to a parent or mentor like Maverick to deal with.
“I hope he helped you out with understanding that because bad stuff has happened in your life, it doesn’t mean you have to let it rule your future.”
Ian rolled his eyes and nodded. “Sure, we talked it over and both of us promised not to let it get us down anymore. And then we toasted to our future.”
“Um, toasted?”
“Yeah, when we had dinner last night. He took us to this really cool pizza and game place and we toasted our future over some beers.” Ian grinned.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, root beer.” His ears had turned red at her stern expression, but he laughed. And so did Kelsey.
“Oh, okay, root beer is good. That’s good that you two are able to talk about, you know, the bad stuff. And the guy stuff.” She winked at him. Ian blushed again.
How they’d gotten into such a deep discussion at a baseball field was a testament to his maturity, yet she could tell they’d reached the point that it was getting a bit uncomfortable, for both of them. It was up to her to lighten the mood.
He surprised her with his next question. “Did you ever have to deal with, yah know, bad stuff, Ms. Sullivan? You know like losing a parent or brother or something like that?” Ian asked. She was about to answer no, but then she caught herself. Memories from her past bombarded her. No, she hadn’t had to deal with a horrific death, but she’d dealt with the death of a dream she once had. The one where her parents were together, happy, and made sure she knew she was wanted.
Smart kid. Instead of answering him she decided he deserved an introduction to some of the Outlaws on the field. And all the root beer and pizza he could hold. She raised her hand to get the shortstop, Brock Cameron’s, attention and began making introductions.
Soon, excited fans began arriving who’d won passes to enter the stadium early and watch both teams warm up. The level of anticipation had increased and a hum traveled through her body. Possibilities.
She had a lot to think about. Who would have thought hanging out with a teenage boy would bring her to the realization that what she’d been holding onto for years, was holding her back from her own future, one where she created her own happiness.
Maverick strode out to the mound. It was the final inning, and the Outlaws were winning two nothing. He’d been more shocked than anyone else when his manager gave him the start over Yagasaki. He’d thought at best, they’d bring him in if Yagasaki was in trouble, as a relief pitcher. But he’d been given the start. And damn if he wasn’t going to show them that he’d earned the spot.
He tuned out the crowd, his teammates, even his catcher who was standing behind home plate, cool and collected, waiting for Maverick to settle in.
His confidence had grown during the game and he now knew he could do this. He’d kicked the devil to the curb and got his pitch back; it felt like the stars had finally aligned to allow his grief to subside. If he could pull off this inning without a hit, he would secure his place on the team and in the hearts of his fans and earn his first ever no-hitter.
Then he planned on finding Kelsey and convincing her that they could heal their past disappointments—together.
He pulled his cap low on his brow, and repeated his mantra, “control the mechanism.” He nodded to Luke. They had come up with a couple of new signs to keep the lookouts on their toes. Two fingers to the side and Luke called the burner. Mav took his stance and on the windup, it all snapped into place. He let loose. Strike one. The umpire’s call sounded like a long lost friend calling his name.
The crowd went crazy with shouts of “yeah, baby” and “the bad boy is back” ringing in his ears. He grinned and grabbed the ball in a no-look catch. The scent of leather drifted up to tickle his nose. The mojo had returned.
He scanned the crowd and found Ian hollering and waving at him. Then he saw her. Kelsey was watching him intently. A cautious smile graced her face as she tucked her hair behind her ear. His world shifted and settled into a new place. A place that included a woman who saw the real him. A woman who didn’t run when she had every right to.
The next two pitches Luke called were the same, and caught the batter swinging. First out. Mav took a walk around the mound and gazed up into the crowd and fed off their energy. The next batter was taking his time at the plate. L.A.’s star player had a ritual meant to taunt pitchers. The veteran flexed his guns, switching the bat back and forth from one hand to the other. However, Mav blocked out his antics and zeroed in on Kelsey again. He used her beautiful face as his focal point.
She, and the rest of the twenty-one thousand spectators, were all on the edge of their seats, yelling and clapping, just for him. The L.A. Knights’ lead homerun hitter was past due for a long ball and Maverick shook off Luke’s call for the cut pitch. Not yet, he thought. The batter would be expecting his best pitch and he went through three more signs before he nodded on the changeup. It was low; the batter swung and almost lost his balance. He had to place the bat on the ground to right himself and sent Mav a steely glare, and a quick nod.
Maverick nodded back to the old-timer, an act of respect from both. Mav focused back on Luke and read the sign for his next pitch. Thumb up. All right, cowboy, you got it. He wound up and sent the cut ball screaming toward the two-hundred-plus-pound batter and shaved a quarter inch off his gut. The batter sucked it in and this time shook his head and laughed.
“Ball,” the umpire called.
Shit. Well, it wasn’t meant to be a cakewalk. So Maverick let his arm hang to the side and shook out the tight muscle. Control the mechanism. He stepped forward and let the third ball fly. Crack!
The veteran got under it and sent it sailing over the third baseman’s head. Mav whipped around to watch the streaker, and let go the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He watched as Reese dived and made the catch. Out two.
The crowd chanted their approval, and Maverick owed the left fielder a steak dinner. He nodded his thanks to his teammate and turned back to face the final batter. The unknown, who’d been pulled up from triple A. The kid was a phenom, according to the sports press, and had leapfrogged over the minors and was handed the chance of a lifetime.
Maverick was going to have to disappoint the kid. He was young, he’d recover. Mav needed this win more than his next breath. Taking one more look in the general direction of where Kelsey was sitting, he gave her a wink when he made eye contact with those gorgeous gray eyes. He felt a foot taller seeing the joy on her face.
Luke once again tried to get him to begin with the cut pitch, but Mav resisted. Maybe he should go fast and hard and show this kid what was what in the bigs. He glanced at the rookie and received a toothy grin. Yup. Fast and hard it was. The firs
t two pitches found the kid reaching and after Luke flashed him the cut sign again, the batter held up his hand and time was called.
There it was—nerves. It had brought the best players in the game to their knees at some point in their career. But today it was a rookie who was behind on the count, two outs down, last inning of the game, and Mav could see the weight of the moment as it sat heavily on this kid’s shoulders. But he’d have plenty of other opportunities to shine and be the hero. Today was not that day.
The rookie stepped back into the box. Maverick made him wait before he reached back and rocked on his heels. He took one last deep breath and delivered the pitch of his life. The kid bunted.
What the hell?
He bunted on a cut pitch? Maverick scrambled toward the plate and beat Luke to the ball. He twisted his body toward first and threw hard. The momentum knocked him off his feet and he ate a mouthful of dirt.
He didn’t hear the call. Couldn’t make out the bag. The crowd let him know that his effort was successful and Rand “Maverick” Jansen had thrown the first no-hitter of his career.
Damn. He lay there and took the weight of his teammates as the dugout emptied and they dog piled on him. His mind blank and swirling all at the same time. A boyhood dream had come true and he began laughing. Couldn’t stop. He absorbed the crush of at least ten bodies before he rolled over and crawled out from under the weight of his teammates.
He jumped up and placed his hands on his hips, hung his head, and grinned like a fool. He looked up into the stands and the first person he saw was his dad. Mav kept his smile in place. His gut churned as he searched his father’s expression. And what he saw blew him away. Growing up he’d seen little to no emotion from Randall Jansen Sr. and today he swore he saw tears in his father’s eyes.
He gave his dad a nod and took a long look around the stadium. Fans were still going crazy; some had made it onto the field and made a beeline for him while security scrambled to keep up.
Today, he’d achieved what many never had. A no-hitter was something he’d dreamed of since he was a Little Leaguer with too-big cleats. Today was a new beginning in his baseball career, and maybe, just maybe, the beginning of a future with the woman he’d lost his heart to the first time he saw her.
He took a deep breath and threw his fist into the air. He let out a shout of pure joy. Once again his teammates tackled him and Luke was right there holding on, not letting him fall.
Chapter 33
The locker room had been crazy after the game. All he wanted to do was get out of there and find Kelsey, but the reporters had prevented him from making a quick escape. Not happy with sound bites, they wanted to know about everything from Syndi’s arrest to what he thought about his brother’s killer being acquitted.
They were more interested in knowing his relationship status with Kelsey than why he hadn’t pitched the last game of spring training. He wanted to know that himself and after yet another round of questions on what he was thinking as he pitched the shutout, Blake stepped in and told them they’d gotten enough from his star pitcher for the day.
He texted her and when she didn’t respond, he called her and got voicemail. He needed to come up with something big to get her to see him. He’d hoped when she’d brought Ian out on the field, all had been forgiven. Damn woman was going to make him work hard for her forgiveness.
And he was ready to prove to her that his bad boy days were over. He went over to T.S. who was wrapping up an interview and asked for some help in getting Kelsey to see him.
“Hey, boss, you have a second?”
T.S. broke off his conversation with the reporter. “Thanks for the write-up, Mike. Your support is really appreciated. If you need anything else, call my secretary.” He shook the hand of the local newspaper editor and walked over to where Maverick was standing.
“Nice game. Hell, it was a spectacular game. Have you talked to Kelsey? Let’s go find her and celebrate.”
“Yeah, that’s who I wanted to talk to you about. She’s not returning my texts or calls. She’s still pissed at me and I need your help. I need you in on my plan.”
“Does this plan include a long-term commitment?”
“If she’ll have me.”
“That’s the right answer, Maverick. I know Kelsey better than just about anyone else outside of Lara and Noel. There was no way she’d have put herself in the position I asked her to if she didn’t have real feelings for you.”
T.S. stared him down. Maverick understood this man was the closest thing to family Kelsey had and he wouldn’t hesitate to protect her from Maverick if he thought she’d be hurt any further by him.
“She was devastated when you shut her out, Mav. Hell, she gave me her resignation.”
“What the—” Mav said.
“Which I didn’t accept. We all know you were hurting, but if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll make sure you never get a third chance with her. We clear?”
“I’m not sure if having you as an owner or an honorary brother-in-law is scarier. But you have my word I will never keep anything from her again. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Damn straight.” T.S. pounded him on his back. “Now tell me about this plan of yours.”
Maverick rolled his shoulder. T.S. had put some muscle behind his punch. He asked him to call Kelsey and let her know there was going to be a party in the owner’s skybox and she needed to be there. And T.S. would be in the clear because it wouldn’t really be a lie. There was going to be a party all right. A party for two.
Chapter 34
It had taken several attempts to track Kelsey down and another two phone calls to her friends Lara and Noel, to convince them he was serious about Kelsey and needed their help in getting her to the last-minute party.
He heard a commotion in the hall outside the clubhouse and made one last sweep of the room. He’d brought in candles and had finally figured out how to work the sound system so there was soft music playing. This was as romantic as he could get in two hours.
“Kelsey, hurry up. We’re going to miss the party.” He heard one of her friends complain. He wasn’t sure which one it was. Lara or Noel.
“Lara, stop rushing me. I’m not really sure this is such a good idea. I don’t know if —”
A statuesque woman entered the clubhouse and gave him a wink. He’d yet to meet Noel, so this had to be her.
He then heard Lara out in the hallway convincing Kelsey to come in the room. “Of course, it’s a great idea. Come in and hold your head up and give that no account Maverick Jansen a piece of your mind.”
“She’s coming. Lara’s got a death grip on her. Hi, I’m Noel.”
“Hi, Noel. Thanks so much for this. I’ll make sure you and Lara get tickets to all the home games.”
“Just treat her right, Maverick. Otherwise, we’ll haunt you and post naked pictures of you on Twitter.” Noel blew him a kiss and gave him a finger wave.
“Hey, Kelsey. Get in here. Everyone wants to say hi.” Lara stepped in and sent him the evil eye before she too blew him a kiss.
“Wait. Naked pictures? Where would you—”
Kelsey appeared in the doorway and was shoved from behind. She tumbled right into his arms. Laughter rang out from his co-conspirators as they ran down the hall. Maverick grinned. He was going to get along well with her friends.
He looked down at the irritated woman in his arms. “Kelsey.” Her name came out more like a plea than a greeting. He’d never been so nervous in his life.
“Where is everyone? I thought there was a big party and . . .” She stepped out of his arms and turned back to the doorway and called out. “Noel . . . Lara? Hey, where’d you go?”
She kept her back to him so he couldn’t read her face. Was she happy to see him or was she going to bolt?
The room felt smaller now that she was there and it pulsed with expectation, desperation, and something he prayed was hope.
“Maybe you could stay for a
moment? Now that you’re already here?” he asked.
Kelsey turned and stared at him and said nothing. Damn, she wasn’t going to make this easy for him.
He never wanted anything as badly as he wanted this woman. And she deserved his best effort.
“I made a mistake, Kelsey, a big one and I need to make it better, make it right. For us.” He watched as she started to speak, hesitated, and shrugged her shoulders.
She walked toward the windows overlooking the field, now dark and empty. Everyone else was already out celebrating the big win. He needed to step it up. He took it as a good sign she hadn’t left by now. Maybe he was going to get another chance with her after all.
“So, did you get a chance to speak with Ian?”
Maverick chuckled. “That was a pretty good move. Sending the kid over to make me feel like even more of a heel than I already did.”
He was now standing side by side with her. She closed her eyes and absorbed his heat. Hope bloomed in her chest.
“It worked.” She shrugged.
“Yes. However, I’d pretty much figured out what I’d done was a stupid knee jerk reaction to something I should have been better prepared to accept.”
She grinned. “You sound like you’ve been talking to Caris. I’m glad you were able to open up to her about . . . everything.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have shut you out. I should have trusted what was happening between us and gone to you right away when I heard about the trial.”
He was saying all the right things and she wanted nothing more than things to work out, but he was taking his sweet damn time. She shivered and hugged her arms around her waist.
The movement brought his gaze to her chest. “Cold?” He stepped in front of her and rubbed her arms. “Maybe I can help you with that. That’s a pretty dress, Kelsey. Did you wear it just for me?”
Kelsey tried to focus on the question instead of the sexy-as-sin man asking it. Her nipples reacted to his slow, visual caress up her body.
She cleared her throat and looked at his gorgeous face. He gave her the smile she adored. The one guaranteed to melt her panties off.