by Shaw, Rhonda
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said proudly. “He’s always had a big heart. Not that his brother doesn’t, don’t get me wrong, but Chase has always been so generous. He always wants to correct some injustice that he sees, even if he’s the only one who sees it. He’s very loyal and devoted.”
They turned the corner and continued down the busy sidewalk, passing multiple storefronts and restaurants, the smell of specialty dishes wafting out through open doors. Maddie ignored the growl of her stomach, reminding her that it had been a while since she’d eaten. “Whatever the reason behind it, I’m so appreciative. He’s given something to Bree that I’ve never been able to give her and she would never get from her father. I don’t think Bree even realized what she was missing until Chase. It’s like he’s saved her from never experiencing what it is like to have a dad, from believing that there’s something wrong with her because her dad doesn’t want to spend time with her.”
“There are just some things that only a father can give a child that their mother can’t, no matter how hard she tries.” Anne turned her head toward Maddie. “I could tell by the way he spoke about Bree that he cares very much for her. He wants to be that father figure in her life.”
Maddie glanced at the store windows as they walked by and shook her head in confusion. “It’s a real struggle for me. I really care for Chase and we just seem to work, as odd as it is because of the age difference...I can’t explain it. We help each other, learn with each other and support each other. But it seems too much for him to take on at this point, you know? I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but he won’t listen to me or he tells me everything will be fine. I assume you and Rick have said just as much.”
A look of surprise crossed over his mother’s face. She was sure it was a shock to hear that even she had talked to Chase about the same concerns she was sure his parents were voicing to him, that she wasn’t so naive to believe everything was perfect.
Anne stopped walking and turned to face her. “And what about you? How do you fit into this picture?” she asked pointedly.
“Me?” She shrugged as she looked down at the sidewalk. “I guess he thinks I need to be saved too.”
“Saved from what?”
“Myself.”
Anne nodded as if she understood. Her dark, compassionate eyes, so like her son’s, trailed over Maddie’s face before she smiled again. “Chase is usually very good at judging character and I can see that he didn’t get it wrong here. I have to admit that when I heard you were so much older, I could only worry and think the worst. I wondered what it was exactly that you saw in him and what you could possibly want from him, being at such a different stage in your life. Now I see you’re just like the rest of us, in awe of him and his spirit. You see him for who he truly is and not only the amazing athlete that everyone else knows him as. You’re a very lucky woman, Maddie. You’ve touched my son where no one has before and I can assure you, he’ll treat you like a queen.” She reached out and gave her hands a squeeze. “Now, let’s go eat.”
* * *
They arrived at the game well before the seven o’clock start time and made their way down to their field-level seats along the third baseline. The visiting bull pen was to their left, behind the fence in left field. From their seats, they could catch glimpses of Chase loosening up as he tossed balls back and forth with the catcher.
Maddie tried to ignore Rick’s big looming presence next to her since he had yet to say more than two words to her, or so it seemed. He’d bonded with Bree over dinner, not a surprise, but any conversation between him and Maddie was awkward and stilted at best.
She still couldn’t get over how fast Anne had accepted her. Her words had deeply touched her and Maddie knew that as a mother, she wouldn’t give them out freely. His father, on the other hand, was a different story. She was going to have to find a way during the game to get him to stop looking at her suspiciously all the time. He didn’t have to accept her outright as he did Bree, but she wanted at least things to be civil between them. The only problem was she didn’t know where to start. She hoped inspiration would hit and she could get him talking.
“Hey, Bree. Come here.” Pulling a small plastic bag out from underneath the light jacket he’d brought with him, Rick reached in and withdrew its contents. “I thought you’d like to have this—you could wear it tonight.”
Bree’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and her small mouth formed the shape of an O as she took in the small pink-and-white Detroit Rockets jersey with the name Patton spelled out over the number twenty-four across the back. “Oh, I love it! Can I put it on now?”
Rick helped pull the jersey over her head and watched in amusement as she twisted around trying to see the name on the back.
“That was awfully nice of you. Thank you,” Maddie said quietly.
He turned toward her and the smile fell from his face as he cleared his throat. “It’s nothing. I thought Chase would get a kick out of seeing her wear that.”
“I may never get her out of it,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s pink, her absolute favorite color.”
He didn’t say anything, but he did manage a small smile before something over her shoulder caught his attention. “Here he comes.”
Maddie turned in the direction he was looking and saw Chase walking out of the bull pen carrying his glove and red Rockets jacket. He kept his head down and ignored the heckling of the Chicago fans as he walked by them. Occasionally, a cheer of encouragement from a Detroit fan, many of whom sat sprinkled throughout the stadium, rang out over the jeers. As he walked by their seats, he glanced in their direction and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement.
“Go get ’em,” Rick said as he passed.
Bree stood up and twirled around in her jersey. Chase didn’t stop, but he did throw his hand up for her to slap as he walked by. It was enough to make her night and her face glowed when she sat back in her seat. Anne caught Maddie’s eye and smiled before turning back to Bree. “Yep, I’m never getting that off of her,” she repeated.
As she waited for the game to begin, Maddie looked around the stadium watching as the fans filed in. The familiar smells of hot dogs, beer and popcorn swirled around her. Nighttime was starting to fall and the day’s mugginess had lost some of its thickness, making it easier to breathe. A slight breeze blew in from right field and she shivered, eyeing Rick’s jacket and wishing she’d remembered to bring hers. Her heart lightened at the sight of Bree sitting on the edge of her seat, waiting impatiently, and she sat back thinking that things couldn’t be any better. Even though she’d never been a baseball fan before and really hadn’t attended that many games in the past, she was finding it enjoyable. It surprised her how relaxing and how much fun it was to come to a ballpark, chill out and watch the game play out in front of her. The game wasn’t too slow and it wasn’t too fast, but it moved at just the right pace to sit back and unwind on a warm afternoon or a balmy evening.
“Do you watch a lot of baseball, Maddie?” Rick surprised her by asking the question unexpectedly.
“To be honest, I didn’t watch it much before we met Chase. He’s sparked interest in the house.”
“So you don’t know much about his stats or anything?”
She felt herself flush when she recognized this was the beginning of his cross-examination. If she didn’t get the answers right, she would fail. “No, I can’t say I do. Jerry explained some to me and Chase said he would answer any question I had, but we haven’t had much time for lessons.”
“What did Jerry tell you?”
“He explained to me how talented Chase is and that what he’s been able to accomplish this year as a rookie is truly amazing.”
“You didn’t know this before you met him?” Rick glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
Maddie heard the silent accusation in his words and it immediat
ely put her on the defense. “I didn’t know the name Chase Patton at all, and even after that, I didn’t care. He made my daughter happy and that was all that mattered at that point.”
“And what about now?”
“What about now?” she asked not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.
He turned in his seat to face her. “Now what do you know about Chase Patton?”
She took a deep breath and struggled for control. She could feel her eyes watering up as they did when she was frustrated or angry. Now would not be the time to start crying, since he would just think she was a crazy, overemotional female. “I know that he’s a great man. He’s kind, generous and very dedicated. I think that’s what makes him successful on the field, but it also makes him a wonderful person, which is more important to me, even if people don’t believe it.”
Rick didn’t say anything else, but his gaze lingered on her for a second before turning his attention back to the field. She couldn’t be certain, but in that split second before he turned away, she could have sworn she saw something that she hadn’t expected—progress. She knew for certain, though, when a few seconds later he handed her his jacket without saying a word.
Chapter Sixteen
At the end of the game, with the Rockets’s win, Maddie stood with the rest of the Detroit fans clapping in appreciation. Chase had thrown an excellent game, succeeding in striking out twelve batters in all before his coach took him out in the eighth inning. Rick had explained to her that the coaches still wanted to limit the number of pitches Chase threw in a game and once he got around the one-hundred-pitch mark, they didn’t hesitate to pull him in order to rest his arm. There was still so much to learn, but she felt as if she was beginning to understand how things worked and why things happened when they did.
She started to round up Bree so they could head back to the hotel when Rick stopped her. “We’re going to head over to the visitor’s dugout. He’ll come out before he heads to the shower.”
Following him, they wound their way through the stands.
“Just give him a few minutes.” Rick looked back at the visitor’s dugout. “He’ll wait a few minutes so a lot of the crowd can file out.”
Maddie nodded and stood with Bree in front of her as his parents stood together waiting patiently. There was some shuffling behind her and she turned, thinking she needed to get out of the way of a cleaning crew or something, and was startled when she found a microphone and a camera in her face instead.
“Hi, Keith Sharp, Everything Detroit Sports,” a fresh-faced, young reporter said. “You’re waiting for Chase, right?”
“Um...” Her face flushed with heat as she looked to his parents for help. She was definitely unprepared for this. It was one thing to have to contend with the media happening behind-the-scenes without her direct involvement, as much as she didn’t like it, but she had absolutely no idea what to do with it right in her face.
“You’re the one he brought onto the field the night of his no-hitter, correct?”
“Uh...” She shoved Bree toward his mom, trying to make sure she was out of the picture.
“Are you his girlfriend?” Keith pressed, his perfect white teeth displayed in a shameless grin.
“I don’t see how that’s relevant to anything here,” Maddie finally managed to stammer.
“After that kiss, people want to know. They’re interested.” He flashed that bright, perfect smile again.
“Well, I doubt that’s the case, but I’ll leave it to Chase to give any specifics about his personal life. I don’t really think that’s my place.” She moved to get out of the sight of the camera’s eye and away from the microphone, but the reporter only followed her and blocked her escape.
“Now come on,” Rick said from behind them. “The lady doesn’t want to talk to you and I think you should respect her privacy.”
The reporter spun around and shoved the microphone in Rick’s face. “I just want some answers. It’s as simple as that. I see that she’s here with you, and I know you’re his parents, so I can make my own assumptions, which may be wrong, or I can get the information right. What can you tell me? Everybody wants to know who managed to capture the heart of the possible Rookie of the Year.”
“Come on, Keith. Leave them alone.”
Everyone turned at Chase’s voice and saw him standing on the other side of the low wall. Keith turned to the camera to give the cut sign and the lights went out.
“I just want the scoop, Chase. Come on.”
Chase reached over the railing and hoisted Bree up into his arms. “There’s no scoop, Keith. I told you this before. It’s my private life. Let’s leave it at that. If you want to talk baseball, I have no problem with that.”
“You know people are going to start digging. They already have. Pretty soon you guys will be out in the open,” Keith insisted.
“Then we’ll deal with that when we come to it.”
Keith sighed. “Fine, man. Off the record?”
“Off the record, this is Bree and that’s Maddie, but that’s all you know,” Chase said as he pointed at them.
Keith grinned at Maddie. “Sorry about that. I’m just trying to do my job.”
She raised her brow, but didn’t say anything more. She thought the guy was rude and pushy, even if he was trying to do his job. After he’d walked away, she turned back to Chase.
“Why did you tell him our names?”
“Because he’s going to find out anyway.” When she didn’t say anything, Chase gave her a knowing look. “You knew this was a possibility. We’ve talked about this.”
“I know, I know. It’s just one thing to talk about it and something totally different to experience it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said and looked guilty knowing he was the cause of it.
“No, no. It’s not your fault.” Maddie gave him a bright smile, pushing away her irritation and wanting nothing more than to kiss him, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing that in front of his parents or anyone else who might be watching. She’d learned her lesson. “Great game.”
“Thanks.” Chase, on the other hand, didn’t care who was around and pulled her in for a kiss with his free hand. He smirked at her when she backed away and blushed before turning to Bree. “And I love your jersey. Where did you get that?”
“Your dad gave it to me. It’s pink!”
“I know and I’m shocked they’re allowed to make pink jerseys with my name on them. I’m going to have to talk to someone about that.” He laughed as she giggled and then looked at his dad. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You did a great job out there. Twelve strikeouts.”
“Thanks. I felt good. Everything felt good tonight.”
“What’d you say we’ll head back to the hotel and meet you in the lobby? We’ll go get you something to eat,” his dad suggested.
After finalizing the plans with Chase, they made their way out of the stadium and started the walk back to the hotel. Halfway there, Maddie could tell Bree was tired after a long day and a lot of walking.
“Bree, honey, do you want me to carry you?”
She started to nod and turn to her mother when Rick stepped between them. “Let me. It’ll be easier for me to carry her.”
She looked at Bree, waiting for her reaction, but she apparently didn’t care who carried her. She was so tired, she was just happy to be off her feet. She let Rick pull her into his arms and tucked her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes.
“Thank you,” Maddie said to him.
He nodded in acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything more as he walked ahead with Bree securely tucked in his arms.
“He always wanted a little girl,” Anne said quietly as they looked at her husband’s back. “He wanted to carry them like little princesses and protect them from the wo
rld, and now he’s got the chance.”
“You both are too kind. I can’t thank you enough for accepting Bree like you have.”
“It’s important to Chase and so it’s important to us.” Anne looked at Maddie. “And what about your family? Are they accepting of Chase?”
Maddie thought about her recent encounter with Sandy and the one that was sure to follow with Lenore. “Um, I can’t say that they’re tremendously happy with the situation, but not because of Chase.”
“What then?”
She sighed and thought back on what Chase had said to Sandy about being happy for her aunt. “I think my family has a hard time with me being happy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She gave her a sad smile. “Yeah, me too.”
They stepped into the lobby and walked over to one of the muted green floral couches. Maddie noticed that Bree was dead asleep in Rick’s arms. Sitting down on a couch, she held out her arms. “I can take her.”
He gently deposited her slumbering daughter in her arms and she held her tightly against her chest. She kissed the top of her head enjoying the rare moment of closeness since she hadn’t held Bree like this in a long time. It made her long for another baby.
They waited quietly for Chase, watching all the people come and go in the lobby. Maddie spotted a group of women wearing short, tight dresses and lots of makeup and wondered why they were all hanging out by the front door. She realized a moment later that she was looking at the infamous groupies when the team bus pulled up and the players started making their way into the hotel. She watched as the girls posed and flirted, hoping to catch a player’s eye. A few players glanced in their direction, but continued past them to the elevators. When Chase entered through the doors, she noticed a tall blonde stand up straighter and saunter in his direction. To his credit, he walked right by her without so much as a peek as he headed in their direction.
“Hey guys, sorry it took so long.” He looked down at Bree in Maddie’s arms. “She conked out, huh?”