Broken Bases

by Nikki Pennington

  Shay

  Five years later.

  "Jacob, do you have everything loaded?"

  "Yes, babe, it’s all here." I turn around to say goodbye to my first home that I ever had on my own. I feel a hand pat me on the back, and I know it's Jimmy.

  "I'm gonna miss you, Shay."

  "Ditto, but you have to go be all famous and play ball, right? Don't forget to send me free ball tickets I'll gladly make the trip to watch you play."

  He smiles sadly, "You can count on it."

  He tearfully gives Ryder a playful punch in the arm, "Hey, buddy keep up with the ball, okay, that arm of yours is killer."

  "I know, I know, you tell me that all the time." Ryder sighs.

  He's nine now, so he doesn't really have time for us anymore, but he will always be my baby. He hops in the car, and Jimmy hugs me bye, and we are off.

  Jacob and I became serious a few weeks after our first date. Things have been going well. It's not that grand slam type of love, but it's a good love for me. We mesh well together, and it feels like it has the potential to last forever.

  We got engaged last year, and today is our big move to Colorado. He got a job at a firm there, and I'm going to start my very first teaching job since graduating. I'm going to be a kindergarten teacher, and I am so excited to make something of my life finally.

  "Let's hit the road, babe," I say to Jacob, he looks over and smiles.

  He doesn't notice that I give one last glance to the apartment upstairs that used to belong to the guy that still holds my heart.

  Our place in Colorado is amazing. Everything I've always wanted for Ryder and me, just maybe not with the man I imagined. I have to stop thinking like that. because I'm the one that told Luke to go, I'm the one that lied and told him I didn't love him. I'm the one that has to live with that regret.

  Jacob has the potential to make me happy. I just have to let him all the way in. I have to let go of Luke, so I can let Jacob in, and I definitely need to do that before our wedding day.

  Jacob comes over and wraps his arms around me, "I'm so thankful every day you gave me that chance, baby. We are going to have a great life here; I can just feel it."

  I look up at him and smile. I give him a small kiss and unwrap myself. "I love you, babe, but I have to go pick up Ryder from baseball now."

  He sighs and kisses my forehead, "it always feels like your trying to get away from me."

  If only he knew how true that might be.

  I'm sitting at the ball field waiting on Ryder, he has about 10 minutes left of practice, so I try to find the ball game on the radio. I'm pretty sure the Mountaineers are playing the Birds, and I would kill to be there.

  Unfortunately, Jacob isn't a sports guy. That absolutely kills me. I finally find the game and turn the volume up a bit, just to catch the announcer say, "Baker has been a star player for the Mountaineers since he came over from L.A. tonight marks his 3rd home run in 3 nights and that defensive catch he just made was amazing."

  My breath hitches. Surely, they can't be talking about the Baker I think they are, can they? There is no way out of all the places in the world, he would be here, playing for the Mountaineers. There is no way. Baker has to be a common last name. It has to be.

  My heart is pounding in my chest. Praying I don't hear what I hear next. "This is it folks, your witnessing greatness, Luke Baker with his 2nd steal of the night, this kid is on fire." I feel like the car is closing in on me. I can't breathe. I can't do this. It's like he is constantly haunting me.

  "Hey mom, are you okay?" Ryder asks as he hops in the car.

  "Oh, you scared me." I didn't even hear him get in the car. "Are the Birds winning?" He asks.

  "Nah, sounds like the Mountaineers are having a killer game."

  "It's probably because they signed Luke. He is still a beast." I just stare at him.

  "Yeah, yeah, that's probably it." I drive off wondering how long my 9-year-old knew that Luke was here.

  When we get home, I see Jacob is gone, and I'm thankful. He would notice I'm distracted, and I don't feel like answering a bunch of questions. He knows nothing about Luke, and I don't want him to find out now.

  I take a hot shower and try to rid my brain of thoughts of Luke. It’s like I get two steps ahead in my life, and then suddenly, I’m five steps back. I can’t escape him.

  The next morning after I drop Ryder off, I find myself driving around the stadium. What am I doing? The last thing I need to do is see him. I need to move on with my life. I have a good thing going with Jacob, he is good with Ryder, he has a great job, he is so good to me. Why do I continue to find myself drawn to Luke?

  I think it's because after all these years, the older I have gotten, the more I realize I should have given him that chance all those years ago, I should have seen if we had that amazing love story he was so sure that we had.

  After about 20 minutes of aimlessly driving, I head over to the school for my first day teaching. I am so excited. When I get there, I go over my roster and my plans for the day. There is a girl on the list named Ava Baker, and it stirs something inside of me. Why is he haunting me like this? What are the odds that right after I find out he plays for Colorado, I find out I have a little girl in my class with the same last name? It's like the universe is testing me.

  It's about fifteen minutes until class time when I get a knock at the door. "Come in," I say.

  And I kid you not, Luke Baker walks into my classroom, with a beautiful little dark-haired girl, and the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen.

  When he sees me, he is speechless, he looks like he is in pain, and he looks like he wants to run away faster than ever. He looks the same as he did all those years ago, aside from some new facial hair, he is still just as breathtaking as he always has been.

  "Hello, I'm Ms. Montero, how can I help you all?"

  The little girl smiles up at me "I'm Ava, this is my very first day of school."

  "Well, hello Ava, I'm so happy to meet you."

  "Yeah, yeah. We get it you’re some saint of a kindergarten teacher. I'm Lindsay. I'm sure you know this is Luke Baker, we had to drop Ava off before the kids get here. Luke just insisted on coming even though our nanny is perfectly capable of doing this crap. Are we done here?" I just stare at her. Is this woman serious?

  "Oh, okay. Well, it was nice to meet you all. I'm sure Ava will do just fine today, and I think it is great Ya’ll brought her in. Kids love it when both their parents drop them off for their first day." I say.

  "Sure thing, I'm heading out to the car, Luke say your goodbyes and come on we have too much going on today for this." And with that, she turns on her heels and leaves.

  I stare up at Luke. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe he has a daughter; I can't believe she is in my class, and I'd like to say I can't believe he is with that woman, but given his history I can. He clears his throat.

  "Hey, Shay, I think for the first time in my life, I'm speechless." I look over and Ava is busy with something at her desk.

  "Luke, I'd like to say it's good to see you again, but I'm just not sure it is." I choke out.

  I can feel the tears coming, and I'm thinking to myself, what is wrong with me. I moved here with my fiancé, and I'm mad at him for having a baby.

  "Shay, let me explain." Right after he says it, he sighs, clearly frustrated. “I feel like that’s the same thing I’ve been saying to you for our whole lives.”

  "Oh no, no, that is completely unnecessary. And inappropriate. I'm Ava's teacher. The only business I have in your life is anything that concerns her and school. She is in good hands. She will have a great day. You do the same." And with that, I turn around to walk over to Ava.

  "You know that's not true. You deserve to know everything about me, just like you always have. I couldn't feel better about having you as my daughter's teacher. And I hope you know eventually you are going to let me explain everything to you." and he turns and leaves.

  I wipe a tear from
my eye and bend down next to Ava. "We are going to have a great year Ava."

  She smiles up at me. And my breath catches because it's like Luke is looking right into me. It's like the universe hates me.

  Chapter THIRTY-SEVEN

  Luke

  Is this real life? Did I just drop my daughter off with Shay? What is Shay doing in Colorado? When did she become a teacher? Why does she have that giant ring on her finger?

  I am so proud of her. And I can't even deny that it felt like the life had been sucked out of me when I walked into that room and saw her sitting at that desk. She is still just as beautiful as she always was, maybe even more so.

  Her long, thick, dark hair wasn’t as unruly as it was when we were younger, she had it straightened and pulled back. She had on black slacks and a pale pink satin shirt that made her eyes stand out. She had little to no makeup on, and she was still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

  I saw the look she gave Lindsay, but Lindsay can't even compare to Shay. I saw the hurt in her eyes when she saw me there with Lindsay and a daughter, and then Lindsay said some things that would make anyone think we are together, which couldn't be any further from the truth. I wish Shay would have let me explain, but she was right, that wasn't the right time.

  It feels like my whole life I've needed to explain things to her, and she never gives me the time of day. There will be a right time, though. And if she thinks I forgot that she is the love of my life she is wrong.

  "Jesus Christ, Luke, what took so long. It's not the end of the world, and the damn girl is going to Kindergarten. Everyone does. You’re acting like it's some huge ordeal. And I can already tell that teacher is going to be a problem, she was sitting there judging me, her with her mousy looking appearance judging this, please." I roll my eyes.

  I cannot stand Lindsay. If I thought Valerie was bad back in high school, she was nothing compared to Lindsay. Lindsay is vindictive and shallow and absolutely does not care about anything but herself and money. I love my daughter more than anything in this world, but I do not love her mother. Her mother is incapable of love. And I hate that for my baby girl.

  "Aren't you going to say anything. You look like you have seen a ghost. Why are you always so stupid?"

  I Look over at her. "I think our daughter is going to have a great day. She was happy we were there for her. The light in her eyes was indescribable." I smile.

  "You are absolutely ridiculous, what are you a woman?" She takes out her phone and ignores me. Just like she normally does, she has turned out to be a one-night stand from hell. I have considered offering her money to leave Ava and me alone, but I don't want Ava to grow up without a mom.

  I'm not sure what kind of parent I would be on my own. I'm also not sure what kind of parent it makes me that I let Lindsay be around Ava when she is obviously a toxic person.

  Lindsay is not a good mom. She is worse than my mom. It would probably benefit Ava if she left, they don't have a connection, and she is hateful to her constantly. I think this week, when Lindsay is gone, I will talk with Rosa and see what she thinks. The only problem I will have is during the ball season when I'm out on away games. It would all depend on if Rosa is willing to take that big of a job. But something tells me she already does it when I'm gone anyway.

  I got lucky when I found out I had a baby coming, I called Rosa, and she left my parents and came out to Colorado to help me. Ava loves her, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. Rosa is like the grandmother she will never get from my side of the family. If I thought she did a fantastic job with me, when I was a boy, I hadn’t seen anything yet. She and Ava have a special bond.

  I have to get rid of all the toxic things in my life, and I know the best thing to do is to get rid of Lindsay. I don’t want my baby girl to grow up and feel the way about her mother that I do about mine. If I have the power to do something about this situation, then I need to man up and take charge.

  Chapter THIRTY-EIGHT

  Shay

  My first day went great if you can get past the fact that Luke's daughter is in my class. She is an angel, really the best kid I Have in the class. As soon as all the kids leave, I pull out my phone to call Emily. She will just flip about this. And I need to know how her first day went at her new job.

  "Hey best friend of mine who is officially a successful lawyer, how did your first day go?"

  "Shay! I'm so happy to hear from you. This day has been so fantastic, but so stressful, I just want to hear about how your day went. I need to get my mind off all this legal shit." I laugh.

  "Well, have I got a story for you..."

  And I proceed to tell her what happened today. She loved every bit of it. She has always been the one and only member of the Shay and Luke fan club, even though it was a very short-lived romance. She believes in a happily ever after love story, and she thinks that is what we have.

  I try to remind her I'm here with my fiancé, but she doesn't care. She wants me to call her as soon as I come to my senses and end it with Jacob to finally be with the man I secretly love. I sigh and get off the phone. She reads to many romance novels.

  There have always been too many obstacles standing in the way of Luke and me, and these present-day ones are far bigger than any we would have ever had to overcome.

  It's undeniable that I'm attracted to him, that I think about him constantly, but he has a wife and a kid, and a baseball career. I have a fiancé and job I just started in a new place. There is just no way any of this could ever work. Plus, I love Jacob, I'm going to marry him, right?

  I get home, and Jacob isn't home again. I have barely seen him since we moved out here. He works all the time.

  Ryder and I order a pizza and sit down to watch the game. The Mountaineers have a home game. I can feel my heart beating just watching him play ball on T.V.

  Ryder goes up to bed, and I clean up and find something else to watch after the game is over. I want to stay up and wait on Jacob, but it's after 11 and I have work tomorrow. I barely watch a show and then head to bed, I shoot him a text that I tried to stay up, but I need rest for work, and hear nothing back from him.

  The next morning, I can tell that he's been here and gone. I sigh and wonder if this is how my life is going to be and if I'll be okay with that. Then I wonder if I'm only stressing about it because a certain hunky ball player has walked back into my life. Would any of this even be an issue for me if a certain someone hadn't waltzed back into my life?

  I'm sitting at my desk that morning, and I know when he has walked into the room. All these years later and I can still feel his presence when he walks into a room.

  "What can I do for you, Luke?" I ask without looking up.

  "I see I still have the same effect on you that you do on me." He says, and I can tell he has a smirk on his face.

  I feel myself blush, and it's making me uncomfortable. I can't be this close to him; I can't be alone with him.

  "Luke." I chide.

  "Okay, okay, I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable Shay, I just needed to stop by and let you know that Ava will be getting dropped off and picked up by Rosa for the next week."

  I look up at him, recognizing the name Rosa as his maid from high school. "What about your wife?" I ask, then immediately regret it.

  He smiles at me. "My wife? I'm not married. I've never been married. If you’re talking about Ava's mom, I have no idea where she will be. She comes and goes out of Ava's life as she pleases, but I have some road games coming up, so Rosa is taking over."

  I stare at him, shocked. I was not expecting this. I did not expect to feel relieved that he isn't married, but also panicked because that is one less obstacle in the way. I quickly shake off my disbelief.

  "Okay, sounds good. Thanks for giving me a heads up." He turns to leave, and for some reason my mouth blurts out, "Good game last night."

  He turns back around and smiles at me as he backs out that door.

  I'm such a stupid stupid woman.

  CH
APTER THIRTY-NINE

  Luke

  I chuckle as I walk down the hallway. Just knowing she was watching my game last night does something to me. This woman drives me crazy. I have to have her back in my life again. I need to know why she is in Colorado.

  I think I will have to give Jimmy a call. If anyone knows, he will. They have always had a bond I didn't get to share with her. I pick up the phone and dial Jimmy.

  "What's up man," He says, and I can tell he is smiling.

  "Hey, just getting ready to head out on a road trip. But I have some crazy news."

  I tell him all about how Ava is in Shay's class. He laughs in complete disbelief.

  "Man, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she is out there with a fiancé. Good news is he is a tool and I never liked him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way, he is conceited, and he never liked her spending any time with me, but I think she just wanted a change, and they had been together for a while, so she went with it. I never felt like she really loved him."

  I can't lie that hearing she has a fiancé nearly kills me. I know that doesn't make pursuing her impossible, but it is an obstacle I wish I didn't have to overcome. How many years is she going to let go by before she finally gives in and realizes we are meant to be together. We have lost so much time we could have had together and that kills me.

  I chat with Jimmy about life for a little while longer before he has to go to hop on a plane. We make a promise to see each other as soon as we can.

  Lindsay just called me for the 4th time already this morning, I sigh and pick up the phone.

  "What do you want, Lindsay."

  "It's about time you answer the phone. Where are you? Where have you been? What are you doing?"

  "You have never had any right to know any of that information, so what is it you want." I bark into the phone.

  "I wanted to tell you I'm going to Paris for a month. Byron is taking me."

  "Why would that mean anything to me? "I ask. She huffs into the phone.