by Megan Ryder
She started to raise her hand to him, slowly, but the parade ended and the announcer came back on, bringing Dylan to the microphone. Colleen walked over and stood next to Savannah, studying her nervously, giving Dylan the evil eye.
Dylan took the microphone off of the stand and turned to her. “We don’t only want to help animals in need but honor the people who give up so much of themselves to help these animals. Today, part of the proceeds from the Bark in the Park ticket sales will go to Soul Paws Animal Rescue, run by Savannah Monroe and Colleen Hart.”
He paused, took a deep breath for courage. Time to lay it all on the line. He turned to face Savannah, letting his emotions show in his face, hoping she could see the love in his eyes. “I first met Savannah Monroe when I decided that I had no room in my life for a dog. I had no business having a dog, traveling all the time, odd hours at the ballpark. I wasn’t looking to save a dog; I wanted to be rid of her the easiest way possible so my life could go on as it was. Savannah saw my life as empty, much as my house was still the same showroom, model home used to sell homes in the development. Between her and Sadie, they bullied me into a life outside of baseball, showing me what love was all about. And I committed the unforgivable sin of not trusting them, hurting them both in the process.”
“The passion they have for the animals and for the rescue is unparalleled. And I questioned that. I questioned her. And for that, I’m sorry.” He paused, letting his words sink in, not sure what else to say.
Savannah never moved, just stared at him. Stacia motioned from the dugout to move things along. Damn.
He turned back to the crowd. “We’re pleased to donate this check to Soul Paws Animal Rescue on behalf of the Georgia Knights.”
A large cardboard check was carried out from the dugout and presented to Savannah and Colleen. They posed for pictures, with some of the players and the dogs. The crowds of people wove among them, separating them so that Dylan lost sight of Savannah and Carl. He tugged Sadie toward the dugout.
Maybe it truly was too little too late.
Savannah tried to focus on everyone telling her what to do, where to stand, where to look. All she wanted was to see Dylan, talk to him. But he seemed to have disappeared. She pushed through the crowd and looked around wildly for Dylan only to come face to face with Cody, who looked at her solemnly, and a bit disappointed.
“I thought better of you, Savannah,” he said quietly. “What more does he have to do to admit he was wrong?”
She let out an exasperated breath. “Stand still for one fucking minute so I could talk to him.”
A broad grin split his face. “Well, damn. Why didn’t you say that? He went down the tunnel to the locker room. Give him hell. Leave this big guy with me. I think we’ve bonded.”
He took Carl’s leash and sauntered over to the crowd for more pictures. She watched for a moment to see if Carl’s new separation anxiety would rear its ugly head but he seemed perfectly content to follow Cody and soak in all the attention.
She bolted down the steps, avoiding the players and saw a familiar shape, shoulders slumped, further down hallway, a dog walking by his side.
“Dylan!”
The figure paused but didn’t turn. The dog, however, began tugging backwards toward her, tailing wagging. She yanked the leash out of his hand and raced down the tunnel, almost knocking Savannah over in her zeal to greet her. Savannah knelt and hugged the dog, petting her and getting doggy kisses, knocked on her butt from Sadie’s exuberance.
A hand appeared in front of her. She looked up to see Dylan standing there, holding out his hand to help her up.
She placed her hand in his and he curled his fingers around hers, gently tugging her to her feet. When he would have let her go, she gripped tighter, stepping closer to him, tilting her head to look into his eyes. He looked so tired, so wary of what she was going to say.
“Dylan, you were right. I should have told you about Tom, should have at least said something about his offer. I never wanted to put you in that position. But I would have never tricked you into it.”
He nodded, mouth tight, his body rigid as if holding himself back. “I know that. You would never have done that and I should have trusted you.”
She advanced a step closer, until she could feel his body heat soaking into her chilled flesh, which had not been warm since the day he walked out of her life. She laid her other hand on his chest, relishing the feel of his body under her hand. “You did all of this for me?”
He swallowed, his body jerking under her touch, the tension radiating from every muscle. “Since I messed up you getting your sponsorship, I thought this would be the least I could do.”
“I could give a damn about the sponsorship. You were right about me, Dylan. I was pushing everyone away. Carl, you. Everyone. I was waiting for you to leave me and, instead of telling you, or even asking you for help, I decided to do it all on my own. I didn’t trust you. It was my fault. Can you forgive me?” She laid her hand on his cheek, feeling the muscle in his jaw jump under her fingers.
He curled a hand around hers and hope flared in his eyes and his lips parted. “I think we both have trust issues. But I’m willing to work on them if you are.”
She released his hand and slid it around his shoulder. “Do you think we could start again, try this one more time?”
“Absolutely not.” His words were swift, decisive. “I’m not going through this again. We continue from where we are now.”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, her head against his chest. “I love you, Savannah. I’m sorry I never told you before. I was just protecting my heart. I don’t know where I’ll be after the season, but I’ll do my best to figure this out.”
She leaned back. “Dylan, it’s been pointed out to me that I haven’t created as many roots here as I once thought. In fact, my job is portable. My rescue can be taken with me, or run from the distance with my network in place. The status is federal so I can start it somewhere else. And, let’s face it, there will always be animals in need. So, I think we’ll go whenever we need to.”
“But you hate moving.” His forehead crinkled and she stroked it lightly with one finger.
She shook her head. “I hate moving when I don’t have a choice. I have a choice and if I’m moving to be with you, then that’s all I need.”
She rose on her tip toes and brushed a kiss across his lips. “So, Mr. Prosser, what happens now?”
“Mr. Prosser gets his ass out on the field to play this game and hopefully get us to the playoffs. Then we renegotiate his contract so he can stay here in Georgia. That is, if you’ll let him go, Ms. Monroe. Would that be acceptable to you both?”
Savannah looked over her shoulder to see Stacia and another man standing there, a smirk on their faces. She started to move to the side, but Dylan held her place, hiding the erection that prodded her belly.
He nodded. “I think that could be arranged, assuming the terms meet my approval, Jason.”
Jason clapped him on the back. “I’ll leave that up to Lucas and the management team. Get yourself settled. You have ten minutes to game time. Ms. Monroe.” He nodded to Savannah and headed down the tunnel with Stacia holding his hand, tagging alongside him.
Dylan glanced up and down the tunnel, then dragged her into a maintenance room, closing the door behind them. Before she could speak, he covered her mouth in a heated kiss, ripping her breath from her. She moaned long and low and wrapped her arms around his neck. A banging on the door interrupted them.
“Goddamnit,” he muttered. “I’ll be right out there.”
A laugh came from the other side and Cody said, “Take your time. I’ll hang on to Sadie too.”
“Shit.” He lowered his head against her forehead. “This is so not the time or place.”
She stretched up and kissed him lightly, dancing away when he would have deepened it. “Later, cowboy. We have all night.”
“No,” he said. “We have the rest of our lives. If you’l
l have me.”
She arched her eyebrow at him. “Where’s the ring? You really think I’ll marry you with no contract, no ring, in a maintenance closet? You really need to up your game, Prosser.”
He grinned. “Damn, woman. I just got you a major sponsorship.”
“That was for my rescue. My heart is worth so much more.” She poked him in the chest.
He grabbed her hand and curled it in his, pulling it to his lips. “It’s worth everything.”
He kissed her hard and headed out to the ballpark. He’d won the girl; now to win the game.
Epilogue
The Knights had made it to the playoffs but, without Cody Patterson, their starting rotation wasn’t deep enough to make it in the playoffs and they were eliminated in game five of the division series. The team took the news pretty well, although Cody seemed to shoulder more of the blame then he needed to, requiring a little TLC time with Dylan.
Savannah had gotten quite busy with her rescue; the sponsorship of the Knights propelling her group into a bigger sphere of influence than before and she and Colleen were scrambling to keep up. They had to even hire staff for the rescue, office personnel and formal training staff. For the first time, Savannah was able to pull down a salary from the rescue and not just from her training jobs. She had unofficially moved in with Dylan and Cody was a frequent visitor, especially when Lindsey was staying there. Lindsey headed back to California shortly after the season, saying she had auditions and a career to manage. They hadn’t seen too many more reports of wild parties with Lindsey as the star attraction so hopefully she was getting her act together. But she had a tough row to hoe, as Savannah’s mother used to say.
Lucy had surprised Savannah sticking around in Savannah’s old house, even taking over the rent and helping out with the rescue. Animals were never going to be her thing, but she liked the office work and maybe she’d get some skills and find her place in the world.
Dylan had offered to buy the old shelter site for her and the rescue but she refused. There was no way she was letting him do that, no way she was even giving him the hint that she was with him for his money or position. They had gotten past that, or so she’d hoped, but those scars ran deep and there was no way she’d let them come between them again. He wasn’t even allowed to be her spokesman. She’d hired Nick Backus and his wife Gabrielle, who became one of her workers, for that job.
But Dylan had argued with her. “Why won’t you let me help you? You’re being stubborn again.”
She’d stood firm and refused. “This is my rescue and we’ll do it my way.”
Now that the season was over, she waited to see what his next steps were. He never referenced engagements or anything again. He was focused on contract negotiations and the possibility of free agency. He spent a lot of time on the phone with his agent, sequestered in the office, taking calls, heading to the stadium for discussions. The result was that she barely saw him until nighttime when they tumbled into bed where they communicated best.
One day in November, Colleen called, frantic. “You have to get to the old maintenance site. They sold it.”
Savannah’s heart plummeted, the breakfast she had just finished threatening to come up again. “What do you mean they sold it?”
“There was a developer interested in buying it. Jon told me last week. He put in a bid, way higher than we could afford. Today, I drove by and there was a sold sign by the road.”
Tears pooled in her eyes and she took a deep breath. “I’ll head out there now. Meet you there.”
Dylan walked in the kitchen, saw her face and came right over. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, tear streaking her face. “The site of the old shelter, the one I wanted to build my rescue? Colleen said they sold it. There was a developer interested and he outbid us. We lost our site.”
He folded her in his arms. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry. But you can find another place, right?”
She nodded against his shirt. “Yes, but that place was perfect, halfway built already and zoned. I have to go see it for myself.”
He stepped back and peered into her eyes, sympathy radiating in them. “Do you want me to come with you?”
She shook her head, dashing away the tears. “No, I’ll go with Colleen. We’ll be fine.”
She grabbed her jacket and purse and headed for the door, dread dogging her steps. She should have known the site wouldn’t stay empty for long. It was prime real estate, right along a major highway, the land already cleared. Perfect for a developer. Or a rescue. She stopped by Colleen’s office but Colleen had already left so she headed over to the site.
When she pulled up to the site, it was quiet, the only sound were the cars from the highway and the birds in the trees. No other cars were there so Colleen hadn’t made it yet. But it was as Colleen said. There was a sold sign over the For-Sale sign. She’d call the real estate agent but that was pretty solid proof that they had lost the bid. She got out of the Suburban and walked the site for the last time, her dreams fading away.
As she walked around the back of the old shelter site, Dylan stood in the clearing, two dogs sitting by his side, his hands clasped behind him. Carl and Sadie weren’t on leashes but sat perfectly still, not even a twitch.
He wore a pair of charcoal pants and a black button down shirt with a tie. Completely different than what he had worn that morning, barely an hour before. Confused, she stopped and stared.
“Dylan, what are you doing here?”
He looked at her solemnly and lowered his hands to each dog’s head, a gentle nudge to Carl, who stood and slowly walked to her. “I know you said you wanted to do this on your own, that you didn’t want to use me or my name for your rescue. But relationships are about two people working together toward a common goal, toward being one. This is your goal. It’s important to you and what’s important to you is important to me.”
Carl sat in front of her and she noticed a piece of paper rolled up, hanging from the scarf around his neck. She bent down and unhooked it from his collar. She unrolled it and gasped, her hand covering her mouth. “Dylan, did you...?”
“The developer was going to outbid you so I added to your bid, making sure you could get this site. You could rebuild your dream somewhere else but, as you said, this site was perfect.”
Tear flowed again, streaking down her face. “I can’t accept this.”
“You’re not accepting it. I donated it to the rescue, not you. Now, you can build your dream, your haven for Soul Paws.”
She was shaking her head, crying. “What if you get traded or accept another contract?”
He nudged Sadie who wasn’t quite as docile as Carl, racing over to Savannah and jumping on her. She too had a similar piece of paper around her neck and Savannah extracted that.
“It’s a contract for seven years with the Knights. It’s the longest my agent would let me sign. There’s a no trade clause in there unless I approve the trade. And, I can always have my home base here in Savannah.”
He walked the several yards until he stood in front of her. “My home is here, with you. And this is where we belong. Always.”
She was crying so hard, she was shaking. “But Dylan, I would go with you anywhere.”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “I know.” He got down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Savannah Georgia Monroe and stay with me here in Savannah forever?”
She pressed her fist into her mouth, choking sobs. How had he completely broken down all of her defenses so completely, so irrevocably in so short a time? She nodded, then shook her head.
“No, I’ll marry you, Dylan but I’ll go with you wherever we want to go. Anytime, anywhere. I love you.”
He rose to his feet and gathered her up in a fierce hug, shaking as hard as she was, holding her so hard, she almost couldn’t breathe. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest, crying into his shirt, soaking the fabric.
Finally, the tears slowed and she lift
ed her head. “Well, you certainly topped your apology. I can only imagine what our wedding will be like.”
He groaned. “Damn. I can’t keep setting the bar so high.”
She laughed and kissed him, then a sound penetrated and she turned.
Standing by the building stood their friends, Colleen and Jon, Lucy, Lindsey, Cody, Alex, Nick and Gabriella, clapping and cheering. She wiped her eyes and Colleen came over with a packet of tissues and a quick hug. Everyone crowded around them at once, hugging and talking. Dylan never let her go however, keeping his arm firmly tucked around her shoulders.
“You can let me go, you know. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Not on your life. I let you go once, and I’ll never make that mistake again. You changed my life and I’m not letting my game changer go. Not for an instant.”
The End
The Knights of Passion Series
A team of team of sexy, dedicated men and women who love baseball and are filled with the competitive fire to win on the field and off the field. These are men and women who have been tested by life. They have found a place that they can call home and people they can call family.
Book 1: Going all the Way
Book 2: Love from Left Field
Book 3: The Game Changer
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About the Author
Ever since Megan Ryder discovered Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught while sneaking around the “forbidden” romance section of the library one day after school, she has been voraciously devouring romance novels of all types. Now a romance author in her own right, Megan pens sexy contemporary novels all about family and hot lovin’ with the boy next door. She lives in Connecticut, spending her days as a technical writer and her spare time divided between her addiction to knitting and reading.