Summer on Main Street

by Crista McHugh

  She was an itch he’d needed to scratch.

  She marched over to the breakfast table, yanked out a chair, and sat. After swallowing a big gulp of coffee and burning her mouth, she stood up again, too restless to sit still.

  She should never have given in to him last night. She should have said no.

  The soreness between her legs reminded her of how good it had been.

  Okay, fine. She was glad she’d said yes. She didn’t regret making love with him. He’d proven to her that she still had it. She hadn’t turned into an old, sexless maid after all.

  If he wanted to act like nothing happened, like last night wasn’t the most incredible night of their lives, then she’d just do the same. And next time he got that sexy look in his eye that said he wanted to rip her clothes off… well, she’d just resist.

  Yeah, sure she would. She could no more resist Jack McCauley’s kisses than she could resist a bowlful of chocolate ones.

  ***

  Jack opened his locker and pulled out what he needed for the road trip and shoved it into his duffel bag. Ryan sat on the wooden bench between the rows of lockers, alternately putting on his socks and shoes, and texting someone. Probably Zoey. A relationship that would only lead to heartbreak. For her more than him, most likely. Jack didn’t know how it could end any other way if the kid was focused on his ball career.

  His own phone vibrated on the bench where he’d left it. He glanced down at it. Beth. His body tightened.

  The phone vibrated again and Ryan said, “Dude. Your phone.” Like Jack couldn’t hear it? “It’s your girlfriend.”

  “Beth isn’t my girlfriend.”

  “Uh huh. So why were you late this morning?”

  Jack’s mouth thinned. He’d completely overslept the alarm on his phone. In fact, he didn’t even remember it going off. He’d groggily woken up beside Beth on her couch, her naked body spooning against him, and he’d wanted nothing better than to wake her up and continue where they’d left off. He lost track of how many times they’d made love throughout the evening, night, and well into the morning hours.

  When he’d realized he’d overslept, he’d been so mad at himself for getting so distracted, he’d written her a quick note, started the coffee to make himself feel a bit less like an ass, then jetted out of there, leaving her to wake up alone. He arrived at the team meeting ten minutes late. He was never late. Ever. The coaching staff had scowled at him throughout their talk.

  “You look pissed off,” Ryan said. “You guys get into a fight?”

  Jack didn’t answer.

  Ryan stared at him. “You took off without saying goodbye, didn’t you?”

  How the hell could the kid have known that? He must have seen the guilty expression on Jack’s face.

  “No, that’s not an asshole move.” Ryan turned his back on Jack to finish getting dressed.

  The kid was right. He’d been an ass. Seven years ago, he would’ve given anything to wake up next to Beth in the morning, rather than sneaking around together, stealing intimate time wherever and whenever they could get it. Seven years ago, even if he’d been running late, he would at least have kissed her good-bye, maybe copped another feel or two before leaving. Seven years ago, he’d been young enough and dumb enough to think he could make a temporary relationship with her work, without anyone getting hurt.

  But could they make it work now? He could handle a physical-only relationship, but could she? Or would she want more, as she had seven years ago? They probably shouldn’t have started anything they couldn’t finish.

  But that realization didn’t excuse his asshole behavior. Beth deserved way better than that. He grabbed up his phone and called her back. After a few rings, he expected to get her voicemail, but she finally answered.

  “Hi Jack.” Her tone was short.

  “Hey. We’re just about to take off but I wanted to call you first and, ah…” He scratched his neck. God. Just hearing her voice made him go all soft inside. He couldn’t wait to see her again. His emotions were schizophrenic when it came to her. Just thirty seconds ago he’d ignored her call and told himself he didn’t need to get involved with her.

  He turned away from Ryan and lowered his voice. “Last night was incredible—you completely wore me out,” he said, grinning at the memories. “I overslept my alarm and was running late. Sorry for leaving like I did. That was a total dickhead move.”

  Silence. Hmm. Had she hung up on him? He was about to ask if she was still there, when she said, “Okay. Thank you for the apology. After reading your note, I thought—” Her voice broke and he felt about an inch tall.

  “You thought you were just an itch I had to scratch,” he said, using her line from last night. He couldn’t blame her for feeling that way after his behavior this morning.

  “Well… yeah.”

  “Should I apologize again?”

  Her soft laugh echoed in his ear and the sexy sound made him wish he wasn’t leaving town for a few days. “Yeah. You should.”

  He glanced at Ryan, who wasn’t paying any attention to him, but he kept his voice low anyway. “When I get back in town next weekend, if we can swing some time alone, I promise to make up for my thoughtlessness by…” He whispered a few dirty things into the phone. Her shocked gasp delighted him.

  “I’m going to hold you to that, Mr. McCauley.”

  “I hope that’s not all you’ll hold.”

  “Okay, Mr. One-Track Mind, but speaking of next weekend… It’s Lindsey’s birthday next Saturday. Are you in town?”

  Jack didn’t have to look at a calendar—he knew the team schedule by heart. “Not until late. We have an afternoon game in Pasco. She’s going to be seven, right? I’d like to get her something—any suggestions?” Beth gave him a few ideas. “And sorry again about this morning.”

  What was it about this woman that made him beg for her forgiveness? Maybe because she didn’t ask for the apology, or even expect it. Maybe because she made no demands on him relationship-wise. Maybe because she understood him like none of his other girlfriends had. Not that Beth was his girlfriend. “If I wasn’t such a selfish ass, I’d marry you.” Where the fuck had that come from?

  Ryan glanced up at him, his eyes wide. Shit. He hadn’t meant to say it that loudly. He hadn’t meant to say it at all.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Beth asked after a few moments of silence. She was probably as stunned as he was by the words.

  He turned his shoulder away from Ryan and lowered his voice. “Well, yeah. I am. But…” Stop talking right there, Jack. Don’t say anything more. “But it kinda makes sense if you think about it.” Damn. He hated it when he didn’t listen to himself. “You and I get along great, if last night was any indication.” He was getting hard just thinking about how great they’d gotten along. “You understand me like no one else does. It would make it easier for me to see Lindsey—and she already thinks we’re getting married anyway.” Silence on the line. He glanced at his phone screen to see if he’d dropped the call. Nope.

  “People don’t get married just because it ‘makes sense’, Jack,” she finally said, her tone measured and even. “Or for any of those other reasons you mentioned.”

  He told himself it was relief he felt. “You’re right. It was a dumb idea. I was just… thinking out loud.”

  ***

  “Oh, my God! Congratulations!” Zoey rushed across the store and threw her arms around Beth the minute she walked into the shop later that afternoon.

  Beth peeled Zoey’s arms off her. “For...?”

  “I heard Jack proposed! Is it true he’s Lindsey’s real dad?”

  For a moment, time stood still. The two customers in the store, Margie Halverson and her daughter Cara, turned and stared open-mouthed. Susie stood wide-eyed behind the counter, and Tara popped her head out of the office. For once, even her oldest sister was speechless.

  “I don’t know where you heard that, but we’re not getting married.” Beth forced a smile. “But thanks fo
r announcing it to the world,” she muttered under her voice. Mrs. Halverson and her daughter would have it all around town by morning. If Zoey hadn’t texted, tweeted, Facebooked, whatever’d it already.

  God. She was going to be sick. This was so not what she needed right now.

  “But Ryan heard—” Zoey began.

  “Ryan heard wrong,” she said tightly. She motioned for Susie and Tara to join her in the office.

  Susie shut the office door behind her the moment Beth crossed the threshold. “Married?!!!” Her eyes danced with excitement.

  Tara sat on the edge of the desk, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyebrows rose in question. She didn’t look nearly as excited as Susie. Not excited at all, in fact.

  Beth held up her hands. “We’re not getting married,” she said. She still couldn’t believe Jack had even mentioned it. And she couldn’t believe the brief thrill his words had given her.

  “Why did Zoey think you were?” Susie scooted next to Tara, her hip hanging off the side of the desk.

  “She said Ryan told her,” Tara said.

  Beth leaned back against the door, keeping her voice low. “Ryan must have been eavesdropping on our phone conversation. I think they were in the locker room at the time.”

  Tara’s eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Ooh, were they naked?”

  Susie slapped her arm and shushed her. “Well, the M word must have come up in your conversation for Ryan to think that. He’s not like Miss Social Media out there…” She motioned toward the store, referring to their young clerk.

  Beth looked at Lindsey’s photo on the corkboard behind her sisters’ heads. The same photo that started this whole mess. No, that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t a mess. It was just an unexpected and complicated situation. She let out a long breath. “Jack slept over last night.”

  Susie slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide above her fingers.

  “When you say ‘slept over’, can we assume you don’t mean a sleepover with sleeping bags, popcorn and all of Lindsey’s little friends?” Tara asked with a smirk.

  “Lindsey spent the night elsewhere.”

  “So? Give us the details,” Tara said.

  Susie hit Tara’s arm. “That’s none of our business. But I bet it was wonderful, wasn’t it, Beth?” Her voice was dreamy.

  “No. It was horrible.”

  Her sisters’ eyes widened in shock.

  Beth couldn’t help laughing. “No. That was amazing. More than amazing.” She’d never had so many orgasms in such a short period of time in her life. She sighed. And she probably never would again.

  “Earth to Beth,” Tara said dryly. Susie giggled.

  Beth’s face heated up. “Sorry. What I meant was, he left before I woke up. Without saying goodbye. He overslept his alarm and God knows he can’t be even a second late for anything baseball related. He left me a pot of coffee brewing and an impersonal note propped next to it.”

  “Bastard.” That word pretty much summed up Tara’s feelings for men in a nutshell.

  “But he started the coffee. That was sweet,” Susie added.

  Beth resisted rolling her eyes. Her baby sister was such a romantic, always finding the best in others, even when they didn’t deserve it. “So I called him to tell him what a dickhead move that was, but he apologized and said how much fun he had last night and how he couldn’t wait to see me again.” She left out the really naughty things he told her he had planned for their next rendezvous. “And then he kinda sorta asked me to marry him.”

  “Oh, that’s so romantic,” Susie gushed.

  Tara slapped Susie’s arm. “No, it’s not. It’s awful.”

  Beth pointed at Tara. “Thank you.” She gave Susie a dirty look. “He said it in an offhand manner, like a joke. But then it’s like he rethought about it on the spot. He said we get along well and that I understand him like nobody else does.”

  Susie pressed her fingers to her mouth and her eyes welled up. “That’s so sweet.”

  Tara looked horrified. “That’s awful.”

  Beth nodded to Tara. “Exactly.”

  Susie rose to all five-foot-two of her height and planted her hands on her hips, looking put out. “Tell me why it’s awful for a filthy rich, handsome man—one you’re crazy about and have amazing sex with, by the way, but we’re not going to talk about any of that—to want to marry you?”

  Beth let out a loud breath. “Because he would never in a million years have asked me if it wasn’t for Lindsey. He only asked because it ‘makes sense’.” She curved her fingers into quotation marks.

  “He didn’t say that.” Tara narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

  Susie’s shoulders slumped as she sat back on the edge of the desk. “He really said that? In those exact words? You’re not just telling us he said that to make a point?”

  “He used those exact words. He also said it would make it easier for him to build a relationship with Lindsey.”

  “Jerk,” from Tara.

  “Well, that does make sense,” offered Susie.

  “No. It doesn’t,” Beth said. “You don’t get married just because it makes sense. Been there, done that. Remember?”

  Susie slumped again. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Such a romantic at heart, she wanted everyone to find true love, including herself eventually. After she found the right wedding dress, of course.

  “So you turned him down.” That from Tara.

  “Of course, I did. And you should’ve heard the relief in his voice, like he’d shocked himself by even bringing it up.” Seven years ago, she’d spent hours daydreaming and fantasizing about Jack asking her to run away with him, moving in together, then eventually getting married. She imagined flowers, heartfelt words, passionate kisses. Not an unemotional, unfeeling statement about it making sense.

  That’s how David had proposed to her. Saying that it made sense.

  How’d that work for you, Beth?

  She wanted to scream, cry, or throw things. Or burst into uncontrollable, manic laughter. She rubbed her hands over her face. “But do you know what’s crazy? It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes. Can you believe that? Have I learned nothing from all this?”

  “It’s because you’re in love with him,” Susie said softly.

  “Oh, don’t say that,” Tara huffed, making a face.

  “She’s not denying it,” Susie noted.

  Beth’s face heated up. “Okay, fine. Yes. I am still in love with him.” She ignored her older sister’s sound of disgust. “But my feelings for him aren’t the issue here. He would never have asked me to marry him if not for Lindsey. David wouldn’t have asked me to marry him if not for Lindsey. There’s a pattern here. I love my daughter and would do almost anything for her, but I can’t go into a loveless marriage again. I just can’t. Especially knowing, when push comes to shove, Jack McCauley will put the game first. Over anything or anyone else.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What the hell was that today, McCauley?”

  Jack pulled the cell phone away from his ear at his agent’s rant that was probably loud enough to wake the entire bus. “I had a bad game.”

  “That’s a fucking understatement,” Kyle barked. “These last two series have been a shit-hole for you. What the hell is going on?”

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  Kyle spewed some expletives into his ear. “What the fuck is more important than your job of getting back to the majors?”

  “Nothing is more important.” As if to contradict his words, Beth’s and Lindsey’s faces popped into his mind’s eye. He mentally shoved them away. “You know that. But…”

  He glanced around the crowded bus. Everyone within hearing range was either sleeping, had earbuds on, or both, including Ryan, who sat next to him with his eyes closed. Jack could hear the kid’s music from here. Still, he kept his voice on the down low. “Word got out that Lindsey is mine, so Beth told her the truth about me.”

  “So?”

&
nbsp; Kyle could be so dense sometimes. “So… suddenly I am a father.” It wasn’t that long ago that he couldn’t have even thought those words without feeling sick to his stomach.

  “You’ve known she was your bio kid for a while. What’s the big deal now?”

  “Because now Lindsey knows I’m her dad. Now, it’s real. I can’t let her down.”

  “Okay. Fine. You’re trying to earn Daddy of the Year honors. But what’s the excuse for the shitty play lately? The only thing that’s ever caused any of my clients to lose their focus was a wo—” Silence on the line. “Goddamn it, McCauley. You’re sleeping with the mother again, aren’t you?”

  “That’s none of your damn business,” Jack hissed, glancing at Ryan. The kid was nodding his head to the beat of his music.

  “So the answer is yes.”

  He wouldn’t dignify that with a response. But Kyle was right. Beth had gotten under his skin. She was all he’d thought about this past week. One minute, he’d think he needed to put the kibosh on their relationship, other than sharing parenting duties to Lindsey. The next minute, he was freaking out that he’d flippantly proposed, and how she’d get the wrong idea about what was going on between them. Then the very next minute, he was thinking how amazing it would be to wake up next to her each morning. Shit.

  Any way you looked at it, he was fucked in the head.

  When Kyle finally spoke again, his voice was calmer. “You don’t have time for a family right now, Jack. You know that, right? Contract year, buddy.”

  Jack hissed through his teeth. “I have to make the time. I don’t have a choice anymore.”

  “All I know is that you’d better keep your dick in your pants, and figure out how to balance daddyhood with the game, or you’re going to be working at it fulltime from your permanent home as the most popular high school baseball coach in How-the-Fuck-Did-I-Get-Here, USA. And happy birthday to me for losing one of my best clients.”