The Curve Ball

by Emilia Beaumont

  “But you’ll let me see him?” I asked, needing to make sure.

  “Of course, we’d have to figure things out and make sure James was okay with it… but I know he will love to have you in his life.”

  What she was proposing was something she didn’t have to do and I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from crying. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “I would hope someone would’ve done the same for me if our roles had been reversed,” Jessica responded with a sigh. “And I’ve checked. You’re a successful woman with no criminal background. It’ll hurt for a bit, but together we can get through this. It’ll be better than having to sneak around on the ballfield, anyway. My son,” she paused and lifted her gaze from her lap to my eyes, “our son, can be quite sneaky when he want to be.”

  “I would like that,” I said, giving her a smile knowing how much saying those words could wound a person. “I promise I won’t butt into your lives, I just want to get to know him.”

  She returned my smile and it was like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Everything was going to work out just fine.

  Now I could only hope that my relationship with Luke could have the same type of resolution. I knew he was coming back, I just didn’t know what that meant for us. I worried that every day I was near him, I lost a little piece of my heart to him, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but god I wanted this to be something permanent. I really did.

  29

  Luke

  I shouldered the duffel bag and stared up at the house before me that looked familiar but didn’t feel like home. Gray skies threatened rain on the horizon and it gave the whole place an ominous feel. I felt tired, last night’s activities and lack of sleep made me wish I’d been able to sleep on the plane. But I was too jacked, too worried about the visit. I didn’t know how they were going to react to seeing me and everything that had happened since I’d left or if they were going to see me at all.

  “I don’t know how you rope me into this kind of shit, son.”

  I looked over at Parsons and gave him a grin. “You love it. Admit it, you missed me.”

  He gave me the middle finger and shook his head. “You better be grateful I’m not charging a fee for taxiing you around out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Thanks for doing this,” I added.

  He nodded tightly and walked back to the car. “You better cut them some slack, too, or I’ll tan your hide myself.”

  “Good to see you, too, Parsons,” I called as he climbed back into the car and drove away. I didn’t really want to call my dad to pick me up at the airport and because Parsons was the only other person who knew the address of my parent’s place, I had called him again. This time, I told him all about my life in Jupiter on the ride over, even mentioning Cara a time or two.

  It had been extremely difficult to leave her bed this morning, wanting to stay under the covers with her for a little bit longer but knew I couldn’t miss my flight. So I had pressed a light kiss on her bare shoulder and snuck out as the sun was beginning to rise, making a stop at my apartment to gather my shit before hopping on the flight. Now I was here and I really didn’t know what I was going to say.

  The front door opened and my dad stepped out, surprise registering on his face before he started down the stairs, clearing his throat. “Why are you here? I can’t believe you actually came.”

  “Hi, dad,” I said, shifting my stance as he approached me. “I guess you know about what happened?”

  He gave me a look before finally shaking his head. “Yeah, Parsons called us. Are you all right?”

  I nodded. While the encounter had been harsh, a few bruises and some soreness had been all that I’d come away with. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  He turned and started back up the stairs, motioning with his hand. “Well come on then. No need to stand outside. I was going to go to the store, but that can wait now. Your mom is inside.”

  The house still smelled like apple pie even after all of these years. He led me into the living room, where mom was lounging on the couch, the droll of the TV in the background.

  “Look who’s come home,” my dad said. She looked up and I saw the surprise, then the tears in her eyes as she rose from the couch and pulled me into her arms. She felt frail as I held her and I swallowed hard against the sudden rush of tears that clogged my throat. “Hi, mom,” I forced out.

  “Oh my baby,” she cooed, her tears soaking the front of my shirt. “Parsons told us what happened! Are you sure you are okay?”

  I nodded and pulled back. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

  She gave me the motherly once over, satisfaction on her face as she saw I wasn’t wearing a sling or had anything broken. “He said there was a girl involved as well. Is she all right?”

  I thought about Cara’s bruise on her face and nodded tightly. She was dealing. “She’s tough, just bruised.”

  Mom’s eyes narrowed slightly, smiling a little and she gave me a look. “So who is she?”

  “Justine, let the boy sit first,” my dad interrupted with a sigh. “Before you start prying into his personal life.”

  “Ignore him. Come tell me. Sit,” my mom said as she led me to the couch. “Do you want anything to drink or eat? I’m cooking pot roast tonight.”

  I thought about how much I missed my mom’s cooking and shook my head. “I’m good until later.”

  She nodded and I leaned back on the couch, feeling like a teen-ager all over again. Except they kind of felt like strangers. I shouldn’t have been gone so long. “So, who is she?”

  “She’s a marriage therapist,” I said, a smile curving on my lips. “Cara is her name. We’ve been, uh, dating for a few weeks.”

  “Ooh, a marriage therapist,” she said, her eyes lighting up with interest. “Well you won’t have to worry about your relationship or marriage then.”

  “Justine, for Christ’s sake,” my dad groaned. “They have only been together a few weeks. I’m sure he’s not thinking about marriage.”

  I grinned. I had done a lot of thinking on the plane ride over about us. While marriage was a bit farfetched, I knew I wanted her to move in when I got back or vice versa. We had something special.

  “Why are you here, son?” my dad asked softly, his eyes on me.

  I swallowed and wiped my palms on my jeans, feeling suddenly nervous. I wasn’t here to talk about my life. “I wanted to apologize for everything I have done. I wanted to have a life, to try and forget what had happened, but I wasn’t fair to you both. I should have never left.”

  “Oh, Marcus,” my mom sighed, patting my knee affectionately.

  “Luke, please.”

  She signed again then nodded. “Luke, your father and I have talked about this numerous times since it happened and we weren’t really fair to you, either. We upended your life, you were still a kid so we had no choice, but you were also practically an adult, too. We didn’t expect how much everything would change for you. That was wrong on our part, wasn’t it, Harold?”

  “Um yeah,” my dad added, looking somewhat sheepish. “I thought I was protecting you and your mom. I didn’t think about how you would feel about leaving everything you knew.”

  “I was wrong, too,” I also added, embarrassed that they were attempting to shoulder the blame of a stupid, hot-headed teen-ager. “I made y’all worry for no reason.”

  “Well,” my dad said, slapping his own knee. “We won’t have to worry about it for long. The trial is finally happening and the district attorney told me they have a solid case. Everything will be over with and then we all will be able to move on with our lives.”

  I stared at him, trying to picture what that was going to be like for all of us. I had been on my own for so long that the witness protection thing hadn’t bothered me in years, but for my parents, it had to be a new lease on life. “What is your plan?” I asked.

  “We were kind of thinking about staying here,” my mom said slowly. “I’ve got to finish my
treatments and your dad and I have grown pretty attached to this house. Parsons said he thinks he can make that happen for a while. Why? Are you thinking about coming home?”

  I thought about Cara and what we had started together. I thought about the Little League team that I wanted to keep coaching. And maybe after all of this was over with and we were truly free to do whatever the hell we wanted to do, I could see if I still had what it takes, and try out for a minor-league team. That thought made me extremely pumped for the future. With Cara by my side, hell I could do anything. But leave Florida? No, I didn’t want to do that.

  “I don’t think so,” I said finally, giving her a soft smile. “I have my own life in Florida now.”

  “And a woman,” my dad added gruffly. I grinned then.

  “Yeah, Cara, too, if she will have me after everything I’ve put her through.”

  “Well you should bring her up here,” my mom decided, patting my knee. “So we can meet her. Or one day when I’m well enough we can come see you.”

  “And ask her a ton of questions, the poor girl,” my dad grumbled. “Come on, can we eat now? I’m hungry.”

  My mom shot him a look but she got off of the couch anyway, patting my cheek before exiting the room.

  I glanced over at my dad and swallowed hard. “Listen, dad, I’m sorry.”

  He waved his hand, cutting off my apology. “Water under the bridge. I’m just happy you’re here now and you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

  I sat back and looked up at the ceiling. He was right. We had made our peace and soon we were all going to be free of the weight that had crippled our lives for years. I would be able to return home feeling more like my old self and finally figure out this thing between me and Cara before I decided what the rest of my life was going to be like. I just hoped that when I decided, Cara was going to be right there with me.

  30

  Cara

  I tossed my hair over my shoulder and nervously climbed the steps to Luke’s apartment, both nervous and excited to see him finally after weeks apart. He’d texted the day before to let me know he was back in town, but between my back-to-back sessions with my patients, including a few emergency ones, and his need to work late, we hadn’t been able to find the time to get together. So I had been happy to get his text message that afternoon, inviting me over to his place. I had missed him and I hadn’t realized exactly how much until I had received his message.

  Knocking on the door, I wondered what we were going to do that night. Hell, I was going to jump him at some point, that was for sure. I’d dreamed about him and couldn’t wait to feel him under my skin again. I just couldn’t figure out if I wanted it to be then or later. The door opened and I smiled as his handsome form filled the doorway, my breath leaving my body.

  “Hey,” he said, leaning against the doorway. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

  “Hey, yourself,” I smirked and leaned in for a kiss. His lips brushed mine and I felt the tingle down my spine of things to come. “Can I come in?”

  He stepped aside and I walked into his apartment, noting immediately that there were boxes everywhere. “What’s going on?”

  Luke shut the door and walked over to the kitchen, where some of the cabinets were opened. “Packing is what’s going on. It’s such a mess, though. How can one person hoard all this stuff in less than three years?”

  I swallowed, some of my excitement dying. I knew he had gone to see his parents, but had they talked him into going home? Was he leaving now? He peeked under the cabinet, his smile dying as well. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  “Are you leaving?” I blurted out, feeling sick to my stomach… and not for the first time that day, either.

  “Leaving?” he echoed, placing the cups into the box. “Well yeah, that’s what happens when you pack.”

  No, no, no. This could not be happening! I didn’t want him to leave, not now! What was I going to do? I was repairing my relationship with James, potentially carrying Luke’s child, and thought that his feelings were as strong as mine were. But he was acting so casual about leaving. Did I truly not know this man at all?

  The door opened behind me and the guy from the ballfield the other night, Darren, if I remembered correctly, walked through, his whistle dying as he saw me standing there. “Dude, you didn’t tell me you had company.”

  “Cara, this is Darren,” Luke said, turning back to the cabinet. “Darren, this is Cara.”

  “We’ve already met,” I added, sticking out my hand. He nodded and shook it quickly, looking a bit embarrassed to be doing so. “I, uh, I’m coming to get some more boxes.”

  “Go ahead,” Luke called out. Darren gave me a quick grin before disappearing down the hall, leaving us alone once more. I eased around the counter, afraid that my legs weren’t going to hold me up much longer as I took a seat on the barstool.

  “So are you going back home?” I asked hesitantly, not really wanting to hear his answer. Of course he was going back home, back to his parents. He’d said in our calls while he was away that’d they’d settled the air, made peace and he was happy spending time there and helping out his ill mom. So him going was the only logical answer.

  “Home?” Luke asked, shutting one of the cabinets before looking at me. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well you are packing,” I said slowly. “I don’t want you to leave Luke.” There. I had said it. I didn’t want him to go.

  He chuckled and shook his head, leaning over to grasp my cold hands in his warm ones. “Why is that?”

  I sighed. “Why do you think, you idiot? I, hell, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  His eyes widened and I cursed inwardly. Wasn’t that like rule number two in the things a girl shouldn’t ever say first to a guy?

  “No,” he finally said, rubbing a thumb over my knuckles idly. “I’m not going home.”

  “I’m confused,” I admitted, though a small sigh of relief erupted inwardly. He wasn’t leaving. So what was he doing?

  He brought up my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Our lease is up and we decided not to renew it. Darren and I have to be out by tomorrow.”

  “Oh, oh!” I said, hoping that the relief wasn’t that blatant on my face. His lease. Of course. “Where are you going to go?”

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Luke continued, a twinkle in his eyes. He wasn’t stupid. He knew what I was thinking all along and pulled me along for the ride. “Darren is moving in with his girl and her kid, so I am down a roommate.”

  “That’s a shame,” I said breathlessly.

  “A damn shame,” he repeated. “I was kind of hoping I could find a cuter roommate this time. Darren is not very good eye-candy in the evenings.”

  I burst into laughter, the rest of my worry ebbing away. We were going to be okay. This was going to be okay. “I think Darren would take that to heart.”

  In one swift movement I was in his embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around me as he looked slightly down at me.

  “I think I’m falling in love with you too, Cara,” Luke blurted out, a sheepish look on his face. “You are all I can think about these days. And if you don’t want to move in together, that’s fine. I’ll find someplace close to you, but I can’t guarantee that I will spend a ton of time there… I’m going to be wherever you are.”

  “Oh you’re gonna stalk me now, are you?”

  “You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

  I grinned and ran my hands up his strong back, and tilted my head to the side, seriously considering the notion of us living together. “So you want to move in together?”

  He nodded, his eyes on mine. “It will save us a lot of money in the long run. And it’ll mean I can do this any time I want.”

  His lips touched my exposed neck and he kissed up to my jawline.

  “Mmm, I do like when you do that. But I think we’ll need to find a bigger place.”

  Luke frowned as his grip loosened a bit. “Why
is that? Your place is big enough.”

  I gave him a secret smile. “Well, I’ll have to think about James. He might want to stay over some nights, if his parents let him.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  “Besides…” I said, hoping the next words out of my mouth wouldn’t make him flee for the hills like the last time. “It might not be just us in say nine months’ time.”

  It took him only a few second to figure out what I was saying, his eyes widening before he looked down between us. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Not confirmed,” I added hastily. “But I really think I could be. It feels just like the last time…”

  “A kid,” he said, wonder in his voice. “We are going to have a kid together?” I nodded, unable to speak. This was what had been missing the first time. Instead of feeling like an idiot for getting pregnant, I was looking forward to the day that I could see Luke holding our child. He was going to be a great father.

  He gathered me close and held me to him, where I could hear the rapid beating of his heart in his chest. We were going to take this adventure together and no doubt it was going to be a pretty amazing one at the same time. “Yeah, we are going to need a bigger place.”

  “I got some ideas,” I said, thinking about James’ house. I wanted a house to call my own, and not just somewhere above the office, which encouraged me to work later and later in the evenings. A place that I could not only make room for the potentially new addition of our lives, but also for my son. I’d definitely outgrown my apartment in more ways than one. Besides, I had enough money in the bank to find something. It was time to step into adulthood and put some roots down. We were going to be a family.

  Luke pulled back and placed a hand on my still-flat stomach, where I was almost ninety-nine percent sure there was a life growing inside. It would have to wait another week for confirmation—I’d already missed my period—but in my heart, I knew I was pregnant.