They watched in relative silence for the first few innings. Occasionally, Garrett would throw out a supportive cheer for Jace’s team. Trish found herself getting fairly invested in the game, wishing fervently for Jace’s first experience playing on a team to be a win. She didn’t want to see either team lose, of course, but she had absolutely no clue how to console a sad ten-year-old.
When it was finally Jace’s turn at bat, Trish found herself holding her breath in nervous anticipation. She wished for him to get a decent enough hit to, at least, get on base.
The auburn-haired boy strode up to the plate, his bat looking nearly as big and heavy as he was.
“Come on, Jace!” Garrett cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted down to the boy. Jace heard his name and turned towards the bleachers. His face lit up when he saw Garrett and he waved.
Trish’s heart melted but there wasn’t any time to revel in the cuteness. Jace was up to bat. Trish held her breath as the first pitch came in.
Strike one.
Trish cringed but tried to keep a smile on, though she knew Garrett wasn’t going to tear his eyes from the boy. In came the second pitch and…
A hit!
“Go, Jace, go!” Trish joined in the cheers from the crowd as the line drive to deep left gave Jace a chance to get on base. He did easily and Trish finally let out a whoosh of relief.
“Seems like you taught him very well,” Trish commented and rubbed a hand along Garrett’s back. He turned to her with such a look of pure joy and adoration in his face, she was sure her ovaries did a little dance.
In that instance, she made her decision. Life with Garrett was too precious an opportunity to let pass. She had to talk to him.
∞ ∞ ∞
Several more innings passed before Trish was fully able to get up the courage, no matter her newfound resolve. With the sun beating down from a clear sky and all the kids and parents having a good time, Trish didn’t want to mar the atmosphere of this day with a possible disagreement.
Jo’s words kept ringing in her ears, though. Garrett would be thrilled about the idea of moving in together, she’d said. So, what was Trish waiting for?
“Garrett, can we talk about something?” she finally asked.
Heaven help her, she hadn’t been paying close enough attention to the batting order on Jace’s team. It was his turn again.
“Jace is up again,” Garrett pointed out and Trish very nearly smacked her head with her hand. “Can it wait just one minute, babe?”
“Of course,” she mumbled, feeling like an idiot. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she would ever try to take his attention away from his nephew. Part of the reason for coming along to the game today was to show Garrett she didn’t want his whole life to be consumed by her but that she could fit in to his life and into his family.
Smooth, she chided herself.
Jace walked up to the plate. The pitch was thrown. This time, he got a hit right away.
“Run, Jace!” Garrett yelled from the stands.
The little boy took off, barely remembering to drop his bat in his excitement. He was about ten feet away from first base when his feet tangled together and he tumbled into the dirt.
Trish cringed and cried out, “Oh, no!” She could only guess how painful that fall onto the dirt was on the young boy’s hands and knees.
Garrett shot up like a rocket and was down to the gate behind home plate before Trish even realized he’d left. He ran out onto the field and over to Jace. No one made a move to stop him. Obviously, it was far more important the kids were safe than expelling an adult who wasn’t allowed on the field. He got to the boy the same moment Jace’s coach did.
Trish watched intently as the two men attended to the boy.
“I really hope he’s okay,” a soft voice came from over Trish’s right shoulder. She turned her head towards it and saw a beautiful woman, about her own age, with short, dark brown hair and almond eyes staring out towards the group near first base. “Jace is a tough kid, though. He gets that from his father.”
Trish was a little dumbfounded. “You know Jace?” She hadn’t been aware anyone else Garrett knew would be coming to the game. He’d said Jace’s parents had had to work. That was another reason why Trish had so vehemently invited herself along. She wanted the young boy to see more people there to support him during his season opener.
“I’m Jace’s mother,” the woman replied and then turned her attention back to Trish, holding out a friendly hand.
Trish took it and beamed. “Oh, so you’re Alice! Garrett said you and your husband both got stuck working and couldn’t get away for the game. I’m glad to finally meet you!”
As Trish talked, the woman’s face went from a friendly smile to a frown of utter confusion. “Alice? My name’s Josie. Garrett told you Alice was Jace’s mom?”
Now Trish was confused. She glanced out quickly towards Garrett, but he was still completely absorbed with helping Jace who was, thankfully, at least sitting up now. Trish stammered trying to get her thoughts straight. “Well, if Garrett is Jace’s uncle and Tony is his brother, then Alice is Jace’s mom.” She said it slowly aloud but couldn’t get her mind around what part of that was wrong.
Then, Josie let fall the other shoe. “Garrett is Jace’s father, not Tony.”
The woman had said it plainly and with no direct malice towards Trish, yet Trish’s whole world flipped into a tailspin at the words.
Garrett was Jace’s father?!
This didn’t make any sense. Garrett had told her since he’d first rescued her from the side of the highway in that snowstorm that Jace was his nephew. And, Garrett had a brother; Trish knew that for a fact.
Of course, she hadn’t seen Tony since she’d dated Garrett in high school. Besides the one coincidental time her parents had joined them for dinner, all of Trish and Garrett’s dates recently had been centered on getting to know each other again and, well, spending a lot of time in the bedroom. Trish hadn’t put much thought into spending time with their families until Garrett brought up the subject of Jace’s first baseball game.
Even still, Garrett had told her Tony and Alice couldn’t make it to the game…Jace’s parents, Tony and Alice…
Why would Garrett lie to her?
“Wait,” Trish shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, as if blocking out one sense would help her brain process this overload, “if you’re Jace’s mother, then are you and Garrett…”
“Oh, no! No. Don’t worry about that. We broke up before Jace was even born,” Josie explained. “I’m guessing you’re Trish, right?”
“Yeah,” Trish answered, still unable to open her eyes.
“Yeah, he told me about you.”
This did the trick, though. Trish’s head snapped up and she eyed Josie with a sudden wary pang of anger. “What did he say?”
“Oh, nothing bad. Sorry, I should’ve led off with that.” Josie gave Trish a reassuring smile. Trish couldn’t find anything ungenuine about it, but she had a hard time letting her guard down and relaxing with all this new, shocking information flooding in. “Jeez, I’m not very good at this. In all the ten and a half years I’ve known him, Garrett has never brought a girlfriend around to meet Jace before.”
Trish’s mind was still reeling. When she looked onto the field towards Garrett, it felt as if the world was spinning and she got slightly dizzy. She put a hand to her temple but it was little solace to her racing mind and heart.
Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place and she gasped loudly. “Oh my god! Ten and a half years ago!”
“Yeah,” Josie nodded. “We only went out a few times, right around the time he was finishing high school.”
She was the one, Trish realized with horror. Josie was the girl Garrett had cheated on her with!
“I—I, uh,” Trish stammered as she fumbled for her purse. “I’ve got to go!”
She didn’t wait to say goodbye to Josie but sprang up, quickly searching for the easiest way d
own from the stands. She didn’t chance a look towards Garrett, either, for fear she’d lose her resolve at the sight of him tending to his son.
His son!
Tears stung and clouded her vision as she ran towards the parking lot. She needed to get out of here and get to her car back at Garrett’s place.
Her fingers worked better than her mind did at that moment. They found her phone at the bottom of her purse and quickly opened the Uber app, hailing a ride. She saw the route of the nearest driver and adjusted her course to meet up with him in less than a minute.
It was only a short ride to Garrett’s house and she flew out of the Uber before it had completely stopped. She silently promised the driver she’d give him a five-star rating once she was home and had a moment to think clearly. For now, she couldn’t get her keys into the ignition of her Jetta fast enough.
The car roared to life and she backed out of the driveway, mere seconds after the Uber driver had pulled away.
Then, she fled.
27
Although it was a warm summer’s day, to Trish, it felt like that same freezing January day when she’d fled furiously to get away from a man whom had lied to her.
She was cold. Numb. The tears in her eyes blinded her vision to nearly the same extent the blinding snowstorm had six months ago. This time, though, she was determined not to end up stuck on the side of the road.
She wouldn’t let herself be a victim again.
This thought only spurred on more tears, however. She’d been duped. Again. And, by a man she’d trusted. By a man she’d made a deliberate decision to trust after he’d bared his soul to her about the first time he’d hurt her.
Her cellphone rang. She knew it must be Garrett. She let it ring and ring until it stopped.
Not ten seconds passed before it started up again. This time, she reached over and snatched it out of her purse.
It was Garrett.
Seeing his name and picture flash across the screen sobered her up. She threw her phone back into her purse and hit the Bluetooth option on her car’s navigation screen. She quickly wiped away what was left of the tears on her face with the back of her hand before hitting the accept button on the screen to pick up the call.
“Hello,” she said in a formal tone.
“Trish? Oh my god! Thank god you answered! I was so worried about you!” This all came out in a gushing stream as Garrett scrambled. “Look, I know why you left and I can’t say I blame you. Josie told me what she told you. I’m so sorry, Trish.”
“You’re sorry,” Trish repeated. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“What? Of course, it should! Trish, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you the truth about Jace.”
Trish shook her head, though she knew he couldn’t see it. “You mean, you shouldn’t have lied to me about Jace.”
She heard him let out a heavy sigh. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have lied to you about Jace.”
“Why did you?”
“I don’t know.”
“But, you lied that first day, in your truck on the way to that auto body shop. You lied about him from the start.”
He sighed again and took a long pause.
“Was it just an automatic thing with me? You’d just developed this pattern of keeping me in the dark about your life so you decided to keep that going?” Trish didn’t care if what she was saying was fair or not. She’d forgiven him that night in the hotel when he’d confessed to breaking up with her because he’d cheated and couldn’t take the guilt.
But, to be confronted today, after five months together, with the truth about his nephew’s real parentage—and by Jace’s mother, no less, the woman Garrett had cheated on her with, who was gorgeous and sweet, by the way.
Trish couldn’t find it in her heart to hate Josie. The woman obviously hadn’t been trying to stir the pot. She’d seemed just as concerned to find Trish didn’t know the truth. Actually, Josie had stayed remarkably calm and placating. Those were traits Trish wished fervently for right now.
“Look, Trish,” Garrett tried again in a soft voice which broke on her name, “I didn’t mean for the truth to come out this way. I had wanted to tell you later today after the game. Honestly, I did.”
“Oh!” Trish’s ire was really up now. “So, your plan was, what, to tell me while you stood there with your arm around your sweet, little boy? Have him gaze up at me with innocent eyes so I would have no option but to forgive you, lest I make an ugly scene in front of your kid? That’s worse than trying to apologize for doing something stupid with flowers and candy, and I see that every day!”
Her knuckles were turning white around the steering wheel, so she forced her grip to loosen a bit. The last thing she wanted was to jerk the wheel in her frenzied state and crash. That would only give Garrett an opportunity to catch up to her.
“Trish, I—”
“No, Garrett! Alright? Just no. No more.” The tears threatened to spring back into her eyes but she shook them away. “How could you lie to me again? How could…how could you hurt me like this again?”
She waited but there was no response. She could only imagine what was going through his mind and knew he was probably doing his best to stay composed and not break down on the phone. Then, she chastised herself for thinking he’d cry over this.
If he was willing to lie to her, he obviously didn’t love her like he said he did.
Once again, the cold reality of the situation drove away her emotions, so she was able to say with an even voice, “I’m going home. Please don’t call me again.”
She hung up.
28
“N
o, Trish, I really couldn’t,” Jo waved her hands in front of her.
“Seriously? Come on, you have to accept.”
“Why? Cause you’re my boss?”
“Yeah,” Trish shrugged. “But, not anymore. I want you to be my partner. Just say yes. Come on, don’t make me beg.”
“Trish, I am serious. You don’t have to offer me a partnership in your business just because you feel bad about—”
“This is not about that!” Trish interjected.
Jo put her hands on her hips and gave Trish her best “you’re delusional” face. She dropped it a few seconds later and came over to put her arms on Trish’s shoulders where she stood in the doorway of her office at the shop.
“I don’t have to tell you how sorry I am for the way things turned out. I know when you went to see him the last time, you were hoping to bring up the whole idea of moving and opening a new location there.” Trish sucked in a deep breath, but Jo plowed on before she could be interrupted again. “And, I know that’s why you had planned on promoting me, so you don’t have to feel obligated to still do that just because he turned out to be a pigheaded jerk just like every other guy.”
Trish screwed up her lips in an exasperated expression. “You know,” she started, “you may always be right about the guys I date, but that doesn’t mean you’re right about everything else. And, you’re not right about this. I’ve been thinking about promoting you for a while.”
“But—”
“Oh my god, you know, most people would be grateful, not obstinate.” Trish was only joking and Jo smiled and dropped her hands.
Jo planted her hands back on her hips and took a slow scan around the office. Truly, it had been Jo whom had organized this place. The short time Trish had the place open before hiring Jo, she’d been so overwhelmed with all the minutia of the day-to-day operations of owning her own business, papers had been scattered every which where, she’d had no filing system for invoices, and had barely been able to keep up with orders.
Jo had come in like a whirlwind and whipped the shop into shape in less than a month. Even after the first week, Trish couldn’t fathom how she’d ever made it through one day without her.
Now, five years later, it was only fitting Jo get her proper share of the business she’d helped create.
Trish tried a different tact
ic. “You know, I don’t want to guilt trip you into saying yes by mentioning how emotionally damaged I am right now and pointing out how you’re my best friend and should be doing everything you can to support me and not hurt me any more than I already am. ‘Cause I will!”
Jo burst out laughing. “Oh, I know you will! That’s a move you learned from me!”
Trish started laughing, too. They were both still giggling as they made their way out from the office and back to the front of the shop.
“Alright,” Jo conceded. “I accept.”
“Well, jeez, don’t sound too excited over it.” Trish rolled her eyes playfully.
Jo’s face twisted into a mischievous smirk. Then, she jumped in the air and threw out her arms wide. “Yes!” she yelled up to the ceiling.
This had them both in hysterics again.
At least, she’d been able to solve one mystery by completely damping it back into the ground. She wouldn’t have to worry about leaving her friend.
∞ ∞ ∞
Another week passed and Trish was starting to believe she would be alright. Perhaps only because she’d been through it once already so recently with Garrett, she was handling the breakup considerably well. At least, she thought so.
Still, her father was adamant she not sequester herself away like a hermit. She heard mumblings of “not healthy” from her mother every time her father would mention it on the phone with her.
Trish was out to lunch with her father. He’d insisted so much the last time, she didn’t even push back after this break up but took him up on every offer he made for them to get together. It was an effort to show herself as much as he or her mother that she was perfectly fine. She wouldn’t let a man have so much control over her life.
Not ever again.
“I’m so glad she agreed,” Trish was explaining how she’d offered Jo a partnership in the shop.
“She does deserve it. That girl has an eye for business that rivals her eyes for wild plants and flowers,” her father commented as he took a bite of his burger.
The Winter Affair Page 11