Saving Drew

by Lara Van Hulzen

  Chapter Six

  Baylee walked into Jamie’s Java and looked around. Meg and Maggie were already there. She waved to them then got in line to order a coffee. The bakery was closed on Mondays, her one day off per week, and although she had a laundry list of things to get done, she protected girlfriend time like a hawk.

  She grabbed her iced latte from the counter and joined her friends. Maggie looked a little bigger than last time she saw her, which was funny since it had only been just over a week ago at Kate’s wedding. But Baylee was not one to judge. She gained more than enough weight when pregnant with Casey and still had a pesky few pounds left to lose from it almost six years later. She smiled as she sat down. Casey was worth every pound.

  “What are you grinning about?” Maggie asked.

  “I’m guessing the hot date she had last week,” Meg teased before attempting to hide behind her coffee mug as she took a sip.

  Baylee glared at her.

  “Oooh, gossip starting right out of the shoot. I’m so glad I came today.” Maggie smiled at Baylee.

  She cursed the blush that rose in her cheeks. Darn her fair skin. She might as well wear a sign that said she’d had more fun with Drew that day than she’d had in a long time, that she’d thought about him every day since, and that she was baffled she hadn’t seen hide nor hair from him since. Let alone a phone call or... anything. That his kiss had left her spinning. Apparently, not so much for him.

  She shrugged, hoping her friends would let it go.

  “Oh, you’re not getting away with a little shrug, girlfriend.” This from Meg.

  Meg was the first friend Baylee had made when she moved to Silver Bay. Meg owned and ran the local diner she’d inherited from her dad when he died. She was a tireless workhorse, really. Tough as nails. Relentless too. Which meant Baylee should’ve known that telling Meg about her outing with Drew wasn’t going to end with an “Oh, that’s nice.” Details would be desired. Pulled or beaten out of Baylee to be more exact.

  “It was a picnic. Lunch between friends.” She sipped her latte to hide her grin. It didn’t work.

  “Ha! Keep telling yourself that one, blondie.”

  Baylee shook her head and laughed at her friend. “What? We’re friends. I met him like a week ago.”

  “Yeah, but you know all about him from Kate,” Maggie offered.

  “That doesn’t mean we’re closer than friends though. It just means I know of him because I’m friends with his sister.”

  “That gleam in your eye says otherwise.”

  Baylee rolled her eyes. Yep. Meg was totally relentless.

  “How did you end up having lunch together anyway?” Maggie asked.

  “Well, we danced together at Jack and Kate’s wedding, which was not a big deal”—she glared at Meg who merely waved her hand as if to say whatever—“and then he came by the bakery a few days later.”

  “He just happened to wander in to the bakery? Alone? Hmph, no agenda there.”

  Baylee ignored Meg. “I brought him some of my coffee cake and we got talking and then he invited me to lunch. Me and Casey, actually, which proves it was never intended to be a date.”

  “Sheesh, if you offered me your coffee cake I’d marry you on the spot.” Maggie rubbed her belly.

  Baylee laughed. “You’re pregnant. Every kind of food sounds good to you.”

  “No. She’s right. Pregnancy has nothing to do with it. I’d kill for your coffee cake. Wait. You brought Casey with you? You didn’t tell me that.” Meg’s tone wasn’t teasing now.

  She adored Casey. Was the one main person in Silver Bay Baylee trusted with him besides her mother.

  “No. I decided to leave him home.”

  “See. Date.”

  She looked at Maggie. “No. He invited me to lunch but I said I’d have to get a sitter. He then said to bring Casey along.”

  “So he invited you first, not knowing you have a son. Definitely a date. And bonus points to Drew for inviting your son along.” Maggie lifted her mug in a toast before taking a sip.

  All the talk of when Drew asked what made Baylee’s head spin. “Look. It doesn’t matter whether it was a date or not. He’s not staying in Silver Bay. He lives in New York. His life, his career is there.”

  Maggie frowned. “I’m worried about him. I’m not so sure his career is going to be intact much longer.”

  Baylee put her hand on Maggie’s. She’d forgotten Drew was Maggie’s half brother. Not long ago Maggie had found out she was adopted and that Kate and Drew’s mother, Rose, was her birth mother. It was quite the story.

  “I don’t know him like Kate does. We didn’t grow up together. But he’s still my brother. I don’t like seeing him hurt. Or so down. He’s really worried about his future.” She smiled at Baylee. “I’m glad he went out with you. From what Rose says, if he’s not working with his trainer, he sits around all day reading or watching baseball games. He goes running in the morning, but early enough for people not to bother him.”

  “I’ve seen him,” Meg offered. She was a runner and got up early every day to get a few miles in before work. Disciplined to the core. “And if I may say so, the man is in stellar shape. I’m not sure the extent of his injury, but he looks damn fine in workout shorts and a t-shirt.”

  Baylee pulled her hand back from Maggie’s and looked at Meg, another rush of heating rising in her cheeks. “You are so bad.” She swatted Meg’s shoulder.

  “What? You mean to tell me you’re gonna sit there and fight me on this? You’re dating him.”

  “Oh, good gracious! Haven’t we been through all this already? It’s time for a new topic. Maggie, how are you feeling?”

  Maggie proceeded to tell them about her every growing abdomen with a grin a mile wide. In truth, Baylee only half listened. Her thoughts wandered to what Meg had said. Drew was gorgeous. And she didn’t need to see him in workout clothes to prove it. She’d kissed the man, for heaven sake. Had her hands on his hips while he’d cradled her face in his. To think she’d considered telling Meg and Maggie about that. They’d have attacked that like a dog with bone. Grateful she didn’t, she brought her attention back to Maggie who now talked about the nursery for the baby.

  It was time to get Drew MacIntire out of her head. He was leaving. She lived here. She had Casey. Too many factors. Not nearly enough pros to outweigh the cons. That rationale would work if only her heart could get on board. At the moment, it didn’t seem to care about pros and cons. It only wanted more kisses.

  Drew’s feet hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. It wasn’t as if running was his favorite pastime, but it kept him in shape. He also did some of his best thinking when he ran. Most of the time, thinking turned to praying. Something about being outside, his head clearing, brought his mind to God. His faith had always kept him grounded, especially in his career where temptation, greed, and arrogance tended to rule. Between his family reminding him daily of his place in this world and God’s truth keeping his head on straight, he’d navigated the major leagues fairly well so far, in his opinion. He kept his head down, his slate clean, and focused on doing the best job he could.

  As if on cue, a twinge of pain shot through his shoulder, reminding him of exactly where he was in the world and the state of said career. He’d worked hard the past few days with his trainer, Tyler Vance, in a facility in San Jose, but he still struggled with controlling his pitches. Thankfully, Tyler was willing to stay longer on the west coast with Drew. Said the sun was a nice break from New York winter. He also said Drew was fine to throw full throttle. But Drew’s mind said otherwise.

  It wasn’t as if he’d never given any thought to what he would do once he was done with baseball – every player had to retire sometime – he just hadn’t been real specific when thinking of his future past the game. It was all he thought about lately. Well, that and a beautiful blonde he’d kissed and now couldn’t get off his mind. He’d been a chicken since their picnic. Yeah. He’d own that. What had happened between them scar
ed the crap out of him. He’d thought for sure that one kiss would satisfy his curiosity, but it bit him in the butt. Now he wanted more. But he didn’t have more to give. Not now. His life was in a tailspin headed God only knew where. And her life was solid. He wasn’t about to screw that up for her.

  A glance at his watch told him he’d hit two miles. Time to turn around. He’d already run four miles early that morning. He preferred a time when no one was out, except for a few others like him hitting the streets early. The only reason he ran again was to help clear his head. Think about what came next, and maybe stop thinking about Baylee.

  A “Hey, stranger,” stopped him short. Lost in his mind mess, he’s missed the fact that he’d jogged right by her. So much for getting her out of his head.

  He turned, looking for where her voice had come from. She sat on a park bench. Alone. Her hair was held back from her face with a pink cloth band. The flowery dress she wore stopped at her knees, showing off her curvy legs she had crossed. Gold sandals adorned her feet.

  “Hey.” The woman all but knocked him on his butt just sitting there. They looked at one another for a moment. His head said to keep on running and not look back. But his heart understood that his head was an idiot.

  He pointed next to her. “Is this seat taken?”

  She smiled. Man, that turned his insides. In the best way.

  “Nope. But I understand if you want to keep going.”

  For a second, he thought she’d read his mind and saw that he had indeed considered continuing on. Running away. From her.

  “I don’t want to interrupt your run.”

  Ah. That. He sat down beside her. “That’s okay. I’m on my way back. Almost done.”

  “You run a lot.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Yeah. Easy way to stay in shape.” He moved his shoulder a bit.

  She nodded. “How’s it feeling?”

  “A bit better today, actually.”

  “That’s good.”

  It was good. But was it good enough?

  He noticed she talked to him but kept her eyes straight ahead. Mesmerized by her, he didn’t even see the park right in front of them. There were only three kids out there. One slid down the slide, his hands in the air the entire time, his squeal echoing through the air. Another moved back and forth on a small, metal horse attached to a large spring in the ground. The movement made Drew dizzy. He could only imagine the kid would toss her lunch sometime soon.

  The last little boy sat in the sandbox alone. With his head down, his golden hair shone in the sun. His tiny hands scooped up sand and let it run through his fingers. He did it over and over and over again.

  Drew looked at Baylee, her eyes shining, a smile on her face as she watched the little boy.

  “That’s Casey.”

  She nodded, her curls bobbing with the movement. “Yes.”

  Drew looked back at her son. The boy had looked up. Their eyes met and the same green as his mother’s danced in the sunlight. His cheeks were rosy from the sun, his lips pink against his fair skin, just like his mom’s. He blinked, tilted his head, then went back to sifting sand. Man, he was cute.

  “Textures are important to him. He likes the feel of the sand.” She shook her head and smiled. “He’d sit there all day if I let him.”

  “Not a bad way to spend a day if you ask me.”

  She looked at him then. “You a sand kind of guy?”

  He lifted one corner of his mouth. “You tease...”

  “Maybe a little.” She put her hand up, her thumb and forefinger held about an inch apart. Her eyes twinkled and his stomach did a flip.

  He shrugged and continued. “But the same goes for me and the baseball field. The sand of the pitcher’s mound, the smell of fresh cut grass. I love the way they cut it where the rows crisscross and make a design in the outfield.”

  “You must miss it.”

  He gave a slight nod, emotions backing up in his throat. He swallowed hard.

  “I hope someday Casey finds something he loves that much.”

  “He will.”

  The smile she had going faded a bit. He didn’t like that.

  “Baylee.” At the sound of her name, she looked at him. “He will.”

  Her eyes searched his for answers he didn’t have. All he knew was he was drawn to this woman in a way that scared the hell out of him, and he wanted nothing more than the best for her and her son.

  She blinked and looked back at Casey.

  “We should go to a game sometime.” The words flew out of his mouth before his brain had time to register the repercussions.

  “A baseball game?”

  “Yes. A baseball game.”

  She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I’ve never been to one. Just football games.”

  Drew leaned back against the bench and tossed his head back. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  She had to be joking. How could someone go through their whole life and not have attended a baseball game? He stared at her, disbelief pouring from him.

  Her laugh warmed his heart. “Football, my dear. Football. I’m from Texas, remember? And it’s me and my sister. No brothers.”

  He placed his hands over his heart in dramatic fashion. “You wound me. You have no idea how much you wound me.”

  The bench shook now with her laughing, which was, hands down, the most beautiful sound in the world. Sitting on a park bench with Baylee, the afternoon sun warming him, her smile lighting up his heart. All the crap faded away. His instinct was to be terrified by that, but he’d be damned if he let fear ruin the moment.

  “Well, we can’t have you heartbroken now, can we? I think a baseball game sounds like a great idea.”

  Oh, if she only knew. His heart was on the line every time she looked at him. Every time she smiled. He was a drowning man. Heartbroken or not, he was willing to go down with the ship.

  Chapter Seven

  Drew sat on the sofa, a glass of sweet iced tea in his hand. Baylee was on the other end of the couch, her feet curled up under her in a way where she could look at both him and the television with ease.

  They’d decided to start with watching a baseball game on TV since a—it wasn’t baseball season so it would be tough to get to a game and b—she was worried about how Casey would do in a crowd. During their conversation on the park bench, she’d asked Drew if he meant for them to go to a game alone or have Casey join them. Of course he’d meant the three of them. And he didn’t like how she tended towards Casey not being accepted as part of her. Her world, her life, who she was. The men in her past must have been some serious idiots.

  Casey sat on the floor, mesmerized by screen in front of him. Drew was able to stream an old game from the previous season and link it to her TV. Not one of his games, although she’d asked if they could watch him play. But he wasn’t ready for that. He watched video of himself pitching but alone on his iPad, studying his motion, trying to get it back in his mind again. But he wasn’t ready to talk about that either. She’d said she understood when he offered to find another game to see. He picked a good one too. It was the Dodgers versus the Mariners. Vin Scully’s voice filled the room, drawing Casey in, exactly as Drew thought it might.

  He’d done some reading on Asperger’s Syndrome since Baylee told him about Casey. Kids with it sometimes find a subject matter they deemed interesting and soak it in like a sponge. There was nothing like baseball, in Drew’s opinion, to fill a young mind with. The statistics and strategy alone could make up a lifetime of study.

  “He’s really liking this,” Baylee said, as if reading Drew’s mind.

  “I thought he might.” Drew drained his glass of the sweet tea and set it on the coaster atop the coffee table in front of him. “But I’m curious as to how his mother is feeling about the sport. Seeing as how this is her maiden voyage and all.” He tilted his head down but raised his eyebrows beneath the Empires ball cap he wore.

  “You’re bound and determined to win
me over to this sport aren’t you?”

  He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Maybe.”

  “You’re a bad liar.”

  He laughed at that. “You got me there.”

  Laughter felt good. So did sitting in Baylee’s living room with only a mere foot or so between them. Baseball on in the background, a full stomach from the dinner she’d made them, and sweet tea dancing over his taste buds. He could get used to this.

  The thought punched him in the gut. Sure, he’d thought of settling down someday. But not like this. Not with an injury ending his career. He envied the guys on the team with families. It was a tough life, but it was one they shared. Someone to go home to after a rough game. Someone to see cheering him on in the stands. But he always pictured retirement happening when he chose, not have it chosen for him. He glanced at Baylee who now rested her head on her hand as she watched her son watch the game.

  Who was he kidding? His life in New York was so far from this place. This cozy living room in a small town thousands a miles from the craziness that was major league baseball. And he’d never wanted to be anywhere but the east coast before. Until now. He liked growing up in Boston and had adjusted easy to life in New York as well. But being with Baylee was causing him to consider things he hadn’t with anyone else before. One kiss and he was on his way to being a total goner.

  No. He’d spend some time with her while he was here, as friends, but he had to be careful. Even if Baylee wanted to be with him, he could never ask her to change her life for him. It might break his heart to walk away, but he’d be damned if he every broke hers.

  “Kate gets home tomorrow.”

  Baylee’s words brought him back to the room and away from his thoughts.

  He was well aware of when his sister returned from her honeymoon. She’d already texted him about when she could see him.

  “Oh, I know. She’s already dragging me out to lunch the day after her return. I might need to have a talk with Jack about how to keep her more occupied.”

  Baylee laughed. “Oh, he does that plenty. But you know Kate. Can’t keep a determined woman down.”