Just a Little Faith (24 page)

****

Her excitement palpable, Pax couldn't wait to feel the touch of the airplane wheels on the tarmac. In less than fifteen minutes, she'd be seeing Seb again
,
and her heart raced thinking about it. In the past three weeks, they'd spoken on the phone every day, sometimes twice
,
but it didn't make up for feeling his arms around her. He
r skin tingled in anticipation.

The passengers didn't disembark
fast enough
and
her
bag
bang
ed
against her legs as she walked quickly through the terminal to the other side of security
,
where
she knew
Bash
would be
wait
ing
. She broke out into a jog when she saw him standing, arms open wide.

“Bash! I can't believe I'm here! It seems like it's been months.” She
dropped her bag,
jump
ing
into his arms
encircling him
as if to never let him go. Seb returned her affection
with
a gentle kiss on the cheek before pulling her head back and enveloping her lips with his. They remained tightly entwined for several minutes before Paxson let go and stood back to smile at him.

He brushed her hair behind her ear
.
“How was your flight? Not too bad
,
I hope?”

“It was fine.
J
ust anxious to get here
,
I guess
.
I didn't think the plane would ever land! Now that I'm here, I'm actually kind of nervous.”

He laughed, keeping his arms around her waist. “Why would you be nervous?”

“I don't know. It seems silly, but this is longest we've been a
part and
,
I guess, well, it doesn't matter. We're together again. It makes my heart happy.”

Smiling, he pulled her to him again. “Mine too
,
beautiful
, mine too.”

He pointed toward her bag. “Is this all your luggage or do we need to go to baggage claim?”

“No. I stuffed as much as possible in this bag and decided if I needed anything else I would buy it
.
Of course, I don't know where I would put what I bought
,
but figured I wouldn't worry about it right now
.
”

“Sounds like a plan
.
”
H
e took her by the hand
,
and together they walked out to his parked car
, where he held
the door open for her,
and
she settled in the seat. He tossed her bag in the back
seat of his rental, climbed in
,
and soon the
y
were heading away from the airport.

“
I've
arranged for you to stay in a furnished apartment in the same complex several of us are
living
in. It's actually right across the parking lot from my condo
,
so I hope
you'll
be comfortable.”

Reaching
across the car
,
she
squeezed his thigh. “Bash. I am confident whatever you have arranged will be perfect.”

“I have three games this weekend, so between the games and our visits to the beach, you will be in the sun quite a bit.
I hope you brought some sun tan lotion.
”

“I brought plenty
.
I'm
glad to get away from the bitter winds of the city. It will be nice to
actually
see the sunshine for a few days. It's so cold in St. Louis right now, I think even the snow wants to stay inside where it's warm and dry.”

****

Seb laughed more in the thirty minute drive from the airport than he had in much of the three weeks since
his arrival
at training.
Paxson's fun-loving attitude
was
contagious
,
and
Sebastian felt himself being cheer
ed by the minute
. He
needed a dose of her positive nature for a few days.
Of course, he wasn't sure she'd be laughing after the
surprise
he planned for the weekend.

Once he got her settled in her apartment, he returned to his condo to finish up his
plan
for tomorrow evening.
Without telling Pax, he'd arranged for her to sing the National Anthem prior to their game.
He just hoped she didn't kill him.
He had a
gift for her
,
in
hope
s
it would catch her off guard before he sprung the news on her.
A visit to the beach, the gift
,
then the surprise. If everything went down like he hoped, she'd have plenty of time to practice singing before the game.

That is
,
if she didn't jump on the next plane out of town.

A
fter breakfast
the next morning
,
Seb gave her a
quick tour of Palm Beach
,
t
hen
stopped at the
closest
semi-
private beach he could find.
Sitting between his legs she leaned against him while
they
enjoy
ed
watching the waves drift
back and forth on the sand.

“Whenever I come to the beach now, I think about you
,
”
he rasped
just above a whisper.

“You do? Why?”

“I remember your description of the waves when we were at the Pacific back in November. You said they made you feel God's love all around you.”

Paxson smiled. “
I'm
glad you remember it that way
,
Bash. I guess I
thought
your memories of that day would always be sad ones.”

“Oh there are plenty of sad memories of being in California then, but seeing your face at the beach is not one of them.”

Redness touched her cheeks, but she grinned at his compliment
.

“I, uh… well, I got you something.”

Paxson turned to look at him. “You did what?”

“I got you something
.
I hope you like it. It's in the car, I'll be right back.”

He jogged to the car return
ing
with a bag in his hand. “Sorry it's not gift-wrapped or anything.”
He collapsed on the blanket beside her, sprawling on his side.

Paxson laughed. “That's okay
,
Bash. I don't think gift wrapping is on the top of your priority list these days.”

She opened the bag pull
ing
out his gift. “Bash! A Cardinal
s
jersey? I am
so
going to be ready for the ballgames this weekend
, actually
the whole season with this!”

Sebastian grinned and then swallowed. “Um, I got you this for a couple of reasons. One, so you would have something to wear at the ballgames and two, so you would have something to wear representing the Cardinals when
-
you
-
sing
-
the
-
National
-
Anthem
-
before
-
the
-
game
-
tonight.” He hoped if he spit it out fast enough it might soften the blow.

“What did you say?”

“You know. So you
could wear it at the games and also
have something to wear when
-
you
-
sing
-
tonight.”

“I could be wrong
,
Bash, but I think in your rambling mumbling state
,
you said something about me singing the National Anthem before the game tonight
, b
ut that couldn't be it. You know how nervous I get
and you
would
never
do something like that without asking first. So tell me what I heard was incorrect
,
Bash.”

Concentrating on running sand between his fingers, he didn't look up.
“Um. No. Your hearing is perfect.”

Paxson dropped the jersey to her lap
. He looked up to see
her mouth
wide
open. “I have never sung the National Anthem in public before. In fact, I have never sung the National Anthem in private before. What made you think I would sing it in front of
ten thousand
fans at a Major League Spring Training game?”

“It's not going to be
ten thousand
fans. I think the stadium only holds around
seven thousand
. And besides, I thought you might do it for me.”

“
Ten thousand
or
seven thousand
… what's the difference? Bash. You know, there are lots of things I would do for you. If you needed me to pick you up in a horrific snow storm in the middle of the forest at midnight on a curvy road full of twists and turns with both headlights out in my car. I would do that for you. If you needed me to drive to Louisville, Kentucky to the Louisville Slugger museum to get a special bat which
i
s the
only
one you could use to face the
reigning
Cy Young Award Winner, I would do that for you.
But this, t
his I cannot do for you. I'm sorry.”
She leaped
off the blanket
and
stomp
ed
down the beach as fast as she could go, flinging sand with every step.

Sebastian sat
back
mutter
ing
to himself. “Well, that didn't quite go like I had hoped.”

He leapt up and began jogging down the shore to catch her.
“Pax… Wait!”

 

To say Pax wasn't happy would be an understatement
.
She wasn't happy
in the least.
It seemed
explain
ing
to Seb time and time again how uncomfortable
it made her to
sing
in public would have some kind of impact on him. Apparently
it hadn't
,
since
he
'
d gone and done this.

She continued to stomp down the beach, sand
flying
in every direction
,
Seb caught up with her.

“Pax. Paxson. Wait!”

“I can't talk to you right now
,
Sebastian Alexander Quinn.” She used his full name
hoping he
would take note of her serious manner.

“Pax. Please. I didn't do this to upset you. I did it because I think you have a beautiful voice
,
and the whole world should hear you sing. Please
,
Pax.”

Her steps continued to slow
until
she felt Seb's hand on her arm. “Don't be angry
,
Pax. You tell me all the time
,
you have to do things
you're
afraid of
,
and
to
just have a little faith
.
Well, have some faith in yourself this time. Please?”

Paxson stopped
and turned
to face Sebastian
, hands on her hips
. “I know you meant well
,
Bash. I just wish you would have talked to me about it first instead of just springing it on me four hours before the game.”

Looking down, he dragged his toe through the sand, refusing to make eye contact.
“I know.
I figured if I
told you like this
,
you couldn't say no.
” He cocked his head to the side an
d
gave her puppy dog eyes
.
“
You aren't going to say no are you Pax?”

She
rolled her eyes and sighed
. Part of her wanted to take the chance and sing. She would never know unless she tried, right? But th
e other part of her? She shuddered
at the thought
of
standing out there in front of everyone
. What if she was booed off the field? But the way Seb
looked
at her…the utter confidence he had in her
,
h
ow could she not try?
T
he fact he threw her words of “have faith” back in her face didn't help either.

“I won't say
‘
no
'
.
But next time, ask me first okay? It will save us an argument and
,
more than that
,
it will save me from wearing my legs out so much I can't manage to put one foot in front of the other now.”

Sebastian laughed and
before she could protest,
swept her up in his arms
carrying
her back to the blanket. “Well, we can't have that!
You need to be strong so you can stand in front of the microphone and sing your heart out!”

Paxson couldn't temper her laughter
.
She
placed her head on his shoulder while he
march
ed down the beach.