Authors: Debra Elise
He stroked her cheek and rubbed his finger on her lips. “It means a lot that you trusted me. To tell me what's been holding you back.” Kelsey closed her eyes and sighed. His touch, even this light and comforting one, set her nerve endings humming.
“I'm not your father, Kelsey. And I know that my past with women hasn't been stellar, but I've always been up front with them. I've never promised a commitment, then turned around and cheated. For that matter, I've never made a commitment to anyone. I've never wanted to. Until you.”
Kelsey smiled. “Maverick, you do have a way with words. That may be the corniest, most clichéd line out there, but I'll take it.”
He grinned and stole a kiss, then another. Deciding the words could wait, he demonstrated with his body how committed to her he had become.
Maverick woke up early and began packing for the trip to Peoria, Arizona and the Outlaws' first spring training. He was disappointed Kelsey wouldn't be joining him until the last week of March. She thought it would be a good idea for the public to see him on his own and how committed he was to the team.
He still had his doubts about her staying behind with Syndi on the loose. But he felt better knowing T.S. had increased security around the stadium. Mav also hired a private security company to patrol Kelsey's neighborhood at night. He wasn't taking any chances. No one would be hurting those close to him ever again.
She'd continue to work with the media and make sure the local community knew by his recent efforts that he considered Pineville his home now. Kelsey had received permission from Sam Davis over at the Children's Club to let the newspaper come in and take a few photos of Mav working with the children as long as the kids' names and faces weren't shown.
He'd spent a couple more days there hanging out with a group of the older boys, playing cards and talking about life, and bad versus good choices. Ian had been there, and hung on his every word. Maverick wanted to know more about his home life and why a bright kid like him needed the services of the club, but he wasn't allowed to pry. But if Ian told him on his own, then maybe he could help him out somehow.
He'
d been surprised when Sam had said it would be okay if Maverick wanted to take the kids out for pizza and games at a local event center. He and another counselor had tagged along and the kids had a blast. It was one of the best days Mav had had in a long time.
Kelsey assured him she would stay in touch with the kids and pass back and forth any questions the kids wanted to ask him during training. He also made sure they knew if they wanted to tweet him, he'd answer as soon as he could.
He finished packing. He had one more session to go to with Dr. Sloane. They'd decided together to switch to a once a week session and he'd call her from Arizona. Driving over to her office, he'd thought about how hard she'd worked with him to get him to come to terms with what was really holding him back.
Admitting his problem was psychological had been tough. Growing up, his family had been close but his dad was a firm believer in not talking about your feelings. If something went wrong, a guy pulled himself up and dealt with it. No hugs or kisses to make the hurt go away.
He'd been told over and over again to “man up.” But Caris had made him realize that it was okay to have feelings and best to not hold them in, and talking to those that mattered the most to you when you were hurting was not a sign of weakness. Maybe he should ask his dad to join him in a session or two. The worst his dad could do was say no.
Dr. Sloane, or Caris as she now let him call her, welcomed him at the front desk. She didn't have any other clients that day so her secretary was off.
“Hi, Maverick. How is everything?” She was dressed more casually than he'd ever seen her. She seemed less intimidating. He'd first come to see her as a client but now felt a friendship was developing, and he wanted to ask her if she'd attend the first home game with Kelsey.
“Hi, Doc. Things are going really well.” He followed her into her office and sat down.
She
raised an eyebrow when he called her “Doc” but didn't say anything. He studied her a bit more closely and wondered if she had a boyfriend. He'd have to ask Kelsey. He thought she and Luke might hit it off. His buddy had a worse track record than he did picking women, and maybe the “opposites attract” thing would work out with them.
“Keep looking at me like that, Maverick, and I'll tell Kelsey. What's going on in that hard head of yours?”
“Oh nothing. I realized I've never seen you with your hair down or in civilian clothes.”
“Civilian clothes?”
“Yeah, jeans, blouse. Flats. You're shorter today than I'm used to seeing you.”
Caris grinned at him. “Well, sorry to disappoint, but on my days off, I keep the heels and business suit locked away. Now, what should we talk about today?”
Maverick's smile faded. Not because he didn't want to talk to her, but because he had to think about what there was left to talk about. Over the last few weeks of spilling his guts to her, he had nothing left.
She rarely interrupted him when they had their sessions. And when she did, it was often with a question and not an opinion. Today he wanted to know what she thought. About him. About everything.
“Caris, I realized I've been waiting for a lightbulb to go off. Or to hear you tell me, âMav, you're cured!' But maybe that's not how it works. Right?”
She smiled and nodded.
“No comment?”
“Maverick, I think for all you've been through, you know that there is no cure. There are better ways to handle the pressure and stress you've put on yourself because of choices
you'
ve made, or uncontrollable events such as Connor's death. My goal was to show you a better way to react to stressors in your life and from listening to you now, I believe you're well on your way to getting there.”
Maverick took in Caris's words and thought back on the last few weeks. When he'd started these sessions he thought he could skate through, pretend to listen to what she had to say, and that'd be it. But damn if he didn't learn something about himself.
He was stronger than he'd given himself credit for, and Connor's memory deserved better than him wallowing in self-pity.
“Caris, I want to thank you for hanging in there with me. I know it wasn't easy those first few sessions, and it means so much that you didn't cave to my bullshit.” He stood up and went around to her side of the desk. He pulled her out of her chair and into a hug.
When he pulled back, he noticed her eyes were glistening.
“Well, um, you're welcome, Maverick. I, um, well, now you've gone and done it. You've made me cry.” She grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “If you tell anyone, I'll break your pitching arm. I have a reputation to uphold.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You got it, Doc. But you have to promise me you'll come out to a game. I know Kelsey would enjoy it if you sat with her. Say yes.”
“Do I have to eat a hot dog?”
“Nope. But you do have to drink a beer. It's the rules. Beer and baseball.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Do they serve wine?”
“Sure, they serve it all. You'll be in the owner's skybox with Kelsey. Okay, I gotta go. I'm meeting the team at the stadium and boarding the bus for the airport in less than an hour. I'll tell Kelsey to call you about the game.”
She
surprised him with a quick hug of her own. “I'm so glad you're happy, Maverick. I wasn't sure before . . . but I'm glad to have helped. Now get out of here before I start bawling like a baby.”
Maverick left Caris's office and rethought his idea about setting her up with Luke. He'd been a moody son of a bitch to everyone lately. He'd see if Kelsey had any suggestions. He needed to find just the right man for his favorite doctor. She'd already put up with one bad boy, she didn't need another.
Three weeks later, as promised, Kelsey flew into Peoria. He'd been like a teenager with his first girlfriend, sneaking glances at her in the stands. The game passed in a blur. He had a hard time concentrating knowing she was watching him.
When he was finally able to put his hands on her it wasn't for long. The team had been invited out to T.S.'s rental house on the Agua Fria River not far from the ball field to celebrate the end of spring training. They had just one more game before they headed home for opening day.
Luke drove them so he was doing his best to convince Kelsey to make out with him in the backseat.
He'd never felt better career wise than he had the last few weeks. Both he and Luke had stepped up their game. But something was off with Luke. He'd been moodier than usual and had gotten into a few shouting matches with opposing players. One was with the plate umpire and he'd been tossed from the game.
That was not like Luke at all and he was worried the events with Syndi had hit him harder than Maverick had first thought. Maybe tonight Luke would find a woman to work off some of the stress he'd been putting on himself.
But right now, Mav had his own woman sitting right next to himâfinally. He had plans to sneak off somewhere after they got to the party and show her how much he needed her.
He
hadn't been able to stop thinking of her and that was something new for him. He'd never really given much thought to a long-term relationship, even one based on sex. He'd heard some of his buddies talk about the whole “friends with benefits” thing, but he usually lost interest in a woman quickly, not a good thing to be proud of.
Even with her opening up to him about her parents, they still hadn't discussed if their relationship would be going forward.
She was offering him sex anytime as well as helping him out with his public image problem. But there was a part of him that was calling out for more, and he wanted to push her, but didn't.
When he was with her, he was able to push aside all thoughts of the outside world. She made him laugh and frustrated the hell out him. Her soft cries of pleasure challenged him to drive her further over the edge.
When he wasn't with her, he found himself daydreaming about her. Not a good thing when he was on the mound, pitching in front of thousands in the stands and triple that watching from home in front of their mega-size flat screens.
“That must be it. I recognize some of your teammates' cars and I think I see a couple of valets running around.” Kelsey brought him out of his thoughts and he looked toward the mansion perched next to the lake.
At that moment, in a stand of trees next to the sloping driveway, he saw a flash of light bobbing up and down as Luke inched his way down to the waiting valet. Mav squinted against the glare and thought he saw a female form dash from one tree to the next.
He
scanned the rest of the surrounding area to see if there were others present, but when he looked back at the original spotânothing. Hell. He chalked it up to an overactive imagination and Kelsey being so damn close he couldn't think straight.
Maverick turned toward Kelsey to ask if she had seen anything unusual, but all he saw was a flash of upper thigh as she exited the car and all thoughts of the mystery figure took a distant second to his revved up libido.
They found their way into the oversize lake house and followed the noise to the back deck. A bar had been set up on the deck overlooking the property and river. A band played below on the manicured lawn. Torches lined the small expanse of beach where people mingled, enjoying the warm night with drinks in hand, sharing their favorite parts of the game.
Maverick noticed John Reese, the Outlaws' left fielder, sitting by himself in the corner of the deck. He avoided eye contact and looked pissed. Probably because he'd gone O for three and for once the spotlight was not on him or his typical .345 hitting average.
Maverick thought about walking over and ribbing him, getting back at the comments he'd heard in the locker room earlier in the month when he and shortstop, Brock Cameron, had been discussing Maverick's chances at remaining the starting pitcher.
Before he took two steps in Reese's direction, he saw a flash of familiar platinum hair streak past the beach area into the surrounding trees and then still. Damn. He wasn't seeing things.
Would Syndi be stupid enough to show up here considering the police had listed her as a suspect in Maverick's stalking case? Sure he had to be mistaken, but needing to make certain it wasn't her, he headed down the stairs of the deck and made his way to the band area.
Kelsey called his name. “Maverick, where you headed?”
He
looked back up at the deck and called to her that he wanted to make a song request and would be right back. She nodded, satisfied with his answer, and said she'd go look for T.S.
When Maverick arrived at the makeshift dance floor he scanned the crowd for the woman who'd been causing havoc in his life. He didn't find her, so he took a stroll along the edge of the lawn as it met up with the sandy beach.
None of the women he came across looked remotely like her. His gut told him it was her, and he almost hoped it was so they could have it out in public. Give her a taste of her own bitter medicine. Probably wishful thinking. He soon gave up, not wanting to spoil the evening, and jogged back up to where Kelsey waited for him.
But he couldn't shake the sense that someone was watching his every move.
They'd had one more practice day before their final game of spring training tomorrow. Kelsey had been at the ballpark for a while, then headed over to the Outlaws' temporary offices downtown to deal with other client issues in L.A. that she couldn't pass off to her partner. She also wanted to check in with the advertising department that had finalized a new print campaign for the team.