Seasoned Veteran (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Present - December 2nd

“You don’t need to be here. I can handle this.” Siobhan tapped her foot on the sidewalk outside the downtown hotel where the Crystal Ball would take place.

“I know you can handle it, but there’s no reason you should have to handle it alone,” Jake said. “I signed on to do my part, too.”

The man could be so exasperating. “This isn’t your part.”

“That’s because Ashley is a control freak. She insisted on doing her tasks as well as Bentley’s. According to the stuff Bent gave me, dealing with the ballroom issues was his job.”

She glared up at him. For the millionth time wondered exactly why he was in Dallas, plaguing her. “Like I said, I don’t need you.” Turning, she headed for the revolving door a few steps away. She paused, waiting for a couple to exit so she could slip into the vacated compartment. Jake’s voice, low and seductive just over her shoulder, sent shivers down her back.

“I need you.”

His breath hot against her ear was like dropping a pebble in a calm lake. Ripples of lust radiated out from her lobe all the way to the tips of her fingers. Lord, he could still make her knees weak. But she was made of sterner stuff than when she’d first met him. She’d already had that disease. Once a woman lived through a bout of Jake Tulleson, she was immune to his seduction.

The door swished past, revealing an empty stall. She waited a heartbeat. At the last second, she stepped in, leaving heartbreak behind.

“Fuck.” Jake watched the spinning compartment until it reached the other side where it deposited Siobhan safely inside the hotel lobby. Her sure steps and swaying hips mesmerized him as she traversed the polished marble floor, releasing him when she turned a corner, disappearing down a connecting hallway.

He shook his head to clear it of erotic thoughts. No matter how many layers of clothing Siobhan wore, he could see through them like some fuckin’ superhero. Only he was nobody’s hero.

Zero. That’s more like it.

A tour bus rumbled to a stop at the curb. A noisy group of teenagers poured out, jostling for position in front of the revolving door. Jake stepped back, allowing them room.

In his car, he cursed the midday traffic clogging the downtown streets. He didn’t know what he’d expected when he returned, but this wasn’t it. Yes, he’d been an ass, but he’d come back. He’d apologized. Hell, he’d done everything he could think of to win Siobhan over, but none of it had worked.

The satellite radio cut off, indicating an incoming call. He waited until the phone number appeared on the display before answering.

“Hi, hon. What’s up?”

“I haven’t heard from you all week, Dad. I hope you haven’t called me because you’ve been in bed with Siobhan.”

He stifled a groan. “I’m stuck in traffic, and my sleeping habits are none of your business,” he chided. His daughter meant well, but he wasn’t comfortable with her blunt approach to his love life.

“Oh, Dad,” she sighed. “What did you do? I thought for sure she would have forgiven you by now.”

“Shows what you know.” Signaling a lane change, he looked over his shoulder before edging the car into the far right lane. “She hates me.”

“I told you winning her back was going to take more than just showing up, but did you listen? No.” She stretched the vowel sound out to emphasize her point. “You had to do it your way.”

He resisted the urge to bear down on the horn. The traffic wasn’t going anywhere, just like this conversation with his meddling daughter. “Look, Kelly, my love life, or lack thereof, is none of your business.”

“I beg to differ, Daddy.”

How the hell did she sound so mature yet so childish in the span of one sentence?

“You need her. She makes you happy, and when you’re happy, so am I.”

He couldn’t argue with her logic. “Yes, she makes me happy but, apparently, I don’t do the same for her. She just kicked me to the curb.”

“So, what’s next? You do have a plan, don’t you?”

His silence condemned him. The long-suffering sigh Kelly had used to manipulate him since she was two years old put him on alert.

“Don’t, Kel. I can hear the gears turning in your head from here. This is my problem, and I’m perfectly capable of solving it myself.”

“You are so in denial. When’s this dinner thing you’re working on?”

“Weekend after next.” He braked hard before he rear-ended the cement truck in front of him.

“Do you have a date?”

“I’m going with Siobhan.”

“Really, Dad? The woman isn’t speaking to you.”

At a complete standstill on the LBJ Freeway, he closed his eyes long enough to say a silent prayer for patience. “That’s only a temporary situation. She’ll come around in time.”

“You’re going to win her over in ten days.” She couldn’t have infused more sarcasm into the statement if she’d tried.

“That’s the plan.” He clenched the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip.

“Admit it. You don’t have a plan.”

“Okay.” He poured all his frustration into the one word. “I don’t have a plan, but I’ll think of something.”

“Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.”

When had his daughter developed such a smart mouth? “I don’t have a problem,” he reiterated.

“You do, too. Face it, Dad. It’s time to make a call to the bullpen.”

“This isn’t a game, Kel. Besides, I don’t have a bullpen.”

“Yes, you do. Me.”

He really didn’t want to know what she meant by that, but he had little choice. Once his daughter grabbed onto a subject, she wouldn’t let go. Just like the time she decided he needed to revamp his wardrobe. She’d been all of ten and certain she knew everything about men’s fashions. He held off her good intentions for a week at best before driving her to the mall where she shoved armloads of clothes at him before sending him into the dressing room. Several thousand dollars later he had a new look he hadn’t wanted, but in retrospect, he’d needed. But just because she was right about his closet didn’t mean she was right about his love life. What did she know about the complicated relationships between men and women?

“Kel,” he warned.

“I’m coming down there, Dad. I’ll book my ticket as soon as we hang up. Can you pick me up at the airport tomorrow?”

He knew when he was defeated. “Text me with your flight information. I’ll be there.”

She did that squeal thing she did whenever she got her way, which was more often than he cared to think about. He’d been a mostly absent parent but, he reasoned, he wouldn’t have been there any more often if he’d married her mother all those years ago when they’d found out about the pregnancy. Major League baseball players were on the road more than they were home. It was a fact of life he’d compensated for in the off-season by indulging his daughter, perhaps a bit too much. All things considered, Kelly had turned out okay.

They ended the call with a game of
I love you, I love you more,
that made him forget he was supposed to be annoyed with her.

By the time he pulled into his driveway, he’d come to the conclusion that perhaps Kelly was right. He needed help. It just sucked he was reduced to relying on his daughter who wasn’t much younger than the woman he was in love with. It only made the age-divide seem wider, more impossible to span. He so didn’t want to think about what his daughter knew about adult relationships. She was too young….

Shit.

Chapter Nine

Two months earlier - September 25th

Jake turned off his cell phone. He’d made sure the house in Colorado would be fit to live in when he arrived. The couple he paid to watch it for him was always easy about his uncertain arrival dates. As long as he gave them a heads-up a few weeks in advance, they’d sweep the cobwebs out, have the chimneys cleaned, as well as make sure the appliances were in working order. This year, he asked them to order more firewood. The stack had been getting low when he’d left in February.

There wasn’t much he liked more than a real wood fire in the fireplace. His house in Dallas had a fake fireplace. Who’d ever heard of a remote control fire? It was useless for anything but looking at.
Might as well have one of those TV screensavers of a burning fireplace.

Everything was set. All he needed to do was get through the post-season then he’d get to go home to the love of his life.

The Mustangs team looked good on paper, but they’d lost one good man in the lineup when Sean Flannery took his swan dive into the dugout late in the season. His replacement, a kid brought up from the minors, was eager to prove himself, which was the rookie’s main problem. He was too eager. So far, nothing Jake told him about having patience when he was at the plate had sunk in. He’d seen it a million times but, just once, he wished for a rookie who’d been broken to the saddle before they trotted him out for the show.

After a quick change into his uniform, he stepped out of his office. A crowd of players in their warm-up uniforms blocked the hallway leading to the dugout. They all laughed together over something he was too far away to hear. He smiled. As part of the coaching staff, his responsibility, as he saw it, was to keep moral up. A team in good spirits generally played better than if the mood was somber. As he got closer, he began to pick out individual voices. The usual suspects were in attendance—the jokesters of the roster plus a few others he trusted to keep things from getting out of hand. Jason Holder was as nice a guy as they came, but a stickler for the rules. Singling his voice out, even before he could see his head in the crowd, Jake knew the gathering was under control.

He approached, hoping to skirt the group without anyone noticing. No need for him to put an end to their fun. Jason would see they all made it out to the field on time.

“Thanks for all your help.” A voice from the center of the crowd stopped Jake. His pulse kicked up, his dick following suit.
Siobhan. What’s she doing here?

“I’ve got to get back up to our box before Sean sends a search party out for me. Can’t have him ruining the surprise.”

Surprise? Oh yeah. The pre-game program.

The players filed away, each one calling out his best wishes until only the two people in the center remained. Jason Holder and Siobhan Flannery.

“You know your way out?” Jason asked her.

“I’ll make sure she gets back where she needs to be.” He stepped forward, addressing Jason. “If anyone is looking for me, tell them I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Sure thing.” Jason waved goodbye to Siobhan as he headed toward the dugout.

“Everything is set?” Jake asked since his brain wasn’t capable of coming up with anything cleverer. He’d heard talk about today’s opening ceremonies and the tribute to her brother’s years in the game. Since the Mustangs were playing the Pioneers—the team Sean had played for the longest during his career—the timing seemed logical. It was Siobhan’s job to get her brother down to the field at the appropriate time. Nothing like throwing a surprise party with forty thousand guests.

“I think so.” She turned, heading toward the bank of elevators that would take her back up to the owner’s box. “Sean was excited about coming to the stadium, but I don’t think he has a clue he’s the pre-game entertainment.”

Jake fell into step with her. “Your brother deserves the recognition. He’s made a real contribution over the years.”

She pushed the elevator call button before turning to smile at him. “Thanks, Jake. Leaving baseball has been difficult for him, even with the broadcasting job he’s lined up. I think he would rather have left because he was too old to play.”

“That’s the way we all want to go out. I know how he feels. My knees gave out long before I was ready to hang it up.”

Sympathy softened her gaze. “I didn’t know.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me. I found a way to stay in the game. It sounds as if Sean has, too. I’d be happy to talk to him, if you think it might help.”

“I appreciate your offer, Jake. I’ll let you know if he starts to feel sorry for himself.” She placed her palm over his cheek. “You’re a good man.”

Her flowery scent was such a contrast to the stale sweat odor permeating everything in the clubhouse, he yearned to get closer. She was so good—literally a breath of fresh air.

“I admire your dedication to your brother,” he said.

Their gazes locked. He’d seen that look in her eyes every time he’d taken her to his bed—invitation, longing. The elevator dinged its arrival. She stepped away, taking her hand with her. When the doors opened, he followed her into the small cubicle.

She pressed a button on the control panel. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”

“Probably.” He couldn’t remember. All he knew was he needed to be here, with her. “I don’t know. I don’t care.”

Her eyes widened as he advanced on her. The clipboard he’d been holding like a lifeline dropped to the floor. One hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her lower body against his while the other captured her nape. Her lips parted on a surprised gasp. Taking that as an invitation, he swooped in. Her eyes zeroed in on his mouth—her lashes fanning across her cheeks as he closed the distance between them.

Electricity sparked when their bodies met, setting fire to his blood. God, she tasted even better than she smelled. He couldn’t get enough of her, and Lord, he’d tried over the last few weeks.

She melted against him for the few seconds it took for the car to rise to her floor. When it jolted to a stop, he quickly reached out, jabbing his finger against the button to keep the doors from opening. They both needed a minute to recover.

His dick was at full attention. Her lips were the tantalizing color of ripe plums. He briefly considered dragging her off somewhere to finish what he’d begun, but reason prevailed. The memory of the flush he’d put on her cheeks would have to do for until he could finish what he’d started. This was not the time or the place for the kind of things running through his mind.

“Tonight.”

She nodded, straightening her clothes. “Yes.”

Releasing the button, he reclaimed his clipboard, putting a respectable distance between them just as the doors opened. She stepped out without so much as a backward glance, her perfect round ass swaying with each step.

Shit.
Every time he was with her, he swore to himself it would be the last. He should have let her go after their first night, but when he heard her crying in the bathroom, he’d known he couldn’t let her leave believing he was an ass—even if it was true. For some reason, he wanted her to think better of him. He’d patiently coaxed her out and taken her back to bed, where he’d spent the rest of the evening trying to undo the damage he’d done.

He hadn’t been entirely successful. Though she’d come to his bed every night the team was in town since that first time, he sensed she came for the physical gratification alone. That first night, she’d gotten under his skin with her openness, her need to be with him. He’d wanted sex with a woman he desired but, with Siobhan, the physical connection had been only a small part of what he’d felt. She’d broken down the barriers he’d spent years building, and in the seconds it took him to put the barriers back up, she’d seen too much.

It scared the hell out of him to think he’d allowed her to get so close. He’d spent two decades fortifying his defenses, but the minute he’d dipped his dick in Siobhan’s heat, the walls around his heart began to crumble.

The breakdown lasted a few seconds, at most, before he’d shut her out. She was different from any female he’d ever been with. She made him want something beyond the season. But that wouldn’t happen. He’d known since he signed his first Minor League contract he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy.

Mercy!
If she wasn’t careful, the fire Jake stoked in her would consume her. She’d managed to get through the opening ceremonies, pulling off the surprise for her brother completely. He hadn’t suspected a thing until the last minute when she’d had to tell him what was going on in order to get him into the elevator.

The large contingent that accompanied them to the suite was doing serious damage to the buffet and open bar at the back of the room, which left her alone to watch the game, which also meant she had plenty of time to contemplate the mess she’d gotten herself into.

She continued to tell herself there was nothing more than sex between her and Jake, but it hadn’t been the truth from the beginning. Whatever they had, it had flared bright for all of two seconds before Jake brought the shutters down on it. Those two seconds changed her life. She’d seen what a real relationship could be.

Her heart still ached at the memory of how much it hurt when he’d shut her out. Sitting on his bathroom floor, she’d thought she might die from the pain. She should have demanded he take her home instead of crawling back into his bed, but she’d hoped he would open up to her again—let her see what he was feeling one more time.

Stupid.
He’d had decades to practice hiding his feelings. Taking a page from his book, she put walls around the love growing inside her, so he wouldn’t see while she gave her body to him. He was a skilled lover, just as she’d imagined he would be. What she learned in his bed was already making a difference in her writing.

You wanted to spice up your bedroom scenes. You should be grateful for the lessons.

She was grateful, but as each day passed, she worried the price she would have to pay for her tutoring would be higher than she could ever have imagined.

He’ll discard you as soon as the season is over.

Sean had warned her. At the time, a few months of wild, wicked sex with Jake, no strings or rings attached, had been exactly what she was looking for.

A large hand on her shoulder startled her. “Everything all right?” Sean dropped into the seat beside her, propping his booted feet on the low, glass-topped wall. He handed her one of the two beer bottles he carried.

She smiled to hide her inner turmoil. “I’m fine. The game is going well.”

“Yep. Looks like.”

“Are
you
okay? I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to watch this instead of play.”

He took a long swig from his beer. “Better than I thought I would be. I knew I wasn’t going back to baseball, but the pre-game thing really hammered it home for me. I was pissed at first that the ceremony was sprung on me like it was, but if I’d known about it beforehand, I probably would have refused to come. That would have been a shame. I needed the closure, and I didn’t even know it.”

“I’m glad it worked out. I felt awful about not telling you.”

“I hope you lost sleep over it.” He smiled. “Don’t think I’ll forget either.”

“You mean it, don’t you? You are ready to move on.”

“Darn right he is.” Bentley Randolph’s fiancée, Ashley, shuffled into the row of seats behind them. She’d been part of the ceremony earlier, introducing Sean as the new anchor for the syndicated sports talk show,
Around the League.
“The network has big plans for your brother.”

“I wasn’t so sure the plans he’d made were right for him,” Siobhan told the other woman, “but it looks like he’s going to be fine. The best thing about his new job is he won’t be breaking any more bones. I think he might have reached the limit on reconstructive surgery.”

“Amen to that,” Sean said. “At the rate I was injuring myself, I was going to be a cripple in another year or two. As long as I don’t fall out of my chair on set, I should be able to walk myself into a nursing home in about fifty years or so.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Ashley leaned forward. “How’s our boy doing?” she asked Sean, referring to the man they both loved, Bentley Randolph, the Mustangs left fielder.

“I haven’t seen much of the game yet.” He pointed toward the Mustangs dugout. “He looks fine though.”

Siobhan looked toward the dugout. Bentley stood on the steps, one foot on the tread above the other, his bat in one hand, helmet in the other.

“Yum yum,” Ashley said. “He looks good enough to eat.”

“He always does,” her brother mumbled, so only the three of them could hear.

The two of them continued to exchange inappropriate comments regarding their lover. They could drool all they wanted over Bentley, her eyes were for the man who had joined him. Jake, clipboard in hand, was imparting some kind of information to the left fielder before he made his way to the on-deck circle.

Standing in the dugout during the pre-game ceremonies, watching Sean’s friends on both teams congratulate him on his career, wishing him well in the future, she’d been aware of Jake’s perusal. The kiss in the elevator had been risky—not to mention, he was supposed to have been on the field, making sure the Mustangs were all in top form for the game.

What had it meant? It was an unspoken rule that their affair was private. They didn’t go around in public at all. She supposed the fewer people who knew about a relationship, the easier it would be to end it. There’d be no explanations needed to the press or mutual friends. Sean would be the least surprised.

That left Bent and Ashley. Bent wouldn’t be any more surprised than Sean Ashley would be sympathetic, but she had her hands full planning her wedding. She wouldn’t want to dwell on Siobhan’s pathetic love life any longer than necessary.

On the field, Bentley took his turn at bat. Whatever Jake had told him to do, it worked. He connected with the second pitch, sending the ball over the left field wall for a two-run homer. Siobhan jumped to her feet, shouting along with everyone else in the box. The Mustangs needed to win this series in order to continue in the playoffs. If she had her way about it, they’d make it all the way to the World Series, preferably dragging it out to the seventh game. She wanted every minute she could get with Jake before he disappeared to wherever it was he went during the off-season.