Brayden swung at him, barely missing the back of his head. “I still don’t like you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Are you going out with her?”
“I’m scared not to.”
“Maybe you’re smarter than I thought you were. But if you kiss her, I will kill you.”
“Duly noted.” Gunner pulled his shoes out of the locker. “So, are you going to fight for her? She seemed to like the sound of that.”
Brayden nodded. “Yeah. I am. So seriously. I will kill you.”
Gunner backed away slowly and then darted for the door.
Brayden wasn’t that worried about Gunner making a move, but he’d sure as heck be waiting in his front room when Tilly came home, just to make sure she was alone on the doorstep. While he waited, he’d figure out how to dig himself out of this giant hole.
He’d get Tilly back no matter what he had to do.
Chapter Thirty-One
Tilly
Tilly pulled into the players’ parking lot after the afternoon game had finished and she clocked out. The guard waved her through without a pass or even a hard look. Maybe the news of her breakup with Brayden hadn’t gotten this far down the organizational chart, so he wasn’t that worried about letting her in. She didn’t care why she was able to enter the restricted area so easily; she was just thankful that she was able to park there and wait for Gunner.
Her cheeks flushed as she thought about walking in on him and Brayden fighting over her. That was so … dumb? And yet sweet-ish. If Brayden wanted to get back together, he should have talked to her, not Gunner.
And since when did he want to get back together? Since they’d kissed? Was he just looking for some lip action, or was there more to the new light in his eyes?
He’d said he’d been asleep—numb, even—since the accident. She could attest to the fact that he hadn’t been himself. Was he really just waking up from it all like someone waking up from a nightmare only to discover they actually did fall out of bed?
And then there was the ring. If he’d been about to propose, he’d been ready to spend the rest of his life with her. They’d talked about so many future details that a proposal wouldn’t have been a surprise. But it would have made her giddy. He’d been on the edge of a big change when he fell. His life altered that day, just not the way he’d planned. That could have sent him into a state of shock.
She set the parking brake and climbed out of the Jeep, needing big skies and lot of air as her mind replayed what had happened between her and Brayden over the past six weeks.
Gunner came out of the nondescript door, a bag slung over his shoulder. He saw her and changed his direction, dropping the bag at his feet and leaning against the Jeep. “’Sup.”
Tilly chuckled. “I’m sorry about last night. I kind of put you on the spot. If you don’t want to hang out tonight, I understand.”
He scuffed his shoe along the pavement. “Well, I could go home.” He lifted his eyes and gave her a once-over. “But you look like you could use a good time. And I’m all about having a good time, so …” He pumped his eyebrows.
She laughed and shoved his arm. “I didn’t even plan anything because I felt aweful for roping you into this.”
“Come on. I’ll drive.” He tipped his head towards his Dodge truck, all shiny and pretty. “I’ve got an idea.”
Tilly dropped into the passenger seat and buckled up. The truck was large enough that she’d had to hop to get in, and yet the inside was cozy. The gray leather was warm against her skin. “How was practice?”
Gunner pulled a sun reflector off the dash, folded it, and stowed it behind his seat. “Brayden put me through the wringer.”
She cringed. “Is he still mad about last night?”
He started the truck and pulled out of the lot. “I think his plan was to wear me out so that I would be too tired to go out with you.”
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She clasped her hands together and put them in her lap. “Sounds like him.”
They chatted for a few more minutes.
“We’re here.” Gunner pulled into the parking lot of an indoor rock climbing facility. The Climbing Crew brought first-timers here for lessons before heading out.
She tightened her fingers and they turned white. “I can’t climb.”
“Sure you can.” Gunner hopped out of the car and came around to open her door.
She sat there, unmoving. “Gunner, you don’t understand. I can’t climb.”
“That’s not what I hear.”
She pressed her clenched fingers to her mouth. “Gunner, if I break you tonight, Coach Wolfe is going to kill me.” She gasped. There was something missing inside of her. The need to test herself against Mother Nature was not there, pushing her. She blinked, trying to decide if she should be freaking out.
Gunner didn’t give her a moment. “You’re not going to break me. This is an indoor facility with a padded floor.”
She gave him a no way look.
“Fine. I won’t climb. But you need this.” He held out his hand.
She stared at him, sizing him up. He wasn’t going to back down. But then, she wasn’t sure what was happening inside of her. Maybe going in would help her figure things out. “Do you promise not to do something stupid?”
“Cross my heart.” He made an X on his chest. She took his hand, and he pulled her out of the vehicle.
They strolled inside, and a redhead with a curly ponytail greeted her by name and pulled her in for a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, Robin.” The smell of chalk and sweat hit her nose and unkinked some of her muscles. Her skin itched all over. “I didn’t bring my harness.”
“No problem. We’ve got you covered.” Robin hooked her up with gear, and soon she and Gunner were standing at the bottom of a wall.
Gunner held the two ropes—one in each hand. “So, how do I save your life?”
“Belay?” She grabbed one of the ropes and made a clove hitch securing the rope on the carabiner. “You need to keep the slack out of my line as I climb.” She wasn’t nervous about going up the wall, even with an inexperienced partner on the rope. She could climb this in her sleep.
Gunner nodded. His face was etched with concentration, much like it had been on the field when he pitched. His square jaw and straight Roman nose were given an attractive edge.
She looked a moment longer. “You know, you’re not ugly.”
He burst out a laugh. “You’re just figuring this out?”
She ducked her head, embarrassed that her thoughts had made it into words before she had a chance to censor them. “Sorry. You’re not my type.”
“I know. You like them brooding and ticked off.” He pulled the slack, and she showed him how to hold the rope.
Approaching the wall, her eyes found her first handholds, though her arms hung by her side. “Brayden wasn’t always like that. He smiled more than any man I know.”
“Whatever.” Gunner nudged her to take another step.
She grabbed the chalk bag attached to her harness, releasing a puff of chalk into the air and covering her palms. After dusting them together, she grabbed the first hold, a yellow grip with a rounded edge. Pulling up, she quickly positioned her feet and grabbed on with her other hand. The movement was as natural as walking. That drive to stare death in the face, to put herself up against the toughest terrain, still didn’t surface.
She had this feeling that she’d been playing with her life all this time, and now she valued it in a different way. If Brayden, who was strong and capable and fit, could be taken out of the game, then she could too. That day had changed her.
“The fall changed him, made him angry.” She talked as she climbed, her mind spinning through the events of the last month and a half as her natural grace took over. A small bead of sweat dripped down the middle of her back. Man, it felt … right. Her ribs protested slightly, but she wasn’t asking anything of them that they couldn’t p
erform. Climbing used big muscle groups and small muscle groups. She remembered that she liked being in touch with all of them. That was part of what had drawn her to climbing: the almost spiritual connection she gained with her body. “I think it scared him too.”
“Why?” Gunner called up to her.
She was halfway to the top. There was no need to race. A sense of being outside of time and a step away from her troubles swallowed her the higher she climbed. It was like she’d risen above the pain and could see things from a whole new perspective. “Because he’d always been Mr. Baseball. Pitching was inside of him, part of his genetic makeup. Without the ability to play, he saw himself as less of a man.” She closed her eyes. “And he always valued me so highly—maybe he thought I wouldn’t want him.”
“An intentional walk?” asked Gunner.
Tilly tapped the top of the wall. “Belay!” Gunner tightened his hold, and she let go of the wall, bouncing off of it with her feet as he fed her rope. She landed in front of him. “What did you say?”
“I said he gave you an intentional walk.”
Her mouth fell open. “Brayden doesn’t do that. I mean, he never would intentionally walk a batter.” Tears gathered, and she swiped under her eyes. “He would rather go down throwing.”
“But he couldn’t throw anymore,” Gunner said quietly.
“No, he couldn’t.” She sniffed. “Love sucks.”
Gunner wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I have no idea what you see in that guy.”
She laughed through her tears and punched him lightly in the side.
“But you gotta know he’s still in love with you.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“He has a crappy way of showing it.”
“Yeah, well, he’s had a rough time lately. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s this pitcher who won’t listen to him.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
Gunner dropped his head back like an exasperated teenager. “He goes on and on about my grip.”
Tilly gulped. “You have short fingers.”
He pulled away from her, splaying his hands out in front of him and frowning.
She lifted a shoulder. “I noticed when I was showing you the ropes.”
He shoved her shoulder. “You and Brayden deserve each other.” He got an evil glint in his eye. “You know. If you wanted to make him really jealous …” He put his hand on her cheek.
“You are a punk!” She shoved him away, laughing.
“So I’ve heard.”
“But you’re a good friend, too.” To her and to Brayden, though she wasn’t going to tell him as much. He and Brayden would have to work out their own issues. Some guys never really got along, and that was fine, as long as they respected each other. Maybe Gunner and Brayden were on that path.
He gave her a hug. “Make him work for it, ’kay? For me.”
She laughed. “I’m not even sure I can think about opening my heart to him again.”
“You’re already thinking about it.”
She blushed, because she was. What was a girl supposed to do with the boy who broke her heart?
Chapter Thirty-Two
Brayden
Brayden spent the evening gaming with Blake and Juan and trying not to think about what Tilly and Gunner were doing. Their avatars dropped into the battlefield as a group, and they gathered guns and ammo quickly. Brayden went after every enemy they came upon like they were Gunner. When a pic popped up on Gunner’s social media of him and Tilly at the indoor climbing facility, Gunner’s arm around Tilly, he threw his controller down and stormed out.
His buddies were cool with it. Too cool. He’d become so moody that a tantrum wasn’t anything to raise an eyebrow over. He’d have to work on that.
Right now, he was working on him and Tilly by sitting on his front porch, waiting for her and Gunner to pull up. Her Jeep was in the driveway. Clover had driven it home, Dustin following behind. They’d invited him to dinner, but he’d gone to Blake’s instead.
He didn’t have to wait long for them to show up. Thank goodness. The climbing facility closed at ten, and Gunner had an early practice in the morning. As Gunner’s truck turned the corner, Brayden got to his feet and walked down the sidewalk, planning a repeat of what happened in Atlanta, right down to the kiss. His fingers twitched with the need to wrap up in her hair.
Gunner hopped out of the truck and opened Tilly’s door. At least he had the decency to treat her right. Still, it irked Brayden that it was Gunner who had taken her climbing, Gunner who put his hand on her lower back, and Gunner who ignored him as they headed for her front porch.
He picked up the pace. “Evening,” he called.
Neither of them turned his way. They faced one another. Tilly’s head dropped back, and she took a deep breath.
Gunner grinned widely. “Can we have a minute?” he asked Brayden.
Brayden nodded. “Go right ahead.”
Tilly groaned. “Brayden, get off my property.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” In three long strides, he was on the public sidewalk. He folded his arms and smiled.
“I’m sorry,” Tilly said to Gunner. Like she needed to apologize to him for anything.
Gunner hugged her, and Brayden thought of a dozen pranks he could pull on the kid—starting with shaving cream in his cleats. Gunner took his sweet time saying good night, whispering. With every second that ticked by, Brayden added another lap to his workout.
Finally—finally!—Gunner drove off, and Tilly turned to look at him. Dang, she was beautiful. Her hair was slightly disheveled from climbing and her cheeks were dusted with color. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and stop time with a kiss.
“Can I come in?” he asked. “I’d like to talk.”
Even from where he stood, he could see the confusion swirling in her gaze. It was like watching the laces on a baseball as it spun towards the catcher’s mitt. Instead of landing true, the ball spun away from him. “No.” She flipped, sending her hair flying, opened the door, stepped inside, and then slammed the door. The sound echoed up and down the street.
Brayden stood there for a moment more before making his way home. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t a closed door. “Ball one,” he said to himself. Four balls, and he’d have to walk. Not because he wanted to, but because those were the rules. Four balls.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Brayden
Brayden threw a polo shirt in his duffel bag.
His dad stood in the doorway, his arms folded as he watched Brayden pack. “That nurse called. She wants to stop by and see you off.”
Brayden groaned. “I don’t have a lot of time. She’d better be quick.”
Dad moved his hands to his pockets. “I think it’s time I head home, son.”
Brayden stopped everything he was doing, all his thoughts piled together like a train wreck. “What?”
“You’re so much better. You can get around, shower, you’re working. I think you can stand on your own two feet, and you don’t need your old man hanging around.”
Brayden launched himself at his father who caught him in a bear hug. “I can’t believe you’re just going to go.”
Dad laughed, his big belly jiggling. “I’m not that far away. And now that you have some flexibility in your schedule, you can come see me.”
“I will.” Brayden vowed he’d make it happen. His dad had come through for him in a big way. Not to mention what he’d done for Tilly. He’d been a confidant and a friend and a shoulder for her to cry on when Brayden fell short. He’d never be able to repay that.
“Bring my baby girl with you, though. I don’t want you showing up without her.”
Brayden went back to packing like a whirlwind. “I’m working on it. This series couldn’t have come at a worse time. I hate leaving when things aren’t settled between us.”
“But it’s good for you, filling in as assistant coach.”
�
��It is. I don’t know how to pass it up.”
“Don’t.” The doorbell rang, and Dad glanced over his shoulder. “Do me a favor and get rid of the nurse.”
“I’ll tell her I’m on my way out.” Brayden scooted past his dad but was stopped by a hand on his arm.
“I mean get rid of her. Tell her not to come around anymore.” Dad’s dark eyes bored into him. “She’s hurting your chances with Tilly.”
Natalie’s unannounced visits. Her hair flips. Her smug looks down the street when she thought he wasn’t looking. The way she made sure she parked in his driveway so there was no mistaking who she was here to see. He suddenly looked at it through Tilly’s eyes. Brayden wanted to smack himself in the forehead. “I’m an idiot.”
“It’s nice to see you finally have your head out of the clouds.”
The doorbell rang. Dad’s hand didn’t let go of Brayden. His other hand came out of his pocket, holding a small white box.
Brayden recognized it immediately as the box he’d had in his pocket the day of the accident. The air whooshed out of him. He reached out slowly. “Where did you get that?” The idea that he was reaching for his dreams taking root in his mind. His hand closed around the velvet and his soul jumped in anticipation.
“I found it in a pair of dirty shorts. Almost put it through the washing machine.” Dad’s eyes crinkled. “I didn’t look inside. I don’t want to see it until it’s on her finger.”
Brayden dipped his chin in agreement. Dirty shorts? So the bag hadn’t been touched since the hospital. Tilly hadn’t seen the ring—didn’t know how ready he was to spend their lives together. Didn’t have the promise in her heart. Natalie was a horrendous coincidence.
Dad let him go, and he hurried to the front door. He didn’t want Natalie to leave before he had a chance to tell her not to come back. He swung open the door, and a smile lit up her face.
Intentional Walk: Dating Mr. Baseball Book 3 Page 19
