“Here we are.” Jenny opened the door and stepped aside, allowing him to go in ahead of her.
He brushed her arm with his as he walked past and tried to ignore the surge of disappointment when she stiffened, simply by being that close to him. Had it really been so long ago that she’d welcomed his touch? That they’d spent every afternoon together sharing their dreams and learning about each other?
Jenny stepped into the room beside him and started spouting off facts about the house like a robot. Maybe too much time had passed. He looked around without really seeing the house.
How could she have forgotten what they used to be like together when it was all he’d thought about, other than baseball? She was as much a part of him as the game.
He rubbed a hand over his short beard and looked around the room again. The space inside the house was large, open, and had more than a few hunting trophies hanging on the walls in the form of mounted heads and antlers. He circled the room once and followed Jenny to the kitchen.
“I know this area might be a little smaller than you were hoping for, but there’s a large laundry room you could remodel and really open this space up.”
“That’s true.”
“If you’ll follow me upstairs, I’ll show you the bedrooms.”
“Words I’ll never get tired of hearing you say.” He grinned at her, hoping to coax a smile out of her, but based on the way her shoulders stiffened, he figured his plan had backfired. Her temperature toward him was even chillier than he’d thought.
Jenny turned, her face red. “Adam, please don’t speak to me that way. It isn’t appropriate. I’m your realtor.”
“You used to be my friend.” He took a step toward her.
“I used to be a lot of things,” she stepped back and bumped the counter. “It’s been a long time. I’m all grown up now.”
“I can see that.” A small pull of sadness tugged at him as he thought about the years he’d missed with her. But, he had no one to blame except himself. It’d been his choice to leave. He had chosen his dream over her.
Jenny stepped away from the counter, gave him a wide berth and started for the stairs. After rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he followed and kept the rest of their tour strictly professional. They’d lay everything out on the table in due time. Until then, he did need to find a house.
Back in Jenny’s car as they headed for the second house on the list, Adam leaned back at an angle in the seat so he could watch her drive.
“So, are you going to ask me?”
She glanced at him and then back at the road. “Ask you what?”
“Why I’m moving back. I thought you might be wondering.”
“It’s none of my business, but I’m surprised you’re going to commute. Atlanta isn’t far, but with the traffic it seems like it might get rather tedious.”
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
She looked at him again, apparently hearing more in his voice than most people would. She’d always been good at reading him.
“I’m not going back to the team.” He sighed. “It’s looking like early retirement for me.”
She glanced at him with wide eyes. “What? Why? You’re so young.”
“It would seem my shoulder’s had about all the pitching it can take.”
Jenny turned into a driveway and stopped the car in front of a large white house with columns, then turned to look at him. “Adam, I’m sorry.” Her voice was quiet, but full of genuine concern.
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve had my time.” Afraid she would see how much it bothered him while boring into him with her deep blue eyes, he put his hand on the door handle and made a move to get out of the car.
She took the hint and, together, they toured the second house even though he knew it wasn’t right the moment they’d stepped inside. It was too fancy and not what he or Jenny would pick to start making a life in. He wondered if she realized it as well because unlike the first one, she didn’t try very hard to sell it to him. After walking through the house in silence, they returned to the car.
“I have one more I’d like to show you and if you still don’t like any of these, I’ll keep looking and setup some more showings.”
“Sounds good. Lead the way.”
As the radio played softly in the background, he noticed how her skirt was raised high on her leg. He longed to reach over and stroke her soft skin while she drove. To remind himself what it felt like to touch her.
“Have a drink with me,” he blurted. “We could go to The Lazy Peach for old time’s sake.”
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
“Why not? I’d like to hear what you’ve been up to and I can tell you stories about being on the road. Come on, what do you say?”
“I’m seeing someone.”
His smile faltered and some of the hope he’d been harboring sank. “Oh.”
“Oh?” Her voice rose. “Are you surprised I have a life?”
“No, I . . . I just didn’t realize—”
“What did you think, that I was just sitting at home waiting around for you to come back? Pining over our town hero?”
“Hey, now, come on Jennifer.”
“Don’t Jennifer me, Adam Hamilton. That’s exactly what you thought, isn’t it? You thought you could come home and pick up right where you left off. Well, let me tell you something, that may be the case in some aspects of your life, but I’m not part of your life anymore. You made damn sure of that when you left me standing on the sidewalk with nothing but a note and a wave.”
He sat in her car and watched as her chest rose and fell, her cheeks flushed with color. So, that’s how she felt. Even after all this time. As he stared out at the road, new hope sprang to life. What she didn’t seem to understand was that he knew her as well as she knew him, and for her to lash out at him with that much temper . . . she must still have some feelings for him.
He turned his face toward the window and covered his mouth so she couldn’t see his smile. A shred of hope was all he needed.
Jenny blew out a breath beside him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”
“I deserved it. I know I hurt you, Jenny, but please understand. It was never my intention.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s water under the bridge.” She pasted on her fake smile. “Let’s concentrate on finding you a house. I think you’re really going to like this last one.”
Adam climbed out of his black truck and dropped down onto the familiar road in front of his grandmother’s house. The old oak trees keeping her front yard shrouded in shade rustled with a slight breeze as he walked up the drive and knocked on the door.
The smell of jasmine floated on the wind and reminded him of warm nights spent on the porch swing and playing catch with his grandfather while his grandmother sat stringing beans and looking on. It was those memories, as well as Jenny, that had brought him back.
The screen door let out a groan when his grandmother pushed it open and beamed at him. “Adam.”
“Hi, Honey.” He bent over and hugged her small frame gently.
“This is a wonderful surprise.” She released him. “Get in this house and tell me all about you. I can make you a pimento cheese sandwich if you’re hungry.”
He shook his head and laughed. Some things never changed. “Where’s Vera?”
“She has the afternoon off. Are you sure you aren’t hungry?”
After convincing her he wasn’t hungry, they sat down at her kitchen table, a pack of playing cards sitting idly between them.
“Do you want to play?” she asked when she saw him looking at them.
He grinned, slid the cards out of their well-worn box and started to deal. She’d taught hi
m how to play cards when he’d been about ten and they’d played every time he’d visited since then. He learned how to play poker before he learned algebra.
“Five card?”
She nodded and pulled two cards out of her hand to trade in. “Do you have some time off before training starts?”
They each threw a chip into the middle, his full house boosting his confidence. “I’m not going to be going to anymore training, Honey. It’s time for me to go.”
She leaned back in her chair, studying him with her slightly milky eyes, the sharp blue faded with time, but not the glimmering intelligence. “There’s nothing they can do for your shoulder?”
“No, ma’am. This last surgery didn’t do what I’d hoped it would.”
“Well, I’m sorry for you, Adam.” She leaned across the table, rested one of her age-spotted hands on his, and squeezed. “You’re a fine ball player.”
“Thanks.”
She laid out a straight flush and laughed when he tossed his losing cards back into the pile. “Maybe not any good at poker, though.”
“Not sorry enough about my career ending injury to let me win, huh?”
“Humph, you don’t need me to let you win.” She looked at him, her face serious. “You’re a good man. You’ll find something else you love to do. This is just one chapter of your life.”
Grinning, he nodded. He hadn’t thought about it like that before, but she was right. He had more living to do.
“Maybe now you’ll have time to find someone suitable to make me a great-grandmother.” She winked.
“We’ll see.” Standing, he crossed to get a glass from the cabinet. The location of things in her house hadn’t changed since he was a kid. Since his parents moved to the city and traded in his childhood home for a smaller condo, his grandmother’s house was the one place that felt like home.
After offering his grandmother some tea, which she declined, he poured himself a glass and returned to the table. “I saw Jenny earlier.”
“Ah, didn’t take you long.” His grandmother expertly dealt the next hand of cards. “I see her parents at church. Good people, the Fillmores.” She set the extra cards aside and studied her hand. “You know, Jenny used to come see me, but after you left I think it became too painful for her. I heard she was seeing some boy from Atlanta and that she’s pretty happy. How’d she seem to you?”
“She’s good.”
His grandmother eyed him over the top of her cards. “Just good?”
“She’s beautiful, works hard from what I can tell, and hates me. But, I plan to work on that last part.”
“Don’t mess with that girl’s head, Adam. She deserves to have a good life and after that trouble last year . . .”
He swallowed the bile that rose in the back of his throat. He’d come so close to losing her. Not that he had her in any way now, but in the back of his mind he’d always known he would come back for her.
“I’m not going to mess with her head, Honey. I swear it.” Adam set his cards down and looked his grandmother in the eye, the one person who knew how hard it’d been for him to leave Jenny. “She’s still the one.”
His grandmother nodded and then tossed two chips in the middle of the pot. “Few people love each other as much as you two kids loved each other.”
“You and Grandfather did.”
Honey’s eyes drifted to the picture of her late husband sitting on a shelf and smiled. “That’s true.”
“I want what the two of you had. I want a lifetime,” he tapped his cards on the table, “and I’m already late. Do you think I have a chance?”
“She’s not married.”
Adam sat back in his chair and grinned. “No, she’s not.”
After a few more rounds of cards, Adam kissed his grandmother goodbye and promised to visit again soon. He turned and waved, when he reached the sidewalk. His grandmother waved back and then shrank back into her house.
His gaze dropped where the sidewalk lay uneven under his shoes. The top of his initials stuck out where they were etched into the concrete. Stepping to the side, he saw another set beside his own.
AH and then a heart, followed by JF. It had always been Jenny.
She didn’t know it yet, but he was here for her. No matter what it took, he was going to show her he’d been worth the wait.
Chapter 3
With her purse tucked under her arm, Jenny jogged up the last four stairs to the bridal shop, glanced at her gold watch, and blew out a frustrated breath when she noted she was already ten minutes late. She was never late.
He’d only been back in town for one day and Adam was already upending her life. As the mannequins dressed in long white gowns smiled down at Jenny from the display window, she scowled. After her afternoon with Adam, love was the last thing she wanted to think about.
The bell chimed overhead signaling her late arrival to the entire store. Jenny relaxed her shoulders and offered an apologetic smile when she saw the sales assistant hurrying over.
“We’ve been waiting for you.” Her voice was overly bright. “Would you like some champagne?”
“A glass of champagne would be wonderful.” She wandered over to the couch in the dressing area and wished the associate would just leave the bottle. That’d be even better.
“Hey, Jenny,” Ann relaxed on the white couch, a flute of rose colored champagne already in hand. “Sam will be out in just a minute.”
Jenny flopped onto the couch beside her oldest friend and thanked the clerk for the cool glass before emptying half its contents into her mouth.
“That kind of day?” Ann arched her brow.
“You have no idea.”
They turned their heads at the sound of a dressing room door squeaking open and gasped in unison.
“Oh, Sam.” Jenny stood. “You look—”
“Amazing,” Ann finished for her.
Sam smiled and stepped onto the raised circular platform centered in front of a half circle of mirrors. “Do you really like it?” Sam bit her lip, shy as always.
“It might be the most beautiful dress I’ve even seen.” Jenny wasn’t exaggerating. The off-white strapless gown flowed like water over Sam’s body, cinching at her waist and then billowing down to her feet. The subtle clusters of beads winked in the overhead lights and added just the right amount of detail.
Ann clapped her hands. “Spencer is going to keel over.”
Sam’s smile brightened at the mention of her fiancé and she turned to study her reflection. “I can’t believe this is the final fitting. The next time I put it on I’ll be getting married.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I just didn’t think it would ever happen. Not after—”
Ann reached out for Sam’s hand. “Don’t think about him now. Don’t let that psycho ruin your moment.”
Sam glanced at Jenny and they exchanged a look of understanding, both knowing what it was like to be terrorized by the same man. A shiver ran the length of Jenny’s spine and she shook it off. She didn’t want to think about her time trapped in the woods; her hands and feet bound while he stormed around ranting with a knife in his hand, not knowing if she was ever going to get out of the woods alive. She drained the rest of her glass while the clerk stepped over to fiddle with Sam’s gown.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ann tapped a fingernail on Jenny’s flute.
Jenny looked over at Ann and whispered. “Not really, but you’ll find out soon enough either way.”
They returned to the couch, but continued to watch Sam. She looked as happy as Jenny had ever seen her and although they’d only known each other a short time, Jenny considered Sam one of her best friends. They’d connected instantly and never went more than a few days without talking. When Sam had asked her to be a bridesmaid, she’d been thrilled.
“I spent the morning with Adam.” She said it in a rush.
“Adam, Adam?” Ann set her glass on the table and leaned in closer to Jenny. “What? Why? I mean, wow.”
At Ann’s alarmed tone, Sam turned and stared. “What’d I miss?”
“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it, Sam. Today is about you.”
Sam hiked up her skirt and stepped down next to them. “It’s not my wedding day, plus, I’ve never seen Ann’s eyes get that wide.”
“I saw my ex this morning. Well, I more than saw him. I took him house hunting.” Jenny glanced at Ann. “He’s moving back.”
“What?”
“So, I take it this is a bad thing?” Sam asked looking from one friend to the other.
“It’s complicated.” Ann looked to Jenny and waited for her to gesture to go ahead before she continued. “Adam Hamilton was Jenny’s boyfriend in high school and then in college.”
“What happened?” Sam nudged Jenny with her hip and squished on the couch with them, pinning Jenny in place.
“He got drafted to play professional baseball and, instead of trying to keep what we had, he just left. Basically, he told me in a letter. A letter he handed me as he was loading his car. By the time I could think, he was gone and like a fool I went scrambling after him.” Jenny bit the inside of her cheek. She would not cry. Not again. “When I tried to catch him, he just kept driving. It was humiliating.”
Running Home (Warm Springs Trilogy Book 2) Page 2
