by Raine Thomas
“No, you’re calling to see if I did the research project you set me on.”
Will winced. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. Any luck?”
“Sure. There are four or five dance studios within reasonable driving distance from the house that offer ballet for kids Katie’s age. I’ve made a couple of appointments so I can take her to see the studios and meet the instructors before you get home. If neither of those works out, we can schedule a few more appointments at other studios for when you’re here so you can go with her.”
“Good.”
Frank paused. “You sure this is a good idea, son?”
Thinking of how he’d found Katie standing in front of mirrors and posing many times over the past few weeks, Will replied, “Yeah. The kid has a thing for ballet. I’ve even seen her making up some moves of her own.”
At least, he assumed they were made-up moves. What the hell did he know about it?
“I’m concerned these instructors won’t be able to relate to our Katie,” Frank persisted. “They’re more than likely going to be female. That doesn’t generally go well.”
“I think this will be different, Dad. There was that female ballerina who taught this stuff to Katie in the first place, and they were only together for a few minutes. They got on just fine. I think it’ll be good for Katie.”
“All right. If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“Then we’ll see how it goes. Did you pitch today?”
“Yeah.”
They transitioned into ball talk. The team had lost to Florida by a run. Since that run had scored before Will hit the mound, it was unusual that he’d entered the game. His role as the closer was usually to come in late in the game to save the win for the starting pitcher. The manager had merely put him in that afternoon because the rest of the bullpen was struggling so much.
“Sounds like the relievers need some work,” Frank said.
“That’s putting it mildly. Most of them are recent trades or fresh off the farm,” he said, referencing Major League Baseball’s minor league system.
“Have you tried talking to them? Taking them under your wing? Maybe the newer guys are battling nerves and could use a mentor.”
Will fought a sigh. He had enough fathering to do without having to step in with his teammates too. Still, his dad had a point.
“I haven’t, but I’ll see what I can do. Actually, some of the guys mentioned getting together for drinks in one of the hotel bars this evening. Maybe I’ll swing by.”
“You really should. Bonding off the field is just as important as on it. You guys have to get to know each other if you’re going to trust one another and come together as a team. You’ll have to tell me how it goes.”
Ugh. That was one way to make sure Will did what he said he was going to do. His dad was an expert that that.
“Fine. Now really tell me about the Giuseppe project.”
Giuseppe’s had been an Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Midtown for nearly two decades. Its popularity had waned in recent years due to the owner’s failure to invest in updates to either the building or his menu. The restaurant took another hit when its scores dropped markedly during a routine health inspection. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the death of the owner the year before. Due to poor estate planning and a lack of interest by anyone in fighting to preserve the restaurant, the space had gone up for auction. Campbell Investments had picked it up for a song. They just hadn’t settled on what to do with it yet.
“It’s going well,” Frank said. “I managed to get the old kitchen equipment over to the auction house and we’ve started demo work.”
“Good. I’ve been researching local businesses to see what might make sense to go into the space.”
“Sure would’ve been easier to keep it as a restaurant.”
Will disagreed. “Too much competition in that area. Besides, the equipment they had in there all needed replacing. Hopefully the auctioneers can at least get us enough to cover the plumbing updates we’ll have to do.”
“That’s a point.”
They touched on a couple of the other projects they were handling. There had been a few setbacks with one of the subcontractors they used. Everything else was on target.
“Is that granddaughter of mine around?” Frank asked when they reached the end of their conversation. “I want to FaceTime with her.”
“Nah. She and Gareth are still at the pool. I’m betting they’re going to eat dinner poolside and stay until they’re kicked out.”
“Okay. I’ll call him. I look forward to hearing how the team bonding goes.”
“Yeah, yeah. Later.”
Hanging up the phone, Will stared at the ceiling wondering how he was going to work up enough energy to socialize. Then he wondered when he had gotten so old. Not even two years ago, he’d already be at the bar getting a head-start on the drinking with some of his teammates. Now, he was seriously considering trying to grab a quick nap first.
Shit.
In the end, he texted Gareth to make sure he’d be okay watching Katie for a while longer. Once he got the thumbs up, he rose and changed from his gym shorts and well-worn T-shirt to a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved collared shirt, rolling the sleeves to his elbows and leaving it untucked. His only jewelry was his watch and the necklace his dad had given him on his first Father’s Day, a silver circle on a black cord. Katie’s name was etched on one side of the circle and her date of birth on the other. He never took it off.
He put his sneakers back on and ran his fingers through his naturally tousled hair, then considered himself ready enough. He grabbed his wallet and headed down to the bar.
The sound of raucous laughter and beach-vibe music greeted him as he walked into the bar from the hotel’s access door and detoured over to the side of the main dining area bordering the outdoor patio. Most of the guests sitting inside were there to eat dinner. Plates of burgers, fish sandwiches, and nachos covered the tables he passed. The patio and a significant portion of the bar just off of it was currently filled with a number of his teammates sitting and standing around the available tables. Nearly as many women had joined them. Will wasn’t yet familiar enough with most of his teammates to know if the women were spouses, girlfriends, or hookup-hopefuls. He didn’t have any plans to change that this evening. That was one layer deeper than he desired to go with this particular bonding effort.
“Hey, there’s Campbell!” shouted Eddie Castillo, the team’s new backup catcher who would mainly be working the bullpen. “Come on in, amigo!”
Judging by Eddie’s heavy-lidded gaze and the volume at which he spoke, he’d been drinking for a while already. His smile was bright and his tone sincere, however, so Will walked over to him and accepted the hand-slap-fist-bump combo the catcher liked to use as a greeting. The female with her arm wrapped around Eddie’s waist gave Will a thorough scan that had him hoping she wasn’t a wife or girlfriend. Actually, he thought, she looked young enough to be someone’s little sister.
Which was even more disturbing.
“Finally, someone who can throw a decent game of darts,” Cole Parker said from a neighboring high-top table. “Come join us, Campbell.”
The team’s third baseman, Evan Dorsey, also stood at Cole’s table, as did starting pitcher Randy Haviland. Will had played with all three of them the year before but he hadn’t gotten close to any of them. His focus had been on Katie.
Before Will could reply to Cole, Eddie grabbed his arm. “Naw, man,” he said. “Stick around with us single guys and have some fun. All you’ll hear over there are stories about nagging wives, baby puke, and minivans.”
“Yeah,” seconded one of the team’s relief pitchers, Carlos Banuelos, from the table on Will’s other side. “We’ve got the pool table next. You should rack in with us.”
Since his goal was largely to socialize with the bullpen players, Will gave Cole an apologetic shrug. Receiving Cole’s nod, he moved into the opening between Eddie
and Carlos’ tables so he could more easily talk to the bullpen players split between them. He ordered a Blue Moon when the server stopped by his table and then tuned into the conversation.
“Yeah, that baby really moves,” relief pitcher Tucker Newcomb said with a grin. “She’s not as smooth a ride as the GT, but damn, what a fucking rush.”
Car talk, Will noted. Not his particular area of interest or specialty. He could nod and grunt responses like the best of them, though, especially once the server returned with his beer.
That’s what he did for the next fifteen minutes as the conversation switched from cars to boats and then ultimately to recent movies. The last movie he’d seen was Frozen 2, so even on that topic he didn’t have much to contribute. At least he got a few tips on movies he could watch after Katie went to bed once the movies made it to one of the streaming services he subscribed to, he tried to console himself.
Boredom truly set in around the twenty-minute mark. The promised game of pool didn’t happen, as his teammates stopped paying attention to the game in progress and some other bar patrons took the table over before Will could mention it. He didn’t think anyone else cared.
The young woman who had initially been hovering by Eddie shifted every minute or two until she was standing at Will’s elbow. Her breasts, barely covered by the bikini top she wore, brushed against his bicep a few times. He pretended he didn’t notice, not wanting her to get the wrong idea and think he was interested. Eddie wasn’t bothered by the change in her focus. He soon had another woman standing next to him.
At least this one looked old enough to legally drink.
Desiring another beer, Will tried to get the server’s attention the next time she neared the table. She ended up walking past him without glancing his way.
“You want another one?” the girl beside him asked. “I’m happy to run up to the bar and get it.”
Christ, he thought. Even her voice sounded young.
“Are you even old enough to buy it?” he asked.
The music died just as he asked the question. A few of his teammates glanced over. The girl smiled and shrugged.
“It’s not like they’re carding anyone,” she said. “Besides, you’re not that old yourself. What are you, like, twenty?”
He suddenly felt twice that old. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
“Suit yourself.”
The girl shrugged again and moved over to another table. Will fought the urge to tell her to go find her parents and get the hell away from the bar.
Eddie must have seen something in his expression that said as much. “What the hell was that, Campbell?” the catcher asked. “You got something against hitting a prime piece of ass when it’s offered up to you on a slab?”
Will frowned. “I do when she’s obviously still a minor.”
“Jesus, man,” Tucker said. “You sound like her dad.”
“Like someone’s dad, anyway,” Eddie agreed.
“He is a papá,” chimed in starting catcher Javier Rios as he finally arrived. “Hey, Campbell,” he added as he passed by on the way to the pool table.
Will briefly lifted his chin in greeting. Javy was another of his teammates from the previous season. Because they worked closely together as a pitcher-catcher combo, he knew him better than anyone else on the team.
“You’re a dad?” Tucker asked.
“Yep.”
“Damn,” Eddie said. “Well if you’ve got a problem with us hooking up with these hotties, maybe you should join the old guys over there after all.”
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Will instinctively followed the movement. He saw Cole, Evan, and Randy all watching the exchange. Cole reached into the bucket on their table and lifted out a bottle of beer, giving Will an Interested? look.
Giving him a nod, Will pushed away from Eddie’s table. “I have a little girl,” he said to the players close enough to hear. He decided if this was meant to be a bonding experience, they had to get to know each other somehow. Katie was the one part of his life they needed to know. “Her name is Katie. She’s five.”
“Five?” Tucker repeated, his eyebrows up near his hairline. “I thought you were younger than me.”
Will had studied the stats of his newer teammates, so he knew Tucker was twenty-four. This was his first year out of the minors.
“I am,” Will said.
Assuming they were all coming to the correct conclusion that he’d been a teen dad, he left them to it and stepped over to Cole’s table.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the beer Cole offered.
“Sure. You up for some darts?”
“Why not?”
It was actually a relief to Will that there wasn’t much conversation between him and the other guys while they played. He’d had enough bonding for one night.
Cole and Randy occasionally brought up the pitching face-offs against upcoming teams, bouncing tips off each other and extending them to Will, which he appreciated. He had some of his own to contribute. Evan Dorsey, the only non-pitcher in the group, remained silent. From what Will knew about the guy, that wasn’t unusual. Evan wasn’t what one would consider chatty.
Still, he seemed even more curt than usual. He wore a constant scowl and picked up his phone every time he returned to the table after taking his turn with the darts.
Noting Will’s gaze when Evan checked his phone for the thirtieth time in ten minutes, Cole explained, “Sierra’s due in a few days.”
“Ah.” Will had met Evan’s wife, Sierra, a few times. She was the team owner’s niece and one of the photographers who occasionally came out to their events to photograph the team. He had forgotten she was pregnant. “That’s exciting.”
“It’s fucking terrifying,” Evan argued, his Australian accent heavy on the words.
He sounded like he thought Will was an idiot. Will chalked it up to Evan’s churlish personality and fought the urge to snap something back. Add in the pending baby fears, and it was understandable why he’d be short with people right then.
“I don’t look forward to that when my time comes,” Randy said.
“Try pitching in the World Series around delivery time,” Cole intoned as he moved over to take his turn with the darts.
Will grinned. He’d heard the story about how Cole had raced to the delivery room after pitching the winning game of the World Series two seasons before. His daughter had been born within minutes of his arrival.
“Shit,” Evan said. He blew out a breath and looked at Will. “How’d you handle this part of the fatherhood business, Campbell?”
Will’s good humor faded. He sipped his beer before replying, “I wasn’t there when Katie was born.”
There was a pause as the others processed that. Will took another drink, anticipating a slew of questions that thankfully never came.
“Guess I made that awkward,” Evan said eventually. “Sorry, mate.”
“It’s fine.”
It wasn’t and they all knew it. It put a noticeable damper on the evening. Feeling responsible for that, Will finished his beer and excused himself, using Katie as his reason. No one tried to convince him to stay.
All in all, the bonding experience had gone much as these kinds of things had since Katie entered his life. Will wasn’t a carefree single guy without responsibilities who could prowl for a handy hookup and talk about frivolous purchases. Nor was he married or armed with classic newborn stories to toss around with the older, more settled players.
In short, he didn’t really fit in with his teammates at all…and he had no clue how that could ever change.
Chapter Six
It was the start of Jasmine’s third week working at Steamy Beans and she was seconds away from tearing off her apron and quitting. How on earth was she not qualified enough to work somewhere that didn’t put her in direct contact with people?
That was the sad fact she had faced after three solid weeks of filling out applications and reaching out to every contact sh
e had in hopes of finding work. The phrase, It’s who you know, had bitten her right in the ass, as the people she knew were either dancers or worked retail.
Now she spent what time she wasn’t dedicating to staying in top physical condition at a place that put her at daily risk of tossing hot beverages on people who annoyed her. She’d actually started a list of the biggest culprits.
The corporate types who loved to order the cheapest cup of coffee and camp out with their laptops for the entire day…without tipping.
The overbearing dog owners who didn’t seem to find it unsanitary to parade their pets into an establishment selling food.
The revolving carousel of frat guys who insisted on hitting on her and the other employees, often getting handsy while they were at it.
The oversharer who wanted to recap their entire day while holding up the line of grumbling customers behind them.
The disrespectful viewers who thought everyone in the place wanted to hear their obnoxious YouTube videos. Why bother with earphones?
Jasmine’s list grew every day. The customer currently placing her order while Jasmine managed the cash register was about to make it to the top.
“I’d like a cappuccino with no milk and a banana nut muffin warmed in the microwave for fifteen seconds,” the woman ordered. “It’s for here, not to-go.”
Forcing herself not to roll her eyes, Jasmine said, “Sure thing,” as she typed the order into the register.
“No, you entered an espresso,” the woman corrected. “I want a cappuccino with no milk.”
Jasmine dug for patience and forced a smile. “Yes, ma’am. A cappuccino without milk is an espresso.”
The woman’s nostrils flared. Her round, ruddy cheeks filled with color. Knowing what was coming, Jasmine choked down what she wanted to say and held up a hand.
“You know what? I must have pressed the wrong button,” she said. “I’ll fix it.”
“Don’t hold your hand up to me like that,” the woman snapped. “How rude!”
Jasmine’s spine straightened to its full height. In the back of her mind, a voice told her to remember that her sister had not only gone out on a limb to get her this job, she was letting her and her cat live with her and share her bedroom rent-free at the moment. If she went off on this customer like she wanted to, she’d be sleeping under a pink canopy with her creepy dolls that night.
