Dare to Dream: The Maxwell Series

by S. B. Alexander

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  * * *

  The ride over with Shaun was a non-event. The black SUV followed us and parked in a spot along the road where they could see me. Gym class was held outside under the warm March sun, a welcome change to the cold and snow we’d had last week. The field was clear of any snow, though it was still damp. Eight out of the twenty students were on Swain’s baseball team. Aaron, Shaun, and I were working with those on the team.

  I was enjoying the fresh air as I worked with a boy, Eddy, and girl, Pam, who were having trouble with their fast pitch. We spent time talking about how to hold the ball, the mechanics of the pitch, and how to breathe when pitching. Aaron had taken four players to a grassy area on the side of the school to work with them on batting. Shaun was working with two boys on their pitching on the other side of the field from me. Mr. Camp, a man in his forties, was holding down the fort with his other students, having them throw a baseball back and forth to a partner. My group was close to a heavyset boy who was throwing to a meek girl with blond hair. From the looks of it, she didn’t want to be there.

  “God, you’re pathetic,” the heavyset boy said. “Throw the ball like you mean it.”

  The tone of the boy’s voice caused me to stop and watch. The blonde returned the ball, but it fell short of the boy.

  “Girls shouldn’t be playing baseball,” he said. “Pick it up and throw it again.” His tone was condescending.

  I swallowed as my face heated. I’d had plenty of boys in middle school tell me the same thing, even though I could throw.

  With her eyes downcast, the girl gingerly picked up the ball.

  I regarded Eddy and Pam.

  Pam said, “Ron is a bully.”

  I got that. What seeped into my pores, spawning my anger even more, was that the girl was obeying him. I trotted up to the girl. “What’s your name?”

  She picked up the ball. “Tiffany.”

  “Can I see the ball?” I held out my glove. “Would you mind if I play catch with your partner?” I didn’t want to embarrass the girl. I also didn’t want to put her in a worse situation where Ron would lash out at her, thinking she needed a big sister to fight her battles.

  She lifted a dainty shoulder.

  “Would you also mind if I taught him a lesson? I know you have to go to school with him.”

  “Be my guest,” she said in a soft, low voice. She went to stand with Pam and Eddy.

  “Ron,” I called. “It’s you and me. Show me what you got, dude.”

  He smirked as though he was about to show me a thing or two about how to throw a ball. He whipped one at me.

  I threw the ball back, not hard. We volleyed for several throws. He had a good arm. Then I readied the ball for one of my seventy-mile-an-hour fastballs. One of those pitches in anything other than a catcher’s mitt could bruise a hand and sting like ten beehives. When he caught it, he squealed. Pam and Tiffany giggled. Eddy chuckled.

  “Is that all you got?” Ron said as he returned the ball.

  A few more fastballs and the boy wouldn’t be able to hold a glass in his hand. I threw another one. That time his face grew beet red. I didn’t want to torture him too much. I also didn’t want to be accused of bullying myself.

  I jogged up to him. “The next time you call someone pathetic, or tell a girl she shouldn’t play baseball, or pick on Tiffany, remember that sting you feel in your hand. You got it?” I whispered so low only he could hear.

  His head bobbed up and down fast at every word I said.

  When I joined my group, Aaron was walking up with his. “Showing off, Robinson?” he asked.

  “Teaching,” I responded. I had other smartass comments, but I kept them to myself. I didn’t want to come off as a bully in front of my group or Tiffany.

  “Is Lacey treating you right?” Aaron asked Tiffany.

  “She was great,” Tiffany gushed with excitement.

  I did a double take. “Relation?”

  “Sister,” Aaron said as he mussed Tiffany’s hair.

  I didn’t know why I was surprised. Then again, I didn’t know much about Aaron’s personal life.

  The bell rang, and we had about fifteen minutes before we had to shift from gym class to practice with the entire team. I used that time to send Kade a text, figuring he should be getting out of his last class for the day.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kade

  I pinched my nose right between my brows. My fucking headache was back. I stalked into the Ashford Library and scanned the immediate area. I hadn’t spotted any black SUV on my way in. I assumed Chloe would show up in one of the black Escalades since those vehicles were standard issue for Wes’s team.

  A middle-aged lady, hunching behind a semi-circular counter to my right, peered over her reading glasses. My phone vibrated in my hand. It was a text from Lacey.

  Sorry I missed you at lunch. I hope Kelton told you. I’m at Swain Middle working with kids.

  I texted back. He did. I’ll see you later.

  I wore a hole in the tile floor as I paced in front of the entrance. You can beat the hell out of me for not telling you I had a date with a gorgeous blonde, a date with your cousin.

  Where the fuck was Chloe? I had at least an hour with her if the knife-like pain in my head didn’t kill me first. My headache had slowly been blooming like a damn spring flower since lunch, when Kelton had relayed Lacey’s message. Not being able to talk to her before my meeting with Chloe had driven me bat-shit crazy. It was bad enough Lacey was going to be furious that I’d held back so much information. Even more so if she found out I already met with Chloe or someone saw me with another girl.

  People talked in this town. Kids from school came to the library. Smooth move, Maxwell. You’re the one who chose the public place. Well, it was fucking better than a private one. At least if we met in a public place, I could claim that I wasn’t trying to hide anything from Lacey. I laughed silently at my reasoning. Either way, I was in the shitter. I should call Mr. Robinson and have him join me. That way we could both take the heat. For what? He did his part.

  The door opened. Blond, beautiful, and way too happy for my mood, Chloe sashayed through the doors. Her hair draped over her blue blazer and the low-cut white clingy top underneath. She carried herself like a magazine model. Christ, Maxwell. Get your head out of your ass. I was going to hell.

  I ground my teeth together so hard I swore I heard them crack.

  She beamed as she set her sights on me. “Kade, nice to finally meet you. My father was rude in the garage last week. But hey, the situation called for it.”

  That was rude? I’d call it fucked up. Anyone who had his men hold five guys at gun point for fighting each other had to be insane. “I think he got carried away over his Mercedes.”

  She drew her body up to mine and planted a kiss on my face.

  I jerked back.

  “Sorry, habit. Just a friendly gesture.”

  I was afraid to sweep the room to see who from Kensington was in the library. Since it was Friday, I’d venture to guess not many. “Why don’t we get started? I have to meet my girl later.” Or sooner, if possible. “Let me check with the librarian and make sure we can use that room.” I flicked a finger to the empty room adjacent to the main entrance.

  “It’s free,” the librarian said from behind her counter. “Go on in.”

  I guess there was something to be said for eavesdropping. Chloe went in before me. I was strung as tight as a guitar string as I ambled in behind her.

  She removed her math book and a notepad from her leather bag. “So, I suck at math,” she said as she settled into a chair at the end of the table.

  And I suck at relationships. “Well, let’s see what you got.” I slid into the chair next to her.

  Opening her book, she said, “My test is on logarithms.”

  I leafed through the chapter on logarithms. After forty-five minutes of explaining and her asking questions, she seemed to be catching on. So, I chose five equations
and two word problems for her solve. While she tackled problems, I practiced my speech to Lacey in my head. As I did, I kept fidgeting, squeezing my temples, squinting from the bright light above, and checking the time.

  Baby, I’ve wanted to tell you something. I had to wait until your father… That wasn’t a good way to begin. Baby, I’ve known something for days now, and I haven’t told you because it wasn’t my story to tell. No, scratch that. Either way I was bringing her father down with me, and he wasn’t at fault here.

  A silky hand touched my wrist. “Are you okay?” Chloe asked. “You look like you’re in pain.”

  I was. My head hurt so fucking bad that I had a knot the size of a nasty volcano waiting to erupt in my stomach. “I have to go out to my truck. I’ll be right back.” I rushed out into the sunshine and squinted so hard I thought my head would burst. I climbed into my truck to check the console for any aspirin, even though it didn’t help my migraines. Maybe taking the whole bottle might. I rummaged around and came up empty. I growled, the small act putting more pressure on my head. I got out of the truck. The parking lot and the cars in it tilted in one direction then the other. Flashes of light followed by patches of dark spots blinded my vision. I lost my footing and fell on my ass. I covered my eyes, pressing my hands to my head in hopes of pushing the pain away.

  I wasn’t sure how long I’d been on my ass when a soft hand touched mine. I peered up, my eyes barely open, to find Chloe and some hefty dude towering over me.

  “Kade, what’s wrong?” Chloe asked.

  “Head,” was all I could say.

  “Did you hit your head?” the guy with her asked.

  “Don’t yell.” Every syllable was like a nail to my head.

  “We’re not,” Chloe said. “Al, we should take him to the emergency room.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lacey

  The Swain Middle School team drifted onto the field around two thirty that afternoon. Aaron, Shaun, and I continued with our respective roles. Only this time, I played catcher. Eddy was up first, practicing his curveball.

  “All right, let’s see what you got.” I readied the catcher’s mitt.

  Eddy wound up and threw the ball. I jumped up and caught his wild pitch. As I returned the ball to Eddy, I spied Aaron watching me from his group down along third base. I stuck him with a glare.

  He trotted down the line to home plate. “It doesn’t appear your coaching is paying off for the kid.”

  “Go back to your group. I don’t need your advice,” I said low.

  “You want me to show you how it’s done?” His snide tone rode my nerves.

  “Do you want to get into a knockout in front of the middle schoolers?” My knee was positioned at his groin. I so had the itch to raise it just a little.

  “You just better pray you don’t pitch like that in our first game.” He jogged back to his group.

  I silently swore as I put on what I hoped was a winning smile for Eddy and threw him the ball.

  Just over an hour into practice, a vehicle screeched to a halt next to the field. I watched it warily.

  Kelton hopped out of his truck. “Lacey!” Kelton shouted. His hands were flailing.

  My heart rate ramped up. Kelton didn’t get nervous, ever. I looked for Mr. Camp.

  His sharp jaw dipped. “Go.”

  I handed the ball to Pam, quickly grabbed my bag, and ran to Kelton. My first thought was Dad. Lorenzino had come into town and hurt my father.

  “We need to go.” Kelton’s handsome face was twisted in fear. “Kade is in the emergency room.”

  I shut my eyes, shaking my head. I didn’t just hear that. A panic attack hung in the wings. Breathe. The buzzing started. My legs were quaking.

  “Get in.” The timbre of his voice was high and firm.

  “What happened?” I strapped on my seatbelt. “Was it Lorenzino? Greg? What? How badly is he hurt?”

  “Don’t know.” Kelton sped through the streets of Ashford as fast as the stop signs and traffic lights would allow. “A lady called from Kade’s phone and told me to get to the hospital. I tried calling you.”

  “A nurse. A doctor?” All I could see was Kade hurt with blood all over him. The sunlight dimmed in my peripheral vision. I closed my eyes, held onto the passenger door, and prayed I didn’t black out. Kade didn’t need me to panic, and neither did Kelton. He’d already seen one of my blackouts, and he didn’t need to witness another one.

  “Don’t know. We’re here.” He threw the gears in park at the emergency room entrance and jumped out.

  I blinked, breathing in deeply. Once I felt I had complete control of myself, I hurried as fast as I could on shaky legs. Thank God for automatic doors.

  Kelton strode up to a gorgeous blond girl who was sitting in a chair against the bank of windows to our left. When she saw Kelton, she popped up, and her long hair spilled around her shoulders, framing her porcelain skin.

  “I didn’t know what to do. Kade had to run out to his truck for something,” she said in a singsong tone to Kelton. “When he didn’t come back, I went out there. He was on the ground, holding his head. He was conscious, but seemed to be in a lot of pain. I asked my bodyguard to bring us to the hospital. Then I called you.”

  “I have to call my father,” Kelton said, stomping toward a water fountain on the wall.

  She set her big brown eyes on me as her pink lips split into a smile. “Hi, I’m Chloe.” She extended her long delicate fingers.

  My pulse raced. “I’m Lacey, Kade’s girlfriend.” I gave her my unsteady hand, clenching my jaw tightly. My anxiety and any sense of a panic attack morphed into confusion and anger.

  “So, I hear,” she said with a sprinkle of disappointment underneath.

  Kelton returned, his eyes a little red. Then he swung his gaze between Chloe and me, and the color drained from his face. “Um… My dad is on his way back from the Berkshires.”

  Before I lost my cool as to who this girl was and what she was doing with Kade, I wanted to make sure he was okay. I scurried over to the information window. “I’m here to see Kade Maxwell.” I twirled my hair while the middle-aged blonde typed on a keyboard.

  “He’s in with a doctor. I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait,” she said.

  Tears pricked my eyes. I wasn’t sure how many more surprises, lies, and pain I could endure. I was trying to be strong, except the people I loved were making it hard for me to persevere. I wanted to be an adult and reason and work through a problem. I couldn’t do that if I was lied to or treated like I was a fragile piece of glass that would break if someone blew on it.

  I chiseled out one last piece of strength, opened my eyes, and went back to Kelton and Chloe. Kelton was on the phone again near the main entrance. Chloe had resumed her seat along the window.

  I parked my butt into a chair across from her. “So you found Kade at his truck. Where were you two?” If she says a hotel, I’ll reach out and punch her.

  “We were at the Ashford Library. He was tutoring me. I suck at math, and I have a test on Monday,” she said in her flowery voice.

  “And how do you know Kade?” If she says she dated him, I might still punch her.

  “I don’t exactly. He knows my dad, Jeremy Pitt.”

  I seriously was going to have a mental breakdown. I grimaced at Kelton. He was staring at me as he listened to whoever was on the other end of his phone. After his call, he stalked over to me and sat down one chair over.

  “So, you’re my cousin?” I asked Chloe.

  “I guess your dad finally told you,” she said in a silvery tone. “It’s about time. My mother has been worried about you and him.”

  “So, you know Kelton?” I was confused.

  “Not exactly. I was at the boxing match last week with my father. Kelton and Kade were there.” She tucked strands of hair behind her ear.

  Kade hadn’t told me that part. I got that he knew of Pitt. The entire city of Boston knew of him. But she had said Kade knew her dad as though
they were business acquaintances. I guessed they sort of were, if Kade was tutoring her. Why didn’t Kelton react when I said we were cousins, though? Expletives usually flew out of his mouth when something surprised him, and if Kelton knew, Kade must have known, too.

  “My dad spoke to the doctor here.” Kelton fidgeted with his phone. “Kade is going to be fine. He’s having an MRI done. Apparently, he’s having migraines again.”

  Migraines? Again? For as long as I’d known Kade, he’d never been sick or complained of headaches. At this point, I wasn’t sure how much anger was stored in me. What else hadn’t he told me? With all the information he kept close to his chest, I wasn’t surprised the guy didn’t have something worse than migraines. Why was it so critical that he keep all this from me? He was not only hurting himself physically, he was hurting me emotionally. He was driving a wedge in our relationship.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kade

  After my MRI, I had to wait until my father arrived before I could leave. He wanted to take a look at the results of the scan himself. I knew my migraines were a result of stress, but my father was always cautious, and I was grateful he was. There was always that chance my migraines could lead to something else.

  My scans were normal. The doctor gave me medication and a prescription before my father wheeled me out to the waiting area. Immediately, my brothers, Chloe, and Lacey converged on me like hungry paparazzi.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Chloe and Lacey asked in unison.

  I brought my hands up to shield my eyes from the bright lights. The medication hadn’t kicked in yet. Kross whipped off his sunglasses and handed them to me. I slipped them on, sighing in relief.

  “He’s going to be fine,” my father said. “I want to get Kade home. He needs some rest.”

  I thought I’d like a dark, quiet place with Lacey and me snuggled together, then threw out the part about Lacey and me. Her posture quickly changed from rigid to loose to rigid again, and she pursed her lips. I went to grab Lacey’s hand, but she backed away. Yep, something was bothering her. She hadn’t let me hold her hand after I lied to her in the school parking lot the other day. Hurt wormed its way down into my chest. I had it coming. Until my head cleared, I wasn’t in any position to talk about Pitt, the mob, or anything else, except to tell her I loved her. Somehow I didn’t think those words would dissolve the friction between us.