Dropped Third Strike (Portland Pioneers #1)

by Micah K. Chaplin

  Reid had done more than disappoint his parents; he’d embarrassed them. Thus, he hadn’t seen Sam or Kathy in more than a year. He was so ashamed, he hadn’t even returned to Arizona for the holidays, opting to mail gifts instead. But he still tried to check in with them every few weeks. Even if they weren’t claiming him at the moment, they would always be his family, and he hoped someday he’d be able to make them proud again. Maybe this new job would be a step in that direction.

  The cross-country drive gave him plenty of time to think about his new responsibilities. Transitioning from player to coach wouldn’t be terribly difficult given his time volunteering at UNC. Working with professional athletes would present different challenges than working with college athletes, but he was up for it. He also used the driving time and the Bluetooth in his Mercedes GL-Class to call each Pioneers player with whom he would be working. He’d met several of them in whirlwind fashion during Fan Fest and the cocktail party, but he wanted to make sure he introduced himself to each player and got a sense of their goals for the season. He let them all know the hours he planned to be at the ballpark in the coming week so they could stop by and start working with him before the start of spring training.

  Nearly every player took him up on his offer of extra work. He thought he’d only spend a few hours a day at the ballpark, but he quickly realized he needed to be there nearly all day, and he didn’t mind one bit. His work ranked higher in priority and interest than unpacking and setting up his new house. That could wait. The batting cages felt more like home anyway, and he didn’t mind spending almost all of his waking hours there. It seemed more important to get settled in the ballpark than in his new condo. He developed a quick appreciation and knowledge of the players who came in to work with him. Their work ethic was impressive, and he was excited about the potential in all the young men.

  He shouldn’t have been so surprised at the collection of talent. Kate had been the one to bring them all here. She was smart. She didn’t make major mistakes – at least not in baseball. He’d followed her career casually over the years, and he’d done a little nightly research on her since he’d joined the organization. She’d had a few signings flop, but every GM did. To her credit, Kate’s miscues hadn’t been too expensive and none had hurt the team long-term. She was doing a great job in her role, and he was confident her success would translate to the field sooner rather than later.

  He hadn’t seen her since his return to Portland. Every day when he went to the ballpark, he resisted the urge to stop into her office. He only hesitated because he remembered the way they left off at the cocktail party, and he was not keen on upsetting her further. His goal was to win her over again. He’d done it more than once in the past without much effort, but clearly it would be a more formidable task this time around. He needed to start by earning back her trust, and he figured the best way to do that was to avoid bringing up the past – which he seemed to want to do every time he saw her – and just get to work. So that’s what he did.

  Kate may not have laid eyes on him yet, but she was well aware of Reid’s return. His vehicle was unmistakable in the employee garage – a black Mercedes SUV with vanity plates that read “REID 17” could only belong to one person. The manager and players were eager to inform her of his presence as well, and she was glad to hear their excitement. It seemed Reid was already hard at work. She shouldn’t have expected anything else, but it pleased her nonetheless. It was good to know that although many things about Reid had changed over the years, his baseball drive and work ethic had remained the same.

  She was hard at work too, filling roster holes as efficiently and effectively as she could. The calendars now said February, which meant pitchers and catchers would report to spring training in less than two weeks.

  She’d finally found a free agent catcher to campaign for their back-up role. Carson Slater was a late-round draft pick straight out of high school. He only played two seasons in the Mets’ minor league system before enlisting in the Navy. After two years of active duty, he was now in the inactive reserves and eager to take another swing at a baseball career. Kate had sent a scout to see Carson in his hometown a few weeks earlier and the report was encouraging enough to sign him to a low-risk contract. During a brief phone call in which Kate welcomed him to the organization, the young catcher revealed he had worked out a few times with Reid Benjamin when they were both Mets prospects.

  “He was already a big deal, and no one even knew who I was, but he was willing to talk to me about my swing,” Carson said. “One day, he stayed with me at the field until way past dark. I’m sure he had better places to be, but he never complained and he didn’t leave until he felt like I really got it.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you again in Arizona,” Kate said. “And if you make it to Portland sooner, he’s been holding batting cage hours pretty regularly.”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ve already told my wife I’m heading out tomorrow,” Carson said. “Second chances like this don’t come along too often. I don’t plan to take it lightly.”

  His words echoed through her mind for the rest of the afternoon. Several phone calls later, they were still with her. He was absolutely right. Second chances were rare, and to be honest, she didn’t usually believe in them. Sometimes, those decisions paid off, but more often than not, they didn’t. Her short history of second chances fell in the latter category, which was why it was so upsetting that he was now back in her life again. Reid’s reappearance may be helping her out professionally, but it was doing nothing for her personally. Nothing positive anyway.

  Despite her best efforts to wear herself out with work and exercise before she went home, lately her mind still had enough power at the end of each day to replay memories of Reid. As she tried to go to sleep, she was bombarded with thoughts and images of study nights and senior prom. If her brain – and history with Reid – stopped there, she might have been able to function just fine. But there was more. Plenty more.

  When she headed off to college, Katie threw herself into her life at Arizona State University. She’d spent all summer wallowing over Reid and his sudden disappearance. But once she arrived on campus, she told herself that was over. College was going to open new doors and help her close the old ones. She filled her academic schedule, joined a few key student organizations, and quickly made new friends.

  Her dating life took off too. Maybe it helped that she wasn’t so focused on one guy. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. It’s just that now she was more focused on forgetting him. And Katie found no shortage of distractions.

  In the fall, she dated a football player who was sweet and handsome but didn’t have a lot to say. She was fine with that for a few steamy months, but she grew bored and moved on. By spring, she’d connected with a guy in her sports marketing class. He didn’t play any sports, but he was plenty knowledgeable. Basketball was his favorite, and when they weren’t locking lips, they were trading sports tidbits and theories. Neither romance lasted longer than a semester, but Katie had no regrets. They did a lot to build her confidence, her relationship experiences, and her bank of sports knowledge. She dated a few more guys for briefer periods of time, and it wasn’t lost on her that she deliberately avoided baseball players. One trip down that road had been enough for her.

  Her most serious relationship started in the spring of her sophomore year. She met Casey Brock in the most cliché place on campus – the library. They both needed the same finance journal for a class and had waited until the very last minute to seek it out. She saw him walking away with it as she approached and frantically pleaded with him to let her use it first even though they both knew there wasn’t enough time for each of them to read it before the library closed. The journal couldn’t leave the library, and a paper on the article was due the following day. He could have been a jerk and walked away without a word, but he didn’t. She was relieved when he offered to share it with her. They sat side-by-side on a couch in the corner, each holding a side of the
journal, reading it and taking the notes they’d need for their respective short papers. After they finished the reading, he asked her to get a cup of coffee. Since she’d need the caffeine to get through the rest of her homework – and he was pretty nice to look at – she agreed. They spent the next three hours talking and laughing, and she barely had enough time to finish her paper, read for her marketing course, and shower before heading to class. There was no sleep for her that night, but she didn’t mind. Casey had been good company, and it turned out to be the start of something really great.

  Katie and Casey were virtually inseparable over the next several months. He was charming, funny, and incredibly smart, and she was completely in love with him by the end of the semester. He visited her over spring break – meeting her entire family in the process. But he didn’t seem daunted by it at all. For her birthday, he gave her the baseball book she’d been eying for months. It was better than any jewelry or flowers, and it showed how well he knew and understood her. He was incredibly thoughtful and made her feel as though she was the most special girl in the world.

  More than all of that, he was patient with her on the physical side of their relationship. She was still a virgin, which surprised many of her friends and earned her plenty of teasing. She took it all in stride, confident in her resolve to wait for the right guy and situation. She was pretty sure it would eventually happen with Casey, but only in good time, much to his dismay and frustration. Casey didn’t break up with her over it like the other guys had, but he definitely wasn’t thrilled by her holdout. He didn’t quit trying either. Each time they were together, he got a little further than the last, but she always stopped him before all the clothes came off. She knew once that happened, there would be no turning back. She wasn’t ready to go there just yet.

  Summer break was their first lengthy separation since they’d met. He had landed a great internship in Chicago and she returned to her hometown for an internship with the Diamondbacks. Her position in community relations was kind of dull at times, but it provided her with experience in MLB, opportunities to network within the league, and – best of all – free admission to games.

  Being home was an interesting transition though. In her absence, Katie no longer had a true bedroom. Chelle, the next oldest, had inherited it when Katie left for college. As a concession, her parents designated the basement as Katie’s territory when she was home. It had a couch that converted into a bed, an entire entertainment set-up, a bathroom, and even a refrigerator. It was almost like having an apartment. Even better, the other girls were not permitted to enter that area, so it became a sanctuary of sorts. She’d gotten used to having lots of freedom at college, so she was grateful her parents seemed to understand her need for privacy and did their best to accommodate that. She loved her family, but as soon as dinner was over, she was ready for some solo time. Her sisters’ nightly arguments over clothes, TV, and anything else they could fight about were just too much.

  Casey called regularly, and their conversations always brightened her day. She missed him a lot though, and it didn’t help that Amy, her only friend from high school, had left a few weeks prior to spend the remainder of the summer traveling through Europe with Brady. Katie didn’t have anyone to hang out with, and it made the summer feel really long. And lonely.

  On her way home from work one night in July, she stopped to rent a movie. She still hadn’t seen the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie even though it’d been out for months. A night with Johnny Depp and some of her mom’s homemade party mix sounded perfect. She was waiting in line with her selection when she heard someone say her name. It’d been almost two years since she’d last heard that voice, but she still knew immediately who it belonged to before she turned to look at him.

  “Hey Katie,” Reid said. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for like five minutes. I felt like an idiot.”

  Katie stared at him for several moments.

  He should feel like an idiot, but not because he’s calling out my name with no answer.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while,” Reid said. “How are you?”

  She was still just staring at him. He seemed taller now, but she wasn’t actually sure he’d grown in height. He had put on some weight and muscle, so that made him slightly more imposing than he had been in high school. But that wasn’t what had her speechless. She was a combination of stunned and angry that he was speaking to her. She hadn’t seen him since graduation, and he hadn’t spoken to her since prom. And, now, all of a sudden, he was acting like they were old friends.

  “Are you still at ASU?” he asked.

  She nodded, the first acknowledgement she’d given him since he approached her.

  “How do you like it?” he asked.

  “I like it just fine,” she said, breaking her silence.

  “Glad to hear it,” he said. “North Carolina is awesome. I’m on the baseball team, of course. I was going to play in a summer league, but with my dad and all, I figured I better come home for a few months instead.”

  That got her attention.

  “What’s wrong with your dad?” she asked.

  “Oh, you didn’t hear?” he asked. “I figured everyone knew by now. He had a heart attack this past spring.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Katie said. “How is he?”

  Katie had always sincerely liked his parents. Even after Reid disappeared, Sam and Kathy had been friendly to her.

  “Thanks,” Reid said. “He’s doing better. He keeps telling me I should be out playing baseball instead of bumming around here, but I would have felt bad not being here while he’s recovering, you know?”

  She nodded, trying to imagine herself in Reid’s situation. She would have made the same choice.

  “Anyway, he insisted I get out of the house tonight but none of my friends are around, so I thought I’d just get a movie,” he said. “I wanted that one, but I think you got the last copy.”

  He was pointing at the selection in her hand and Katie looked down as though she’d forgotten what she rented.

  “Oh,” she said. “Sorry.”

  “No problem,” he said, smiling. “But maybe we could watch it together. It’d be fun to catch up.”

  Katie didn’t immediately respond. Part of her was still a little angry about the way he’d treated her after prom – kissing her and then acting like he didn’t even know her. But it had been more than two years. She rationalized that she should just be over it. And above all, it was Reid. Standing there with that smile that still made her feel warm inside. She couldn’t stay mad at him. But did she really want to spend time with him? What was there to catch up on? Part of her still wanted answers about prom, but another part of her wasn’t sure she should open up those wounds again. Maybe it was time to put it all behind her.

  “Sure, why not,” she said, shrugging.

  Reid insisted on paying for the movie rental as well as a few sodas. He followed Katie back to her parents’ house, where he was instantly welcomed and invited to join them for dinner. Naturally, Reid accepted the invitation and helped himself to two servings of meatloaf and mashed potatoes while he visited with the Marks family. He shared bits about his college experiences while listening intently as each of the younger girls clamored to fill them in on what they deemed big life events. Katie didn’t get a word in, but that was fine. She was content just studying Reid, listening to his stories, and trying to determine why he was here tonight after avoiding her for so long. She was no closer to an answer as they left the dinner table and escaped to the basement with their movie, sodas and a Tupperware full of her mom’s party mix.

  “I should be full, but I’ve missed this stuff so I’ll make room,” Reid said as they settled in on the bed.

  Katie never bothered to fold the bed back into a couch each morning. It seemed like a waste of time. It was more comfortable this way, most nights anyway, since she usually fell asleep watching reruns of Law & Order.

  She was thankful she had at
least taken the time to make her bed that morning and that there was no dirty laundry strewn about the room. As it was, the setting was awkward enough. She hadn’t seen Reid in two years, and now she was alone with him on a bed in a darkened basement.

  Anyone else could see where this could lead, but Katie had no clue. When she stopped at Blockbuster that night, she never imagined she’d barely watch half of the movie she’d waited months to see. There was something about being near Reid now. Time had done nothing to diminish his effect on her. Even with Johnny Depp on the screen, she was all too aware of the boy next to her. And of how he’d grown since she last saw him. She stole a few glances at him, noticing the hint of stubble on his chin and the definition of muscles in the arm that lay beside hers.

  They were only about 30 minutes into the movie when Reid looked over at her. She could feel him studying her but didn’t acknowledge it for several moments. Then he asked her if she remembered prom night.

  “Parts of it,” she lied.

  “Do you remember the best part?” he asked.

  “Which part was that?”

  He answered by leaning over and kissing her. It was far from the tentative gesture on prom night. They weren’t shy teenagers anymore. They were both more experienced and wasted no time showing off what they had learned since their first kiss.

  Katie was certainly enjoying Reid’s show. His kisses were the perfect mix of soft and demanding as his tongue coaxed hers into an easy and sensual dance. His hands slid over her like they already knew every curve and were still hungry to explore them. She responded with her own sense of eagerness as his actions set off a series of sensations in her she’d never experienced before. At least not this quickly. Or this intensely. It all came on so fast, her head was spinning and her body was tingling. She arched against his touch and wrapped one of her legs around his, pressing closer. She moved against him without even realizing what she was doing. But Reid knew exactly what he was doing, and he was clear about what he wanted. He used his lips and hands to convince her she wanted it too. Not that she needed much convincing. Almost from the first touch, Katie was all in.