by Nikki Duvall
He’d barely put the truck into park before his boots hit the gravel. Faye watched in awe as her son stormed toward the young woman in her driveway.
“No! No, no, no!” J.D. circled the rental car, sizing up the woman with more heat than she’d seen her son display in quite some time. If Faye didn’t know better, she’d say her Johnny had fallen hard and was doing everything he could to deny it. Just like her boy, always running against the wind. She smiled, despite herself.
“I’m not here for me, J.D.,” said the girl. “I’m here for the Federals.”
“The Federals don’t have no business in my hometown. So you can take that message back to Mrs. Pryor and all the pricks who work for her.”
“Does that include me?”
“If you want it to.”
The young woman gasped. So did Faye.
“Baseball’s a dirty business, Halee. I want Faye kept out of it.”
The baby leaned away from the young woman’s body and reached out to J.D. with a shrill scream. J.D. took the small boy into his arms and settled him on one hip as if he’d done it a dozen times before. He continued to circle the car like a tiger in a zoo cage. The baby squealed with delight and sucked on his dirty t-shirt. For a few moments, all Faye could hear was the sound of J.D.’s boots crunching the gravel and the baby’s gurgles.
“If you want me to leave, I’ll leave.”
“I do.”
Faye grimaced. The young woman slammed her car door and stalked toward J.D., hands on hips.
“Why do you always do that?” she demanded.
J.D. looked nervous. He rubbed the baby’s head and shifted him higher on his hip. “What?” he asked without looking at her.
“Why do you always decide where I can be and where I can’t? I can’t be in New York, I can’t be in Oklahoma…”
“Why do you keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
They both cringed visibly, as if the words had come from nowhere and struck them simultaneously.
The girl lowered her voice. Faye leaned a little closer to the window, grasping for each word. “Victoria Pryor ordered me to come here and personally invite your mother to your engagement party.”
A small cry escaped Faye’s throat. Engagement? First J.D. had kept the Federals contract secret, now his engagement? Was this woman his fiancé, and if not, then why did he look like he could eat her with his eyes?
“I told you, I don’t want her involved.”
“In your marriage? You don’t want your mother involved in your marriage?”
J.D. raked one hand through his hair and looked away.
“Never mind,” said the young woman, pulling the baby back into her arms. “You can tell her yourself.” She slid the child back into his car seat. He began to cry.
Faye rushed to the door and shoved the screen door open.
“That’s a beautiful little boy you got there!” She took each porch step carefully in her white wedge sandals and slowly approached the car.
Halee tightened Ty’s car seat belt and straightened.
“Faye Shaw,” she offered, extending her hand. “Pleased to meet ya.”
Halee conjured up a smile and pulled at the silk sweater stuck to her sweaty back. She took Faye’s hand. “Halee McCarthy.”
Faye glanced at J.D. leaning up against the bumper of his truck. He’d cracked a cold beer and was gazing down the fence line, planning his next move. “I hear you come a long way to talk to me, Miss McCarthy,” she said. “What is it I can do for you?”
“If you don’t mind,” said Halee, “I think I’ll let J.D. do the talking. J.D. likes complete control over everything.”
J.D. whistled. “Well, ain’t that special, comin’ from you.”
“You look too warm, Dear,” Faye interjected, sending a steely glance toward J.D. “Would you like to change into some lighter clothes?”
“I didn’t bring anything lighter with me.”
“Then you could borrow something of mine.”
“I won’t be staying,” said Halee, glancing nervously at Ty, who continued to scream. “I know when I’m not welcome.”
Faye touched her hand. “This is my home,” she said softly, “and I say you’re welcome.”
J.D. set his beer bottle aside and stalked over to the Buick, leaned over into the back seat, and extracted Ty. The child immediately ceased his temper tantrum.
“I’ll take him,” said Halee, pulling the child from J.D.’s arms.
J.D. held fast. “He likes me.”
“Why don’t I take him a while?” Faye offered. “Looks like you two have a lot to talk about.”
J.D. slid the child into his mother’s arms. Ty grabbed Faye’s neckline and commenced to gurgle.
“He likes you, too, Faye,” said J.D. with no small measure of pride.
Halee fanned herself with the back of the car rental agreement. “Mrs. Shaw, I can’t ask you…”
“Johnny, why don’t you take our guest for a little tour of the city? She could probably use a little barbeque and sweet tea after her long journey.”
Halee watched J.D. melt under his mother’s insistence. He tossed back the last drops of his beer and pulled his truck keys from the pocket of his loose fitting jeans, silently leaning against the fender while the two women worked out logistics.
Faye took Halee by the hand and led her up the three steps into the small trailer. “He’s a stubborn boy, for sure,” said Faye in a tone of confidence. “Underneath that tough exterior is a heart of gold.”
Halee deposited Ty’s overnight bag on a chair and peered toward the back bedrooms.
“Go ahead and help yourself to some lighter clothes,” said Faye. “The back bedroom closet has some nice sundresses about your size left behind by Hank’s daughter. Hank’s the owner,” said Faye, setting Ty down on a blanket in the middle of the floor.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much trouble?”
Faye gazed down on Ty with affection. “I don’t get much chance at playing grandma,” said Faye, “and the way Johnny’s going, I might never get a chance.”
“Mrs. Shaw, I don’t know if J.D. has told you, but he’s engaged to be married. I’m here to invite you to the party. The Federals will pay for your airfare and hotel while you’re in New York, plus any associated expenses.”
Faye took on a faraway look. She knelt down on Ty’s blanket. “What’s her name?”
Halee hesitated. “Catrina Hiett.”
“What’s she like?” asked Faye, rubbing Ty’s small head. He gurgled contentedly.
Halee cleared her throat. “She’s quite beautiful, actually.”
“Yes, I expect she is. That’s always been Johnny’s measure of a woman. How about her character?” Faye looked up with so much hope that Halee’s heart contracted.
“I can’t vouch for that,” she said softly.
Faye shook her head. “I know my boy, Miss McCarthy. I hope you don’t mind my saying so, but I believe his heart is elsewhere.” She continued to stroke the child’s smooth skin. “A mother knows these things.”
“I hope you’ll come to New York,” said Halee lightly. “It will mean a lot to J.D.”
Faye stared at Halee for a few minutes. “Change his mind.”
“I’m sorry?”
“He has feelings for you. I can tell.”
Halee snorted. “Those feelings are not positive, I assure you.”
“They’re stronger than you think,” Faye insisted. “He don’t know his own heart.”
“I appreciate you saying so, Mrs. Shaw, but…”
“I raised him myself, you know. Took him in just like you’ve taken this child in. He ain’t yours, is he?”
“No,” said Halee softly. “Not yet, anyway.”
“It don’t matter, you know. You still love them like they’re your own.”
“Yes.” Halee glanced toward the back room. “I…I think I’ll go look for that dress you mentioned.”
Faye didn’t s
ay anything, didn’t look up. She just continued to stroke Ty’s little head as if she’d discovered lost treasure.
***
Ten minutes later, Halee breezed down the trailer’s front steps in a light yellow sundress that left little to the imagination. Spaghetti straps held up layers of sheer fabric that flowed into a light skirt easily picked up by the gentle breeze. The scooped neckline dipped low, showing off her pretty freckled chest and toned arms. The short skirt gave her long tan legs room to breathe. She’d pulled her hair off her shoulders and borrowed a set of yellow flip flops to match the dress. J.D. thought he’d never seen her look so carefree and happy.
Or so darn sexy.
He kept his face rigid, devoid of expression.
“Where to?” he asked, holding the passenger side of the truck open and watching those long lean legs climb on board.
“I’m starving,” Halee confessed. “That barbeque sounds just right.”
“Barbeque it is,” J.D. mumbled. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he circled the truck. The Oklahoma heat had raised about ten degrees when she’d put on that dress.
Halee leaned over and adjusted the radio to a local country station. “I always like to get the local flavor when I travel,” she said.
J.D. tried to keep his eyes on the road, but the way she was leaning over, switching those stations, he could hardly breathe. He could smell her hair from the driver’s seat, that sweet floral scent so clean and fresh. That little mole on her back was poking out of her sundress, tempting him to pull the truck over and run his tongue along her flawless skin.
“I thought you said you never left Chicago,” he said.
“Theoretically, then.” She propped her bare feet up on the dash, all ten pretty pink toes lined up in a row, and began to hum to the country tunes. Her skirt slid down her legs, exposing her firm thighs. J.D. shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.
“Kadele ain’t too big a town. Ain’t much to show you.”
“That’s ok,” said Halee lightly. “I wouldn’t want to leave Ty for long anyway.”
The wind was blowing loose curls from her ponytail, brushing her flushed face with soft wisps of reddish blonde hair. J.D. tried not to stare. “What made you bring him?” he asked, gluing his eyes back on the road.
“Who, Ty?”
J.D. nodded.
Halee shrugged. “I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him one more day.”
“I had a dog like that once,” said J.D. “Name was Buddy. Tried to take him to school with me every day. Teacher wouldn’t let Buddy in the door, so he waited outside for me till I was done. Then we’d walk home ‘cause he wasn’t allowed on the bus. Till the bus driver Mr. Puckett took pity on me and let him ride. I need to find Mr. Puckett and tell him thank you sometime.”
He pulled into the parking lot in front of a low slung diner with thick cottonwood trees shading the surrounding lawns. Loud Cajun music poured out onto a wide front porch. A dozen pickup trucks were lined up outside. Fat Jimmy’s was hopping already, even though it was barely 11 A.M. “Best barbeque in town,” said J.D. “We can sit out at one of the picnic tables if you ain’t too warm,” he said, cutting the engine. “It can get pretty wild inside.” In another minute he was opening her door and offering her a hand.
She took it, sliding off the tall seat and landing dangerously close. He resisted the urge to kiss her right here in Fat Jimmy’s parking lot for the whole world to see. What the hell had gotten into him anyway? After two weeks in New York under constant surveillance by the media and Cat, this freedom was going to his head. He had to keep it together. In another few months he’d prove himself to the Federals and then he’d be a free agent again. For now he had to maintain his image as Cat’s fiancé.
Then again, New York was a long way from here.
He held her hand until they were nearly to the front door. It felt good to hold her this way. It felt good to show her off to his hometown.
She stopped outside the entrance and touched him lightly on the arm. Her touch burned his skin. “I appreciate you doing this, J.D.,” she said.
He could hardly face her, could barely trust himself not to pull her into his arms and tell her everything his heart wanted to say. She was so sweet and so real, yes, real. As real and simple and pure as a woman should be. “Ain’t nothin’,” he murmured.
“I know you don’t want me here,” she insisted. “I know you don’t want to share your hometown with me…”
“Aw, hell.” He pulled her into his arms and covered her sweet mouth with his own, drinking in the taste of her like life giving nectar. She resisted at first, then her body relaxed and she eased into the kiss. For just one minute he forgot about the Federals, about his contract and all the lies he’d told.
A round of cat calls and hillbilly yelps resonated from inside. A big lumbering man busted through the double screen doors. “We heard you was gettin’ hitched!” he bellowed. The man pulled Halee into a bear hug and planted a rough kiss on her cheek. “Got yourself a real sugar queen here, J.D.!” he shouted.
“How you doin’ there, Fat Jimmy?”
Fat Jimmy smothered J.D. in a hug that lifted him off the ground. “I knew you wouldn’t forget your homeboys,” he said with a belly laugh that shook the ground. “Come on in, Superstar. The Sooners are ahead by three and the barbecue’s on me.”
Halee looked a little shaken. “You sure you don’t mind?” J.D. asked tentatively.
“Of course not,” she said with a wide grin.
He wrapped her small hand in his and pulled her through the double doors. The crowd erupted.
J.D. turned on Fat Jimmy. “Did you plan this?”
“Hell, yeh! Faye called ahead. You been home four days now and not one of us has seen ya. Sit your skinny ass down and tell us what it feels like to be a major leaguer.” Fat Jimmy pulled a wooden chair over to the booth and sat straddled at the edge of the table. “Wanda!” he called to the waitress. “We need a couple pitchers and a couple big plates over here!” He turned back to J.D. “You can start by introducing us to your fiancé.”
J.D. hesitated. Wanda slid two pitchers and six glasses on the table, reached down and gave J.D. a big kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, Honey! I always knew you’d be the one to get out of this Godforsaken town.”
“Don’t write me off yet, Wanda. I’ve been at the realtor’s office all morning trying to work a deal with old Hank and get me a ranch.”
Wanda grinned ear to ear. “Well, wouldn’t that be wicked revenge!”
He stretched his neck toward the back of the room. “Is that Trevor Henshaw back by the washroom? Looks too skinny to be Trevor.”
“Yup, that’s Trevor.”
“Thought he went to Afghanistan.”
“Got discharged for some kind of medical reason,” said Wanda. “Got himself a government job over in Oklahoma City. Comes back to visit his mama almost every weekend.”
“I’ll have to drop by and see the both of them.”
Fat Jimmy shook his head. “He ain’t always so ill-mannered, is he?” he asked Halee. “Hey, J.D. We’re waiting for you to introduce your fiancé.”
J.D. continued talking to the long line of people waiting to see him.
Halee laughed. “I’m Halee, Halee McCarthy.”
“Pleased to meet ya, Halee,” said Fat Jimmy. “Don’t let him get away with nothing,” he said, pointing to his friend. “He’s just a kid from Kadele, Oklahoma, no matter what he tells ya.”
J.D. turned back toward the booth. “Ain’t she a beaut?” he asked, placing a protective arm around Halee’s shoulders.
“Don’t come prettier,” Jimmy agreed. “You’re the gal from Texas, right?”
“Chicago,” Halee corrected between bites of barbeque.
“Don’t look nothin’ like your picture.”
J.D. cleared his throat. “You still umping, Jim?”
“Mhmmph, and I got stories to tell ya, too. You remember Cal Barnum, used to chas
e every woman in town, including his mama’s friends?”
J.D. laughed. “Yeh, I remember him. Think he made a pass at Faye once or twice.”
“Well, he’s got two kids now, mean as shit. Pardon my language, Halee,” he said quickly. “The little buggers are always trying to get away with something, and Cal’s always in my face when I call ‘em on it.”
“Nobody in their right mind gets in your face, Fat Jimmy,” said J.D. He poured a beer and set it in front of Halee.
“I’d better not with the baby,” said Halee, pushing it away.
Fat Jimmy slammed his beer on the table. “Well, I’ll be damned! J.D. here’s got a bun in the oven!”
Another round of cat calls went up. J.D. and Halee both shifted nervously and glanced toward each other. Halee started to protest but J.D. quickly covered her lips with his own, trying to think up some way out of this while he kept her quiet. Scenes flashed through his head of Halee pregnant with his child, of towhead babies who looked like her and dark haired babies who looked like him, of little boys riding horses on their ranch, their pretty mama riding alongside. He heard Fat Jimmy announcing rounds on the house and sank deeper into the kiss, losing his hold on reality every minute his lips touched hers. Slowly he dragged her across his lap, and then followed the curve of her neck with his lips. “I wish,” he whispered against her ear.
He felt her tense. “What are you doing?” she whispered back.
J.D. snapped out of his spell. He sat straighter and cleared his throat. “I just want you to know that Fat Jimmy here still holds the all-time highest batting average for Kadele High School,” he announced, chugging down half a bottle of beer. He had no idea what he was doing, but it felt right. Better than right.
“J.D. took up baseball so he could meet girls,” said Fat Jimmy.
J.D. gazed fondly on Halee. “Worked, didn’t it?”
“It’s good to see you in love, J.D. All those other girls were just practice for the real thing. So when you two gettin’ hitched?”
J.D. locked eyes with Halee for several minutes. Brad Paisley crooned a love song across the speakers. “Come on,” he said, leading her onto the wooden dance floor. He took her into his arms and swept her across the floor, just like the night on Sam’s boat, the night everything had changed.
