The guys were wrapped up in conversations about the season and the rest of the teams in their division, so I felt like I was able to be candid with Ava without alerting Parker to my concerns. Plus, five minutes with the woman and you already felt like she was your best friend.
“Yeah, this is all still pretty new to both of us, so I’m sure it’ll take some adjusting,” I said. “I travel a lot with my job, too, so it already feels a little chaotic at times.”
She nodded and sipped at her glass of water. “For a while I didn’t think I could do it. I wanted a father for my children who was actually around and there when we needed him. But I eventually came to my senses and realized that he’s the best father to them I could have ever asked for. He said something to me back then that changed the whole game for me.”
“What was that?”
She smiled, her eyes gleaming with love as she looked at her husband. “He said one of the main reasons he loved me was because I wanted a family. That he was sick of always getting approached by women who only wanted him for a night, to say they’d hooked up with a pro athlete, you know? But he wanted a wife, kids, a home. He wanted me because of that—and because he loved me, of course—but he didn’t want me to leave him for the same reason. As in, leave him because I wanted a family and I felt that he couldn’t give me one. Said it wasn’t fair to him that I would just assume that. That changed my perspective on things pretty damn fast.”
I sat there with wide eyes, looking over at Moberly with newfound respect. You didn’t often meet men who would freely admit those things to you. “I’d say so. It sounds like you guys fit together perfectly.”
She barked out a loud laugh. “Well, I don’t know about perfectly. But we’re the happiest we could ever be, so that’s perfect enough for me.”
I considered my next question in my head, hoping I didn’t offend her by asking it but I really wanted to know the answer. “Did you ever worry about him with other women? Like with a scene like this, all of them at a bar when they were on the road and you weren’t with him?”
She cocked her head to the side in thought. “Maybe a little at first. It’s kind of hard not to think about some of those things, but he never gave me any reason not to trust him. You just have to find a solid foundation and always be on the same page about everything. If you are, you’ll never feel a need to doubt your relationship.”
I looked over at where Corbins stood near the bar with a group of young women, all beautiful, hanging onto his every word. “I just see how they throw themselves at the guys. I trust him completely, but some of these women can be pretty persistent.”
A brief flare of anger or disgust, I couldn’t tell which, flashed across Ava’s face before quickly hiding it. “And most of them are gold-digging bitches, too,” she spat. “At least the ones who hang off the guys like that. The ones with dollar signs in their eyes. The smart guys figure out how crazy that kind can be and drop their asses.”
The vehemence in her voice couldn’t have been masked. “You sound as if you know.”
She shook her head and gave a short chuckle but it didn’t have much humor behind it. “It was a long time ago. Rick had an ex when he and I got together. They’d been broken up for over a year, and she’d only been with him for his money. She had some trouble letting him go when she found out he was dating me. I eventually set her right, though…with my fist.”
My eyebrows climbed. Ava punched her? This petite little thing sitting in front of me with the sweet smile and delicate features? My admiration for her grew.
“Damn,” I said, smiling at her. “I’m impressed. I’ll remember not to mess with you.”
When she smiled this time, it reached her eyes. “I only go Rocky on a woman’s ass when she messes with my man. You’ve got a good one there in Parker so I’m not worried about you.”
My head snapped in Parker’s direction when I heard his booming laugh echo through our small area in the bar. He looked happy and relaxed, sitting there with his boys, having a good time after a victory.
Then, my eyes caught on another group of women sitting at a high-top table several feet away who all had their eyes on our guys, obviously talking about them and maybe working up the courage to approach them.
As unbidden as the thoughts were, I couldn’t prevent my mind from taking me back to a time during my younger years when I would have given anything to be able to call Parker mine.
“Kinley!” Clay yelled at me from the yard. “Come hit the ball at us!”
I was taking pictures of Mom’s lilies with my new camera. They had bloomed beautifully over the weekend, and the patio that Dad had recently re-done provided a perfect backdrop to the flowerbed they were perched in.
I was super excited about my new camera and I was trying to concentrate. I didn’t want to be bothered by Beavis and Butthead. Even though I was sort of in love with Butthead.
“I’m busy!” I shouted back. “Hit it yourself!”
“Aw, come on, Kin!” This from Parker. “Clay needs to practice pitching and I need to work on my defense.”
I sighed, always finding it hard to say no to Butthead. I looked over at him to see him grinning knowingly, that boyish grin he gave to all the girls plastered on his handsome face. He knew how to make a girl blush, that was for sure. And even though he was sixteen now and he wouldn’t go near an immature twelve-year-old like me, I still found myself feeling all giddy over that smile and the fact that right now, it was for me and no other girl.
“I’ll give you the Kit-Kat bar I just bought,” Parker added.
Well, I had been about to say yes anyway, but I wasn’t going to turn down chocolate either. “Fine,” I muttered as I carefully set down my camera on the patio chair and sulked over to them.
We had a pretty big yard, so there was a lot of space between Parker in the “infield” and where Clay stood on his makeshift pitcher’s mound. I picked up the aluminum bat laying on the ground and swung it around a little, getting comfortable with the weight. It was a little heavier than I would have liked but I could handle it.
Dad used to play catch with me when I was younger, but I eventually grew bored with it and was never interested in playing softball. Clay was the baseball player in the family—well, Parker too—so I let him take up all of Dad’s time. I hadn’t picked up a bat or a glove in years, but I figured it couldn’t be that hard to just hit a few balls at them.
“You ready?” Clay asked as he shook out his arm.
I nodded, planting my feet and lifting the bat above my arms, trying to mimic how Clay and Parker looked when they did it.
“Okay, I’m working on my curveball, so I’ll pitch it a little slower for you.”
He stepped back and wound up, sending the ball hurtling in my direction at a much faster speed than I was expecting. Surprised, I swung but knew that it was way too late. I missed the ball by a mile.
“Sorry,” I said, walking over to retrieve the ball. “I wasn’t expecting it to even be that fast.”
I hadn’t meant it as a joke, but Parker exploded into laughter. “Oh, burn!” he yelled to Clay.
I smiled despite myself, just pleased that I’d been able to make him laugh. Clay had a scowl on his face and wound up again when he saw that I was ready. The ball sailed in my direction again, and although I was more prepared for it, I still missed it by about a foot.
“Bring your elbow back farther,” Parker instructed, watching me intently.
His scrutiny was making me squirm a little. I wasn’t used to him paying this much attention to me. I did as he said and asked, “Like this?” “A little higher,” he replied. Again, I followed his suggestion and he nodded approvingly. “Okay, now try.”
Clay threw the ball again and again and I still swung and missed. I grunted in frustration, upset that I looked like such a doofus in front of Parker.
“Hold on,” Parker said as he walked toward me. “Let’s take a break for a minute, Clay, while I teach Kinley how to hit a ball.”
Clay wiped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his shirt and began walking toward the house. “Fine with me. I need some Gatorade and a little air conditioning.” Then, he disappeared into the house through the back door and I was left alone with Parker.
My heart started to beat a lot faster, a regular occurrence when I was around my brother’s best friend.
He stood in front of me, so close I could smell a little of the cologne he wore. “Okay. Pick up the bat and get in your stance. Act like you’re about to hit the ball.”
I did as instructed and he suddenly came up behind me, leaning in really close, as he adjusted my arms. “Here,” he said, bringing my back elbow up higher, my front down a little lower. “Keep this back one up high because you’ll get more power that way. And make sure you keep your hands lower on the bat because that’s where your leverage comes from.”
He adjusted my hands on the bat, sliding them down lower. I could feel the heat travel from his fingers into mine, and I was afraid that I was going to get too excited and let a little girl squeal leave my mouth.
“Almost all of your power is going to come from your legs, though, so keep them bent,” he said, his mouth right at my ear, tickling the hairs there.
His hands slid down my waist, gently pulling my hips down so that I’d have to bend my knees. I thought I was going to die. He was holding me as I imagined a boyfriend would hold his girlfriend. I hadn’t had a boyfriend yet, so I wasn’t sure, but that’s what it felt like.
“Good,” he continued quietly. “Now, keep about sixty percent of your weight on your back foot, so that when you swing, you bring your momentum forward when you take your step.”
His hands were now at my hips, guiding my feet and adjusting my weight distribution between them. I stayed quiet the whole time because I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to say something stupid and sound like a kid to him, so I just did what he told me and remained silent.
Plus, I didn’t want him to stop touching me if I said the wrong thing.
Of course, that was when he did.
He abruptly stepped away, filling me with disappointment, and stood in front of me again. He didn’t look the least bit bothered by the way he touched me, didn’t even act like he noticed he had been touching me.
He nodded down at me. “Okay, take some practice swings. Let me see.”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions in check. I had been dealing with my crush on Parker for years; I could handle a few more minutes of this. I swung a few times, remembering what he told me about bringing all of my momentum forward as I stepped.
“Swing level,” he said. “You’re dropping your elbow a little when you follow through. Just keep your arms straight.” He demonstrated for me with an invisible bat, giving me the opportunity to unabashedly appreciate his grown-up body.
He’d definitely changed over the last couple of years, his form shedding its boyish features and taking on those of a man. I knew all the girls at school noticed, too. He had grown several inches, his muscles had really started to tighten and bulge, and he’d started growing his hair out.
The whole package was hard not to notice, even for an inexperienced girl like me.
“Got it?” he asked suddenly, breaking me out of my love-induced haze. I nodded at him. “Alright. Let’s see how you do with a ball now.”
He picked up the ball and stood several feet away but closer than Clay had. “I’ll toss it underhand so you can get the feel for it.”
“Go ahead,” I told him.
He tossed it and I don’t know if it was my determination to impress him or my frustration over the fact that he’d never seen me as anything besides a little sister to him, but I knocked the crap out of the thing. Parker even had to dive out of the way as it sailed straight toward his head and eventually ended up by the fence at the back of the yard.
He turned back and walked to me, beaming a beautiful smile. “Not bad, Kin.” He high-fived me, making me blush with his praise. “I think you’re ready for Clay’s pitching again. Just so you know, he’ll get really pissed if his little sister starts hitting off him. So let that be your motivation.”
I laughed and lowered my head. “I’ll do my best.”
I ended up hitting a lot that afternoon and actually gave Parker the opportunity to catch a few and ground others. He acted so proud of me that I had been riding on a cloud the rest of the day and into the next as I headed to their high school baseball game.
Both of them were already starting on the varsity team, even as sophomores. I didn’t want to allow myself to get too excited, but Parker had never touched me like he had the day before. Never held me close like that. And I stupidly thought that something might have been starting to change between us. Maybe he was starting to see me as more than the little girl with pigtails he once knew.
I was wrong.
I sat in the bleachers throughout the whole game, cheering loudly for him, watching his every move. I smiled at him and tried to wave but he never noticed me. And when the game ended, I decided to stay after and act like I was waiting for Clay to tell him good job. I did it every now and then, just to see Parker and nobody was the wiser, especially Parker.
But I felt extra motivated to talk to him and make him see me today.
My parents were waiting for Clay, too, as they talked with some of the other parents near the dugout. I decided that I was going to run to the bathroom real fast while I waited. I made my way over to the concession stand building that had bathrooms around the back.
As I rounded the corner of the building, my heart plummeted to ground.
There was Parker, leaning against the building with his arms wrapped around some girl with long blonde hair and really short shorts.
Kissing her.
My breath lodged in my throat as I stared in disbelief for a minute watching him hold her, bringing her closer to him as they kissed with their eyes closed. Definitely French kissing.
Tears immediately pricked my eyes and I spun around and ran in the other direction before he saw me. It was ridiculous to be jealous, to be sad that it wasn’t me he was holding and kissing like that. He wasn’t my boyfriend, and I knew he saw me as a child that he simply had to tolerate because I was Clay’s sister.
But it still felt like my heart was being ripped apart.
I waited for my parents by our car and ran up to my room as soon as we got home. I didn’t come out of my room again that night and let my tears keep me company until the minute I fell asleep.
That particular memory didn’t hurt as much as it used to because I knew how irrational it was to let something like that bother me. That girl had been nothing to him, it was a million years ago, and he’d told me he loved me for the first time today for crying out loud.
I shouldn’t be letting these negative thoughts cloud my mind.
My conversation with Ava just brought all of that back. Because I knew what it felt like to see Parker with someone else, to know that you weren’t the one on his mind. And we may have been older now and more mature, but he also had some of the most beautiful women in the country approaching him, propositioning him.
I knew with great authority what it would feel like to be crushed by him again like that.
I also knew if that ever happened, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
I guess I was just going to have to take Ava’s advice and trust him. Make sure that we were on the same page and always be upfront with each other. Because if we were going to make this work, I had to let go of those painful memories, all of them. Once and for all.
So for the rest of the night, I did just that. I let the negative stuff go. I forgot about gold-digging beautiful bitches and just let myself enjoy being Parker’s girlfriend.
We’d finally admitted our love for each other today, after all these years, and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin that.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Parker
A month later, I was once aga
in suffering from the same withdrawal that accompanied lack of alone time with Kinley. Since opening day, she’d been able to come to two other series in Boston and stay with me. Those days were the best, being able to go to sleep and wake up to her. Seeing her wearing my jersey at the games. Doing whatever the hell we wanted when I wasn’t playing a game.
Then, we had our times apart.
And those were miserable.
I was at least able to see her face when we were on FaceTime, but even that got tedious when that was our only option. Kinley was definitely making an effort, though, which I appreciated more than she knew. Clay would absolutely die if he knew the amount of scandalous photos and dirty texts his sister had sent me. She always tried to make our phone conversations sexy and adventurous with different lingerie outfits she’d purchased just for me, or games like Truth or Dare.
And let me just say, that could get very interesting over the phone, especially when you could actually see what the other person was doing.
We had been making it work, staying positive and keeping in constant communication. Her photo shoots were going well and the Red Sox had the best record in baseball right now, so neither of us could really complain.
We simply just missed each other.
But today was our second game in Anaheim, and she was supposed to be here. She’d texted me earlier in the day and said that with her photo shoot running a little long, she probably wouldn’t arrive until closer to the end of the game.
I didn’t care, though.
I knew she wanted to see me play, but I’d be satisfied with just having her beside me. Plus, the team had a day off tomorrow between today’s game and the final game of the series on Sunday. Which meant that after our early morning practice, I had the rest of the day to spend with Kinley.
Playing for Kinley (Cruz Brothers Book 1) Page 27
