by Kathryn Shay
The man on the seat next to her swiveled. “Hmm, who are the Baltimore Bombers?”
“A softball team.” To the bartender she said, “I’ll have a Coors light.”
“Put it on my tab, Carrie.”
“I’ll pay.” She took money out of her back pocket. “No offense, I don’t know you.”
His sky blue eyes twinkled at her. With his dark hair, threaded with gray, he was attractive. Very attractive. “Want to change that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m Brock Young. Pilot for Global Airlines.” He held up his left hand. “No wife, but I have one kid.”
She smiled. “Evvie Gentileschi. NICU nurse.” She mimicked his gesture with her own hand. “No guy or kids. Do you have a boy or girl?”
“Girl.” He nodded to her shirt. “She loves softball, too.”
“Good for her.”
He gave her a friendly smile. “NICU? Bless you. I don’t know how you do that job. Those poor babies.”
What ungodly job do you have that you’d need to get up that early?
“I love taking care of preemies. I don’t know how you stand the pressure of having the all those passengers’ safety on your shoulders.”
“It’s easier with knowledge.”
“For me, too.”
Over his shoulder, she saw Abby approach. “Hi.”
“Hi, Abs. Brock, this is my friend Abby. Abby, Brock.”
Evvie bought Abby a beer and asked him if he’d like another.
“No thanks.” He lifted his glass. “This is non-alcoholic. I fly tomorrow. I only stopped in here to unwind.”
“I hope I get a pilot like you when I fly commercial.”
“See, we’re getting to know each other.” He fished a card out of his pocket. “I’d like to find out more. I won’t ask for your contact information, but here’s mine. Call me if you’d like to have dinner, Evvie Gentileschi.”
Smiling, she took the card. “I’ll give it some thought.”
He glanced at Abby, said, “Nice to meet you,” then left.
Abby studied her. “You know, you’re a man magnet. Guys gravitate toward you.”
Toward all her sisters. But she said modestly, “They do?”
“And that’s probably why. You aren’t looking.”
“I don’t plan to stay in the U.S. I’m going home to set up clinics all over Casarina at the end of the year.”
Abby smiled. “It’s hard to believe you’re a princess.”
“Princesses come in all shapes, sizes and personalities.”
“Apparently.” Abby touched her arm. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
Evvie drove home from the bar thinking about the life she was giving up in seven months. Then she banished the notion because it brought her pain. She walked inside the house, into her bedroom and to the bathroom. As she showered, she thought about Brock Young. Evvie hadn’t had a lot of sex since she came to this country, though in two years, there were a couple of guys she’d liked enough to go to bed with. She’d been happier during those times, but she couldn’t get serious with them. As she washed her breasts, she was struck by an image. A man, standing behind her, soaping her whole front, kissing her neck under the hot spray. She closed her eyes to savor the fantasy. But it was stopped short when she uttered aloud, “Mike.”
Her eyes flew open. “Oh, no!” Quickly, she rinsed off and put on pajamas. It was only nine, but she climbed under the covers. She didn’t fall asleep right away, though, which was unusual. Instead, she tossed and turned, trying to replace images of The Jag with those of Brock.
Hell, Evvie thought. This is not good!
* * *
Totally disgusted with himself, Mike swung his legs over the side of Jodi’s bed. Seated on the mattress, he scrubbed his hands over his face then glanced behind him. Red hair, soft skin, a long slender body. Everything that appealed to him in a woman.
Or used to anyway.
Belaboring what he’d done, he headed to the bathroom. On his way, he picked up his clothes from the chair then shut the door to the john and examined himself in the mirror. Something had just happened to him that had never occurred before.
He’d thought about one woman while he was making love to another. And he had no idea why chestnut-colored hair, almond-shaped eyes and a curvy body had plagued him tonight.
“You’re an asshole,” he taunted himself as he took a leak and dressed.
Think about the game. He’d done okay, getting two hits and three RBIs. Nothing ever distracted him from baseball. But afterward, he found himself staring up into the stands, remembering the night he’d hit Evvie with the ball. Shit. She wasn’t his type at all. Her demeanor was too...wholesome for him. She wasn’t plain, but she wasn’t overly sexy either, except maybe for her voice.
Fuck! He was doing it again.
He was out of the house before Jodi woke up. He couldn’t face her now. He was having a hard enough time facing himself.
* * *
By Saturday, Evvie had erased all images of The Jag from her mind. Walking up the concrete ramp in Lions Field, she took in the scent of popcorn and beer, the rumbles of the crowd as they participated in batting practice, and of course, the men on the field. Mid-June at two p.m. was hot, but she’d worn a white camisole and cool linen shorts, pulled her hair back and donned a visor. She didn’t like watching the team through sunglasses.
She found her seat between home plate and first. When the people next to her, who also had season tickets, were unable to attend a game, the holder often texted her that the two seats would be free. She’d brought Frankie and Ty here, and Brie, too, but today, she preferred to watch the game alone. Settling into 2B, she scanned the field. The Lions were warming up. Luke looked menacing as he took batting practice. The regular first baseman had been hit by a ball two weeks ago but was out there tonight. The pitcher seemed...
Someone dropped down next to her. Despite the sunglasses and baseball cap, the dress-down denim shorts and a plain white T-shirt, she knew exactly who he was.
“Hi,” he said peering at her through his shades.
“Hi. You do this often, come to another team’s game and take people’s seats?”
“I like to evaluate my competitors. Besides, I owe Luke.”
“Yes, you do.” She felt like a heel. “In case I didn’t express this the first time, it was so much fun having him come to my house. And the flowers lasted a long time.” Even if they did make her think of Mike every time she passed them on the coffee table.
A real smile. “Good to hear again.”
“Don’t you have a game?” Her tone was even. Maybe a little friendly. She was tired of fighting with him.
“We just got in from Pittsburg. It’s only a thirty-six-minute flight. New series starts tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
He stared ahead. She sat back, trying to ignore the breadth of his shoulders which skimmed hers. Trying not to notice how his bare leg grazed hers when he moved.
A vendor came by and Mike flagged him down. “You like beer?” he asked her.
“Of course I like beer.”
He ordered her and himself cups, along with peanuts. She preferred popcorn but kept her mouth shut.
Luke looked good today in the pre-game warmups. His batting was stellar and he fielded easily. When the team headed into the dugout, he waved at Evangelina. Then he did a double take and laughed out loud. Mike saluted him.
“Your face is red.” There was humor in Mike’s voice. “One wave from Prescott does that?”
“Apparently.” In reality, she was embarrassed sitting with The Jag at a Lions’ game. Or was the blush caused by something she didn’t want to admit?
He lifted his beer. “To a good game,” he said, and touched her cup with his.
The brew went down smoothly on her surprisingly parched throat.
The introductions began. Mike clapped modestly for the team and loudly when Luke’s name
was called. The anthem began. But Evvie couldn’t concentrate on the ritual. As the preliminaries passed, she was unable to block out Mike’s height, his big body. And she was irritated that he was here and distracting her from her favorite pastime. Then she remembered Papá saying, Nobody can spoil anything for you unless you let them.
So she wouldn’t let Mike take anything away from today. She concentrated on the players, the field and soon lost herself in the play. The Devils were up first and the Lions’ pitcher, a rookie, gave up a hit, but then got a double play.
“He’s good,” she heard Mike say. “They did right by bringing him up from the minors.”
“He’s consistent, too. And he’s got a great fastball.”
Shaking his head, he said, “You’re a man’s dream date. You know the players and even the pitches.”
“Of course I—hey, this isn’t a date.”
He kept vigil on the field. She socked his arm.
“Ouch.”
When her team came to bat, she yelled, “Go, Lions!”
Luke was the first batter. His stance was perfect. He’d hurt his knee in the pre-season but didn’t favor it. He got two strikes then hit a double. Evvie put her fingers in her mouth and whistled.
Mike did a double take. Then he laughed. “You’re so cute!”
She just shrugged.
As the game wore on, things were mellow between the two of them. They shared more comments on the players and she had some of his peanuts. When they stood for the seventh inning stretch, she turned to him. “Why’d you really come here today, Jagielski?”
“I told you why.”
She shook her head.
“Do you think I came to see you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Boy, are you modest.”
“You waited for me to get here, didn’t you, before you sat down?”
“Maybe.” He drained his beer.
“What were you going to do if the seat was occupied?”
A shrug. “I would have bought out somebody near you.”
“Again, why?”
He lifted his sunglasses so she could see his eyes for the first time. “Hell if I know, Evangelina. Hell if I know.”
Chapter 4
Today, Evvie would care for two babies in the NICU. When she arrived at work, she set up clean beds for them and checked the resuscitation equipment. Then she waited for her first child to arrive with the night nurse, which happened after a few minutes.
“How’s Margie doing?” she asked her colleague of the tiny twenty-nine-week-old. Their mission was simple: feeding the preemie so she would grow and thrive.
A small frown from the night nurse. “She had a restless evening.” Then the woman’s eyes lit. “But she pooped early today.”
Pooping was a very big deal in the NICU. “So glad to hear.”
The nurse set the baby in the incubator, said goodbye and left. Evvie stood by the small bed and cooed as the child’s tiny hands opened and closed, and her little chest rose and fell as she slept. Dark hair peeked out from a pink hat.
Later, a second nurse came in with another child.
“Elliot doing okay?” This boy had been born at thirty-two weeks and was having trouble keeping food down. Vomiting was a serious issue.
Her coworker shrugged. “So so. He needs another aspiration test in an hour.” His stomach contents would be checked through a tube from the nose and down the esophagus. If he was silently aspirating formula, there would be potential surgery in his future. Evvie said a quick prayer that wouldn’t happen. All surgeries were fraught with risk, but in preemies, the danger was worse.
When she was alone with the children, she talked to them. Evvie knew it didn’t matter what she said, but making her presence known with a soothing voice and a tender touch was important. “You know, little ones, that you’ll be fine. You’re going to grow—maybe into baseball players. Hey, that reminds me. I went to a game...”
Halfway through her shift, she was called upon to help with a birth. After a team of nurses took care of the newborn in Labor and Delivery, Evvie was on the schedule to get him first. She set up the new incubator, and soon after, the call came. Another nurse appeared to watch her preemies, then Evvie strode to the L&D anteroom only to wait another fifteen minutes.
When she was handed the infant, partly wrapped in a blanket, Evvie wiped the birth film off him. She weighed him and was glad to find he was just shy of three pounds. If his vitals were good, he could see his mother before he went to the NICU.
By two, Evvie’s shoulders ached and her feet hurt. Neonatal workers never knew what their day would entail, and the emotional stress was often worse than the physical, but today, the latter was more noticeable. As Evvie drove home, she hoped she could catch a nap before she met Alexandra for dinner. She hadn’t seen her little sister in too long, and tonight would definitely be fun.
What else do you do for fun?
Mike had asked the question in a taunting voice. But then she remembered something else.
What about you? Brothers and sisters?
Again, his hand had tightened on the wheel. One sister. We were separated when my parents died.
Oh, I’m sorry. Have you tried to find her?
No. Long story why.
Evvie wondered what it would be like to be separated from her sisters permanently. It was hard enough when they lived in different countries.
Which would happen again. Though she looked forward to her future work in Casarina, the notion of leaving the girls saddened her.
* * *
“I could have come to New York,” Evvie told Lexy across the table at The Waterfront Kitchen, a restaurant outside of Baltimore that served organic food grown by at-risk kids. The view—a dying sun that kissed the harbor water—appealed to both of them.
Across from her, Lexy smiled. This sister was the youngest, with waist-length black hair that Evvie had once envied. Lexy had come to the U.S. to publish her children’s book, and fell in love with her editor. “What time did you get up today?” Lexy asked in a seeming non sequitur.
“Five. I have my routine down to a science. If I shower the night before, I can have fifteen minutes with my coffee, throw on scrubs, eat some oatmeal and get to work, all in an hour.”
Her sister added, dryly, “I slept in until ten.”
“So?”
“How long were you on your feet today?”
“Eight hours. But I took a nap before I came out tonight.”
“Ryder and I went for an hour walk. Other than pacing the condo trying to think up details of Pickles’ adventures, that’s the total time I was standing up.”
Pickles was the little character who was about to capture America’s heart in August. Pre-orders were huge.
“I get it.” Evvie sat back. “You had an easier day than I did.”
“All my days are easier than yours.”
Reaching across the table, she squeezed Lexy’s hand. “Honey, I love my work.”
“I know. But you need to let us do things like driving to meet you when we can.”
“Calla has a baby to tend to.”
“And has nannies and housekeepers.”
“Ravenna works tirelessly at her art and her art therapy studio. I heard Gabe’s wife Macy is helping out.”
“She is. Don’t deflect.”
Evvie threw in the proverbial towel. “What do you want me to say?”
“That you’ll let us spoil you. Better yet, you’ll find a man to spoil you.”
At the thought of brown hair and hazel eyes tinged with green, she felt her face color.
Authors were way too observant. “Oh, my God, is there a man in your life?”
“Nope.”
“Why’d your face get red?”
She shrugged.
“Tell me who you were thinking about.”
Evvie rolled her eyes. “Mike Jagielski.”
“The guy who hit your ankle with the ball?” Lexy frowned. “I’m still mad
at him.”
“That’s silly. He didn’t do it intentionally.”
“But he did carry you to the medical tent like—”
“Don’t you dare call him Prince Charming. Our sisters are having a field day with that.”
Lexy asked, “What’s a field day?”
After Evvie explained a field day was devoted to athletic games, usually at a school, Lexy asked if she’d seen Mike after the incident at the ballpark.
“Yeah. A few times. Not on a date. Or maybe the ballgame was like one. I saw him twice at the hospital.”
“Why would a neonatal nurse see him at the hospital?”
Blowing out a heavy breath, Evvie filled her sister in on all the encounters.
“Fascinating. Frankie never let us know about Luke Prescott coming to your house.”
“She probably thought it was mine to tell.”
“You have feelings for The Jag?”
“How do you know his nickname?”
Lexy tilted her chin, a gesture she affected when her sisters underestimated her. “I researched him after your injury, of course.”
“To answer your question about my feelings, he’s a totally insensitive, conceited, arrogant jerk.”
“Who you’ve seen four times?”
“Yeah. He also roped me into going to the Care Center Gala with him.”
Her eyes danced. “So, I’ll meet him.”
“I guess.” Reynolds Publishing was a sponsor of the event which helped raise money for the Children’s Care Center.
“Are you sure it’s not more, Evvie?” When she hesitated, Lexy continued, “Come on, it’s me. You can tell me everything.”
Sighing heavily, she decided to confide in her sister. “I’m attracted to him physically. I even had a fantasy about him.”
“A sexual one?”
“Yeah.”
Another frown. “How long has it been since you had sex?”
“Too long. That’s why I had the unwanted images. Though it started out with the pilot I met.”
“Hell, Evvie, how much are you keeping from us?”
