“He deserves everything he gets too, that prick.”
We sat quietly for a few moments, unsure of how to tackle the issue at hand.
“I’m sorry, baby.”
She squeezed my hand. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You didn’t do anything at all.”
The question that had been heavy on my mind all week needed asked. “Where do we stand?”
“I’m still trying to process the fact that you were there that night. I’ve made an appointment to see a psychiatrist to help talk out my feelings. But to answer your question, I just want us to be Carson and Melody. I need for us to be Carson and Melody. You are the only person I want to be with forever, if anything, this week apart has shown me that I need you more than I could have ever imagined.”
I felt like the ten elephants that were hanging out on my shoulders finally took a hike. “We’re always going to be Carson and Melody. You are my forever, Mel. This past week has killed me, but I’d do it again if you needed the time.” I kissed her hand before continuing. “We have some decisions to make about going to the police. What do you think?”
She shook her head and exhaled. “I want to wait a few days before deciding anything. Right now, I just want to be with you and try to forget this whole thing. I need you to take me to bed and hold me, because I haven’t slept for shit in the past week and I’m exhausted.”
I stood and picked her up, cradling her to my chest as I walked us back to my room. “That sounds like the best idea in the entire world.”
We both crawled into bed, our bodies practically melded together under the blankets. “I love you Melody. I’m never going to stop.”
“I love you too, Carson. Forever.”
I ran my fingers through her hair, her sexy little hums vibrated against my chest. “Hey, wait a second.” She said, perching herself up on an elbow.
“What’s wrong?”
“I believe you owe me something.”
I racked my brain, wondering what the fuck she was talking about. “What do I owe you?”
“I believe the message said “Fifty manatees.”
I laughed, remembering my hopeless plea to get her to talk to me. “Yes, I do remember saying that now. Since I can’t technically buy an endangered animal, how about we adopt fifty manatees?”
She laid her head back on my chest, and I could feel her smiling. “I guess that will do.”
Epilogue
Eight Months Later: Melody
Opening day.
There still is nothing like the feel of the ballpark on the first official day of baseball season. The smells are still familiar, the sounds the same, and even the buzz of energy hasn't changed.
But everything is different.
I'm different.
The springy grass of the field under my feet is a feeling I'm not used to experiencing on opening day. Today, I was asked to throw out the first pitch of the game. In less than ten minutes, I will stand on the end of the mound and throw the first pitch of the season to the catcher...and my love. Carson has been helping me practice my pitch over the last few weeks so I wouldn't look like a fool today. Needless to say, I feel like I'm still going to throw up.
I walk over to the seats on the first baseline that I occupied all my life. I lean on the wall, smiling at the people in the seats. "Are you excited for the game today?"
"Yes! I'm so excited to see Ryan Cruz pitch today Miss Mel!" Grady bounced excitedly in his seat. Beside him, Adam watched Grady with the love a father should have for his son. "Thank you again for selling us these seats, Mel. This means the world to Grady, and it will be a wonderful tradition for us to start.”
I decided to sell the seats during the off season. Those seats should be enjoyed by a family, just like they were for so long. It wasn't an easy decision to make, one I thought a few weeks about. I told Lexi I was selling them, and she mentioned it to Adam. He bought all three seats with the intention of a special lady taking over the empty seat someday. Once I saw how thrilled Grady was about getting to go to "every single home game in the world forever", I knew I made the right choice.
"I really hope you enjoy these seats as much as my family and I did. There will be great memories made here, I can promise you."
Grady leaned over the wall and hugged me. "Thank you, Miss Mel."
"You're so welcome, sweetheart. Be good for your dad, okay?"
"I will." He turned to his dad and frowned. “Where is Miss Murray? I thought she was sitting next to us today?”
Adam looked down at his phone. “She’s on her way in now. You know, you can call her Lexi. She’s not your teacher anymore.”
Grady’s nose scrunched. “That’s just weird, Dad.”
I arched a brow. “So Lex is taking the seat today, huh?” I already knew that Adam asked Lexi to come to the game with them today. Lexi and Adam have been dating steadily since the school year ended last year, although she kept it quiet for a while. Today is the first day that she will be hanging out with Adam and Grady both at the same time. She has been stressing out over it, afraid that Grady won’t like “Lexi” as much as he likes “Ms. Murray.” I told her to be herself, less the cussing in front of Grady.
Sammie called my name from the sideline, waving me over. "I have to go, have fun."
"Throw the ball hard Miss Mel!"
I laughed, briefly looking past Grady to the stranger that was sitting in Uncle Clay's seat. After Uncle Clay had the surgery on his leg, he was admitted into a rehab facility for several weeks to begin physical therapy. He still has a tough time with that leg, so he decided to sell his season ticket too. "It's just too damn much to be walking them narrow stairs every day. The boys will play great regardless if I'm there or not. Besides, I can't stomach seeing that Lawrence kid all the time." Same ol' Uncle Clay, but now he's watching the game at home in front of the television with Marsha. I've promised to come over to watch some games with him.
I reached Sammie, who handed me a ball. "Carson said you've been practicing."
"I'm still going to throw like shit. I'm shaking like a leaf."
She put a reassuring hand on my arm. "You'll be fine, I promise. Besides, you could always pretend like Carson really pissed you off and throw it at his face."
"That's not a bad idea." I laughed.
“Who knows, maybe you’ll give the team luck this year since you’re throwing the first pitch. We could use the luck for the post season.”
That was true. Last season, we made it to the playoffs and the entire city was buzzing with excitement. Unfortunately, we lost the division championship. Carson was bummed for about a week after, but his attitude changed quickly when we headed to Captiva for the off season.
"Come on, Fangirl! You've got this!" I heard Lexi scream from her seat beside Adam and Grady. I looked over at her and watched her wave proudly, holding a sign that says "Fangirl is my homie." I blew a kiss her way and laughed as she squealed.
I'm going to miss living with that crazy girl. I finished moving my things to Carson's place yesterday, another bittersweet decision I've made. Lexi was excited for me to take that step with Carson, but she immediately started looking for an apartment once I told her I was leaving. When I told her I wasn’t going to sell the condo, she began looking for roommates. Come to find out, Sammie had been searching for a new apartment, so Lexi quickly scooped her up as her new roomie. Lexi and I have gotten to know Sammie better since last season and she’s become a part of our group. Ryan and Sammie have really hit it off, although she refuses to allow him to put a label on their relationship yet. I really can’t blame her for trying to protect her heart considering his reputation. I give the guy one thing, he’s trying like hell to win her over.
Carson exited the dugout and walked in my direction. The butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive, the nostalgia of today taking over. Opening day last year changed my life forever. Little did I know that taking a fly ball in between the eyes would in return give me the love of my life.
He gave me his signature smile when he reached me, then tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You ready?"
I looked around at the full stadium, nausea replacing those butterflies. "I don't know. Why did they ask me to do this again?"
He chuckled. "Because they know you're a huge fan of the team. They try to pick local fans most of the time to throw out the first pitch. You are Fangirl, after all.”
I exhaled and nodded. "I can do this."
"Baby, you can do anything."
And I believe him, mostly because he's by my side. After we made up last summer, things weren't back to one hundred percent. We had things to work out, some insecurities on both our parts, and had some bumpy days.
The situation with Carson's father didn't make it any easier, either. After days of discussing what to do, we talked to a lawyer about our options. The lawyer assured us that since Carson was a minor at the time of the accident and was persuaded by his lawyer father, he would not be charged with falsifying a police report. After debating over it, we decided not to go to the police. We knew the truth of what really happened that night and the outcome wouldn't change. My parents would still be dead and there wasn't anything that would change that. Neither of us wanted to reopen the wound of that night and relive the nightmare, we decided to move on.
So that's what we've done, we've moved on. Carson has cut all ties with his father, something he says he wishes he would had done years ago.
"Hey, are you okay?" Carson asked, bringing me back to now.
"Yeah, I'm good." I leaned up and kissed his cheek.
Sammie patted Carson on the arm. "We're ready."
Carson winked and jogged to his place behind the plate.
"Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the game and season, longtime fan Melody 'Fangirl' Carrick!"
I laughed at the announcement and took my place at the end of the mound like I was told. Carson bent down behind the plate and slipped the facemask on. "Anytime you're ready, baby." He called out.
I took a deep breath and did just as we practiced. Stand sideways, step with the left foot, turn your upper body and throw with the right arm.
The ball left my fingers and easily made it to home plate, a little higher than I intended, but it made it. The crowd cheered when Carson caught it, and I let out the breath. It's over and I didn't smack Carson in the face.
Carson jogged to me and handed me the ball. "It's yours."
"Thank you, Mr. Lawrence." I smiled. He removed his face mask and handed it to Sammie.
"I think this is yours too." He says, opening his mitt. Inside is an opened velvet box with a ring.
A huge, freaking ring.
The air escapes from my lungs, and I'm left speechless as he drops to one knee. "Opening day is our day, and it always will be. It's the anniversary of many firsts for me, but mainly the day that I met my soulmate. No matter what ballpark I'm playing in on opening day, it will mean nothing unless you're there with me. You're my everything. Will you marry me?"
I feel my head nod before I can say it. "Yes. Yes. YES!"
Carson's smile overtakes his entire face as I say those words. He carefully takes the diamond ring from the box and gives Sammie his mitt. With shaking hands he slides the ring on my finger and places a kiss over it. It's then that I realize the diamond is green. "Oh my...you found a green diamond?"
"It wasn't easy to find the right one, but I did. I always knew I'd put a green diamond on your finger one day. It matches your eyes perfectly."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt him lift me off my feet. The thousands of fans in the stadium cheered loudly when we were put on the big screen out in the outfield, replaying the proposal. He kissed me deeply, everyone in the entire world disappearing for the moment. "I'm going to love you forever, Fangirl."
“I’m never going to live this down, am I?” I laughed.
His lips brushed against mine softly before he answered. “Never.”
Acknowledgments
Shortly after turning twenty-nine, like most women, I had a bit of a panic attack. I was less than a year from entering my third decade and could only focus on all the things I had always wanted to do but put on the back burner. One of those items was write a novel. A month later, my cousin and I wrote the first words to Beautifully Unexpected while I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and she was back home in Pennsylvania.
Ever since, she has been my biggest cheerleader. Peeps, thanks for everything. You’re my voice of reason, you encourage me daily and when I think an idea is too crazy or big, you’re the one telling me to go for it. I can’t thank you enough.
Eric, you’ve also been my voice of reason, telling me when I need to scale back or take a break. I know our time alone sometimes takes a hit while I’m writing, but I’m grateful that you still are supportive and tell me to chase this dream. Oh…and thanks for your many “connections.” I love you.
Mom and Dad, thank you for always telling me only my best was acceptable. When I feel like giving up or half-assing something, those words replay in my head. Thank you for being wonderful parents and so supportive. I love you.
Tammy and Cleve, when anyone tells me they have the in-laws from hell, I thank God that I don’t. Tammy, sometimes you’re “a total mother-in-law” and I’m a “daughter-in-law”, or Cleve, sometimes I don’t have your back and you throw me under the bus, but I wouldn’t have anyone else as my in-laws. I love you both and how you treat me as one of your own.
Gabby and Cameron, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for gracing the cover with your beautiful selves. More than that, you both are even more gorgeous on the inside, and if the world had more Gabbys and Camerons in it, it would be a much better place.
LuLu- you’re not allowed to read this book until you’re 95…because I love you.
For the ladies who volunteered as tributes to read the first (and very rough) draft: Carrisa, Brittany, Jess, Ashley H., Ashley D., Jaimie, Kelly, Amy and Kayla. You all are amazing and your feedback and support is priceless. I love you ladies.
Jess, thanks for being an awesome sis-in-law. Edits and photos…you were my right hand girl on this project. Thank you!
Anna, are you capable of making a cover that isn’t gorgeous? Thank you for being so freaking amazing!
Brian, thank you for standing out in the freezing cold so we could get the shots at the ballpark.
And to you, the reader…thank you for taking a chance on an unknown author. You risked your time and money on this book, and you’ll never know how much it really means to me. Thank you for hanging out in my fictional world.
About the Author
Trish Williford lives in a tiny town in Pennsylvania with her awesome husband, beautiful daughter and handsome dog. She enjoys writing about kick ass heroines and their dreamy book boyfriends. When she’s not busy being Supermom, she loses herself in books, binge watches Supernatural, rocks out to OneRepublic and relaxes with a glass of wine.
You can connect with Trish at www.facebook.com/AuthorTrishWilliford , Goodreads.com and email at [email protected]
Also by Trish Williford
The Counting Stars Series
Never Look Back (Book One)
Never Let Go (Book Two)
Beautifully Unexpected
(with Carrisa Gordon)
Falling for the Rookie (Fan Girl Book 1) Page 20
