The next morning, I barely pulled myself out of bed before going downstairs and falling onto the couch. That day passed in a daze. I could hear everyone around me, but it felt like a dream. I didn't change, didn't put makeup on, and never even combed my hair. They watched me, I could feel their eyes on me. When Sammie handed me a plate of food, I shook my head, pulled my blanket up higher, and closed my eyes again. At the end of the night, I felt James nudge me. With the blanket around me, I walked back up the stairs and fell onto my bed. The two days that followed that one went exactly the same way. No matter how many times I told myself to get up and figure things out, I couldn't do it. My life was a mess that was spiraling out of control. I was living off of my brother and his wife, I didn't have a dollar to my name, and my husband had transformed into a giant asshole. I had no idea what I was going to do, and I honestly didn't want to think about any of it.
That fourth morning came, and I landed on the couch just as I had before. I'd just fallen back to sleep when the blanket covering me was ripped away. The cold air hit my skin, and I let out a groan.
“Get up, Cassie,” Sammie barked out from above me.
I turned into the couch and closed my eyes.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked, and I groaned again.
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
“I know I've always given you shit for wearing a lot of makeup and spending so much time on doing yourself up, and I honestly never thought I'd hear myself say these words, but get your ass up and take a shower. You smell like shit.”
“Later,” I mumbled.
“No,” she snapped. “What is going on? We were gone for one night, Cassie. You had the kids for one night. I know you can be dramatic, but this is a bit much. What the hell happened in that one night to cause this mess on my couch? Is it what I said when I came home and found the house a disaster?”
“No,” I mumbled.
“Then what is it?” she asked.
“Jeff,” I said, as I moved to look up but clenched my eyes tight to block out the light.
“What about him?” she asked. “Did that fucker do something?”
The tone in her voice was harsh enough to make me rethink mentioning him.
“Nothing,” I said. “I'm just tired.”
When I put my head back down, I heard her let out a groan of her own.
“I don't think so,” she said, as I felt both of my feet being yanked hard off the couch. “Get your ass up.”
“No,” I moaned.
“Yes,” she snapped out.
My entire body hit the floor, and I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at her.
“Really?” I asked.
“You left me no choice,” she said with a smirk. “You should see yourself right now. It's taking all I have not to take pictures to use against you later. I can't believe I'm saying this a second time, but go take a shower before I hose you down.”
I got up from the floor and headed for the stairs.
“I mean it, Cassie,” she yelled out from behind me. “Take a shower and get dressed. When I come up there, I'd better not find you in that bed.”
Just as I'd gotten to the top step and rounded the corner toward my room, I heard her again.
“And comb that rat's nest on top of your head.”
When I finally made it into the shower and the hot water hit my skin, my eyes closed and I let out a loud breath. It felt so damn good standing under the steady stream of wet heat. I washed my hair. Then I conditioned it. As my hands moved over my body to wash it, Parker popped into my mind, and my eyes shot open.
“Get your shit together, Cassie,” I said. “Men suck.”
I hurried through the rest of my shower. When I grabbed the towel and stepped out, the cool air hit my skin, and it felt like a bucket of ice had been thrown over me. I was definitely wide awake. I dried off as quickly as I could before hurrying to my room to get dressed. I'd grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. That would have to do. I ran the brush through my hair and yelped in pain. Sammie wasn't kidding, it was a mess up there. Once I'd combed it out, I grabbed a hairband and threw it up. I looked over at the phone still on my nightstand and rolled my eyes. Then I looked at my purse that I knew didn't have a damn dollar in it, and I left it there. When I got down the stairs, I fell back onto the couch. Seconds later, I saw my sneakers fly through the air and land at my feet.
“Put them on,” I heard Sammie say from across the room where she was slipping her own feet into hers. “We're going out.”
“I'm not going anywhere,” I said.
Just as the last word left my mouth, James came through the front door. He slipped his suit jacket from his shoulders and hung it on the back of a chair. Then he walked toward his baby as he rolled up his shirt sleeves.
“Hey, James,” he said, as he picked the little guy up and kissed his forehead. “Did you miss daddy?”
“He always misses daddy,” Sammie said with a laugh, before looking back at me. “We are leaving the house. You can do this the easy way or the hard way. You choose.”
“Ugh,” I said, as I grabbed one shoe and began shoving my foot into it without even bothering to untie it. “Why is your wife such a pain in the ass?”
James laughed as he bounced his little guy in his arms.
“Did you miss your Uncle James?” he asked my little guy, who was swinging happily. “I sure missed you guys.”
“Daddy,” I heard Jillian yell out, before she came running around the corner with Jenny and Jeff at her heels.
James leaned down and kissed his little girl on the forehead just like he had his son only moments before. I sat in awe watching my brother. He really was a great man. Sammie had no idea how lucky she was to find the only good one left. James walked over and sat down on the couch with the baby in his arms and looked over at me.
“Much better,” he said with a laugh.
“Smart ass,” I grumbled.
Just as I was shoving my second shoe on, I felt his eyes on me.
“What the fuck is that?” he demanded.
I looked up to see his eyes looking right at the bruise on my arm.
“It's nothing,” I said, as I jerked my arm back and quickly adjusted my shoe.
Then I got to my feet and headed for Sammie.
“Cassie,” he snapped.
“What?” I asked. “It happened a few days ago, while you were gone. I hit it against something. I don't even remember what it was.”
“It looks like a hand print,” he said sternly. “You sure you hit it?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “Stop being such a big brother.”
Sammie had gotten the three kids ready to leave in the time I'd been putting on my shoes. That woman had super powers, I was sure of it. She opened the door and out they went.
“Come on,” she snapped. “I don't have all day.”
“Cassie,” I heard James but didn't turn back to him.
“I'm fine, James,” I said. “Apparently I have someplace to be.”
I walked out the door, pulling it shut behind me. Then I walked toward Sammie's van. She'd already gotten the kids in and was getting in herself.
“How do you do that?” I asked, as I walked over and got in the other side.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Get everyone moving so fast?” I asked.
“It's easy,” she said, as she started backing down the driveway. “Did he have someone sit next to you and feed you too?”
Her words hit me like a punch in the gut, and I knew I didn't hide it.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I know this isn't easy for you, but you're making it so much harder than it needs to be. You really were a spoiled brat, Cassie. I love you. I'm not going to lie to you. Being a mom is hard work, but it is worth every single bit of what you put into it. You and the kids deserve to be happy. I hope you make the right choice.”
Sammie pulled into the lot of her favorite place and parked the van.
“I'm not going in ther
e,” I said. “I thought we were going out.”
“This is out,” she said with a smile, as she got out before getting the kids out. “You're going in.”
“No,” I said.
“Okay,” she said, just before closing her door. “I'll have one of the guys come out and get you then.”
Then she was gone, and the kids went with her. She wouldn't, would she? I hurried out and shut my door behind me. Then I took a deep breath.
“Please don't be here,” I whispered, as I walked toward the building very slowly.
Chapter 3
Parker
I was at one of my favorite places doing what I loved almost more than anything. When I wasn't working or hanging out with the team, I was at Sammie's place. Being there was different than being anywhere else. It was a place I could go to get away from my thoughts, a place where there was no expectations. When I was there, it didn't matter how good a throw was or if I hit the ball far enough. It wasn't like that at all. When I was there, it was all about fun, learning, and bonding. It helped being around people I felt actually gave a shit about me as a person.
Sammie knew exactly what she was doing when she'd opened the place. That woman had a love for the game like none I'd ever seen. It might have helped that her father, his best friend, and her husband all played professionally at one time or another. I honestly believed Sammie could have kicked any of their asses. Her being four months pregnant didn't change a thing. She was always there and always involved. She'd built the place up from nothing, and she worked her ass off doing it. The kids that came after school and during the summer just wanted to learn and have a good time. I'd seen so many great relationships start with the toss of a ball. We're talking kids from all different financial backgrounds and groups. They all came together in one place, and each of them loved the game. There was no doubt in my mind that some of the future Pirates were right there in that building, and I was there as often as I could be to help guide them and make them stronger.
I hadn't been as lucky as James. Where he'd found a woman that loved him for who he was and not his paycheck, I'd found one that would take me for everything she could get. She was the worst of the worst. I payed dearly at least once a month when it came to her, and I swore I would never be that stupid again. How a woman could use her children to get money, I would never know. I'd also never understand how someone could use my career to fund her over-the-top lifestyle but use that same career to prevent me from seeing my kids. It hadn't always been that way with her. There was a time I actually thought I loved her, but that time was long forgotten. It hadn't taken long for that love to turn into something much different. My shit's been locked up tight since her, and that was exactly how it was going to stay, forever.
Throwing the ball back and forth with one of the people I respected most wasn't a bad way to start the day. Lance Smith was one of the greats in my eyes. I'd watched him pitch through the television when I was just a little guy myself. My dad liked the game, and even though he never lived in the state, he was a Pirate fan. I wasn't that old when Lance had decided to stop playing, but I'd remember him forever.
I was going to be like him one day, I'd tell my dad that all the time. When I went out to throw the ball around in the yard, Lance Smith was the one I thought about. I played ball in elementary, junior high, high school, and college. It was my only sport, and I put my all into it. The day I finally met Lance, I was so damn excited. When I signed with the Pirates, he was there. It felt like some kind of sign, but it didn't take long for me to realize it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with James. That fucker was lucky. His dad and Lance were friends, and his dad had been a Pirate too. He'd left the game just before I started watching, so I hadn't seen him play myself.
Back to Lance. He was all over James, like the guy was his own personal project or something. Playing alongside James meant seeing Lance often. James and I became pretty decent friends, so when Sammie started her place, I was right there to help as much as I could. That meant seeing Lance often as well. He was definitely a great player, so throwing the ball around with him was a great start to my day.
I heard the kids before I saw them. Jillian was something else. She ran right by me and straight for her grandpa. He scooped her up in his arms and kissed all over her face. She giggled and squirmed until he finally put her back down on her feet. Jenny and Jeff were right behind her waiting for their own wave of attention. Lance did not disappoint either. He was just as good with them as he had been with his own flesh and blood. Sammie walked over with a smile, and I couldn't help but wonder again why I hadn't been lucky enough to find someone as good as her. Lance was right there asking her a million questions about how she was feeling. He was about his kids all of the time, but let one of them be pregnant, and look the fuck out. I had to feel bad for James on that one. Sammie was definitely a daddy's girl. Shit! Lance had even broken James' nose when he found out that he'd been touching his little girl. That man loved his family. They were his everything.
I was relieved to see Sammie alone with the kids. Nothing against Cassie, but the woman got to me. I'd heard so many things about her over the years. James had no problem talking about his sister and her better-than-everyone-else ways from time to time, especially when she'd dropped out of college and married some rich guy that was old enough to be her daddy. That was how James had phrased it anyway. The guy wasn't being a dick, he was just pissed that nobody could stop her from what he'd said was the biggest mistake of her life. I hadn't been sure how much of his talk I'd really believed, not until I'd met her anyway.
Cassie walked into Sammie's place dressed like she was going out for a night on the town. Then she'd plopped her ass on a bench and stared down at her phone like her two kids weren't hers to deal with. You could tell the woman was pampered. It was like money oozed off of her. I didn't like it, not one bit. I'd known who she was the second my eyes landed on her. Sammie warned me that she was going to bring her, so I guess that helped a bit too. When I watched out of the corner of my eye, and the woman never looked up from her phone, I couldn't help but fuck with her, and she surprised me. Each time James had mentioned her, he'd mentioned her always doing what her husband said, even giving up contact with her own family. He'd made her seem quiet and shy, but that was not the woman I met, not at all. She had a cocky mouth that gave me just as much shit as I gave her. She'd even made fun of my jersey, and she'd done it with the straightest face. I wasn't used to being talked to the way she'd spoken to me, and it took all I had not to take the damn woman over my knee and demand she give me the respect I deserved.
The second time I'd seen her she was just as irritating, yet completely different. The way her hands felt when they landed on my skin and the way her eyes moved over my body had my cock instantly ready and willing. Instead of wanting her over my knee, I wanted her someplace else entirely. Her reaction didn't help one bit either. I felt that shit running right through her. If I'd slid my hand between those clenched thighs, those panties would have been soaked. Something told me that it had nothing to do with who I was and everything to do with her needing a good, hard fucking, but there was no damn way I was going to find out. First, she was a gold digger. Been there, done that, and never doing it again. Second, she was family to some of the best people I knew. There was no way I was going anywhere near that, especially not for a quick fuck. I could get that shit by the bucket load just by walking into a local bar and making myself known.
When I saw her for the third time, she was in the parking lot of the restaurant, and she looked like she was going to lose it. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. The rest of her crew had gone to Michigan, but she'd stayed back. There she was, with her three kids, on Thanksgiving, eating out at a tiny restaurant. Her keys had fallen, and her baby bag had smacked her in the back of the head. I could see it in her ready to cry eyes, taking her three kids to dinner had been a full time job. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't like she'd never had them out befor
e. Her little girl had to have at least been three.
Once the kids were in the car safely, we talked for a few minutes. She actually thanked me for my help, and it seemed sincere. She responded with another it's complicated when I asked about her family, so I gave her one in return when she asked about mine. When I asked about her husband, I'd totally shocked myself. I didn't care about him, not one bit, and I didn't care about her either. I could never care about someone that would care more about my bank account than they would me, and from what I'd heard about her, she was definitely one of those. I'd made the mistake of caring once, and I was still paying for it. The only good that came out of it were my two kids. I barely got to see them, and each time, it was a fight. I would never put myself and especially not another child through that again. My focus was on my career and my babies. Well, they weren't babies anymore, but they always would be to me.
Jillian and Jenny came running over to me and did their best to knock me over. I did my whole fake you got me thing and landed on my back on the ground. Both of their little bodies had just landed on me when I heard Lance growl out.
“What the fuck happened to you?”
I looked up and over the shoulder of one of the girls to see Cassie stop frozen at his words. She was the same person, but she looked so different than she had just days before. There was no hiding that she was broken. I'd seen it before. Shit! I'd even felt it myself. The crazy part was that she looked just as sexy in those jeans and a t-shirt, with no makeup, as she had when she was dressed for a night on the town. Wait! Sexy, oh hell no. I shook my head, moved the girls off of me, and got to my feet. I definitely needed to hit the bar soon.
Out of My League, Part 2 Page 2
