Stealing Second

by Alison Packard

  “Now, is that any way to refer to our friends in the media?” Katie’s amused voice caught him by surprise.

  He hadn’t expected to see her so soon. Especially not after the verbal liberties he’d taken with her during their dance last night. Yeah, he might have crossed a line or two, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Seeing her at the bar with Adam Logan had sent a hot stab of jealousy straight to his gut. In that moment, it hit him that Katie might actually be serious about the guy, and he’d wanted nothing more than to walk up to Logan and tell him to keep his hands off his woman.

  At the time asking her to dance seemed like a good idea. It wasn’t until he held her in his arms that he realized it wasn’t. The soft scent of her hair and skin, and her body pressed against his, sent a rush of desire through him with such force that it tore at his insides.

  Reaching for the Blaze T-shirt he wore under his jersey, he quickly slipped it on and left the bathroom.

  “Village idiots is the least derogatory thing I can think of to call them.” He entered his office and found Katie standing in front of the closed door. A closed door usually meant she was going to light into him about something. But other than reminding her of two erogenous zones, he couldn’t think of anything he’d done lately to deserve her wrath.

  As usual, her vibrant hair was pulled back in a bun. Today she wore black pants that fit her like a glove and a sleeveless print blouse that showed off her toned arms. Interestingly enough, she wasn’t looking at him like she wanted to deck him.

  “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he asked with a grin and put his hands on his hips. “Whatever it is, I’m absolutely certain I didn’t do it.”

  Her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to smile. “In the spirit of sharing information, I have something that may or may not amount to much. But my motto has always been, forewarned is forearmed.”

  “I can’t argue with that.” Puzzled, he cocked his head. “So, what’s up?”

  “I heard that Trey Gentry and Ava McCandless were seen together last night at a hotel bar. My source tells me their conversation wasn’t friendly, and when it ended Ava stormed out like she was loaded for bear.”

  “Loaded for bear?” Tom chuckled at the expression she used to reserve for her father whenever he was angry at her. “Did your source literally say that?”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “Does it matter? Look, I know you’re not interested in gossip, but I thought you might want to know. If there’s something going on between them and it gets ugly, it could cause problems in the clubhouse.”

  “Other than the obligatory cougar jokes, I doubt the guys would care,” he said, and moved to his desk. He grabbed the Blaze cap lying atop a stack of paperwork he needed to file and slapped it on his head.

  “Trey’s contract is up for negotiation after the season. They may think Trey is using her to get a more favorable deal.”

  “He’s a shoo-in for the Cy Young. That and his outstanding pitching the last two seasons, as well as this season, will get him an astronomical deal. If not here, then somewhere else. They all know that. And besides, Doug and the legal team handle contract negotiations, not Widow McCandless.”

  “True, but she’s the owner now. Simon didn’t insert himself into negotiations, but she might.”

  He scratched his head. He hadn’t thought of that. “But if she’s selling the team, it won’t matter.”

  “If she’s selling the team. Right now it’s only a rumor.”

  “From a reliable source,” he argued. “I think it’s only a matter of weeks before the announcement is made. Ava’s been talking to the commissioner’s office.”

  “Caroline’s your source, isn’t she?” Her astute eyes sharpened on his face. “She’s the only one who would know about Ava’s meetings and phone calls. She handles her calendar.”

  Leave it to Katie to figure it out. “If Caroline is my source, then you know the information is good.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not about to say anything. I like Caroline, and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her job.” She studied him pensively. “Why is she confiding in you?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe because she knows her boss doesn’t care for me.”

  “I wasn’t aware Ava didn’t like you.”

  “Let’s just say her ego was a bit wounded when I turned down her advances.”

  Katie’s eyes widened. “You too?”

  That gave him pause. “Why do I feel like you’re not talking about Trey now?”

  “Because I’m not. I heard she came on to Matt when the team was in Washington, DC, after the World Series.”

  “I didn’t know about that. He never mentioned it.” But now it made sense why Matt never had anything positive to say about the woman.

  “He probably didn’t want to embarrass Simon, which is why I assume you’ve never said anything.”

  “I liked the guy,” Tom admitted, thinking of the snowy-haired man who’d treated him like a son. “He loved the team and every player and coach on it. It would’ve devastated him to know that the wife he adored was hitting on anything in a jockstrap.” Not to mention that she’d probably been waiting for her husband to die so she could sell off his beloved team. Ava’s current behavior only confirmed that the bad vibes he’d picked up on the first time he met her weren’t a product of his imagination.

  “I don’t like any of this.” Worry pinched her brows. “So far today, I’ve discovered she’s hit on Matt and you. How many others on the team are there?”

  “Not many, I reckon,” he said. “Most of the guys wouldn’t be able to keep their traps shut. Even if their life depended on it. And if any of them were actually doing her, it would be all over the clubhouse like a bad rash.”

  Katie wrinkled her nose with distaste. “Poor Simon. He had no idea what kind of woman he married.”

  “I guess you never really know someone,” he said, remembering how surprised and torn up he’d been when Katie pulled her disappearing act seventeen years ago. “Even when you’re in love with them.”

  Her eyes turned cool and for several seconds a tense silence reigned between them. “No. I guess you don’t,” she said, then glanced at her watch. “I’d better let you get to the media. I’m sure they have dozens of scintillating questions for you before the game starts.”

  * * *

  Well after the game ended—a nail-biter in which the Blaze lost by one run to the Padres—Katherine was hunched over her desk perusing partnership proposals from several Bay Area companies when the shrill ring of her desk phone startled her. Without glancing at the caller ID, she picked up the phone. “Katherine Whitton.”

  “Hi, Katherine, it’s Caroline.”

  Surprised, she sat up straight in her chair. “Caroline. Hello. It looks like I’m not the only one working late. What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to make you aware that Mrs. McCandless will be joining the team in Denver tomorrow.”

  Katherine’s mouth gaped open. Ava McCandless had only deigned to attend away games during the post-season. Could her sudden interest in joining the team now have something to do with Trey? “Will she be traveling with the team?”

  “No. She’ll be taking Simon’s… I mean her private jet.” Caroline paused. “I didn’t want Kelly to be surprised. Will you inform her of Mrs. McCandless’s plans?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you. And you don’t have to worry about the hotel, I made her reservations personally.”

  After she and Caroline said their goodbyes, Katherine returned the handset to its cradle and stared at the phone. Her instincts were rarely wrong, and right now they were telling her that this wasn’t going to be just any ordinary road trip. Too many variables were in play. First, there was Lily and Dorie, then there was Tom’s sister, Sheila, and now Ava McCandless had inserted herself into the mix. And considering what Katherine had recently discovered about the widow, she was worried Kelly might have her hands full. It had been a while sin
ce Katherine had been on a road trip, but in this case, Kelly needed backup.

  It had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Dorie was going on the trip. Nothing whatsoever.

  Picking up her phone, she quickly found Kelly’s name in her contact list and pressed the call button. The phone rang three times before Kelly picked up, and for a moment Katherine thought she’d somehow connected to the wrong number.

  “Kelly? Is that you?”

  “Yes, and I feel like shit.” Kelly’s already-husky voice had taken on a deep rasp. “I guess it wasn’t just a late night that had me feeling so lousy all day. All I need is a good night’s sleep, and I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Katherine raised a skeptical brow. “You don’t sound fine to me.”

  “It’s nothing. Probably a twenty-four-hour bug. I took some cold medicine. I’ll be ready to go tomorrow morning.”

  “No. You won’t,” Katherine said, pulling rank. “I want you to stay home and rest.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You’re staying home and I’m going in your place. As amazing as you are at your job, I’ve done it before and I can handle it.”

  Dedicated employee that she was, Kelly put up a valiant fight, but in the end Katherine won out, and by the time she ended the call Kelly had agreed to stay home and not infect anyone else with whatever cold or virus had invaded her system.

  As she left her office for the evening, Katherine debated on whether she should go down to the clubhouse to tell Tom she’d be standing in for Kelly on the road trip, and that Ava McCandless would be making an appearance. Their conversation earlier in the day had started off well enough, but the condemnation she’d seen in his eyes when it ended confused her. It was almost as if he blamed her for their breakup. But that couldn’t be. He was the one who hadn’t come to the hospital the night of her accident, and he was the one who’d already left for Austin when she was finally released. At her darkest moment he’d deserted her.

  For those reasons she’d vowed to keep her distance from him. But lately, as much as she hated to admit it, staying away from Tom was getting a lot harder to do.

  * * *

  Sitting in the small conference room across from his office, Tom powered down the laptop. For the past hour he’d watched film of the Colorado Rockies’ hitters and deduced that although the Rockies were trailing the Blaze in the standings by almost ten games, their hitters were a dangerous bunch. Especially at Coors Field, where the high elevation created a low air density that allowed the balls to travel farther than in other ballparks. Of course, the park also favored the visiting teams for the same reason. He only hoped the Blaze had more firepower in the three-game series than the Rockies did. With a loss in their final game with the Padres this evening and September quickly approaching, every series was critical.

  The eerie silence that pervaded the clubhouse didn’t bother him. He usually did his best thinking after the team and the coaches had cleared out. He didn’t play chess, but he imagined managing a ball club was a bit like the strategy involved in the intricate board game. One wrong move, one bad decision, could be the difference in winning or losing a game. Or in his case, his job.

  Pushing back his chair, he stood and winced as his right knee cracked. There wasn’t much pain anymore, but the sound always reminded him of his injury and the subsequent surgery and rehab. For almost any other player, the surgery wouldn’t have been career-threatening, but for a catcher, a knee injury was one of the most difficult to come back from. He’d never played at the same level afterward, so instead of hanging around and playing like a shadow of his former self, he decided to retire.

  Moving from the conference room to the bathroom in his office, he stripped off his uniform. Ten minutes later, he’d showered and was about to get dressed when his phone rang. After quickly wrapping a towel around his waist, he got to his desk in time to catch the call before it went to voice mail.

  “You should have pulled Gentry earlier than the seventh inning. His usual voodoo wasn’t working tonight,” his sister said, before he could get a word out.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Tom countered with a grin.

  Sheila laughed. “So you admit you should have pulled him?”

  “I don’t have to admit it when you and everyone else are saying it for me.”

  “On the plus side, the Dodgers lost.”

  “That’s my big sis.” He rested his hip against his desk and stared absently at the framed photo of the team hanging on the wall next to the schedule. “Always looking on the bright side.”

  “Hey, they don’t call me Sunshine Sheila for nothing.”

  “So, Sunshine Sheila. Did you call me specifically to criticize my managerial decisions or is there another reason?”

  “Actually, I was calling to remind you that Monday is Mom’s birthday.”

  “The card and gift have already been sent,” he said with a heap of satisfaction. The silence on the other end of the line confirmed he’d surprised the shit out of her. “Are you still there? Or did you keel over in shock?”

  “Still here. Just marking this day on my calendar for posterity.”

  “I told you. No big words. Jocks don’t have large vocabularies.”

  “Congratulations, you get ten points for using vocabulary in a sentence.” There was a trace of laughter in her voice. “Maybe you really did earn that degree from UT.”

  “What? Did you think all we had to do was show up in class and we got an automatic A?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Before Tom could answer, a light knock on his door caught him by surprise. He half turned to find Katie standing in the doorway. His breath jammed in his throat. Although she’d had an undoubtedly long workday, she still looked breathtakingly beautiful. “Can I call you when I get home?” he said, motioning Katie into his office. Her eyes lowered to his chest, then quickly lifted. Good thing he’d wrapped the towel around his waist. Otherwise she really would have gotten an eyeful.

  As soon as Sheila answered in the affirmative, he ended the call and set the phone on his desk. “Take a wrong turn on the way home?” he asked, turning to face her and putting his hands on his hips.

  “No.” Her eyes skated over him again. This time, the intimate probe of her gaze caused his pulse to quicken, and sent a spike of heat straight to his groin.

  “Do you want to get dressed? I can wait,” she said, after an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

  Tom spread his hands and grinned. “Nah. I’m good.”

  With an annoyed sigh, she slung her large tote bag onto the chair in front of his desk. “Two things. First, I’ll be going on the road trip in Kelly’s place. She’s sick. Second, Ava McCandless will be in Denver for the series with the Rockies. I’m not sure whether she’ll be joining us in Phoenix.”

  Just like that, his mood soured. “Son of a bitch. That’s the last thing we need.”

  Katie’s smooth brow furrowed. “Should I be offended?”

  “No. Not at all.” He waved a hand. “Having the not-so-grieving widow on the plane might make some of the guys uncomfortable.”

  “She’s not flying with the team. She’s taking Simon’s private jet.”

  Tom exhaled a breath of relief. “That’s good. This is an important road trip. I don’t want the team distracted.” But hell, what about him? With Katie on the trip, he might be the one distracted. He wasn’t sure what was happening to him, but all his reasons for keeping his distance from her seemed to be slowly eroding.

  “I’ll try to keep her occupied.” Katie crossed her arms. “Are you sure you don’t want to get dressed?”

  “Why? You’ve seen me in less. Many times, as I recall.”

  She lifted her chin. “That was a long time ago. Things are different now, and I don’t think you should be parading around in front of me wearing only a towel.”

  “I wasn’t parading. This is my office. I was alone until you showed up. And since when do you get flustered seeing a
naked chest? You’ve been in and out of the clubhouse for years now.”

  “I’m not flustered.” She leaned forward to grab the handle of her tote bag with jerky movements. “Not in the slightest,” she said, then turned and stalked out of his office.

  Chapter Eight

  As was her custom, Katherine was one of the last people to board the charter airplane taking the team to Denver. Her position with the Blaze often required travel and because she hated flying, it wasn’t the most appealing aspect of her job. Once the plane was in the air, for the most part, she was fine. It was the takeoffs and the landings that made her a little nervous. Scratch that. A lot nervous.

  Taking a deep breath, she headed down the narrow aisle with her small carry-on and nodded to a few of the players and coaches who looked up as she passed. Although she hadn’t been on a road trip in a while, it was common knowledge that Tom usually sat at the front of the plane and spent most of the flight preparing for the upcoming series. But this morning there was no sign of him. She scanned the rows in front of her and her stomach—already on the queasy side—did a major flip-flop at the sight of him sitting in an aisle seat next to Dorie and Lily.

  At that moment he looked up and their eyes locked. Flustered, she glanced down at the empty row she’d stopped in front of. This was as good a place as any. She tossed her tote bag on the window seat and was about to lift her carry-on into the overhead bin when she felt a hand on her arm.

  “I’ll get that for you,” Tom said as he took the carry-on from her and effortlessly stowed it in the bin. How did he move so quickly? She was at least six rows away from where he’d been sitting.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, intensely aware of the width of his shoulders and the clean, soapy scent that was unique to him and him alone. On travel days, the team was expected to dress in suits or blazers—no jeans or T-shirts allowed—and Tom led by example. In his natural linen-colored blazer with navy pants and a light blue shirt, he looked like he’d stepped right out of the pages of GQ. Not to mention that the shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. Her breath came a little faster—obviously she was still affected from seeing him almost naked in his office last night.