Caught by You

by Jennifer Bernard

“There’s an afternoon double-­header against the Aces, right, Caleb?”

  “Got me. All I know is I have to be back in San Diego by tomorrow. What better way to pass the time than at the ballpark? You like peanuts, peanut?” Caleb ruffled Zack’s hair.

  Zack scrunched up his face. “I’m not a peanut!”

  “Well then, do you like Cracker Jack, Cracker Jack?”

  “I’m not a Cracker Jack!”

  “Do you like big plastic cups of foaming beer—­”

  Zack’s little body convulsed with laughter, while Donna covered his ears. “All right, all right, this could go on for a while. We’ll see you at the ballpark. I need to talk to Harvey and the Hannigans. Sadie, do you mind coming with me to hang out with Zack?”

  “Love to.” Sadie gave Caleb a long, passionate, verging on inappropriate-­for-­a-­courthouse-­cafeteria hug before joining them.

  After Donna had taken a few steps she turned back and mouthed something to Mike.

  It looked an awful lot like, I love you, Solo. In his imagination, he embellished that with and I’ll show you just how much the next time I get you alone.

  After the girls and Zack were gone, Caleb slung an arm around Mike’s shoulder. “So. I’ve been meaning to ask you. Best man?”

  “You’re really doing it, huh?”

  “This fall. My little brothers will be the groomsmen, but I want you for best man. You in?”

  “Of course. But I might be calling on you first. Fall . . . that’s a long time away. At our pace, Donna and I could get engaged and married three times before then.”

  Caleb chuckled, his steel-­blue eyes alight with humor. “You two sure know how to keep things interesting. Are you a hundred-­percent sure she wants to marry you? She might want to focus on her new career, you know. She’s all over YouTube. I heard she’s getting job offers from teams across the United States.”

  “What?”

  “She’s got that ‘it’ factor, you know? She walks on stage . . . or on the field . . . and you can’t take your eyes off her.”

  Sure, Caleb might be his best friend, but right now Mike wanted to punch him in his handsome face. He satisfied himself with a warning snarl.

  “Or so I hear,” Caleb added quickly. “Haven’t seen her in action. I’m just saying, you might want to nail things down with her. A girl like her, funny, smart, tons of fun—­”

  “You know something, asshole? It’s a damn good thing we’re in a courthouse right now, or you’d be in serious trouble—­”

  Caleb grinned. “Dude. I’m one thousand percent in love with Sadie. I’m just saying, you better go get your girl.”

  Mike did his best to nail things down that very night. With Zack spending one last night at the Hannigans, he had Donna all to himself. Alone. In bed. Naked. At first, all she wanted to do was talk. She stretched her sweet body on top of his and propped her chin on her hands.

  “So explain this to me. You told off Judge Quinn? Is he gay? You didn’t threaten to out him, did you?”

  “No way. No threats. I wouldn’t do that. Joey always thought it was crass. I just talked to him. All he did was take back the ruling due to a technicality. Whatever his secret is, it’s still safe.”

  “Okay, so he stepped down from the case, and then you called everyone?”

  “Yup. I thought you should know that ­people love you and you’re not alone. It’s not always Donna against the world.” He shaped the sleek curve of her ass with his hands. “Especially now that you’re with me.”

  She peppered kisses along his jaw. “You’re amazing. Why were you so nervous? Did you think I’d be mad?”

  “Keep in mind, the last time I saw you, you threw me out of your apartment. And you didn’t seem interested in anything I had to say. I didn’t know how you’d react, but I had to try something.”

  Her eyelids flickered. “So . . . at my apartment . . . everything you said . . .”

  “I know you were a little out of it, so let me say it again. I love you. I know I told you that I didn’t want love. That was pretty much the stupidest moment in my life—­and there have been many, let me tell you. I think I was already in love with you, I just didn’t know what to do with it. I told myself I was helping you, and that we got along really well, and that I wanted to fuck your brains out. All true, by the way. But not really the point.”

  “So the whole engagement thing . . . was real?” Her forehead crinkled in a perplexed frown. “I mean, you actually did want to marry me?”

  “Well . . . the funny thing is, I think I did. As soon as I saw you again, in that hellacious blue pantsuit, I didn’t want to let you go.”

  She burst out laughing, her sweet breath stirring the hairs on his chest. “The blue pantsuit is what caught your eye?”

  “You caught my eye. And my heart. And everything else. You’re the only woman for me. To me, you’re perfect, every part of you. I want you to marry me, Donna. Because I love you, not for any other reason. I want to make a family for Zack. I want us to be together our whole crazy lives.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “You really do?”

  “I really do.”

  “But . . . what about Angela?” she whispered.

  “Angela . . . I don’t want to say anything bad about her. She’s a good person, but I’m not sure I ever really knew her. I was such a kid when I fell for her. I had a fantasy image of her, it was never real. Maybe I had to grow out of my childhood crush before I could fall in love for real. All good things take time, right?” He gave her a sleepy smile meant to evoke all kinds of time-­consuming, sensual activities.

  She blinked back her tears, eyes shining. Lifting her torso, she brushed the tips of her breasts against his chest. “How much time are we talking?”

  “I have nowhere else to be.” He greedily devoured the sight of her pink nipples swelling against the gentle abrasion of his furred chest. “Scratch that. I have to be in San Diego by tomorrow night. Damn it. My suspension’s just about over. I wonder if I can start another brawl and get some more time off?”

  “Don’t even think about it.” She cradled his rising cock between her thighs. “Your kidney and I don’t want you taking risks like that.”

  “Honey, when you do that, I can’t think about anything.” He dropped his head back and groaned with pleasure as she stroked her soft inner thigh along his hardening length.

  “I still can’t get over everything you did. It’s like you waved your magic wand and ta-­da! All my problems are gone.”

  “No. It was you, Donna. I just gave an assist at the end. But if you really want to talk about magic wands . . .” He thrust his hips up to push against the soft curls covering her sex.

  “I definitely do,” she purred, making her way down his body with a trail of kisses. “Or maybe there’s something else I could do to your magic wand.” And then her loving mouth was on him, tasting and savoring every inch of his cock. He twisted his fists into the sheets and gritted his teeth, not wanting to come too soon, to succumb to the incredible feeling of her lips and tongue.

  “Wait. You said, ‘I do,’ Donna. I heard you. It’s official, then. We’re getting married.”

  She hummed something against his cock.

  “Is that a yes?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes full of mischief, and nodded, which had the effect of dragging her lips along his erection in the most maddening way. Trust Donna to do everything her own way. He had absolutely no problem with that, as long as they had things settled. With a huge, contented sigh, he lay back and surrendered to the pleasure.

  She brought her hands into the act, feathering light touches along his balls, fisting the base of his cock while her mouth took even more of him inside. Oh God.

  “Donna, I’m warning you . . .” he ground out. She just smiled and merrily continued with her sensual torture project
. Pleasure thundered through his veins, pressure building at the base of his spine. He’d never get enough of Donna. He wanted to do everything to her, over and over again, and then come up with some new things.

  Finally he’d had enough. When he was about to burst, he hauled himself into a sitting position and lifted her bodily off him. “I need to be inside you, Donna. I’m begging you.”

  “Well, if you put it that way. A girl does like to be begged.” She grinned as he planted her on to his lap. She spread her knees apart to reveal her sex, open and waiting. With a sense of reverence, he touched her gently, loving how wet her tissues felt, how soft and welcoming. His wisecracking girl had such a soft heart, and it drove everything she did. She leads with her heart, he thought. No wonder she sometimes stumbles into trouble.

  But that was okay. Sometimes you had to make a little trouble if you wanted things to get better. And besides, he’d always be there to make sure the trouble didn’t get too bad.

  He slipped inside her, his penis finding its way to her core. She sighed, her lips curving happily, her eyes hazing over, gleaming gold. Her clinging, velvety flesh sent stars dancing through his head and he made it official with a silent vow to himself. Him, Donna . . . and trouble. Together through thick and thin.

  Chapter 29

  OVER THE NEXT few days, Donna sometimes wondered if she’d stumbled into some kind of psychedelic version of her own life, in which everything was painted in neon-­bright colors and giant flowers towered over her head. It really was as if Mike Solo had waved his magic wand and made everything better.

  Mike flew to San Diego, but not before buying her a plane ticket to come visit. The knowledge that she’d see him again in about a week made everything sparkle, like a field of bluebonnets fresh-­washed by a morning rain shower.

  She and Harvey met at their old haunt, the glamorous Denny’s, to work out the details with respect to Zack.

  “Sorry about Bonita,” she told him as he slid into the booth. “I mean, you know, I’m sorry if you’re hurting.” Fine, so she wasn’t the most forgiving person on the planet. She could work on that.

  He shrugged. “It is what it is. By the end, my parents and me were both tired of her drama. She’s already moved on. Says she’s going to try to get that baseball player back. If you see him, you might want to warn him.”

  “Honestly, Trevor Stark can take care of himself. So can Bonita. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  She took a fortifying sip of water. “So. About Zack.”

  “Wait. I want to say something first. I was going to say it in court but I got a little rattled by all the hoopla.”

  She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. Crap. Was Harvey going to back out of the arrangement? Now that he’d broken up with Bonita, was he going to want to see Zack more?

  “I wanted to say this. You are a really, really good mom to Zack. If we were still together, I’d say we should have more kids.”

  “Excuse me?” Was Harvey suggesting they get back together?

  “No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, we’re not together. So we’re not going to have more kids. I get that.”

  “Good. Because I’m back with Mike Solo, and we’re planning to get married. I mean, actually do it this time.”

  He nodded a few times; she noticed that his hair was already growing out of its hipster cut. “Groovy. That’s good. Zack likes Mike. He’ll be good. You should have more kids, but with him.”

  Donna couldn’t hold back a smile. A bunch of curly-­headed, mischievous kids with Mike—­yes, absolutely, without a doubt, she wanted that. The more the merrier. “We’re thinking about it.”

  He rumpled his hair with a swipe of his hand. “The point is, you shouldn’t doubt yourself. You’re a good mother. Since I’m the dad, I got a front row seat, so you can believe me. Okay?”

  A rush of warmth made Donna impulsively touch his hand. “That’s pretty sweet of you, Harvey. It really is. Thank you. You’re a pretty good dad too, you know.”

  He certainly could be worse.

  Harvey nodded, frowning as though deep in thought. “I guess we’re doing okay for two kids in way over their heads.”

  She smiled at him. “I guess so.”

  They settled down to business then, and by the time Donna left they had a rough agreement on sharing Zack, and the cute waitress had given Harvey her phone number.

  Yeah, Harvey was going to be just fine.

  Before she left for San Diego, Donna had more ­people to see. Her mother had a gig in New York, so Donna drove her to the airport. “Are you really sure you want to stick around in this backwater town?” Lorraine asked as she stood in the security line, her huge, woven travel tote bag slung over her shoulder. “You have real talent, Donna. I saw that YouTube video.”

  “If you think aiming a hose at some ballplayers takes talent . . .”

  “No, no. It’s the thinking on your feet, performing to a crowd. It’s a real knack, Donna. I could introduce you to some ­people in show business. It might take a while to find your niche, but you’re young and cute.”

  “No thanks. I’m happy where I am.”

  “In Kilby, Texas?”

  “I’m not like you, Mom.” Maybe in some respects she was, but not in the most important one. “I need to be here. With Zack. Besides, someone has to keep those Wades in line. And Crush Taylor needs me. He wants to hire me full-­time and give me health benefits. Most of the games are at night, so I can be with Zack during the day. Harvey said he’d watch him during some games, and Mrs. Hannigan said the same thing. Crush mentioned possible onsite day care as well. ”

  Her mother smoothed her bright red hair—­its color so close to Donna’s—­and glanced around the terminal. Already anxious to be gone, Donna realized. “Well, as long as you’re happy.”

  “I’m happier than I ever, ever thought I’d be.”

  “Invite me to the wedding?”

  “God, of course!”

  Her father had news too. He and Carrie were going into counseling. Carrie had been furious that he hadn’t brought her to the hearing, and had temporarily moved out.

  “I’m sorry, Dad.”

  “Nah. Long time coming.” With a wire brush, he scrubbed corrosion out of a valve of some kind. “Things have been sketchy from the start. Didn’t help that I hid under a car for about ten years.”

  “Dad! Was that a joke?”

  He shrugged, lifting one eyebrow, and handed her the newly gleaming valve. “Can you put that over there on the bench?”

  The scent of motor oil and metal, so nostalgic, accompanied her to the spot he indicated. When she was little, she’d spent a lot of time in this garage with her dad. Maybe she should bring Zack here. She’d never done that, not once. “Dad, would you want to show Zack around the shop sometime? He’s a big fan of monkeys, so why not grease monkeys?”

  A broad smile creased his face. “Not a bad idea. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t swallow a sprocket or something, the way you did when you were his age.”

  “God, I’d forgotten about that. I always was a bucket of trouble, wasn’t I?”

  “Nah. You were a bucket of fun. Don’t you forget it.”

  Zack transitioned easily to life in Donna’s little apartment, although he had to sleep in her bed with her for the first week. As it turned out, he found the trucks coming and going from the sewage plant almost as fascinating as tigers and gorillas. He stayed glued to the window, counting the parade of vehicles, for hours. Better than TV, apparently. No sooner had he adapted to her place than Mike called with the news that he’d put in a bid on a house.

  “What?”

  “Crush told me about it, and he said I’d better jump before someone beats us to it. It’s a big house, right by the river, just down the street from the Gilberts.”

  “Seriousl
y?”

  “Can you go check it out? See if it’s really what we want? I thought it would be good for Zack, lots of room to run around. It’s a nice neighborhood, safe, well, except for the Shark. You don’t mind being near the Shark, do you?”

  “Of course not! Oh my God, Mike, this is amazing.”

  “Go see it and call me back. My Realtor said he’d find a way for us to back out if we wanted to.”

  Donna bundled Zack into her Kia and drove to her old neighborhood. Passing the Gilberts’, she caught sight of the little guesthouse where she’d tried to study her way into motherhood. With a little perspective, she had a different take on it. The Shark and Zack had been her best teachers all along. Zack and her own gut instincts. And maybe a few helpful chapters in a ­couple of books.

  The house was perfect. Smaller than the Gilberts’, thankfully. The sort of house that might star in a fairy tale, with a gabled roof and a wide terrace leading onto a backyard full of slopes and dips and secret hiding places. Her hands shaking, she called Mike back.

  “I love it. Zack loves it. Can we get it? Is it too expensive?”

  “Nah. We can handle it. You’re going to be a superstar, remember?”

  “Right. I keep forgetting. No wait, that’s you. Don’t you have a game?”

  “Yep. Gotta go. Caleb’s pitching tonight and we need to talk strategy. You’ll be watching?”

  “Of course. Well, I’ll be watching. Zack might be counting garbage trucks.”

  “I love you, Red.”

  “I love you too, Solo. I’ll see you in two days.” She hung up and checked on Zack in the backseat. He was leaning all the way forward, his face pressed to the window.

  “Tiger, Mama! Tiger!”

  A giant cat with tiger stripes was sauntering past the “For Sale” sign. It stopped, as if it owned the house and maybe the sidewalk and all the cars too, and licked its right paw.

  Zack was absolutely beside himself with excitement. So they were moving into a tiger’s territory. Definitely a good sign.

  The Hannigans offered to watch Zack while she flew to San Diego two days later. Reuniting with Mike in the inner tunnel of the huge, intimidating Friar Stadium was possibly the most rapturous moment she’d ever experienced. His arms came around her with so much passion and absolute dedication that whatever stray worries she might have had—­handsome ballplayer alone in the big city—­vanished.