"Lucy is a great girl. Her father is also a good guy, and he has an astute eye for talent."
"Because he picked you?"
He gave her a grin. "Well, that was one of his best moves." He paused, concentrating on merging onto the freeway for a moment. "Was it hard for you to be in the stadium?"
"I thought it would be more difficult than it turned out to be," she admitted.
"That's the thing about fear. Sometimes the monsters disappear when you look at them."
"Is that why you wanted me to be at the interview?"
"Actually, I just wanted to see you again."
She had a feeling his reason was more complicated than that, but she let it go.
"When's the last time you were at a game?" he asked.
"At least ten years. The new stadium is a lot nicer than the old one. The seats are closer to the action."
"And there's nowhere near as much wind. The organization and the city did a great job getting us a new home."
"Have you ever considered playing for another team?"
"Every time I come up for contract, I know I can be traded away, but I've been lucky that the Cougars have wanted to keep me and to pay me well. Some of my friends have bounced around from team to team for years. That's hard on the families."
"My father played for four teams during his career. I think that was part of the problem. My mom didn't want to take me out of school, so we never moved with him. We'd sometimes go to join him in the summer, but even those periods seemed to get shorter as I got older."
"The job can be hard on the family," Matt said. "But there are usually some perks to ease the pain."
"Would you go to another team if the Cougars didn't want to renew your contract?"
"Of course. I'd go anywhere I needed to go to keep playing. This is my career. And I'm going to play it as long as I can." He gave her a quick look. "Probably not what you wanted to hear."
She shrugged. "I was pretty sure of your answer when I asked the question. So are you going to tell me where we're going?"
"Palo Alto. I hope you don't mind if I take care of some of my own family business before we go to dinner."
"What kind of family business?"
"My youngest brother David goes to Stanford."
"He's the one who's thinking of dropping out?"
"Yes—dropping out of one of the best schools in the country that many people would kill to go to," Matt said with anger in his voice. "He's been avoiding my calls, but I happen to know where he'll be in about thirty minutes from now, so I'm going to ambush him."
"Do you really want me around for that?" she asked doubtfully.
"It won't take long. I'm sure David will try to blow me off after about five minutes, but I still have to try. I'd at least like him to finish out the year and not drop out now."
"That makes sense. But it sounds like your brother wants something that college can't give him."
"Yeah, he wants to be a rock star. I'm thinking maybe you can relate to that."
"Oh," she said, now understanding why he wanted her along. "Because I wanted to be in an orchestra once, you think David will relate to me in some way."
"It did occur to me," Matt admitted.
"He won't. In fact, I'm sure he'll think I sold out my passion for money. Not that I make a lot of money in a non-profit, but it's still a steady job with an income. And he wouldn't be wrong, Matt. There's a part of me that did give up on music because I was too afraid to live that kind of gypsy existence. I wanted to feel like I could take care of myself. So I'm not the right person to convince him to go for a business degree."
"Do you have regrets, Julie?"
"Not really. I like what I do now, so I'm okay with it. But that's just me. If your brother has a burning desire to be a musician, I don't think you'll be able to stop him."
"I'm fine with David playing music, but he has to have a day job, a way to support himself. I can't help him out forever. At some point, he has to be able to stand on his own feet, and I don't know that he can do that."
"Neither of you will probably know if he can do it, until he has to actually do it. It's like when the mama bird pushes the baby bird out of the nest when she thinks it's ready to fly. That's the real moment of truth. And most birds fly."
He smiled at her analogy. "Really? Do you actually know that?"
"Well, I don't have concrete proof, but there was a bird's nest in the backyard of the house I grew up in, and I never saw a dead baby bird on the sidewalk. And at some point, they all flew away."
"Well, I'm not David's mother, so I don't have the maternal instinct."
"That's true," she murmured. "Where is your mom in all this? Why doesn't she talk to David?"
"I haven't told her that he's thinking of dropping out."
"Has David told her?"
"I doubt it."
"Why not?"
Matt hesitated, then said, "I think my mom was so busy trying to keep things together that as kids we tried not to bother her with small problems. I used to tell everyone to come to me first. They got into that habit, and it stuck."
In a lot of ways Matt had become the father of the family, she realized. That had been a lot of responsibility to take on as a kid. "I can understand why you did what you did back then, but now you're working a lot, and I get the feeling your mom is not? Or is she?"
"She still works part time at a clothing boutique, but now it's because she likes it, not because she has to. I've made sure she'll be okay if she never wants to work again."
"Then maybe it's time to let her share in some of these issues with your siblings."
"I'm going to see if I can handle it," Matt said.
Of course he was going to do that. He was not a man to ask for help.
Silence fell between them as Matt maneuvered his way through a freeway interchange. Traffic was getting heavy with the evening commute, but Matt seemed to find open lanes whenever he could.
She hadn't been out of the city in a while, and it was nice to have a break. She loved San Francisco, but sometimes with the fog-enshrouded nights, her world started to feel a little small.
She'd grown up on the Peninsula, in a big house in Atherton, a city right next to Palo Alto. It was the one thing her mother hadn't lost in the divorce. However, after Julie went to college, her mom had sold the house and moved into a two-bedroom apartment. Now Julie couldn't help wondering if perhaps there had been an agreement for her mom to keep the house until she graduated from high school.
As they neared Palo Alto, she felt a wave of nostalgia for her hometown, an emotional connection that only increased when Matt drove down University Avenue toward Stanford.
"This street has changed a lot," she murmured. "New shops and restaurants. It's very trendy."
"It was always like this, wasn't it?"
"There used to be fewer chain stores and more small shops," she said. "I forgot you went to college here for a year."
"Yeah, but at the time, I wasn't old enough to explore the neighborhood bars, so I spent most of my time on campus or at the baseball stadium. But I did like living here. The university has so much to offer. I don't understand how David could want to leave."
"How old is David?"
"He just turned twenty, but he's acting like he's twelve."
"Well, I wouldn't tell him that," she said dryly.
"I'll try to refrain." He stopped at a red light and gave her a quick look. "So tell me something, Julie."
"What's that?"
"Did you miss me?"
"It's only been two days since I saw you."
"A long two days."
She'd like to think his comment came from the heart, but Matt's charm practically oozed out of his pores. "They flew by for me," she said, refusing to let herself get taken in by his smile.
"Ouch," he said. "You know how to hit where it hurts."
"I doubt I could hurt you, Matt."
"I think you underestimate yourself," he said, a quiet, reflective
note in his voice now.
She didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing.
A few moments later, Matt drove onto the campus and turned into a parking lot. The Stanford campus was beautiful and spacious with plenty of open land and beautiful oak trees. It was funny to think of Matt going to school here, being an eighteen-year-old kid, trying to make it as a college player, only to be launched into the big leagues before he was out of his teens. Which reminded her of what she'd noticed earlier.
"I wanted to tell you that I was watching you hit today, and I think I figured out the problem with your swing."
"Oh, yeah?" he said in surprise as he parked the car. "Coach said I looked fine."
"Then he wasn't watching very closely. Your right shoulder lifts just before you make contact. It's a very small movement. I think it has to do with your stride. When you lift your left leg, you're maybe a beat behind, and then the shoulder lifts to compensate. I noticed it more on the slider than anything else."
He turned off the engine. "You can recognize a slider?"
"I can recognize any pitch. I'll show you what I mean," she said, getting out of the car.
Matt joined her behind the car. She mimicked his stance and then tried to show him the way his shoulder lifted with his stride. "See?"
He gave her a look that told her she was out of her mind.
"What? You don't think I know what you're talking about?"
"For a woman who hates baseball as much as you do, you seem to think you know a lot about my hitting stance."
"I watched my dad hit baseballs for at least ten years. And he'd sit with me and we'd critique the other players after he was done hitting. I listened and I learned. Show me your stance and your stride."
"I'm not going to do that here."
"No one is around," she said, taking a quick look. The parking lot was empty. "Unless you're afraid I'm right, and you don't want to admit it."
"Okay, fine." He turned to the side and listed his hands as if he were holding a bat.
"Now show me your swing."
He strode forward and swung his hands in front of him. She frowned. "Well, that looks good. I didn't see the hitch."
"That's because I was thinking about keeping my shoulder down." He paused and shook his head in bemusement. "I can't believe you saw that and no one else did. You must have been watching me pretty closely."
She cleared her throat as he moved towards her. "I didn't have anything else to do while I was waiting for the reporter."
"Or maybe you just couldn't take your eyes off of me," he said lightly, sliding his hands around her waist.
"Uh, I wouldn't say that."
"I would."
"What are you doing, Matt?"
"Thanking you for fixing my swing."
"You could just say thank you."
"I like to back up my words with actions." He lifted one hand and slid it through her hair, cupping the back of her head and then deliberately lowered his mouth to hers. "Thanks, Julie."
The kiss was way too short, and as he lifted his head, she had to fight the urge to throw her arms around his neck and pull his head back down for a second kiss and a third. But somehow she managed to control herself.
"You are becoming a really bad habit," she said with a sigh. "Why do you have to be such a good kisser?"
"I never thought it was a problem before," he said with a grin. "But it's not just me. We're good together. Let me show you."
"You already did," she said, putting a hand on his chest as he leaned in. "You need to focus on why we're here. Your brother, remember?"
"Right." He straightened as he checked his watch. "He should be just about done."
"With what?"
"He plays guitar at a campus coffeehouse three times a week from four to five-thirty," he said. "It's not too far from here."
She fell into step with him, happy to have the attention on Matt's family for a change. But from everything she'd heard about David, she had a feeling that David was more like Matt than Matt wanted to admit, which should make his upcoming ambush even more interesting.
Chapter Nine
The coffee house was packed with students. Almost every table was taken. While most university coffeehouses were filled with students working on laptops, leafing through textbooks, or engaging in conversation, this one was completely quiet, everyone's attention focused on the young man at the front of the room, who with his voice and guitar captivated the room.
They stood in the back as David sang in a low, melodic tone that was hypnotic and soothing and yet compelling, all at the same time. David was definitely a younger version of Matt. His brown hair was a bit darker and longer than Matt's and David had a scruffy beard across his cheeks. But when David looked out at the crowd, he had the same penetrating green eyes, the same intangible charisma. Two girls at the front table looked at David with complete adoration. She'd seen that same look on the faces of women who watched Matt. The Kingsley men certainly had a way with women.
"He's good," she whispered to Matt.
Matt's lips tightened at her words. "He can be good after he goes to class and does his homework."
"He's not a little kid anymore," she couldn’t help reminding him.
"He is to me."
When David finished playing, the room burst into applause.
David thanked everyone for listening and then set his guitar down and stood up. Women instantly surrounded him. It was another twenty minutes before he made his way across the room. By that time, Matt was literally seething with impatience, but he'd decided not to confront David until he was done with his fans.
David stopped abruptly when he saw Matt. There was instant tension between them.
"We need to talk," Matt said firmly.
"You shouldn't have come down here," David replied. "I'm busy."
"Give me ten minutes. You owe me that."
David hesitated and a silent battle went on between the two men. Finally David nodded and waved them toward a newly abandoned table. Since David had finished playing, the room had cleared out.
"This is Julie," Matt said. "My brother David."
"I really enjoyed your playing," she said. "You're really good."
"Thanks." David let out a sigh as he faced his older brother. "Say what you have to say."
"Connor told me you want to drop out of school."
"I'm thinking about it."
"It's a bad idea, David. Being in college is just a few years out of your life, but they are years that are really hard to complete later on in life. You need to finish school now, before you have other responsibilities."
"You quit. You took a chance on the career you wanted," David reminded Matt.
"That was different. When I went pro, the Cougars agreed to pay all my college expenses if it didn't work out. If you leave, you have no backup. And I'm not going to support you unless you're in school."
"I can take care of myself," David replied. "No one asked you to support me."
Matt gave him a look of incredulousness. "Are you serious? You've been asking me for stuff your entire life. The car you drive—that came from me. The guitar you just played was last year's Christmas present."
David frowned. "Well, if you want to count gifts…"
"I don't want to count anything. I want you to stay in school, get a degree, and then if you want to pursue music, fine."
"I don't see the point of wasting time in classes that aren't going to get me anywhere."
"You're getting an education and a degree. That's important."
"To you," David muttered.
"It will matter to you one day, too. At least promise me you'll finish out the year before you make any decisions."
David stared back at him. "All right. I'll finish out the year. But I don't know about next year. I have some opportunities in music I want to explore. And I think you would have turned pro even if you hadn't had backup," David added. "You love what you do. Don't you think I should be able to have th
e same feeling?"
"Of course. But you have to be practical, too. Music equipment, recording, costs money."
"I'm not an idiot, Matt. I am going to Stanford after all, and while you might pay my tuition, it was my grades that got me in here. Let's not forget that."
"I know you're a smart kid. I just don't know why you're acting so stupid right now."
Julie winced a little at Matt's sharp words, but David just laughed. "You only think I'm stupid because I don't agree with you. And if anyone is being stupid, it's Connor. Getting married after three months of dating someone he only sees like twice a week. Now that is crazy."
"I don’t disagree. Did you tell him that?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't listen to me. You're the only one who has any influence over him."
"I doubt that. He laughed at me. He told me I didn’t know what love was."
"Well, that's probably true. Look, I gotta go, Matt. I actually do have to work on a paper for school."
"Go," Matt said waving his hand in the air. "But promise me you will talk to me before you drop out of school or make any other big decisions."
"You'll be busy once the season starts."
"I can answer the phone. And if I'm tied up, I'll call you back.
David rolled his eyes. "Fine, but no one calls anymore. I'll text you if I need you." He looked at Julie. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too," she murmured. As David left, she said to Matt, "That seemed to go pretty well."
"Did it?" Matt sighed. "David tends to tell me what I want to hear and then does whatever the hell he wants."
She smiled at his irritated tone. "Stubborn independence seems to be a family trait. You just have to find a way to let go—like the mama bird."
"The problem isn't me kicking David out of the nest. He wants to fly; I just think he's going to fall on his face. He needs to be better prepared before he leaves school. He's being stupid. Don't you agree?"
"I honestly don't know. I think degrees are important. It's hard to get good jobs without one. On the other hand, your brother is really talented. I can see why he's torn."
"It's so impossibly difficult to make it in the music business."
"I'd say the odds are even bigger for someone to make it as a professional baseball player, so I don't think you can really talk to your brother about odds."
All Your Loving (Bachelors & Bridesmaids) Page 9
