Pleasures of Promise Lake

by Marti Shane

  “Jaeger,” his coach called after him. He turned to his coach’s voice. “You did good.” Jake knew he wasn’t talking about the home run. The rival between him and Mitch was well known. His coach put being a father above everything in his life, and Jake knew his blow-up disappointed him. In all honesty he’d channeled his coach to rein it in, He’d done it for JJ, wanting him to one day do the same.

  “Thanks.” He gripped his injured shoulder, grimacing in pain.

  “Get that checked out.” His coached dismissed him.

  Jake’s head was heavy on his neck but the beefed-up Ibuprofen was starting to dull the pain. Sam pushed through the doors, her face full of concern. The fact she’d made it past two layers of security and his GM didn’t surprise him at all. He gave her a reassuring smile, and noticed JJ was turned to face her, his cheek to her chest as he snoozed. He was looking more like Sam, his dark eyebrows framing his eyes and long lashes fanning the dark skin of his cheek.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, eyeing what felt like twenty pounds of ice taped around his shoulder.

  “Far as I know.” He shrugged with the good shoulder, swearing he could feel it in the bad. “They did an x-ray and scan.”

  “Okay, Jake…” The trainer stopped when she saw Sam, not expecting her to be in the room.

  “Skyler, Sam. Sam, Skyler.”

  “Ducati Sam.” Skyler smiled brightly. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too. What’s the status here?” she asked rushed, but sweetly.

  “In terms of sports injuries, this is the fastest to heal,” Skyler explained, sliding a disc into the side of a flat screen. She slid through gray and white images, using the touch screen to blow a section up. “There’s a chip here.” She pointed to something too small to make out.

  “Where does the chip go?” Sam asked.

  “The body absorbs it. It’s microscopic, except for the pain,” she said giving Jake an empathetic look.

  “The Ibuprofen’s working.”

  “This is common when you’re in range of motion during impact. Kind of like a rock chipping the paint off your car. Nothing looks torn in terms of ligaments and tendons, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be tender and sore. You’ve got a lot of swelling.”

  “How long?”

  “Ice, anti-inflammatories and no work outs for three weeks.”

  “What if I’m better before?” he asked, pissed.

  “You won’t be,” she said. “Good thing your shoulder slowed it down before it popped you in the head.” She angled her body imitating how he’d tried to escape. “You should use all that meat on your bones to absorb a hit like that. He clipped you just right.”

  “Best I could do with a one second response time.”

  “True.” She laughed, turning her attention to J.J.

  “Who’s this little guy?” She tickled the bottom of his socked foot. He twitched his leg, his lips making a suckling motion in sleep.

  “Jake Junior,” he said, proudly. “We call him J.J.”

  “Oh.” Skyler looked confused. “I didn’t know you were a dad.”

  “He’s our nephew,” he explained, while making eye contact with Sam. “Sam’s sister passed away, but she left us a miracle.” Skyler reacted the same as most. Shying away from talking about the loss of a sister and leaning toward the acceptance of adopting her child instead. The truth had its advantages and in a year from now no one would ask. He’d just be known as their son.

  “He’s so small,” Skyler said. “How old is he?”

  “Six weeks,” Sam said, her hand patting J.J.’s back possessively. “He was premature, but he’s catching up fast.” The harness she wore served more than one purpose. If he was in her arms, people would ask to hold him and that’s one thing she never allowed. “Are you headed back to the game?” she asked him.

  “Not without a sling,” Skyler insisted, pulling a blue and gray contraption from the glass front cabinet. She turned her attention to Sam as she held his shirt up for him to punch his good arm through. “No lifting this arm overhead and he needs to try to sit up to sleep.” She slid his hand through the other sleeve and rested the shirt over his icepack. With his arm secured in the sling, she adjusted the comfort pads at his good shoulder and neck. “You can take this off when you get home, but it reminds the other knot heads not to jostle you around.”

  “So he doesn’t need it?”

  “Wear it when you’re mobile until you get the swelling under control.”

  “I see we didn’t underestimate Mitch,” Sam said as they entered the hall. “Pisses me off.”

  “I’m glad I kept swinging,” Jake said, the home run making the three weeks off the field bearable. Plus, this would be a mind fuck the next time he faced Mitch if he stopped with just taking the base. Now it was behind him. He threw a mean fast ball, but Jake stepped up to the plate. Well, back from the plate. Sam leaned up on her toes, planting a kiss to his lips.

  “I’m proud of you.” Gripping her ass through her designer jeans, he stole another kiss.

  “Love you. See you after.”

  Jake downplayed his injury to Chase, who showed no sign of believing him. He sat across the massive dining table pulling another two slices of pizza onto his plate.

  “They should’ve sat him out,” he argued. “No doubt it was intentional.”

  “Whatever. It worked out.”

  “Dude. Look at your arm,” he said forcefully, his eyes narrowed and lips in a snarl.

  “Don’t make that face. You’re already ugly.”

  “Just sayin’.”

  “He’s right,” Clint said.

  “You, too?” Jake groaned.

  “I meant you’re right,” he told Jake, pointing to Chase. “He is ugly.” His kids giggled and snorted, half of them in booster chairs.

  “We don’t call people ugly,” Allie, Clint’s wife, said lightly pinning him in a stare.

  “You’re right,” Clint agreed. “Unless it’s a compliment,” he told the kids. “He’s actually hideous, so Jake and I were being nice.”

  Sam’s phone rang from the counter and she stood from her chair. She had J.J. cradled in her arms and held the bottle she was feeding him with her chin. Jake started to take him, but one arm was in a sling.

  “Sam Martin,” she answered, telling him it was a work call. He couldn’t wait for her to be Sam Jaeger. They barely talked of wedding plans, even though they needed to be married for them both to adopt.

  J.J.’s bottle dropped from beneath her chin and he started to fuss. She bounced as she talked, eyes going to him and he slid back in his chair.

  “Come here, Bambino,” Chase said, taking the bottle then plucking J.J. from her arms. Like Jake, he’d held Clint and Allie’s litter of six through the years. Sam tried to give J.J. the bottle but Chase waived her off. “Scat, Mamma. I got this,” he told her, earning Jake a glare from Sam. She was leaving him to supervise before she slipped off to finish her call.

  “Using my son to improve your looks?” Jake teased, taking a piece of pizza.

  “Is it working?” He wiggled his dark brows. “I still can’t believe you’re a dad.”

  “I think it’s awesome,” Allie said. “You and Sam are naturals.”

  “Sam makes everything look easy,” he bragged, proud of her.

  “Which doesn’t mean it is.” Allie’s voice took a serious tone. He peered up to see Clint focus intently on his half-eaten food. Allie shrugged and met him head on. “Don’t underestimate how hard this is for her,” she snapped, taking him off-guard.

  “Allie,” Clint warned.

  “No.” Jake held up his good hand. “I know how much she does.”

  “I’m just saying…” Allie peered behind him for any sign of Sam. “Just because we take five minute showers, have our groceries and clothes delivered, and order in meals doesn’t mean we want to all the time.”

  “Did she say something?” Jake asked, quick on the defense.

  “She shouldn’t
have to.” She slapped Clint’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “You should talk to him.”

  “We’ll talk, woman,” Clint groaned. “Leave it be.”

  Jake slid back in his chair, following the route Sam took. She was probably in her office space. The mansion had thirteen bedrooms and this year he’d taken the second downstairs master because it had enough space for Sam’s office and a connecting nursery for J.J. She was typing on her laptop behind her desk, ear pressed to her phone. The burp rag she was using was still draped over her shoulder. He leaned against the door jam, watching her work.

  “Looking forward to it.” She ended the call, and smiled up at him. Her smile faded when she looked him over like he was missing an arm. She pushed up from her chair.

  “He’s fine.” He held up his palm. “Chase will find us as soon as he fills his diaper.” He slid the rag from her shoulder with his good hand.

  “Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “I smell like formula all the time so I didn’t notice it.”

  “Are we okay?” he blurted, not sure how to ask. “I mean, are you tired or too stressed?”

  “Oh my God,” she breathed. “Allie saw me have a mini-meltdown the other day. I told her it was nothing.” He pushed a hand in the waistband of her jeans, pulling her closer to him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? Meltdown about what?”

  “It was just one of those days where I couldn’t find my rhythm and nothing was going right.” She laughed at herself, shaking her head. “I spilled my coffee on my laptop in the middle of doing Jax’s payroll and J.J. threw up all over me right after I got dressed.”

  “Where was I?”

  “I don’t know…somewhere.” She shrugged. “It was Gram’s birthday and I was just emotional. I’m sorry Allie said anything.” She tried to push past him, but he crowded her space, backing her against the wall.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? You didn’t do anything. I just had a bad day.” She smiled up at him, an honest smile with nothing to hide. “You’re a great dad. Now, ask me who was on the phone.” Her smile got impossibly brighter.

  “Who was on the phone?”

  “Seth Golla.” Her eyes were bright with excitement. The billionaire of Seth Golla Associates was calling his girl. “I’m meeting him in Phoenix on Tuesday.”

  “You’re taking on new clients?” They’d agreed she would keep her current workload and she’d take on new clients in the off-season.

  “Jake, this isn’t just any client. Yes, I’m taking him on.”

  “Sam, I still have to dress out. I’ve got a game on Tuesday.”

  “I know. Kay and Mick will fly out.” She cocked her head, confused. She pinched his mouth in her hand, moving his lips as she spoke. “Great job, Sam.”

  “I’m happy for you, but it sounds like a lot.”

  “He wants me to work with his head of IT to build a new dashboard. It’s not a huge job.” True to her talent, she made it sound easy and he was sure she’d make it look that way, too. She snaked her hands around his neck. “Don’t worry, I’ll still have plenty of time for you.”

  “I’m proud of you,” he said, trying to push his worry aside. She pulled his lips to hers, kissing him in a way she hadn’t in too long. He lost himself in her, desire crackling beneath his skin as he tasted and explored her mouth.

  “Mommy and Daddy are being disgusting.” Chase’s voice invaded the room. “Your son’s ass smells worse than yours,” he groaned. Jake reluctantly pulled his body from Sam’s. She smiled up at him. Knowing his erection would have him temporarily immobile, she slipped past him to take care of the stench starting to fill the room. Pressing his forehead to the wall, he coaxed his body down.

  “You guys good?” Chase asked at his back, his voice low so Sam couldn’t hear from the next room. Yeah, they were solid, but Allie wasn’t wrong. Even if Sam wouldn’t admit it, he needed to make sure she took enough time for herself.

  “Yeah.” He finally turned to face his friend.

  “Damn, I was gonna step up and be the better man,” Chase teased.

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Lucky prick.”

  Jake had to agree, but he couldn’t ignore the nagging seed Allie planted. Was something off?

  Chapter Thirty

  Sam tapped her stiletto impatiently as she listened to Tony, head of Golla Associates I.T., explain how much work it was, as if she didn’t know.

  “Are you finished?” she asked when he finally closed his trap. “Six months is too long. Give me Jeremy here for six weeks and we’ll knock it out.”

  Jeremy had sat quietly through the meeting and a few times she thought he might be asleep. Normally, that would be a bad sign, but she knew it was because he was bored. He had a few pimples, suggesting he wasn’t through puberty yet, but his presence in the meeting alone meant he had mad skill.

  “I’m not giving you anyone. I’m telling you it can’t be done.”

  “You’re telling me you don’t want to do it and you’re wasting my time.” She pulled out her business card, sliding it to Jeremy who was engrossed in his phone. He glanced up at her, fingers still tapping the screen. “Save my contact for when you’re officially assigned.” Sliding the mock-up of the dashboard his way, she flipped through a few images to show the mapping. He leaned in, intrigued.

  “You can’t just pick off my staff,” Tony brooded, folding his arms over his chest and resting them over his big gut. “Mr. Golla’s always asking us for new stuff. I don’t know why he hired you.”

  “My guess is because you lack vision and constantly tell him how hard you work.”

  She retrieved her tablet. She wasn’t a programmer or network engineer, but she got how the stuff worked. She also worked with some of the top IT departments in the country setting up dashboards for her P.A.s. She designed on what she needed, not what IT told could and couldn’t be done. Tony was of great value to Seth she was sure, but not in this area.

  “How’s it going in here?” Seth popped in the conference room, glancing over the empty white boards and lack of papers on the table being discussed.

  “We were just wrapping up,” Tony reported, his buttons scraping the edge of the table as he pushed from his seat. Jeremy stood and pocketed his phone.

  “Did you get what you need?” Seth asked.

  “Yes,” she lied, but she was about to. Seth seemed surprised which she didn’t doubt. “Tony’s genius in network security identified a few firewall issues. I think Jeremy might have a work around. If you can spare him for six weeks we’ll get this off the ground.”

  “Sure. Whatever you need.” He looked to Tony. “Sam designed the concierge network at The Royal you were so impressed with. I’m glad I could get your heads together.

  Seth was a long-time client of Nick’s, but she’d only dealt with his account behind the scenes. He owned The Royal, she knew, but still she worked directly with the hotel and not him. Tony grunted a response, not daring to admit he’d complimented her design.

  “Pleasure.” Sam said her goodbye, collecting her bag. Never one for small talk, her business for today was done.

  “Are you going to work remote?” he asked. “I can set you up an office here,” Seth offered.

  “Remote.”

  “That’s right. Opening day’s in a week. How’s Jake?” Sam paused, surprised at the mention of her private life. Well, it wasn’t private when she was in Phoenix during spring training and her fiancé’s injury was big news.

  “You’re Ducati Sam.” Jeremy spoke for the first time. Damn, would that name ever wear off? Her Ducati was parked in the barn in Promise and she’d only had one ride.

  “He’ll be back on the field in two weeks.”

  “Good to hear.”

  “Thanks for your time,” she told Tony, shifting gears. She was anxious to get home and didn’t want to linger. Tony gave her a reluctant smile and she made her way to the door. To her surprise, Seth walked alongside her.

 
; “Tony can be a handful,” he offered, leading her down the hall.

  “No problem,” she assured him. She wasn’t going to whine about the person she knew he trusted the most. “He knows his stuff in cyber-security.”

  “That’s why I have him on board,” he explained, as if he had to explain anything to her. He looked younger in person and, until today, she didn’t realize how hands-on he was. He wasn’t new money, but his success was the result of hard work. “I knew I had to hire someone with thick skin to work with him on this. He’ll test you every step of the way.”

  “Good.” She tried to hide her regret. Maybe Jake was right, and this was going to be too big. She was hoping for a simple project to break the monotony and hadn’t dreamed Seth would trust her with something so big right off the bat. Golla Associates was a hell of a resume bullet, so she’d press on.

  He pushed through a door labeled Reception, and she wondered why he didn’t just walk her out. They were in a small room stuffed with copiers and fax machines cubbied behind the marbled desk manned by three A.P. employees. Switching her Fendi bag into the hand next to him, she used it as a shield. Men with schedules like his didn’t have this much time to blow. She cooled her demeanor a notch, stepping up her unapproachable vibe.

  “Everything going okay, here?” She gestured to three A.P. professionals manning the desk. “Perfect.” He opened another door which Sam knew would be a feedback room. A.P. employees were trained not to ask questions or share information in front of guests. They had a small room to have short conversations and not be overheard. Appearing competent and in control at all times was essential in a high-profile firm. She stepped in, turning quickly to face him when he closed the door.

  “Should I be worried about your departure from A.P.?” Seth asked, his expression a mix of inquisitive and strategic. She relaxed, hopefully not visibly. This was a business question, a reading of signs.