Dave merely grunted.
She forged on despite his lack of verbal response. “She’ll get curious soon enough.”
Another grunt.
“When she does, what are we going to tell her? And if you grunt one more time, I swear I’ll reach across the table and strangle you.”
“You’ve had all the answers up ’til now.”
At least it was a real reply, even if she disliked the implication. “I already told you, I didn’t know you well enough to know whether I wanted you involved in my baby’s life. But now she’ll wanna know why you’ve waited until now to show up.”
“And I’ll refer her to her oh-so-wise mother for the answer to that one.”
The barb hit its mark and she winced. “I did the best I could.”
“Ever worry your best wasn’t good enough?”
Another arrow straight to the heart. “You think a day goes by that I don’t second-guess myself? That’s what it is to be a parent. You do what you can and hope you’re not turning your little darling into tomorrow’s serial killer.”
“For chrissake, Lin, that’s not what I meant. I’m sure you’ve done your best to raise a model citizen. But a kid grows up better with two parents.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. I read parenting magazines. I know the importance of working as a team and backing each other up.”
“What about that mouthy friend of yours? You said she was on your team.”
Mel frowned. “You mean Lu?”
“If that’s her name.”
“She’s a terrific friend. But that’s not the same as having a partner.”
“So the two mommies thing was just a crack.” He pushed his chair away from the table. “I suggest we start on this co-parenting thing ASAP. I’ll leave two tickets at the gate for you and our daughter.”
Chapter Four
“Strike three. You’re out!”
Dave’s third at bat and third strikeout. Eyes fixed on the dirt, he gritted his teeth and stepped away from the plate. If he’d known what a miserable performance he’d turn in today, he’d have told Jerry he was sick. It wasn’t so far from the truth. His stomach had been in knots all day.
When he slid onto the bench beside Matt, his buddy raised both eyebrows. “Head still not in the game?”
Dave scowled. “Didn’t help sitting up half the night, drinking.”
“Hey, nobody put a gun to your head. Besides, it’s nice to hear you wax poetic about the permanence of the Internet.”
“Funny. You know what I told her was true.”
“Doesn’t make it right, man. Your dad really screwed you up.”
“No argument there.” He scowled. “I never want to be the kind of father I had.”
“You won’t be.”
“Easy for you to say. Let’s face it: I’m a mediocre ballplayer, at best. Who’s to say I’ll be any better at parenthood?”
“You’re better than mediocre on the field, but even mediocre would be a step up from the father you got.” Matt clapped Dave’s shoulder. “You’ve also got me. Friend and sounding board.”
“Well, after one more inning, I’ll be face-to-face with a four-year-old daughter. What do you know about that?”
Matt shrugged and rose to take his place on deck.
The ninth was, mercifully, short. Matt knocked one out of the park with two runners on base and the Condors’ defense made short work of the Tornadoes’ batters. The Condors won by four.
After the celebratory group hugs, Dave sprinted to the locker room. Despite what Lin had said, he didn’t quite trust her to stick around if he took too long. Six minutes later, after a shower at supersonic speed, he was back in the dugout, scanning the stadium for Lin and their girl.
They were nowhere to be seen. As minutes ticked by, Dave started to wonder if they’d shown at all. Maybe the tickets he’d left them were still at the gate.
“Should have known better than to trust that woman.” He dug the toe of his sneaker in the dirt. After what she’d already done, why would he believe she was “a woman of her word”?
His jaw clenched. If Lin didn’t intend to let him build a real relationship with his daughter, he didn’t have to feel guilty about using Tara to polish his rep. He pulled out his cell phone to dial Matt’s number. “Call our reporter friend. Let him know I’m a dad.”
“You got it, man.”
As he hung up, he spotted them. One blonde, one strawberry blonde, making their way toward the dugout.
Fascinated, he watched his little girl approach. She was about three feet tall, with hair the same color as his sister’s.
Still marveling at that, he stepped into the sunshine to meet them.
“Sorry we’re late.” Lin flashed him a tight smile that bore little resemblance to the wide, friendly smile she’d gifted him with so long ago. “Tara had to use the restroom after the game.”
“I bet it was a zoo.”
“The line was ten deep. Of course there was no line for the men’s restroom.”
“’Course not. We men know how to get in and get out.”
Her eyes flashed. “I know.”
Dave tamped down the urge to again remind Lin she was the one who ran off. He looked down at the girl, who’d plastered herself to her mother’s leg and was watching him with wide eyes. Hazel eyes that looked a lot like his. He crouched down so he was on her level. Maybe that way he wouldn’t scare her. “Hi, Tara. That’s a beautiful name.”
“Thank you.” She popped her thumb in her mouth.
“You know who I am?”
She kept sucking her thumb, but she nodded.
He held out his hand. Maybe she’d take it. “I’m pleased to meet you.”
She loosened her grip on Lin’s leg and took a tentative step toward him. Then another. Her thumb came out of her mouth and she showed tiny, pearly white teeth. “Are you really my daddy?”
Tears welled in his eyes. He nodded. “Yep. I’m really your daddy.”
She launched herself at him, wrapped her arms around his calves and squeezed. Dave gave a surprised oof. “Where you been?”
“Told you she’d ask,” Lin whispered, smug.
“I should have listened.” Despite what he’d said last night, he didn’t want to undermine her. Using his daughter to get to her mother, while no doubt satisfying, served no one. “Well, Tara, I’ve been working. Your mommy thought my job was more important to me than anything.”
Wide hazel eyes blinked up at him. “Even me?”
His heart thumped. “Even you, kiddo.” He sprang to his feet and dropped his hand onto her head. Holy crap. She really was a little thing. His palm dwarfed the whole top of her head. He met Lin’s eyes again. “You ready for pizza?”
Tara jumped up and down. “With ice cream for dessert?”
“With ice cream,” Dave confirmed. Maybe it’d help her grow a few inches.
As Tara took off at a run, Lin shot him a dirty look. “Sure you have time for that?”
“I want to spend as much time as possible with Tara before I board the bus to Albuquerque.” Not quite sure what to say next, he paused. Better to ask now and save on orthodontist bills later. “What’s with the thumb-sucking? Won’t it wreck her teeth?”
She waved. “It’s a phase.”
“And not telling her about me until now? How could you set up such a sweet little girl for a lifetime of low self-esteem by letting her think her father didn’t love her?”
“Who are you? Dr. Spock?”
He didn’t have a chance to answer before Tara loped back to where he and her mother stood.
“Let’s go,” she squealed. Then she was off again, heading for the pitcher’s mound.
His little girl’s enthusiasm overshadowed Lin’s hostility and Dave smiled. “She always like this?”
“A ball of energy? Most of the time.” Tara doubled back toward them again and Lin gave him another disapproving frown. “And you want to stuff her full of junk food.”
&nbs
p; “She’ll be—” Dave broke off mid-sentence as Tara reversed course yet again and began to scramble over the bullpen fence. That couldn’t be safe. He bolted across the field and plucked her off the top rung before she toppled over.
She wriggled in his arms. “Not fallin’.”
“Not now you’re not.”
“Never.” Her lower lip thrust out. “I’m a good climber.”
Lin, who’d been steps behind him, spoke up. “She is something of an expert.” Then she frowned at Tara. “That doesn’t mean you can climb just anything, missy.”
“Sorry, Mamma.” She started squirming again. “Down.”
Dave indulged her, but made sure to hold tight to her hand as they walked to Lin’s car. She scrambled into the back seat and let Lin buckle her in.
How many beers had Lin downed at the game this time? Unwilling to risk his or Tara’s safety, Dave held his hand out for the keys. “Why don’t you let me drive?”
****
First Dave wanted her daughter and now her car? Who gave him the right to hijack her life?
You did five years ago when you had unprotected sex with the guy.
Mel ignored her conscience’s dig. “Who says I trust you with my car?”
“With all the time I spend on the team bus, I don’t get to drive much.” He flashed the easy smile Mel remembered so well. “Shame, because I’m an excellent driver.”
His grin still made her go weak in the knees. As much as Mel disliked sharing with Dave, she liked the way her body responded to him a whole lot less. To avoid any more talk that would result in more dazzling smiles and wobbly-kneed moments, she dropped the Honda’s keys into his palm. “The door sticks. Pull hard.”
She thumped into the passenger seat, buckled her seatbelt, slouched low and tried to get a handle on her body. She could only hope he’d stop trying to charm her if she acted like a sullen teenager.
Dave drove to the ballpark entrance without speaking. But once they were out on the road, he asked where they were going.
“Pizza Palace!” Tara piped up from the back seat.
Texas’ answer to Chuck E. Cheese was always Tara’s choice. Mel would have preferred someplace a little—okay, a lot—less obnoxious. But this outing was for her daughter. When Dave looked at her, eyebrow raised in question, she nodded. “TCBY’s a few doors down.”
“Just tell me where to go.”
“Really? You want me to tell you where to go?”
Dave frowned. “You know what I mean. Did you forget we’re starting over?
“Turn left at the next light.” She owed it to Tara to try to have a mature relationship with her daughter’s father. “It’s about five miles up the road on the right. Can’t miss it.”
Dave found the pizza parlor with no problem. She hated to admit it—even to herself—but he was a decent driver, too.
Only because he’s not the slightest bit buzzed.
When they walked into the Pizza Palace, Dave’s jaw dropped. Clearly he’d never seen the inside of a Chuck E. Cheese or any place like it. Mel, on the other hand, had seen way too many.
He met her eyes over Tara’s head and mouthed “help.”
Melinda took pity on him and herded Tara toward an empty booth. “Eat first. Then you can play.”
Tara started to pout, so Mel fixed her with a stern look. “Or we can just eat and go.”
Her daughter’s lip popped back into place as she nodded. “Eat, then play.”
Tara began coloring her placemat and Mel caught Dave staring at her. She ran a hand through her hair and he chuckled.
“You look fine, Lin. I was just impressed by the way you got in front of that tantrum.”
Mel laughed too, but only because he was way off base. “That was no tantrum, just a mild pout.”
“There’s a difference?” He looked doubtful.
“You have a lot to learn.”
She felt a pang of regret. It was her fault Dave didn’t know the difference between Tara’s pout and a full-on fit. He didn’t know their daughter at all because she hadn’t bothered to find him.
She shook off the mood. She’d done what she thought was best, even if what she thought was best turned out to be dead wrong. And she doubted it would. She could discount the dozens of underwear ad shots online, but there were still countless reports. Bad behavior. Rehab. Broken hearts.
Dave’s voice interrupted her catalog of his faults. “Who do we have to lasso to get service?”
Definitely a Pizza Palace virgin. She hid her smile. “You order at the counter.”
“What should we get?”
“Cheese, please.”
“Tara likes the personal cheese pizza,” Mel translated.
“Okay. What about you?”
She waved off his question. “I usually just nibble on hers. She won’t finish it all.”
“Well, I worked up an appetite at the game, so I’m getting a large pizza with the works.” He grinned. “You’re welcome to share.”
There it was again. Sharing with Dave. She’d done quite enough of that already. But her mamma hadn’t raised a rude girl. She flashed Dave her sweetest smile. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
Mel watched him cut through the crowd to the counter. She wouldn’t be able to eat anything if her stomach didn’t settle soon. It hadn’t given her a moment’s peace since they’d been shut together in the Honda.
Crazy for her to be so nervous. Dave was just a man, like any other.
He’s the father of your child.
Mel gave herself a mental shake. That didn’t make him different. It just meant they’d gotten together while she was fertile and he’d had superior swimmers.
“That wasn’t his only superior trait,” she muttered to herself.
He returned to the table then. His presence put a stop to her meander down memory lane.
“Pizza’ll be here in twenty minutes,” he announced.
Tara squirmed in her booster seat. “That l-o-o-ong?”
Uh-oh. No way would her hyperactive daughter sit still for twenty minutes. She pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of her pocket. “How about you show your daddy some of your favorite games?”
Dave covered her hand with his. “Put your money away. This is my treat.”
A jolt passed from his hand to hers. Mel yanked her hand away to pocket her cash. “You’ll change your mind when you see the price of tokens.”
“My finances aren’t exactly hurting, Lin.” His lips curved into that killer smile.
With that, they were off. She sat in the booth, watching as Tara led Dave from the Disney Princess game—where Dave looked pretty damn funny wearing a pink paper crown—to the skee ball machines. He seemed to be having as much fun as she was.
Mel swatted aside a pang of jealousy. She should be happy they were getting along.
****
Dave watched Tara’s third straight ball drop into the center ring. “You’re pretty good.”
Tara giggled. “You too, Daddy.”
“Not as good as you.” Dave couldn’t believe how hard it was to hit a target no more than five yards away. His arm was made for distance throwing.
Either that or you’re losing your touch.
Dave refused to dignify that thought with a response. It’d be a cold day in hell when he couldn’t even play skee ball. He checked his watch. “The pizza’ll be ready any minute. Let’s sit down.”
Tara shook her head.
“No?” Well, hell. He didn’t want to have to go fetch Lin to get Tara back to the table. What kind of impression would it make if he couldn’t even wrangle his girl to the table for dinner?
“Have to potty and wash up first.”
So she wasn’t just being willful. Relief surged through him. “Great idea, kiddo.”
He spotted the “restrooms” sign on the far wall and headed that way, Tara in tow. He stopped mid-stride and Tara smacked into his leg. Was he supposed to take her into the men’s bathroom?
“Maybe you
r mom should take you.”
She shook her head. “You.”
“You’re a girl.”
Tara frowned. “So?”
“So I can’t go in your bathroom.”
“I’ll go in yours.”
The more Dave considered that, the worse it sounded. What if someone else was at the urinal? His little girl wouldn’t see some stranger’s equipment on his watch. “No way.”
Her lip started to stick out. Dave gulped. Was that the pout or the beginning of an honest-to-god fit? He didn’t want to find out.
“We’ll use yours.” He grabbed her hand again as she made a beeline for the bathrooms.
His relief was palpable when presented with a third option, the “family” restroom. He pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge.
Crap. There went the easy out.
Tara started for the women’s bathroom. “Gotta go.”
“You can’t wait until this one’s open?”
“Now.”
With a shake of her head and stamp of her foot, Tara walked into the women’s restroom. Dave had no choice. It was either follow her or let her go by herself. She was still too young for that, right?
He glanced around guiltily and then slipped through the door.
Thank God it was empty. “You can go by yourself?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She disappeared into the stall and soon he heard a tinkling noise.
Eeew. He felt creepy listening to someone pee—even if that someone was his daughter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, wondering if his pizza was getting cold. As he contemplated the horrors of congealed cheese, the door swung open and thunked his shoulder.
“Eeeee—”
A kid ran back out of the room, screaming. “Mommy, there’s a man in the bathroom!”
Uh-oh. That couldn’t be good. “Tara, you almost done?”
“Uh-huh.”
He heard a flush and she came out of the stall still pulling up her shorts. At the same time, the bathroom door opened again and a burly guy in a Pizza Palace uniform glowered at him.
“What’s going on in here?” the big guy demanded. His nametag declared him to be Chuck.
Dave yanked his hands out of his pockets. He needn’t have bothered. He didn’t look any less creepy. He was still a grown man in the women’s restroom—and this time he wasn’t there for a quickie with some hot chick he’d just met.
Diva In The Dugout (All Is Fair In Love And Baseball) Page 4
