Diva In The Dugout (All Is Fair In Love And Baseball)

by Hittle, Arlene

  He gave Chuck his “I’m a good ol’ boy” grin and pointed at Tara. “She had to go to the bathroom and the family one was occupied.”

  The employee’s glare didn’t waver until he stooped to address Tara. “Where’s your mommy?”

  “She’s not feelin’ good.” Tara leaned forward and whispered, “I think Daddy scares her.”

  “Does he scare you, too, sweetheart?” Chuck asked Tara while giving Dave the stinkeye.

  She giggled and hugged Dave’s leg. “Uh-uh. He’s the bestest.”

  Chuck rose back to his full height. Then he looked from him to his daughter and back again. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, like he was itching for a fight. “If you’re sure…”

  “I am.” Dave put his hand on Tara’s head and gave the guy a level look. He didn’t want a fight. While he and Chuck were evenly matched in height, the guy probably outweighed him by fifty pounds.

  Tara nodded. “Me too.”

  Tara ducked under Chuck’s arm and ran out the door. Dave started to follow, but the other man held up his hand.

  “Dude, don’t hang out in the women’s bathroom.”

  “It was an emergency.”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Next time, we’ll call the cops.”

  Arrested in a kiddie pizza place? That’d do his reputation no favors. Dave shuddered. “Message received.”

  Chuck waited for Dave to vacate the ladies’ room, burly arms still crossed over his barrel chest. On his way back to the table, cameras flashed and he shielded his face.

  Immediately, he ordered himself to stop being paranoid. No one’s taking pictures of you.

  At the table, Tara was already pulling the cheese off her pizza and stuffing it into her mouth. He glanced at his pizza—still steaming. Good. And it had a slice missing—a piece now sitting on Lin’s plate. Even better.

  “Kiddo, next time your mom has to take you to the bathroom. Restaurant rules.”

  Tara answered through a mouthful of pizza. “Mmm-kay.”

  Lin laughed. “You took her to the bathroom?”

  “Yep. And they don’t like it when geezers like me prop up a wall in the women’s bathroom. That security guard treated me like some kind of perv.”

  The fear Tara had mentioned flickered in Lin’s eyes. He heaved an exasperated sigh. What had happened to his fearless barely-legal Texas bombshell in the last five years? “I’m not.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “I do.” He paused. “I’m not so bad, Lin. You just need to get to know me.”

  She threw him an indecipherable look. “We’ll see.”

  Dave barely avoided the urge to curse at his baby’s mother. If she thought he was such a douchebag, why’d she sleep with him in the first place?

  That was a question for another day. Now, he had to maximize the little time he had left with Tara. They finished their pizza and strolled down the strip mall to TCBY, where he spoiled Tara with a too-large sundae with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles.

  “She’s never going to eat it all,” Lin warned.

  Even as he remembered the piece and a half of personal-sized cheese pizza Tara left on her plate, Dave shrugged. “More for me, then.”

  He didn’t realize that it’d take thirty minutes for Tara to decide she was done. All that was left of her sundae was a bowlful of chocolate and melted yogurt goop. He avoided Lin’s eyes as he tossed the unappetizing mess into the trash. He didn’t want to give her a chance to say “Told you so.”

  He had a lot to learn about parenting, and she’d had a four-year head start. Well, he was going to figure it out if it killed him—starting with why Tara was staring at him right now.

  He ran his thumb around his mouth. “Do I have chocolate stuck to my face?”

  “No, silly!” Tara giggled.

  “Then what are you looking at?”

  She held her arms out in a demand that even he understood. He scooped her into his arms and cradled her against his chest like the baby she no longer was. They started down the sidewalk toward the car. “Didn’t your mother teach you it’s not polite to stare?”

  Her face was solemn. “I’m ‘memberizin’ you.”

  “Huh?” He glanced at Lin, who raised her shoulders in a shrug.

  “You know, for when you go back to work. I wanna ‘member what you look like.”

  Her matter-of-fact observation walloped Dave like a sucker-punch to the gut. His stomach rebelled. Why had he topped off five slices of pizza with an extra-large serving of frozen yogurt? He opened his mouth to reply, but realized he had absolutely no comeback. She was right. He’d be gone for weeks at a stretch.

  He squeezed Tara tight and buried his face in her sweet-smelling neck. Even when he felt composed enough to say something, he didn’t know what to say. How did you answer something like that?

  Tara patted his head. “Daddy? You okay?”

  “Sure.” When Dave pulled himself together, he noticed Lin had taken several steps ahead of them. She turned and waved her phone at them.

  “Sweetheart, I’ll take a picture of you and Daddy so you can look at it whenever you want.”

  His daughter squirmed in his arms. “Down. I’m no baby.”

  Dave set Tara on her feet and squatted beside her. Lin snapped several pictures with her phone.

  He had to hand it to Lin. Drinking problem aside, she seemed to be an excellent mother. She was quick to head off their daughter’s bad mood and to solve problems that baffled him.

  When he and Tara caught up to her, he slipped his arm around Lin’s waist and squeezed. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Five

  Mel yanked herself out of Dave’s grasp. Maybe Tara wouldn’t pick up on her skittishness. She didn’t want her daughter to be affected by her ambivalence toward Dave.

  Tara noticed anyway. “Daddy doesn’t bite, Mamma.”

  Mischief danced in Dave’s eyes as he leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Unless you want me to.”

  “I don’t.” Even as she said it, her mind served up a memory of the way he’d feasted on her body so long ago.

  Mel’s cheeks warmed. Smutty memories had no place on a bright, sunny day, with Tara mere feet away—even with Muscles looking at her as though he could read her thoughts.

  She edged to the right and quickened her pace. “Let’s stop at the park on our way back to the ballpark.”

  Tara jumped up and down. “Swings!”

  “If that’s what you want, Princess.” Dave rumpled Tara’s hair as he spoke, but his eyes were locked on Mel’s.

  When they got to the park, Melinda hung back with her camera phone, documenting daddy-daughter time. She wanted Tara to have a reminder of this day in case Dave hightailed it out of here, never to be seen again.

  It amazed Mel how easily Tara had accepted Dave. The sheer joy on Tara’s face every time she looked at her father made Mel wonder if she’d done her baby wrong by not looking for him.

  But she wasn’t ready to concede the point. He could be a jerk…he could be a pervert….

  He waved away a fly that landed on Tara’s head and then ruffled her hair as she chortled at something he’d said.

  He could be a fantastic father if you give him half a chance.

  Melinda swallowed hard. She owed Dave that much, just as she owed him more than a couple of hours with Tara…if he wanted it.

  She crossed the playground to the curly slide Tara was clambering up. Dave shadowed her, ready to catch Tara if she started to fall. Regret squeezed her heart again. Maybe keeping him in the dark hadn’t been her wisest choice.

  Well, she could make amends—starting now.

  “Why don’t you come out to our place? Tara’s got a few more hours before bed. We can play board games or something.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Dave was so plainly relieved to get more time with Tara that Mel felt even worse about her long-ago decision.

  When they got to the house, the kitchen table became ga
me central. The three of them played Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders and Go Fish for what seemed like hours before Tara yawned.

  Mel glanced at the display on the microwave. It was after ten. How’d it get so late? “Bedtime, Tara.”

  “M-o-o-o-m-m-y.”

  “No whining, Missy. It’s actually already two hours past your bedtime. Scurry on upstairs and I’ll be up in a minute to tuck you in.”

  Tara’s lower lip started to tremble. “No! Daddy.”

  “Sweetheart, I’m sure your Daddy has somewhere to be.” More to the point, Mel was tired of sharing her daughter. Tara’d already insisted Dave take her to the bathroom. She couldn’t bear to give up a cherished ritual.

  Dave checked his watch before flashing her the lazy grin that still made her pulse flutter. “Nope. Bus doesn’t leave for Albuquerque until six in the morning.”

  Mel had to fight to keep her own lip from popping out in a pout. Looked like she’d have to bear it a while longer. “Go ahead, Tara. Get into your jammies. Daddy and I will be there in a second.”

  “Just Daddy.”

  “Okay.” She tried not to feel hurt by her daughter’s demand. Her father was shiny and new. Of course Tara wanted him to tuck her in. Still, the rejection stung.

  Tara barreled up the stairs, leaving Mel alone with the usurper of her daughter’s affection. She offered him a tight smile. “Don’t forget to read her a bedtime story.”

  He looked like she’d just suggested barbecuing his family pet. “I’m not good at stories.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Apparently, he was going to force her to share everything—even bedtime stories. “Try Cat in the Hat. It’s on the bookshelf at the foot of Tara’s bed.”

  Dave left and then returned seconds later with a sheepish look on his face. “Where’s her room?”

  “Upstairs. Second door on the left.”

  Alone again, she picked up the pieces of Candy Land along with her scattered thoughts. The child she’d thought so well-adjusted was starved for male attention. As much as she hated to admit it, her own father—Tara’s grandpa—wasn’t enough.

  Maybe it was time to start dating again. A stepfather could provide a masculine influence. Too bad she had no prospects. Not many guys her age were man enough to take on a ready-made family.

  Stop it! There’s a perfectly good male influence upstairs with Tara right now. Who better than her real father?

  Mel could think of a few, like the butcher, baker and candlestick maker—anyone but the formerly nameless ballplayer who’d knocked her up. But Tara seemed to have taken a shine to Dave. Mel didn’t blame her. He was still a charmer. Damn him. Even four-year-olds sensed his potent appeal.

  Curiosity compelled her to run upstairs to see how he fared. At least she told herself it was curiosity. No way would she cop to not being able to take her eyes off the man. He was just as attractive now as he’d been five years ago—maybe even more so, because he’d matured.

  She peeped through the half-open door. Tara lay in bed, with her thumb in her mouth and covers pulled up to her armpits. Dave sat on the bed on top of the covers, flipping pages in the open book. Tara’s eyelids drooped as his deep voice lilted with Dr. Seuss’ distinctive cadence.

  His voice would lull her to sleep, too, if she didn’t watch out. She swore again. Who gave him the right to be so damn appealing?

  As she blinked away the tears that threatened, he glanced up. His slow, easy grin thawed parts of Mel that had been in the deep freeze since Tara’s birth.

  He checked that Tara was asleep before easing off the bed and tiptoeing to the door. Mel moved out of the way so he could pull it closed and led the way back downstairs. Once they were both seated on the couch, he continued looking at her as if she’d just offered him a chance to play in the World Series.

  Dave covered her hand with his. “Thanks again, Lin. I know today hasn’t been easy for you, but you’ve done a great job of letting Tara and I get to know each other.”

  His thanks brought all Mel’s doubts rushing back. Maybe she should have sought him out. But how was she supposed to know he’d step up to the plate and belt out a homerun for fatherhood? When they met, he was a party animal of the worst kind. He’d asked her if she had any drugs, for God’s sake. Not the kind of guy she wanted around her baby—or her parents.

  She shoved the memory aside, instead concentrating on the heat of his hand as it rested on hers. No, that was no good, either. It made her remember the way those big hands had felt covering other parts of her body.

  She shifted away from Dave and flashed him a semblance of a smile. “You’re right. Today has been hell on me.”

  The left corner of his mouth kicked up into a half-grin. “And you hid it so well. I only heard Tara mention once that you were afraid of me.” A full grin flirted with his lips.

  When he reached out to brush her hair off her face, Mel reared back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Dave’s grin flickered on in full force, and something else melted inside her. “Renewing our acquaintance.”

  There had to be something wrong with that idea, but Mel suddenly couldn’t think what. She leaned into him, her lips parted, already begging for a kiss.

  His lips settled over hers and his tongue swept into her mouth. Her senses swirled with the touch of his tongue until she barely noticed he was repositioning her onto his lap.

  Mel’s body remembered. Her nipples puckered and her panties grew damp in response to the erection nudging through two layers of denim. Dave deepened the kiss. His hands settled on her hips, bringing the most intimate part of her more firmly in contact with him.

  Caught up in old memories and new sensations, she didn’t object when he eased her back against the arm of the couch and started fumbling with the button on her shorts. She wasn’t thinking of Tara, just upstairs, or the fact that Luanne would arrive any minute.

  She wanted—no, needed—this. Sex. With Muscles. She hadn’t had intimate relations with anyone since…since a disastrous reunion attempt with Bud when Tara was nine months old.

  “It’s been too long.” A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as his hand slid underneath her panties to cup her sex.

  Dave’s face was serious as he nodded. “For me, too.”

  Mel didn’t believe that for a second, but it was nice of him to try to make her feel better. She got lost in the feel of his lips on hers…his finger slip-sliding around between her legs—

  The front door swung open and Luanne’s laughter rang out. “Seems I got here just in time.”

  ****

  Dave jumped off the couch—off Lin—and fastened the pants he didn’t even remember unbuttoning. Wow. Lin still packed the same potent punch she’d delivered five years ago.

  Her friend gave them both a knowing smirk. “I hope y’all waited until Tara went to bed to start tearing off each other’s clothes.”

  Lin shot up beside him and fixed the other woman with a glare. “What kind of mother do you think I am?”

  “A horny one?”

  “Shut up, Lu.” She accompanied the not-so-friendly suggestion with an even unfriendlier gesture.

  Dave groaned. Even pissed off, Lin was sexy as hell. He dropped his hand to his crotch.

  Lin’s friend’s eyes followed the movement and she grinned. “I’ll just head up to the den to catch the Monk marathon. Pretend I’m not here.”

  Lin shot her friend a sour look as she edged away from him. “No, we’d best be going. Dave needs to get back to his bus.”

  “Not until six in the morning.” He winked at both women and hooked his arm around Lin to pull her back to him. “And there’s a whole lotta mischief we can get up to between now and then.”

  She recoiled before skittering toward the door and picking up her purse. “Let’s go.”

  Dave gaped at her. She’d been just as into making out as he was, so why suddenly treat him like he gave off a radioactive glow?

  “That’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar quest
ion,” he muttered under his breath. She stood in the doorway, tapping her foot, while her friend’s head snapped between them, waiting to see who’d win this battle.

  Dave’s mouth tightened. He refused to make it easy for her to get rid of him. After all, he was in no hurry to leave—what Lin wanted be damned. She only thought she wanted him gone, anyway. Her body told him something else altogether.

  He took a moment to scan the room. Lin needed time for her brain to catch up with the rest of her and he wanted to see if he’d forgotten anything. Nope. The living room was clear.

  Dave finally sauntered to the door, assured nothing of his would be staying behind.

  Nothing but your flesh and blood.

  The thought stopped him mid-step. That was his little girl upstairs. He hadn’t spent nearly enough time with her yet.

  Or her mother. He studied the woman who’d kept his daughter from him for so long. A mix of anger and desire flashed in her green eyes. He recognized them because the same emotions competed for his acknowledgement. It was a heady mix, and it pulsed through his body with each heartbeat.

  He wanted to condemn Lin for what she’d done—or more accurately not done. But he also wanted to claim her again…to bury himself between her creamy thighs…to brand himself into her heart and head so she’d never dare to forget him again.

  Dave shook off the sexy vision, and refocused on his daughter. He wanted—needed—to do right by her. In addition to providing financial support, that meant showing her how a man should treat a woman. And it didn’t involve forcing her mother into something her head wasn’t as ready to handle as the rest of her.

  His hands fisted at his sides. He clenched and unclenched them while his brain replayed Saturday night’s loss. Desire quashed, he closed the distance between himself and Lin. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “I… I thought—”

  “You thought wrong,” Dave growled. “I need to get back to the hotel.”