Fool Me Once (Bad Boy Romance) Page 22

  “Someone should tell them it didn’t work. Even telling their prayer chain, or whatever it was that got around to the press, didn’t help,” he said dryly.

  I smiled, shrugging one shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe it did help. It didn’t help me return to the game, but maybe I wasn’t supposed to.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” he said with confusion.

  “I don’t know. I feel like I’ve been awoken. Everything has shifted. I am going to miss baseball and I’m going to miss the excitement of a big game, but I let it consume me. I don’t want to be that guy I was turning into,” I told him.

  He smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’ve seen a lot of guys come in this one way and leave a different way and it wasn’t always a good change.”

  “It’s time to get my shit together.”

  “I’m really going to miss you. What are you going to do now?” he asked.

  I smiled. “I’m going home.”

  “Home to your apartment or home to Tennessee?” he asked.

  “Home, where I belong. I’ve got some unfinished business I need to see to. I trust you’re going to take care of that legal situation, right? If I find out the team is still trying to sue Evie, shit’s going to get ugly,” I warned him.

  “Yes, I know. I get it. I’ll do what I can.”

  I stood up and shook his hand one last time.

  “I’ll see you around, kid,” he said. “I hope you land on your feet in whatever it is you decide to do.”

  I laughed. “I always do,” I said, walking out of the office.

  The car took me back to my apartment, where I finished packing up the rest of my things. I was donating a lot of it. I had no use for the wardrobe I had accumulated over the years. My expensive taste wasn’t going to be needed in the small country town. I picked up one of my jerseys, sighed and neatly folded it and put it inside the box with a lot of my other memorabilia. I wasn’t ready to give it up. I wanted to one day pass it along to my own son or daughter.

  Chapter 36

  Evie

  I walked into my mother’s house, where the scent of fresh herbs and what smelled like Mexican food overwhelmed me. My mom wasn’t shy about using plenty of spice when she cooked. She insisted it helped keep her healthy. I argued cancer wasn’t healthy, but she claimed it could have been worse. I assumed she was using cayenne pepper to burn the cancer cells out of her body. I prepared myself for a spicy meal. It had been a while and I felt confident my mouth and stomach were ready for it.

  “What’d you make?” I called out, walking into the kitchen.

  “Enchiladas with some rice,” she replied, her back to me as she stirred a pot.

  “Can I help with anything?”

  She turned to look at me, like really look at me. “Why don’t you pull your hair back and you can help me set the table.”

  I scowled. “Pull my hair back?” I asked, wondering when it became important for me to have my hair back.

  “I don’t want your hair in the food,” she replied.

  “Sheesh, all right,” I muttered and walked to the bathroom to do as she asked.

  I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had put on a little makeup in an attempt to make myself feel better about my situation. It’d been a week since I had a job and I wasn’t having a lot of luck finding one. I pulled my long hair up into a messy bun, a little loose. I didn’t want the tight ponytail. I was already fighting a headache. I turned to look at myself in the full-length mirror, suddenly a little self-conscious about the way I looked. She had actually scrutinized my appearance. I had on a pair of worn jeans that were my favorite, nice and comfortable. My blouse was nothing fancy, a light flowy dark purple with open sleeves.

  It worked. It wasn’t fancy, but it was dinner at my mom’s. I wasn’t sure when she’d decided to raise her standards and instituted a dress code. I walked back into the kitchen, held out my arms and turned around. “Better?” I asked sarcastically.

  She smiled. “Yes. Don’t you feel better?”

  I shrugged. “Not really.”

  “Well, you look beautiful. Now grab those plates. Dinner will be done in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “So, did you watch that press conference yesterday?” she asked casually.

  “Yes—well, not live, but I heard about it and watched it on YouTube,” I told her.

  “He’s a very handsome man. I could see why you were attracted to him,” she said in a knowing voice.

  I shook my head. “Looks aren’t everything.”

  “Well, did you hear his words? He sounded very genuine. I think he seems like a pretty good guy,” she continued.

  I knew what she was doing. “It’s too late, Mom. That ship has sailed. I don’t think he’s going to be thanking me anytime soon for my hand in his career coming to a screeching halt.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. I bet he’s forgiven you, even if there was nothing to forgive in the first place. I heard what he was saying and watched how sincere he was. I think he was almost relieved to be retiring,” she said.

  I wrinkled my nose. “Mom, his entire life was baseball. What you saw was a man’s hopes and dreams being crushed by a giant steamroller. That wasn’t relief. That was resignation.”

  She laughed. “You’re so dramatic.”

  “I’m so realistic,” I shot back.

  I finished setting the table, digging out the sour cream I knew I was going to need to wash down the spicy meal and putting it on the table as well. There was a knock at the door, surprising me. I looked at my mother, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders.

  “Will you see who it is?” she asked.

  I nodded and walked to the door, surprised my mother would have company. I prepared myself for a generous food offering from one of the ladies from my mom’s church. They were known for dropping by baked goods and casseroles as a way of saying they were thinking about her. It was very sweet and made me happy to know people were still looking out for her.

  I opened the door and slammed it shut immediately. “What the hell?” I muttered.

  Dayton knocked again. I shook my head, feeling like a complete moron for slamming the door in his face. I pulled it open again. He raised one eyebrow. “Hello?”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, dumbfounded to see him on my mother’s doorstep.

  I didn’t even know how he knew where she lived. Then I realized his lawyers probably knew everything about me.

  “I invited him,” my mother said, walking into the living room.

  “What?” I asked, sure I’d heard her wrong.

  “I invited him. You two talk while I finish up dinner,” she said with a smile before disappearing again.

  I turned back to look at Dayton, who was still standing outside the door. “I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have called you. I know you’re busy.”

  “Evie, I came because I want to talk to you. You haven’t returned my calls, so when your mother called, I jumped at the chance to come here. I’m sorry for the sneak attack but it was the only way I could get you to see me,” he said in a low voice.

  I shook my head. “Dayton, I’m so sorry. I swear, I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this. My mom didn’t tell anyone. I did tell my friend Mallory and I probably shouldn’t have told you that because now I just admitted to another violation and will most definitely be sued, but I don’t think she told anyone either,” I rambled on, speaking so fast it was a miracle I didn’t trip over my tongue.

  “Evie, stop. I know,” he said, stepping inside.

  “What?” I asked, closing the door behind him.

  He laughed. “It was my mom and dad. They put in a prayer request at church. They were trying to help but one of the parishioners apparently didn’t understand why it was supposed to be a secret. They told someone and then it just kind of spun out from there. It wasn’t you. It wasn’t your mom and it wasn’t Mallory. I’ve made this all very clear to my c
oach. He’s assured me he’s informed the lawyers and there will not be a lawsuit.”

  “Oh, well, that’s good. Too bad I still lost my job,” I muttered.

  “I’m really sorry about that. I’ll talk to Tom and let him know it was all a big misunderstanding, if that’s what you want. You tell me,” he said softly.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Take your time,” he said, stepping close to me.

  “What are you doing back here? Shouldn’t you be in California getting the surgery or whatever?” I asked him, still in disbelief he was in my mother’s living room. I had been confident I would never see him again and now he was right in front of me.

  I let myself look at him, really see him. He wasn’t wearing the hat I was so used to seeing him in. His black hair looked a little longer, with a roguish quality, and the green eyes that I loved to stare into when I was having an explosive orgasm were looking back at me. He looked so much like the Dayton I knew with a T-shirt and jeans on. How one man could look so damn good when he’d put no thought into his outfit was beyond me.

  “I came back here because this is where I belong. This is where I want to be,” he said, looking me directly in the eyes.

  “In Hope? To recover?” I asked, still not understanding.

  I knew he was not fond of Hope. He wanted the bright lights and the big city. I didn’t think it was a bad thing. His dream was not mine and that was okay.

  “I’m here to stay. Being with you showed me I had everything I could ever want or need right here. I was blinded by the lights and the glitz and glamour back west. I wasn’t really happy. I fooled myself into believing that’s what made me happy, but it wasn’t. Once I got back there, I knew without a doubt I belonged here. I’m supposed to be here, in Hope. That’s my destiny,” he said as if he truly believed it.

  “Really?”

  He laughed, leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips before standing up to his full height again and smiling. “Yes, really. Now, your mom promised me she was making some enchiladas. I think we’ve hid out here long enough. It’s time I officially met her.”

  I grinned, feeling the world slowly righting itself once again. “Okay.”

  We walked into the kitchen and found my mom sitting at the table, patiently waiting for us. She rose from her seat, a bright smile on her face. “Welcome, Dayton.”

  “Dayton, this is my mom, Mom, Dayton, although I guess the two of you already know each other.”

  She laughed. “Not officially. You can call me Terri, that’s my other name,” she said with a laugh.

  “Mom, I can’t believe you called him. How did you call him?” I asked.

  She winked. “A mother can never reveal her sources. Now, sit down and let’s eat.”

  We sat down, dishing up the spicy meal. I couldn’t stop looking over at Dayton. I couldn’t believe he was eating dinner in my mom’s kitchen. It was the absolute last thing I expected when I opened my eyes that morning. I had been convinced Dayton was out of my life for good.

  “This is delicious,” Dayton said, using the napkin to wipe his mouth.

  “I hope it’s not too spicy,” my mom replied.

  I laughed, taking a drink of milk. When my mother made Mexican food, milk was the drink of choice. It was the only thing that stopped the burning. She didn’t seem to notice the spice. It was the rest of us who suffered.

  Dayton shook his head. “Not too spicy at all. Have you tried Indian food?”

  She smiled, shaking her head. “No, not yet, but I intend to one day. We don’t exactly attract a lot of foreign cuisine here to Hope.”

  “I’ll have to take you ladies up to Nashville. We’ll have a week of nothing but trying new restaurants,” he said enthusiastically.

  My mom’s eyes lit up. “That sounds amazing! I couldn’t impose though.”

  “No, I want to take you. We can all go. Maybe I can even get my parents to go,” he mused.

  He seemed different, more relaxed than I’d seen him, even in Utah. It was a nice change. We finished our dinner and I did the cleanup, despite my mother’s protests. Dayton whispered he’d be at his house waiting, while I said goodbye to my mom.

  “Thank you,” I told her after Dayton had gone.

  “You’re welcome. I like him. I think the two of you make a beautiful couple,” she said with a smile.

  I laughed. “I don’t know if we’re going to be a couple, but I am looking forward to actually trying to have a relationship with him. Before, it was always in the back of my mind he would go back home eventually, and I didn’t want to let myself get too attached.”

  She shook her head. “Sweetie, you are already too attached, and I think he feels the same way. You two have a long, happy road in front of you. I can just feel it.”

  I smiled. “I hope so. Thank you for calling him. I don’t know if I would have done it.”

  “I know you wouldn’t have, which is exactly why I called him. You needed a little push and I was happy to give it. Now, get out of here. You’ve got a very attractive man waiting for you!” she said with a wink.

  I gave her another hug before anxiously leaving. I was very excited to get back to my house and see Dayton. I had so many questions, but most importantly, I wanted a real kiss.

  Chapter 37

  Dayton

  I tossed my keys onto the kitchen counter and headed for the shower. Evie would be coming over in a bit. Last night had been amazing. I had missed her the week we were apart. When her mom had called me Saturday morning and invited me to dinner, I jumped at the chance. I was happy to have her in my corner and to personally apologize for the misunderstanding with the legal problems. After meeting her, I could not understand why Evie’s father had walked away. Terri was a pretty woman, an amazing cook and very kind in general. The guy clearly didn’t know how good he’d had it and he didn’t deserve her.

  Once out of the shower, I walked down the hall into the kitchen, making mental notes of the things I wanted to do to make the house feel more like my home. I was officially home. It was time to move in. My boxes would be delivered on Monday. Although I didn’t have any furniture, I had some prized possessions, like the ball the team had signed for me as a retirement gift.

  I heard a knock on the door and grinned. I had left Evie’s place less than an hour ago. She must be anxious to see me, I thought as I strolled barefoot across the floor. I pulled open the door, expecting to see Evie’s beautiful face and finding my dad’s worn, tanned face instead.

  “Dad?” I said, looking around to see if my mom was with him.

  “It’s just me. I wanted to talk to you for a minute,” he said.

  I nodded and gestured for him to come inside. “Let me grab a shirt,” I told him, only wearing the Nike shorts.

  When I returned to the living room, he was staring out the window in the direction of his house. He turned to face me, and I could see something big was weighing on his shoulders. I felt like I should sit down.

  “Your mother and I watched your press conference,” he started.

  I nodded. “Okay,” I said, waiting for him to tell me how much he hated that I quit and how disappointed he was I wasn’t trying harder.

  “You made us proud,” he said.

  I looked up at him. “What?”

  “You made me proud. That’s the man I raised. Your mother cried like a baby listening to you on the TV,” my dad said, shaking his head and smiling.

  “She cried?” I asked.

  He nodded. “You know women. They cry over everything. You made her really proud and myself. What you did, that took courage and guts. Few men could stand in front of a crowd with cameras and admit they’d been wrong. I was prouder of you after that conference than I was when you signed on to play for all that money.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I told him, feeling my heart swell.

  He nodded. “I know my life isn’t glamorous and you probably don’t understand why your mom and I are happy here, but we are. I
hope you’ll stay. This is your house, after all.”

  I laughed. “I’m planning on staying. I don’t really have anywhere to go at the moment.”

  “Good. That’ll make your mama happy. She hated you being so far away. I figure you can coach the little league team around here or something like that. Baseball is in your blood, it always will be, but you can’t ever put anything up that high again. It’s dangerous. You’ve got to keep your feet grounded or you will float away,” he lectured.

  I smiled, knowing exactly what he was trying to say. I had put baseball above all else and stepped over my own morals to get to what I thought was the top. I wouldn’t do it again.

  “Thanks, Dad. That really means a lot coming from you. I’ll stop by later and see Mom,” I promised.

  “Good. She’s in the kitchen baking up a storm. You know how she gets,” he grumbled.

  I laughed. “I do know, and I look forward to eating whatever it is she’s putting together.”

  I opened the door for him and saw Evie’s car bouncing down the driveway. My dad turned to look at me with a grin on his face. “Ah, I see your girlfriend is here. I like her, so does your mama. Bring her by when you come to raid the kitchen.”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  My dad waved at Evie as he headed for the driveway that led to his house. She came onto the porch, carrying a small overnight bag and wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back.

  “I hope I didn’t chase your dad off?” she said, pulling away.

  I shook my head. “Nope. He was already leaving. He came by to tell me he was proud of me.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

  I grinned. “Yep. I think being home might be good for our relationship. I don’t think he has said that to me since I was in middle school. It was kind of crazy and very unexpected.”

  She went on her tippy toes and gave me a kiss. “I’m happy for you. Your dad is a good man. I’m glad the two of you have found some common ground.”