Stealing Second Read online

  As he approached Harlan’s, Tom moved to the side as a wiry teenager wearing headphones and riding a small scooter shot toward him. The kid zoomed past him like he owned the sidewalk and everyone in his path should get the hell out of the way. Half-amused, Tom shook his head, then turned and froze at the sight of Katie and Adam Logan sitting across from each other at a table inside the restaurant.

  Unable to move, he stood there for what seemed like several minutes, watching them talk, his gut churning with the knowledge that his self-righteous and judgmental behavior had driven Katie straight into the arms of the number-one bachelor in San Francisco.

  Jealousy tore through him, and it was all he could do not to bust into Harlan’s and put a hurt the size of Texas on Mr. GQ. Tamping down his frustration, he turned around, and as he walked away from the restaurant, he knew exactly what he had to do and that he only had a short time to do it in. He’d caused this rift between himself and Katie, and it was up to him to make it right. He prayed she still cared enough to listen.

  And to forgive.

  * * *

  Inside Harlan’s long after Rick had left, Katherine leaned back in her chair and stared at Adam in surprise. “You’re a Cubs fan?”

  He nodded. “Since I was a kid.”

  “But I thought you were from Los Angeles,” she said. “I assumed you were either a Dodgers or an Angels fan.”

  “I went to college in Southern California, but I was born and raised in Chicago.”

  Reaching for her glass, she took a sip of her milkshake, then gave him a sympathetic smile. “I feel for you. The Cubs haven’t been in the World Series since 1945.” She returned her glass to the table. “That’s much longer than either of us has been alive.”

  “Being a Cubs fan isn’t for sissies. That’s for sure.” His rueful grin showed off his killer dimple. But as gorgeous as Adam undoubtedly was…he wasn’t Tom. She hoped that someday she wouldn’t compare every man she met to Tom. If she did, she’d be alone for the rest of her life.

  “So do you believe in that whole ‘Curse of the Billy Goat’ thing?” she asked, referring to the infamous curse placed upon the Cubs by the owner of the original Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago when he tried to bring his lucky goat to game four of the World Series.

  As the story went, the Cubs were playing Detroit and were up by two games. The goat was refused entrance because it smelled and, incensed, the Tavern’s owner allegedly exclaimed that the Cubs wouldn’t win any more games in the series, and further decreed they wouldn’t win another World Championship until a goat was allowed onto the field. The Cubs ended up losing the World Series, and hadn’t been back to the fall classic since.

  “No. But my grandfather swears the curse is real. And so does my father. They’re both superstitious.”

  “And you’re not?”

  “No,” he said adamantly. “The Cubs have fallen short since then for many reasons, but a curse isn’t one of them. If curses were real, the Red Sox never would have won the World Series in 2004.”

  “Fair point,” she acknowledged with a smile as their waitress approached the table and offered to take their plates.

  Once the table was cleared, Adam leaned forward. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a few weeks.”

  “That sounds intriguing,” she said, no longer believing he had any romantic interest in her. Looking back on it, she wasn’t sure he ever had, and chalked it up to her need, at the time, to deny the strong feelings she still harbored for Tom.

  He chuckled. “I’m glad you think so. Now that Logan-Johnson has made a name for itself as one of the premiere agencies representing baseball players, we’re looking to expand.”

  “Are you opening an office in another city?”

  “No. We’ll only have one office, but we’re in talks to lease the entire floor below us. We’re adding a football division. I recently met with a top agent in LA who’s looking to leave his current agency. If he joins Logan-Johnson, he’ll bring along several high-profile clients, all with multimillion-dollar contracts.”

  “That’s impressive.” She frowned. “But I’m not sure where I fit in.”

  “I’d like you to be L-J’s executive director of media relations.”

  She widened her eyes. “Your what?”

  Adam smiled. “I see I’ve caught you by surprise.”

  “That’s an understatement,” she said wryly.

  During the course of her career, Katherine had fielded a number of discreet inquiries as to her interest in leaving the Blaze and working elsewhere. Although several of the offers had been tempting, she’d never seriously considered leaving the team, so over time the inquiries had become less frequent.

  Adam glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. How about I walk you to your building and tell you a little bit about the position? If you’re at all interested, we can set up an official meeting and I’ll go into further detail and answer any additional questions you may have.”

  True to his word, by the time they reached her lobby, Adam had briefly outlined his vision for the future of Logan-Johnson, and given her a short synopsis of the executive director position. Her first inclination was to say no thank you, but then she’d surprised herself by telling him she was flattered to be considered, and that she’d be in touch with him within the next few days to let him know if she was interested in moving forward with the process.

  As she stepped into the elevator, she tried to imagine a future without the Blaze in it. It was hard to do. The team, and her job, had been a constant in her life for the past thirteen years. These days, people seemed to move from job to job without a second thought, but she’d always believed that if it were up to her, she would stay with the Blaze until she decided to retire. That she was contemplating leaving now could only be attributed to her father’s pending ownership of the team, and her strained relationship with Tom.

  She’d managed to coexist with him before, but now, after everything that had happened between them in the past month, she wasn’t sure she could do it again. The emotions she’d managed to keep locked inside her before the road trip were too potent, and the love she’d tried to deny for so long was still there—in her heart, and in her soul. How could she work with Tom and truly get over him? It didn’t seem possible; maybe taking Adam up on his opportunity was the solution.

  Less than a minute later, outside her front door, her phone rang as she rummaged in her purse for her keys. She pulled it from the side pocket and checked the caller ID before answering.

  “Hey, Kelly. Is everything okay?”

  “No.” Kelly’s tone was terse. “I just got a call from Security. It seems that Trey Gentry is drunk off his ass and running around the infield at the ballpark without any clothes on.”

  Katherine gasped. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. Even I couldn’t make this shit up.” Kelly paused. “He’s asking to talk to you. He’s telling the security guard he won’t leave until he sees you.”

  “Let them know I’ll be right there.”

  “Will do,” Kelly said, then hung up.

  Katherine blew out a frustrated breath, then turned and hurried back to the elevator. “The things I do for this team,” she muttered as she hit the call button.

  It didn’t take long for her to walk to the ballpark and enter the clubhouse. Once inside the locker room area, she immediately caught sight of one of the security guards.

  “Hi, Daniel,” she said as she approached him. “Is Trey still on the field?”

  “Yes.” The clean-cut guard’s face remained stoic. “I told him you were on your way and that seemed to appease him. He’s parked himself on the pitcher’s mound.”

  “Thank you. I’ll go talk to him.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No. That might spook him. Just stay out of sight in the dugout.” She set her purse on a wooden bench in front of one of the lockers, then grabbed one of the towels from a neatly folded stack on
the end of it. There was no way she was talking to a naked Trey Gentry. “If I need you, I’ll call for you.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said politely, then followed her as she headed for the concrete steps that led to the dugout.

  The second she stepped onto the field it was apparent the lone figure standing on the pitcher’s mound wasn’t Trey.

  It was Tom.

  Confused, she hung the towel on the dugout fence, then surveyed the field. Not all of the ballpark’s powerful lights were turned on, but the beams from the few that were illuminated the field enough for her to see there was no sign of Trey, naked or otherwise.

  “Is this some sort of joke?” she called out as she strode toward Tom.

  “No.” He stepped off the pitcher’s mound, moving toward her. “I needed to talk to you, and I figured this was the best place to do it.”

  She halted in front of him. “So, Trey’s not drunk or running around the ballpark?”

  “Trey may be drunk, but he’s definitely not here.”

  “And you got Kelly and Daniel to lie for you?”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  She rolled her eyes. “This is ridiculous. I’m leaving.”

  “Don’t go.” He gestured toward her with one hand as she started to turn and head back to the dugout. “At least hear me out.”

  She kept her expression neutral as his solemn gaze connected with hers. He looked tired. Like he’d been up for days, but she steeled herself from the concern that sprang to life inside of her. It wasn’t like he was losing sleep over her. If he was lying awake at night, it was probably because September was a crucial month for the Blaze. A spot in the post-season was within reach, and if the team didn’t make the play-offs, Tom would take the heat.

  He took a step closer; the subtle scent of his cologne swirled around her, invading her senses. She shook off the memories it evoked and squared her shoulders.

  “Why did you go to such lengths to get me here?”

  “To apologize, I—”

  “It’s too late,” she cut him off sharply with a raised hand.

  A small frown pulled at his brows. “You didn’t let me finish.”

  “Apology or not, I don’t believe we can pick up where we left off when we were eighteen. Too much has happened, and too much has changed.”

  “The way we feel about each other hasn’t changed. You can’t deny that.”

  “It’s not real. It’s an idealized fantasy we’ve held on to for years. And when we found out the truth about what our parents did, we acted without thinking it through. We’re better off without each other.”

  “Better off?” he echoed, looking at her like she was crazy. “How do you figure that?”

  She lifted her chin, and said aloud the words she’d been trying hard to convince herself were true. “We need to let go of the past and move on.”

  A scowl settled over his handsome face. “I saw you with Logan at Harlan’s. Do you honestly think you can move on with him?”

  “Are you stalking me?” she demanded, slightly unnerved that he’d seen her but that she hadn’t seen him.

  “No. I was walking home and I saw you through the window.”

  “So is that why you got me here on false pretenses?” Now it made sense. “You’re jealous.”

  The corner of his mouth kicked up. “I was at first, but I’m not now. You’re not the least bit interested in him.”

  “And you know this, how?”

  “Because I know you.” He lifted his hand to touch a tendril of hair the light bay breeze had loosened from her low ponytail. With a gentle caress, he brushed it back from her face.

  Her heart began to pound, echoing loudly in her ears.

  “I know how you tilt your head a tad to the left when you’re flirting, and how you lean forward and unconsciously lick your lips when you’re thinking about kissing me, and I know how your face flushes when you want me to touch you.”

  He moved his hand to her cheek, and she so wanted to relax into the warmth of his palm, but she forced herself not to. Sexy words wouldn’t change her mind.

  “You want me,” he said in a husky voice that caused a flutter low in her belly. “Not Adam Logan.”

  Annoyed that he was right, she reached up and pushed his hand away. “Let me tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want to always wonder when you’re going to throw the miscarriage, or the fact that I didn’t tell you about the baby, in my face.”

  “I swear to you I’ll never do that again.” He lowered his hand and looked at her with what appeared to be genuine remorse. “I’m sorry for behaving like an insensitive jerk when I found out about the baby. Instead of thinking about myself, I should have thought about you, and how scared you must have been. Although I was the father, you were the one who would have been most impacted.

  “Katie, please don’t give up on us because I acted like a thickheaded prick who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. You said we can’t go back and that’s true. But I believe our past is the very reason why we can have the future we always dreamed about.”

  Before she could ask him what he meant, he turned and pointed to the humongous electronic screen high above center field. Suddenly it lit up, and in the center of the screen was a picture of her and Tom sitting at their favorite booth at Double D’s, grinning goofily into the camera.

  Her heart clenched as she stared at the faces of their youth. She hadn’t looked at photos of them together since she’d left Dallas. To see this one now almost brought tears to her eyes. “I’ve never seen that picture,” she said, turning to look at him.

  “Because it was on a roll of film I had developed six months after I thought you left me.” He smiled, and motioned with his head toward the screen. “There’s more. Look.”

  Another photograph materialized and Katherine gasped. “Oh my God.”

  “That’s us at the homecoming dance our freshman year.”

  “I remember.” She put a hand to her chest and grimaced. “Oh, good Lord. My dress was so pink, and my hair was so…so big. What in the blue blazes was I thinking?”

  Tom’s laugh echoed in the empty ballpark. “You were the most beautiful girl at the dance,” he said huskily.

  Another picture popped onto the screen and this time tears did swim in her eyes. Someone, she wasn’t sure who, probably one of their friends, had snapped a picture of them from behind as they stood at the shoreline of Joe Pool Lake looking out at the smooth surface of the water. Tom’s arm was around her waist, hers was around his, and her head was tilted, resting against his shoulder. How many times had they stood at that exact spot watching the sunset and talking about their future? More times than she had fingers to count.

  Blinking back tears, she turned to meet his solemn gaze. “Why are you showing me these pictures?”

  “Because this might be the last time I’m able to plead my case. I can’t let one more minute go by without telling you what you mean to me. What you’ve always meant to me. You’re important—too important for me to give you up without a fight.”

  Tenderness filled his eyes as he searched her face. “Those are only a few of the pictures I have of us. I tried to throw them all away, but I couldn’t do it. Our past is too much a part of me. You are a part of me, and you always will be.”

  He lifted his hands to gently cup her face, and the absolute sincerity in his eyes filled her heart with indescribable happiness.

  “I’ve been in love with you for over half my life, and the thought of living without you is incomprehensible to me. I did it once, and it damn near killed me. Please don’t make me go through that again. Please, Katie. Please, forgive me.” He brushed away the lone tear that had trickled down her cheek with his thumb. “I came to San Francisco for you. I’ll stay in San Francisco, forever. If you want me to.”

  “You’d leave Texas for me?” she asked, her voice tremulous. It was the last thing she’d expected, considering his love of their home state. But it was absolute
proof that nothing mattered more to him than her.

  “I’d do anything for you.” His lips twitched with amusement. “Even eat seafood.”

  “Wow,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “I was on the fence until you said that.”

  His mouth went slack, then hope sprang to life in his eyes. “Does that mean…”

  “What it means is, even though I was mad as hell at you for acting like a complete ass, the thought of living without you for the rest of my life has been killing me.” She slid her arms around his waist and smiled into his eyes. “I love you, Thomas Jefferson Morgan. I always have, and I always will.”

  “I’m gonna hold you to that, darlin’,” he said, then leaned forward and kissed her. And never had one kiss meant so much, or filled her heart with such happiness.

  When they finally came up for air, Katherine tilted her head and frowned. “How did you get those pictures on the screen?”

  “I promised the guy who runs the board that he could throw out the first pitch at one of our post-season games.”

  “So you’re predicting we’ll get to the post-season?”

  He flashed a cocky grin. “You bet your ass I am.”

  Much later, after Tom walked her back to her condo, and made slow, exquisite love to her, Katherine was content to lie in the crook of his arm, and listen to the steady cadence of his breathing as he slept beside her in her bed.

  For so long, she’d believed that the best years of her life were far behind her, but thankfully she’d been wrong. Some might call it fate, or maybe even destiny, but it didn’t much matter to her what it was called. She and Tom had been given a second chance to have the life they’d dreamed of so long ago, and now there was no doubt in her mind that the best years of their lives were still to come.

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  From her seat in the second row, Katherine gazed fondly at the happy couple standing beneath the bamboo canopy, which was romantically draped with white gauzy fabric and tied back at each post with a garland of vibrantly colored flowers.