AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A smile tugged at her lips as she took in the familiar lines of his face. Had it really been five years since they’d been together like this? Their evening together reminded her of how much she’d missed in that time.
And with that thought her smile faded. What had just happened between them confused things so much, making it that much tougher to say goodbye when it all ended.
“Whatever you’re thinking.” He tapped the center of her forehead gently. “Stop.” He stroked her hair away from her temples, a soothing motion that sent away some of her worries. “Let’s just enjoy being together for now, okay?”
“Okay.” She would try. For herself. For him. For the sake of proving to her sister that she wasn’t a martyr to the family unhappiness. Maybe these weeks together really would give them closure. “And you should rest up while you can.”
“Is that right?” He arched an eyebrow, his tone amused. “Are you going to pile on with all the other people giving me advice to help my hand heal?”
“Not a chance.” She reached for him, cupping his jaw grown lightly bristled in the time she’d been here. “I just want you to recharge for round two.”
*
Even after anincredible week together, Nate feared he would never tire of having Keely in his bed. She enticed him more now than ever before. And what did that mean for his plan to live in the moment?
Seven days following that first night together, he made breakfast for her while she showered, perfecting the egg-cracking technique that he’d worked on for the past three days since she’d given him a demonstration. Thinking of her cooking instruction session that had turned into making love on the kitchen table, Nate was seized with the need to join her in the shower. Except she had her first patch of sunflowers to harvest today, and he needed to be at the baseball camp early on their first day. A camp he wanted to take ownership of, the more he thought about it. The idea for the program hadn’t even been his own, but the deeper he got into planning the thing, the more compelled he felt to make it a success. He might not have the sexiest of professional careers if he couldn’t return to a major league roster, but he knew he had something to offer these kids.
Keely had been spending most of her nights with him in the garage apartment, giving her sister time to reconnect with their father in the evenings now that Jimmy Harper had sobered up. Which worked out well for Nate because he wanted all the hours he could have with Keely. But he happened to know that Alexis had been spending a fair amount of time with Ty Lambert all week. Nate had spotted her waiting for Ty twice after Nate had met his teammate to discuss plans for the baseball camp that started today.
“How can I help?” Keely padded into the kitchen in her socks. With her hair wet from her shower, she wore denim shorts and a long-sleeved work shirt with the cuffs rolled up. Farm girl sexy. “Should I put in the toast?”
She was already in front of the toaster with the bread, deftly tossing in slices. Her ease in the kitchen reminded him how differently they’d spent the years apart. She’d been taking care of people since her mom left. He’d been focused on his own dream, living from hotel to hotel and surviving on carryout, about as far from domesticity as possible. The reality of the things she hadn’t gotten to do—dreams she might not have followed—hit him hard. She’d sacrificed so much to be strong for her family. Was she content staying in Last Stand and running Windy Meadows? Or did she still dream of doing more?
He hadn’t asked her straight out—even though he was curious—not wanting to press her about the future when things were so good right now.
“Thanks.” He flipped the eggs and turned off the heat under the skillet. “And at least I remembered the coffee.”
Pulling white ceramic mugs off the open shelves, he poured them each a cup.
“You would have remembered the toast too, if I hadn’t wanted to help.” She stroked her hand between his shoulder blades, her touch a unique combination of soothing and stirring. “Your breakfast skillset has come a long way since we burned the eggs.”
With an effort, he shook off the guilt he felt about all she’d given up to care for her family. He didn’t want to let the past steal anything else from her. He smiled at the memory of hauling her away from the stove and hoisting her up on the table the morning after they’d first slept together. “That meal would have turned out okay if you hadn’t distracted me.”
“Distracting you usually works out really well for me.” She walked her fingers down the center of his back before she leaned closer to kiss his cheek.
He turned before her lips connected with his face, making sure they landed on his mouth so he could kiss her back. She tasted like toothpaste, and the need to bring her to bed was so strong he tossed the spatula aside right as the toaster chimed in readiness.
He backed away with regret. “We should probably eat.”
“Probably so,” she agreed, although her hands lingered on his T-shirt where she smoothed touches over his chest. “You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”
“It’ll be fun.” At least, he hoped it would be. Turning, he plated the eggs while she buttered the toast.
Truth be told, he had some concerns about the first day of camp. His father had been out of town since Nate had arrived in Last Stand, traveling around the southwest to watch some of Wes’s road games and—no doubt—give the youngest son some unsolicited advice about his game. But Clint Ramsey had arrived in Last Stand last night.
He’d texted Nate twice, asking him to call him, but Nate had ignored it to enjoy the evening with Keely since they’d opted for dinner out at Dragonfly, a farm-to-table restaurant run by one of the Corbyn sisters. Nate was done with the days where he humored his demanding father. His career was his own, no matter how much Clint Ramsey wanted to have a hand in it.
But had he only put off the inevitable showdown with his father by not talking to him last night? Nate had always tried to be the family peacemaker, keeping things light when his dad had been too hard on Cal or Wes, cracking a joke or defusing tempers before things got out of hand. He was good at that. But he’d never quite mastered the art of deflecting when their father’s attention landed on him. That didn’t happen as often since Clint had always viewed Nate as the least skilled athlete of his three sons, making him less apt to put his energies and opinions into helping Nate be a better player. It wasn’t a flattering lens, but on the flip side, it had bought Nate a bit more elbow room in an extremely competitive household.
“Are you sure?” Keely noted as she carried the plates to the table. “You definitely don’t sound convinced it’s going to be fun.”
He followed her to the table, carrying the coffee over, using one hand for two mugs since he still wasn’t doing a lot with his repaired fingers. He was gaining mobility and had met with Alexis Harper three times in the past week for rehab help, but he also didn’t want to overtax the healing tendon.
“The camp itself should be a good time. Ty is on board. Coach Jansen is thrilled. A ton of kids signed up.” He took the seat across from her as he watched her twist a hair tie around her damp locks. “But I have the sense my father will put in an appearance and—who knows what.”
“You don’t want him to help? Couldn’t he work at the station for pitchers?” Keely added the smallest amount of sugar to her coffee before taking a sip.
Nate had shared with her the basic structure of the skills camp, with stations focusing on base running, hitting, pitching, footwork and fielding. There would be competitions and full-scale games too, but the drill work was the most important facet.
