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Once that was settled, she and Nate could return to their far more comfortable arrangement of never speaking to one another. Then this whole day of awkwardness and stirred-up feelings would settle into a distant memory.
*
Just before sunset,Nate stood under the shade of a live oak on the perimeter of Rough Hollow Farm and Orchards. He was studying a map he’d printed out at the county appraiser’s office when he heard the rattle and cough of an old diesel engine approach.
He didn’t need to look to see who was heading this way in a quiet corner of his grandfather’s fields. He’d always had a sixth sense for when Keely Harper was around. The woman’s very presence made his blood run hotter and his heart beat faster. He was like an old man telling the weather by a trick knee. He knew Keely was nearby from the rush of heat through his limbs while he held up the map in a way that made north on the map align with the way he stood in the field.
When she killed the engine of that blasted old tin bucket she drove, he heard the grateful sputter and hiss as the motor gave up the ghost. He wondered if she’d be able to start it again.
Because as much as he wouldn’t mind driving her home, he had the feeling she wasn’t here for anything half that fun. Did she even remember what a good time they’d always had when they were together? It had ticked him off that she’d been able to turn her back on that five years ago. Ticked him off even more with each year that passed when he never found a woman who could make him smile the way she used to. Who gave up that kind of happiness?
Keely Harper, that’s who.
“It’s a pretty piece of land,” she observed lightly, coming to a halt a couple of feet from him.
They stood shoulder to shoulder looking out over rows of roses that had been recently pruned, the thorny clippings discarded in piles at the ends of each row. Beyond that, a field of tall stalks looked ready to burst into bloom. Sunflowers, he guessed, based on the height.
He glanced over at her. Blond waves caught at her shoulder in a few links of a braid that held it all together. A couple of loose strands curled into springs around her face. Pretty brown eyes framed with inky lashes stared out at her flowers, and the sight of her so close to him was a gut punch he hadn’t been expecting.
How many times had he slid his arm around her narrow waist and pulled her against him? They’d been friends before they’d become lovers since their families’ properties adjoined, and they’d only been a year apart in high school. She’d been a standout on the girls’ softball team while he’d torn it up in baseball. Part of why they’d bonded had been because they recognized the way their fathers played such a heavy role in each other’s lives. He didn’t question the effort she gave to helping her dad. She seemed to understand his commitment to baseball was a family legacy he didn’t dare to ignore.
A thousand images of her over the years flashed through his head. He had memories of Keely eating ice cream with him after a team road win, the two of them smudged with dirt and high on a sports victory while he drove them back to Last Stand in one of his old pickups. Keely cheering for him down the third base line when he dove into home plate. Keely dressed in her homecoming gown, a hand-me-down loaner from a friend that she’d been embarrassed about even though she’d looked prettier than any other girl in the county.
Damn. He blinked fast to erase it all and focus on the present.
“It is a nice piece of land. You’ve done a hell of a job with the farm.” He’d heard occasional updates about her success from his mother or from friends in town over the years, but he’d always resented the news, knowing that she’d picked this life over him. But right now, he could see why she’d stayed. “You have a lot to be proud of.”
Her laugh was humorless. With a dark edge.
“Debatable. But thank you.” She turned toward him now, her gaze shuttered. Expression unreadable. “Is it true you’re considering opening a baseball camp in town?”
He folded the property map as best he could with one hand wrapped in bandages. Then he tucked it under his arm.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that news made the rounds already.” He’d only thought of it this morning after a visit with his old baseball coach. Yet the idea had stuck. Felt right. “I thought it could make my downtime count for something. Give back to the town in a constructive way.”
Her lips pursed and he realized he couldn’t read her nearly as well as he once had. She seemed more wary now. Guarded.
“You won’t be staying long though,” she noted, sliding her hands into the back pockets of the faded jeans she wore.
Jeans that hugged memorable curves he damned well shouldn’t be thinking about.
“Recovery will be a minimum of five weeks.” He’d stared at the calendar innumerable times since the injury, willing the dates to rearrange themselves so he had a prayer of getting back on the field this season. “But I should be able to rejoin the team well before then—in another couple of weeks, maybe. Once I’m healed up enough, I’ll most likely have a rehab assignment back in Austin until they think I’m ready to play in Houston again.”
Assuming they didn’t reassign him to the minors before then.
It had taken him his whole life to land the big break of getting into the majors. What if his replacement put up sick numbers the rest of the season? His shot at playing for the Stars could already be done. More likely though, would be the playerhe’dreplaced returning to the lineup before him. Nate had only gotten his shot on the team when the right fielder had been injured.
“Do you really think you could do something like organize a baseball camp at that level that fast?” Her question seemed so out of line with his own thoughts he had to backtrack in their conversation to try and figure out what he’d missed.
And still, he didn’t see where they’d veered off track from understanding one another. No surprise there, given the way their relationship had fallen apart. He hadn’t known Keely Harper nearly as well as he’d thought he had, and that bugged him. What did it say about him that he’d been content to enjoy things on a surface level, never digging for a deeper connection?
“Is there a problem with me starting a camp?” he asked, searching her face for clues as the sky streaked with purple behind her. “Are you opposed to the idea?”
He couldn’t imagine why. It would be a win-win situation for him, the town, and the Stars organization if they went for it. He’d seen the organizational chart for the dozens of camps they already ran around Texas. Why not here, in his hometown? It would be an easy way to help out his old coach and encourage local talent.
The longer he’d thought about the idea, the more he liked it. It would be nice to leave his stamp on the sport in a way that was different from his father’s or either of his brothers’.
“Of course not. It just seems like a big undertaking.” She stared out at her flower fields for a moment before she continued. “And, selfishly, I would hate for my sister to feel like she needed to come back here if the Stars backed it.”
