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“Overshadowed by the strikeout, no doubt,” he said grimly as his brown eyes swept the reserved area. “I see Dad was too disgusted to stick around and berate me?”
“Lucky you.” Cal turned to her. “Josie, my brother Nathan.” And to his brother: “Nate, this is Mom’s caretaker, Josie Vance.”
Really? He was introducing her as the caretaker? She smiled on autopilot and shook Nate’s hand. She must not have hidden her dismay very well because Nate shook his head and grinned at her.
“Don’t mind my brother,” he counseled her. “He’s the master of understatement. It’s nice to meet you.”
The brief stab of disappointment faded as she acknowledged that she hadn’t given Cal any reason to introduce her as more than that. Hadn’t she been adamant about keeping boundaries in place? Her reaction told her more about how much she was feeling for him—a warning sign she should probably examine more carefully.
The brothers talked briefly about their grandfather’s health, making Josie realize that Cal must have brought his siblings up to speed about Everett’s accident. A moment later, Nate backed up a step to get a better view of the thinning crowd on the party deck.
“So where’s Keely?” he asked, scratching a hand across the stitched lettering of his jersey.
“I haven’t seen her all evening,” Cal admitted. “Looks like her presence tonight was just a rumor.”
Nate went perfectly still, his expression changing. Josie turned to follow his gaze, curious.
“I think I see her,” Nate said, already moving in that direction, higher up the bleachers. “Josie, it was great meeting you, and thanks to you both for coming.”
With the help of the bright stadium lights, Josie spotted a delicate blonde in a long red sweater—visible only from the back—disappearing through an exit. She saw Nate’s long legs take the steps two at a time to reach her, but she had a solid head start.
Beside her, Cal scowled. “Relationships 101—never chase a woman who doesn’t want to be caught.”
“But maybe you don’t know their whole story,” Josie protested, thinking Nate Ramsey was too likable to focus his attentions where they weren’t wanted. “They could be on the verge of a beautiful romance.”
“Or Nate could be on his way to heartache number two at the hands of the same woman who dished it out the first time.” Cal shook his head and gripped the railing overlooking the baseball field. “Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?” She joined him at the railing, where Cal stared at a film crew with lights focused on…
His father.
Clint Ramsey stood in the middle of a circle of microphones and cameras, although only one was an actual film camera. The rest were smartphones. As they watched, the extra spotlight shut off and the group as a whole moved in the direction of the party deck.
“We need to get out of here,” Cal informed her, his voice curt as he turned her toward the exit. “Now.”
“Why?” Confused, she wondered what Cal knew that she didn’t.
“My dad’s out of baseball now, so the only real carrot he can dangle in front of sports journalists is an interview with one of his sons,” Cal explained, guiding her down the metal steps that would take them away from the bleachers. “And since Nate is already on the other side of the stadium to chase after an old flame, that leaves me.”
Josie missed a step. If Cal hadn’t caught her with lightning-quick reflexes, she would have slid down the rest of the stairs.
“You think they’re coming to interview you?” It had never occurred to her there might be media at a game like this who would be interested in Cal’s career, but that had been shortsighted of her.
Panic rose, her throat going tight. She couldn’t afford to get caught on camera. She’d been so careful to choose a sleepy Texas town for her caretaking job, far from her Florida hometown and the mess she’d left behind. Far from her mother’s threats that she had willfully ignored because she hadn’t wanted to imagine her mom would be truly vindictive toward her.
Even as Cal righted her, a bright light popped on in front of her, all but blinding her. A microphone entered her field of vision while a disembodied voice boomed, “Cal Ramsey, care to comment on your status in the league?”
Struck speechless, Josie gripped Cal’s arm like her life depended on it. She ducked her head and followed him fast, praying she didn’t end up on camera.
“This is Nate’s night,” Cal told them as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Then he pivoted her sharply in the other direction. “I couldn’t be more proud of my brothers,” he called to them even as he hustled her out of the limelight and toward the hallway where his security friend had greeted them earlier.
The security guard waved Cal and Josie through before planting himself in front of the cameras.
“Come on,” Cal urged in her ear, leading her through one of the offices and into a hallway they hadn’t been in before. “We can get to the parking lot through here. I’m taking you home.”
Her heart raced. And this time, it wasn’t with anticipation of a possible night with Cal—even though she’d been seriously debating it. Now, she was just flat-out scared.
Because if someone from her hometown saw her on the arm of a famous baseball player, her peaceful days in Last Stand were over.
