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“So he invited you first, not knowing you have a son. Definitely a date. And bonus points to Drew for inviting your son along.” Maggie lifted her mug in a toast before taking a sip.
All the talk of when Drew asked what made Baylee’s head spin. “Look. It doesn’t matter whether it was a date or not. He’s not staying in Silver Bay. He lives in New York. His life, his career is there.”
Maggie frowned. “I’m worried about him. I’m not so sure his career is going to be intact much longer.”
Baylee put her hand on Maggie’s. She’d forgotten Drew was Maggie’s half brother. Not long ago Maggie had found out she was adopted and that Kate and Drew’s mother, Rose, was her birth mother. It was quite the story.
“I don’t know him like Kate does. We didn’t grow up together. But he’s still my brother. I don’t like seeing him hurt. Or so down. He’s really worried about his future.” She smiled at Baylee. “I’m glad he went out with you. From what Rose says, if he’s not working with his trainer, he sits around all day reading or watching baseball games. He goes running in the morning, but early enough for people not to bother him.”
“I’ve seen him,” Meg offered. She was a runner and got up early every day to get a few miles in before work. Disciplined to the core. “And if I may say so, the man is in stellar shape. I’m not sure the extent of his injury, but he looks damn fine in workout shorts and a t-shirt.”
Baylee pulled her hand back from Maggie’s and looked at Meg, another rush of heating rising in her cheeks. “You are so bad.” She swatted Meg’s shoulder.
“What? You mean to tell me you’re gonna sit there and fight me on this? You’re dating him.”
“Oh, good gracious! Haven’t we been through all this already? It’s time for a new topic. Maggie, how are you feeling?”
Maggie proceeded to tell them about her every growing abdomen with a grin a mile wide. In truth, Baylee only half listened. Her thoughts wandered to what Meg had said. Drew was gorgeous. And she didn’t need to see him in workout clothes to prove it. She’d kissed the man, for heaven sake. Had her hands on his hips while he’d cradled her face in his. To think she’d considered telling Meg and Maggie about that. They’d have attacked that like a dog with bone. Grateful she didn’t, she brought her attention back to Maggie who now talked about the nursery for the baby.
It was time to get Drew MacIntire out of her head. He was leaving. She lived here. She had Casey. Too many factors. Not nearly enough pros to outweigh the cons. That rationale would work if only her heart could get on board. At the moment, it didn’t seem to care about pros and cons. It only wanted more kisses.
*
Drew’s feet hitthe pavement in a steady rhythm. It wasn’t as if running was his favorite pastime, but it kept him in shape. He also did some of his best thinking when he ran. Most of the time, thinking turned to praying. Something about being outside, his head clearing, brought his mind to God. His faith had always kept him grounded, especially in his career where temptation, greed, and arrogance tended to rule. Between his family reminding him daily of his place in this world and God’s truth keeping his head on straight, he’d navigated the major leagues fairly well so far, in his opinion. He kept his head down, his slate clean, and focused on doing the best job he could.
As if on cue, a twinge of pain shot through his shoulder, reminding him of exactly where he was in the world and the state of said career. He’d worked hard the past few days with his trainer, Tyler Vance, in a facility in San Jose, but he still struggled with controlling his pitches. Thankfully, Tyler was willing to stay longer on the west coast with Drew. Said the sun was a nice break from New York winter. He also said Drew was fine to throw full throttle. But Drew’s mind said otherwise.
It wasn’t as if he’d never given any thought to what he would do once he was done with baseball– every player had to retire sometime– he just hadn’t been real specific when thinking of his future past the game. It was all he thought about lately. Well, that and a beautiful blonde he’d kissed and now couldn’t get off his mind. He’d been a chicken since their picnic. Yeah. He’d own that. What had happened between them scared the crap out of him. He’d thought for sure that one kiss would satisfy his curiosity, but it bit him in the butt. Now he wanted more. But he didn’t have more to give. Not now. His life was in a tailspin headed God only knew where. And her life was solid. He wasn’t about to screw that up for her.
A glance at his watch told him he’d hit two miles. Time to turn around. He’d already run four miles early that morning. He preferred a time when no one was out, except for a few others like him hitting the streets early. The only reason he ran again was to help clear his head. Think about what came next, and maybe stop thinking about Baylee.
A “Hey, stranger,” stopped him short. Lost in his mind mess, he’s missed the fact that he’d jogged right by her. So much for getting her out of his head.
He turned, looking for where her voice had come from. She sat on a park bench. Alone. Her hair was held back from her face with a pink cloth band. The flowery dress she wore stopped at her knees, showing off her curvy legs she had crossed. Gold sandals adorned her feet.
“Hey.” The woman all but knocked him on his butt just sitting there. They looked at one another for a moment. His head said to keep on running and not look back. But his heart understood that his head was an idiot.
He pointed next to her. “Is this seat taken?”
She smiled. Man, that turned his insides. In the best way.
“Nope. But I understand if you want to keep going.”
For a second, he thought she’d read his mind and saw that he had indeed considered continuing on. Running away. From her.
“I don’t want to interrupt your run.”
Ah. That. He sat down beside her. “That’s okay. I’m on my way back. Almost done.”
“You run a lot.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah. Easy way to stay in shape.” He moved his shoulder a bit.
She nodded. “How’s it feeling?”
“A bit better today, actually.”
