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Her voice echoed off the walls, but hedidn’tturnaround.
"Landon!" she called out louder.
Nothing.
"Landon, please?"
This time he did twist to face her, but he just looked at her with his arms out and eyebrows raised as he walked backward, cleats clopping against the concrete.
"Canwetalkthisoutplease?I’msorry,okay?"
She hurried to catch up and was already close enough to see that her apology didn’t soften him one bit. In fact, his scowl only deepened.
"Oh no sweetheart, we’re way past talking. You said everything you had to say, remember?"
"I know, but when I said everything stood, I didn’t meaneverything.I meant the part about not quitting my job, not the part about only wanting to sleep with a baseball player. That part I never meant. I regretted it the second I said it and I should have told you that days ago or at least last night, but my mind is just...I’m just..."
Landon cut her off. "Save it! Did you see what the fuck just happened out there? Do you really think I need you fucking with my head right now?"
Katieshookherhead,throatsotightshecouldbarelyspeak. But she had to try. "I know, I know and I don’t want this on yourhead tomorrow with St. Pierre. I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back in time and change what I said, how I responded to you when you said...what you said. I just lost it. Between Lori and Kyle and my mom and Lori. I lost it."
Landonhadzerosympathy."I’mdonewithyourgames,Katie. I’mdonewithyou."
"I’m not playing games with you," she said, but her insistence fell lamely flat in the cavernous tunnel, and it only brought more fire to Landon’s eyes.
"The fuck you’re not! I’m jumping through hoops like a monkey for you to make sure no one knows about us and you’ve already told all your coworkers anyway. Then you and Ellis sit over there giggling about how you played me. And ha, looks like you’re lining up Black next. Poor sucker."Landon wrapped his left arm across his chest to massage his right shoulder.
"Landon, that is not at all what was happening. And I can explain about Ellis. He’s the only one who knows. I’m so so sorry if I contributed to what happened out there. Are you okay?"
"Shut up, Katie! Just shut up! You said it yourself, you’re just like everyone else in my life, so don’t act like you care about my shoulder or my wrist or my feelings or anything beyond my fucking battingaverage."
He started to stomp away but remembered something and swung back around. Finally, he came closer, a little over arm’s length away, but close enough to hone right on to her with those intense eyes. Close enough that she couldn’t miss a word of what he said next.
"Let’s get one thing real fucking straight: If you think for one second that you have any effect on how I play ball, you’re more fucked up than I thought. Stay the fuck away from me or I’ll have you fired."
He finished stalking up the tunnel to the locker room where an empty cooler sat next to the door. He grabbed it by the handle and flung it across the hallway where it bounced off an ice machine, reverberating against the metal. The vibration floated through the tunnel and up into Katie’s feet, but it was his words that shook her to the core.
Mavericks Official Broadcast
KWDS Channel 4
WYATT:The forecast is calling for rain today, but right now it’s bright and sunny over JTM Industries Stadium. The Mavericks have a double header to finish out the series against the Pirates and despite his rather volatile departure last night, we have confirmation that Landon Ryan has no issues with his shoulder or wrist and he is planning to extend his hitting streak to twenty-eight and twenty-nine today.
BILLYBOB:But the big news coming out of the clubhouse this morning is the lineup change submitted by the Pirates. The standard rotation has Johnny St. Pierre as starting pitcher for game two today, but looks like he’s now going to be starting game one. As we all know, Ryan has struggled against St. Pierre, to say the least. Let’s hope this last minute change up doesn’t get in his head, which I’m pretty sure is what the Pirates are hoping to accomplish with this switch up.
chapter 40
Katie’s hand stopped mid-brush, toothpaste foamed up around her lips. St. Pierre was pitching the first game? Definitely a move to mess with Landon’s focus.
She spit and rinsed. She felt for him, but at the moment, it was just another pang to add to the aches and pains she’d woken up with. A night of more crying than sleeping had left her with a throbbing head and a scratchy throat, but she didn’t have a fever and Katie knew it was because it was her heart that truly hurt. It had broken and split open and she was physically feeling it from the inside out. Not a valid excuse for abandoning Ellis and Craig during a double header on any day, and especially not with Dr. and Mrs. Rhodes and thirty of their closest friends showing up.
Katie dragged herself through a shower and managed to twist her hair into a braid despite arms that felt heavier than normal. With Lori gone, she didn’t even bother dressing up for the VIP box. She just slipped on a pair of sunglasses to hide her puffy eyes and pulled a red Maverick hoodie over her polo before stepping out the door. The sky was blue, sun peeking through a smattering of clouds, but Katie already felt chilled to the bone.
The elusive Dr. Rhodes ended up in surgery, but the missus and her smooth faced, perky-titted friends were all there, lip glossed up and ready for the meet and greet a full hour before game time. When the players finally came out, Stella preened and pawed at most all of them, taking more photos than she could ever post on her Instagram.
Katie avoided her for most of it, and she was just about to make her final escape, only ten yards from the steps to the VIP box…
"Kathy! Oh Kathy?"
