AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was interrupted by the door slamming as a dust-covered Tulsi tumbled in from the street. “Mia, I need lemonade. Stat!” She looked up, hand flying to cover her mouth as she realized she, Mia, and Clem weren’t alone. “I’m so sorry. I thought Mia said it was dead in the shop today.”
“It was until Bubba and Marisol stopped by,” Mia said. “There’s lemonade in the little fridge in the stock room. You okay? You look like you got ridden hard, instead of the horses.”
She wiped sweat from her dirt-streaked forehead. “I’m fine, I just got thrown trying to help break that new horse Reece sent to Daddy as a birthday gift,” she said, leaning stiffly against the railing to the stairs leading up to Mia’s apartment. “My sister refuses to send docile animals. It’s her revenge for Daddy changing the will, and leaving the ranch to me when he dies. She knows he doesn’t break horses anymore, and it’s my butt that will be hitting the dirt.”
Mia frowned. “I didn’t think Reece wanted the ranch. She hates it here, right? I mean, she comes home even less than my brother, and at least he has an excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse, it’s a calling,” Bubba piped up from the window seat.
He and Pike, Mia’s big brother, hadn’t been as close as he and Mia were growing up, but Bubba was as proud as anyone in Lonesome Point that one of their own had gone on to play pro ball. Pike had been the St. Louis Cardinal’s star pitcher for the past several years, and the entire town crowded into the local sports bars during baseball season to watch him hurl his fastball.
“I don’t know,” Mia said with a shrug. “Even Pike says major league baseball season is too much. It’s hard to keep your body in peak playing condition with that many games. Last time I talked to him on the phone, he sounded beat.”
“Pike?” Marisol asked, brows floating higher on her forehead as she placed a card on the deck. “Pike Sherman?”
Mia sighed. “One and the same.”
Marisol blinked. “You’re telling methePike Sherman, lady killer and bad boy of professional baseball is your brother?”
“He is,” Mia said, wrinkling her nose. “But I swear he’s not as bad as the gossip magazines make him out to be. I’m sure half of those stories are just conjecture and media spin.”
“Who cares?” Marisol said, an excited note creeping into her tone. “He’s huge, especially around here. You have to get him to show up for the benefit.”
Mia laughed. “Pike doesn’t sing.”
“He doesn’t have to sing, silly,” Marisol said, rolling her eyes. “He could do a meet and greet. Or a black tie reception. You guys could auction off signed baseballs, maybe one of his old jerseys, and—”
“But he hardly ever comes home,” Mia cut in, heaving a sigh as she began drawing again, adding to the already overflowing batch of cards in her hand. “I had to promise to name Sawyer’s and my first child Pike—whether it was a boy or a girl—in order to convince him to come be the Man of Honor in my wedding in a few weeks. It’s going to be the first time he’s been back in Lonesome Point in years.”
“But you’re getting married the weekend after the concert, so that’s perfect,” Marisol said, obviously not willing to let this go. “Surely he can manage to sneak away for seven days.”
“He might be able to squeeze in some time off,” Bubba said. “Couldn’t hurt to ask him.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll ask,” Mia said with a shrug. “Itwouldbe nice to have him home for a nice long visit. Maybe then we’d finally have a chance to hang out with friends as well as family. I don’t think you’ve seen Pike since high school have you, Tulsi?”
“I…I don’t know,” Tulsi said, shaking her head as she started toward the back room. “I can’t remember.”
Mia snorted. “Oh, come on. You used to have such a crush on Pike, surely you remember.”
“That was a long time ago, Mia,” Tulsi snapped in a sharp tone that wasn’t like her. “I’m not a dumb kid anymore.”
Mia blinked in surprise. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine,” Tulsi said, clearing her throat. “I’m sorry. I’m just…tired. I’m going to grab that lemonade, anyone else want one?”
“I’ll take one,” Bubba said, smiling at Tulsi.
But she didn’t return his smile, only reached over to pat Clem on the back and said, “Come on and grab your stuff, too. We should get going.”
“But I haven’t finished playing yet,” Clem said. “And Mia said we could get snow cones later.”
“We’ll get a snow cone on the way home.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Tulsi said in her firmest Mom voice. “Get your things and get ready to go right now, or you won’t ride tomorrow with Grandpa.”
“Yes ma’am,” Clem mumbled, setting down her cards and following her mama into the back room.
