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“You do that very well.” I spun around, pressing my hand to my heart so it wouldn’t beat out of my chest. Grace held up her hands, her eyes wide. “Oh dear, I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you.”
I let out a huff of laughter and shook my head. “No, it’s fine,” I assured her, unclipping my helmet as I walked over to where she was standing on the other side of the batting cage and shouldered the gate open. “I was wallowing in daydreams of the past, so I’m thankful you interrupted.”
My body screamed in delight as I stepped onto the grass and into the shade of the surrounding trees, finally escaping the scorching sun.
“It is nice to see you again,” she said with a bright and inviting smile. The infectious kind of smile that you couldn’t help but reciprocate. That was the energy she carried. And while Grace’s demeanor and long, pastel-colored dress were a stark contrast to her brother’s hard exterior and dark leather, the energy honestly felt much the same.
It was an instant feeling of comfort.
Maybe even safety.
It made me want to drop my defenses and let them in a little closer.
To trust them.
I’d spent years stitching up my heart, trying to mend the holes and tears in it and make it stronger than before, swearing to myself I’d never trust another person to get inside it. And yet, Hawk had somehow caught a loose thread and was slowly tugging, unraveling it all.
With each stitch he pulled loose, I knew he could see a little deeper inside, a little more about me than I thought I would ever let anyone see again.
And I was letting him.
“I can go if you would prefer to be alone.”
I quickly shook my head. “No. Please, sit with me,” I insisted, pointing to the park bench that sat a few feet away underneath a large oak tree. “The company would be nice. It will keep me out of my own head for a little while.”
She nodded, following me to the bench, her cute pregnant waddle making me grin.
“When are you due?” I questioned, holding my hand out.
She took it with a grateful smile. “Thank you,” she murmured, easing back onto the wooden bench, her shoulders sinking as she let out a satisfied sigh. “I am thirty-one weeks and two days, and being on my feet for more than a few minutes is getting increasingly difficult. Carrying two babies is much harder than one.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Two? You’re having twins?”
She nodded, gazing down at her stomach lovingly. “Yes. I have a lot more appreciation for what my mother went through with Taylor and me now.” When my surprised expression dropped down into one of confusion, her smile grew a little wider. “Hawk… he and I are twins.”
Of course they are.
That same energy.
“It seems like your brother continues to surprise me,” I mused quietly, speaking more so to myself.
“He is very enamored of you.” My cheeks burned red hot at her comment, her soft laughter only making the blush more intense. It’d been a long time since I had blushed at the mention of a boy, but there was something about the way Grace spoke that was almost otherworldly and made me feel a little like I was a lady being courted by a suitor. “I am very glad.”
Turning my body toward her, I let my head fall to the side. “You are?”
I wasn’t exactly sure of Grace’s lifestyle, but I could tell from the dresses she wore and the way she spoke that she was extremely conservative in nature. And I wasn’t sure how exactly someone like her could be so okay with someone like me.
She knew I was a single mom.
And I was positive Hawk mentioned he had talked to her about how we met.
He wasn’t exactly perfect either, but rules were different for family. We made exceptions for the people we loved.
“Where Taylor and I are from, relationships are different,” she explained, looking off into the distance for a moment as if she were considering her words before her gaze returned to meet mine. “I was fearful for a long time that he had a jaded view of love and that it may keep him from opening himself up to someone who could show him just how amazing that feeling is.”
Love was a strong word to use.
But I couldn’t help but know exactly what she meant because there were times I’d felt that myself. When you’ve been let down so many times by people who claimed to love you, it’s hard to let those kinds of feelings build again for fear of being hurt.
