With a deep breath, her glare finally softened a bit. “If you ever—”
“Never again!” he said quickly and kissed her then wrapped his arms around her. “That’s for damn sure.”
This time he did pick her up, and thankfully she didn’t fight him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, leaning her forehead against his. “I think it’s safe to say this will probably go down as one of the weirdest days you and I will ever have.”
“I hope it’s not just the weirdest but the worst. This wasn’t a fun one for me, Addison. Well”—he smirked—“it got better for me there for a minute until my dumb ass almost blew it. But I think I know how to make it up to you.”
She smiled, squeezing her legs around him a little tighter and rubbing her crotch against him with a moan. “Hell yeah!” he said, picking up his pace toward the bed. “Time to turn this day completely around.”
Chapter 14
AJ
To AJ’s surprise, the next day during batting practice Bigsby came over to apologize for the incident on the field the day before. Like AJ had figured, the guy had only meant to mess with him in his usual not-so-funny way. Just like his shit talking always did, his attempt to lighten things up had come across too heavy-handed, and he said even his sisters in the stands had pointed it out after the game.
AJ told him not to worry about it, he’d probably overreacted because he hadn’t been in the best of moods, and they both let it go. When he finished talking to him, AJ walked over back to where Clair stood with her papa. She was eyeing Bigsby and the other opposing team members on their way back to their side of the field in that same wary way she had the day before, probably even more so now.
Yesterday AJ had begun to think he’d imagined the overly cautious way she’d eyed Bigsby. Then his mind had been quickly preoccupied with Addison and the ump. Tonight he figured her evil eye was even more intense because of the brawl in yesterday’s game.
AJ smirked, amused by the expression on her face as he ambled up to her. “Are you really that superstitious about mingling with the opposing team members? Because that’s one hairy eyeball you’re giving them.”
She shrugged as the expression on her face softened. “I have a lot of superstitions. Most I came up on my own. But this one is one of my mom’s big ones. She always says it’s bad luck to intermingle with the other players, especially the catchers on the other team. Growing up, she said she always thought somehow they’d be able to read her. She might unintentionally give up one of Papa’s secrets or something. Makes sense to me, especially given all the stats I have here.” She pointed at her notebook. “And here.” She pointed the pen at her pretty little head. “So I stay far, far away from all the opposing team players, but especially the catchers.”
AJ laughed, shaking his head. “Something tells me you’re too smart to unintentionally be giving away your papa’s secrets. But I won’t argue with your superstitions.”
He hadn’t given another thought to Clair’s reluctance to mingle with opposing team players until the last game in the St. Louis series, but only for a few heart-stopping moments.
Except for the day Addison had come down on the field to chat it up with Danny before the game, the following games of the series she hadn’t made it down from the stands at all. Her mother’s leg was acting up again, and she said she didn’t want to leave her alone in the stands. It was disappointing to have to wait until after the games to see her. At least in Los Angeles, their next stop, he hoped he’d see Addison more often.
That last game in St. Louis he’d been lost in thought getting his gear on, when he noticed Clair standing next to him but saying nothing. “Clair Bear”—he looked down at her—“I didn’t even see you there. You’re so quiet.”
She was staring out at the field, but he could tell she wasn’t looking at anything in particular. “If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to tell anyone? Not Papa and especially not my mom?” She glanced up at him, her big normally cheerful eyes uncharacteristically serious.
AJ squatted down to face her and searched her troubled eyes. “Well, that depends, sweetheart,” he said, feeling his insides heat a little.
Remembering her superstitions and how Addison had planted the seed to the biggest one—no intermingling with opposing team members—he wondered now if what had crossed his mind for a fleeting moment might not be true. Maybe Addison’s superstition was actually her way of protecting Clair but sparing her the ugly truth. It’d make perfect sense that Addison might feel concerned about her little girl around so many men while her papa was often distracted. It was an ugly thought but sadly reality dictated caution. Maybe Addison felt Clair being around the team members with her dad was safe enough but to allow her to mingle with a bunch of strangers was pushing it.
Could Clair’s secret be something ugly? “If it’s something they should know, I think I’d have to tell them.” He was almost afraid to ask the next question, but he did anyway. “Is it bad?”
“No”—she shook her head quickly—“I don’t think so, just something I overheard, but I know I wasn’t supposed to, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
That could be anything. AJ searched her eyes a little more, still unwilling to commit to keeping anything from her mom or Lara. He didn’t like this part of being her best buddy, but if this was in any way bad, he was glad she felt safe sharing it with someone.
“What is it?” he asked, hoping they could skip the promising.
“I think my mom’s been lying to me about not talking to my dad anymore.” AJ’s brow’s shot up, not sure how to react or what to say to that. Luckily, he had time because she continued. “She’s always told me she hasn’t seen or talked to him since before I was born. Lots of times when she’s on the phone she gets quiet when I walk by. I just assumed it was grown-up talk because it’s what she always says. But a few weeks ago, she didn’t know I was in the other room, and I heard her whispering in the kitchen on her phone. I wasn’t trying to snoop, I swear. At first, I wasn’t even paying attention.”
“I believe you,” AJ said, trying desperately to mask the deep displeasure he was suddenly drowning in.
“His name is Fred,” she said matter-of-factly.
The blow was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Had Addison really lied to him about something this big?
How heavily this weighed on Clair was apparent in her weary eyes, and it nearly killed him, especially when she added her next pleading comment. “But you can’t tell her I told you this. Please.”
AJ avoided making any promises because he had no idea how he could possibly keep this to himself. Instead, he hoped maybe Clair had misunderstood. “Why do you think it was your dad she was talking to?”
“The first thing I heard her say when I realized she was in the kitchen was something about the decision had been made a long time ago and they both agreed it was better that way. Like I said”—she shook her little head, eyes widening a bit—“I didn’t really pay attention, so she whispered other stuff I didn’t catch, but then I heard her say, ‘That’s not gonna happen, Fred. She’s never needed you in her life before. She doesn’t need you now and won’t need you then.’ Then she said she had to go and that she’d talk to him later.”