Baseball and Other Lessons (Devil's Ranch Book 2) (17 page)

Matt, however, was apparently unaffected.

Jenn sighed. “Owen, it’s really not a big deal. Matt and I had a bit of an argument earlier, that’s all.”

“Is that what you call it?” Matt murmured in Jenn’s ear.

She elbowed him in the ribs and got a satisfying, “oof!” in return.

“And I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona. Seriously, y’all, I have no desire to play relationship counselor or Dr. Ruth or whatever, but I’ve watched you two dance around each other for the past few weeks and it’s getting ridiculous. And now you’ve dragged me into the dance with you, and I don’t like to dance. I’m not sure when y’all slept together—and don’t even try to deny it, because I’m not an idiot—but it obviously didn’t end well and you’re clearly avoiding the subject, but either you need to just screw each other again, talk it out or both because this is crazy.”

Nerves danced in her belly at the thought of Owen knowing and the thought of sleeping with Matt again. The nerves turned into a quick, clawing panic that threatened to cut off her airway. Hastily, she grabbed the purse Owen had been holding the entire time, spun on her heel and ran from the bar as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels.

Chapter Twelve

Matt watched as Jenn
ran out of the bar, torn between going after her, giving her space, and smoothing things over with Owen. In the end, he chose smoothing things over with Owen.

The decision was two-fold—one, his gut told him that pushing Jenn right now would be a bad idea, and two, he figured that in talking to Owen about what was going on he could maybe get some insight as to how to handle the situation going forward.

Matt gestured towards the pool tables. “You up for a game?”

Owen shrugged. “Sure.”

Owen grabbed his beer and Matt grabbed his water and they headed towards the relative privacy of the pool tables. Matt waited until Owen racked and broke before saying, “She’s driving me crazy, has been for years.”

Owen leaned over the table and lined up a shot. “How many years?”

“Ten.”

Owen looked up at Matt. “Seriously? Ten fucking years?”

Matt nodded and took a drink of water before saying, “Yup. Ten fucking years.”

Owen shook his head and leaned back over to line up his shot. “Now how’d that come to happen, and how the hell has no one ever picked up on this?”

“See, that’s the sticky part.” Matt watched as Owen moved around the pool table after making his last shot, and continued, “Long story short, ten years ago at a spring training game in San Antonio, we ran into each other in the hotel bar. I walked her back to her room because this holy terror of a jersey chaser who’d been stalking me was there that night. She invited me in for a drink and a game of cards. I don’t think either of us thought it would go beyond that, all things considered. But then a game of cards turned into a few hours of talking and when I went to leave, well, that’s when things went beyond a drink and a game of cards.”

Owen stood still on the other side of the table, watching Matt with an indecipherable expression. He had no idea what Owen had done while in the Army, but damn if he didn’t want to confess everything right fucking now before he lost a couple of fingers.

“So you slept together.” It was a statement, not a question.

Matt nodded once. “The next part is where things get a bit tricky.”

“Because sleeping with your little brother’s best friend isn’t tricky enough?”

“Well, there is that. Where things get tricky, though, is that I didn’t expect to feel the way I did and I freaked out. I waited until she fell asleep and snuck out.”

“I should punch you for that.” There was mild heat behind Owen’s words.

“I wouldn’t blame you.”

“So you were, what, twenty-five at the time? And you apparently had amazing sex—the details of which I don’t want to know all things considered——and freaked out because it wasn’t just physical. Then you pulled a total dick move and left without a note or a phone number or anything. Did I get the story straight?”

“Pretty much.” Jesus, when you laid it out like that it sounded even worse.

“What you’re saying is that you acted like almost every other dude has acted at least once in his life.”

“Well, when you put it that way…yeah, kind of. But it was Jenn that I acted that way towards, not some random chick I’d picked up in a bar. I mean, we’ve known each other since we were kids.”

“Right, that does complicate things. And knowing Jenn, her feelings were probably hurt when she woke up and realized you’d skipped without so much as a ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ The thing that I don’t understand is why she’s still mad at you. Ten years is a long time, and in the nine or so years she and I have been friends I’ve never known her to hold a grudge.”

Matt rubbed a hand over his head. “That’s kind of been my thought, but she’s stayed pissed at me this entire time. I can’t blame her—I was a total d-bag for doing that—but it’s like I keep taking one step forward and two steps back with her.”

Owen pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, because this heart to heart stuff is so not my thing, but don’t give up on her. I’ve never seen Jenn as flustered as she was tonight, not even when her parents moved out of town and threw her for a loop. Anyone with eyes can see the way she looks at you—that’s how I pieced things together in the first place. A woman doesn’t look at a man like that unless she wants to get naked with him. Something had to have happened, though, for her to still be pissed about what happened. I can understand irritated, but she’s been flat out mean to you at times, which isn’t the Jenn I know.”

Matt leaned a hip against the pool table, the game all but forgotten at this point. “She was flustered tonight because I’d kissed her earlier. And in defense of Jenn, she’s dropped the knives for the most part. I’ve, uh, been randomly showing up at her place in the evening, telling her I’m giving Jo and Chase some privacy. At first she wasn’t happy about that, but she’s started dropping her guard and letting me in a little bit. I know about her parents, too.”

“Wait. Jenn told you about her parents?”

“Well, I happened to be there when the delivery guy showed up with the latest shipment from her mom. She wasn’t going to open the box, but then her mom called and apparently goaded her into opening it. Those were some fascinating items.”

“More MREs?”

Matt chuckled. “Nope. Random survivalist stuff and a huge box of condoms.”

“I’m sure that went over like a lead balloon.”

“Jenn may have mentioned wanting to commit matricide.”

“I couldn’t blame her at this point; it’s gotten pretty kooky.” Owen shook his head. “Here’s the thing. I’ve said it before, but I really do love Jenn like a sister. But like I’ve told you before, I know you’re not the guy everyone thinks you are. If she slept with you before, that’s saying a lot since I can think of two men she’s had sex with in the past seven years, and then I’m only assuming since our sex lives have been topic non grata. The key is figuring out what really set her off and made her so upset and mad at you.”

“Yeah, but how the hell do I do that without pissing her off so badly she pushes me away for good?”

Owen shrugged. “Beats me. You’re the ladies’ man here. I do know, though, that Jenn’s a good woman, and I want nothing but happiness for her. Hell, I wish I could find a woman like her…but not. If that makes any sense.”

“Not a damn bit, but that’s okay considering we’ve been sitting here talking about feelings like a bunch of chicks.”

“Right. So how do you think the Wranglers are going to do now that the All Star Break’s over?”

Matt willingly followed the topic change, even if talking about his team was almost as frustrating as thinking about the red-haired woman who was driving him crazy.

#

Two hours later Matt pulled into Jenn’s driveway. He’d left April’s almost thirty minutes ago and had driven around a bit, trying to figure out what he should do next, struggling with the sense his life was spinning out of control.

His career was in the hands of other people.

His brain and skull weren’t healing as fast as he would like.

He had no idea what the future held.

He was tired of being a verbal punching bag when he wasn’t sure he deserved to be one in the first place.

The only one of those things he had any sort of control over was the last one, and even then the idea of control was specious at best. Considering he’d never been one to give up, though, Matt decided to grab the bull by the horns and get to the bottom of Jenn’s attitude once and for all.

This is either going to go really well, or you’re going to end up with another head injury.

Matt turned off the JEEP and got out, locking it behind him as he walked to Jenn’s door. He knocked twice and waited. After long moments, the door finally swung open, revealing Jenn with a frown on her face, her red curls piled high on her head, and those mile-long legs in a teeny tiny pair of boxers. She crossed her arms over her chest, making him realize she was wearing a tank top and no bra. His body tightened with the same response he always had around her.

Shit. This could be harder than he’d thought.

No pun intended.

Feeling slightly off-kilter but determined to regain some semblance of control over his life, Matt allowed his gaze to travel the length of her body—making sure to pause at the interesting spots—before saying, “Mind if I come in?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, Matt, I do.”

He adopted an air of calmness and hooked his thumbs inside the back pockets of his jeans. “Well, if you want to have this conversation in the front yard so all of your neighbors can hear, that’s fine with me. What’s one more YouTube video?”

Jenn narrowed her eyes but stepped aside. “Fine, asshole.”

Matt stepped inside, wondering when he’d become such a masochist that he was turned on by someone who sometimes seemed to hate his guts. Jenn closed the door behind her and walked back over to the couch, where she picked up a remote and turned off the TV.

“I would say I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m not.”

She heaved a sigh and flopped back onto the cushions. “Just get it out, Matt. What do you want?”

He stalked over to the couch and sat on the coffee table in front of her, took a quiet, steadying breath and said, “Well, after you left, Owen and I got to talking and it occurred to me that in the entire time you and I have been around one another I’ve never known you to hold a grudge. Sure, you can have a bit of a temper at times, but you generally seem to be able to forgive and forget. Yes, I realize what I did was a dick move and that you had every right to be mad at me—hell, I was pissed at myself. What I don’t understand, though, is why you’ve held a grudge for ten fucking years, and why you at turns seem to like me and hate my guts while wanting to get me naked. So what gives, Jenn? What’s really going on in that head of yours?”

She rolled her eyes. “I so do not want to get you naked.”

“Bullshit, but that’s also not the point here.” Matt leaned closer, lightly placing his hands on her knees. “I’m sorry for what I did ten years ago—I regretted it that night and I regret it now—but something tells me no matter how much I apologize you’re still going to hold this unexplainable anger towards me. Why is that, Jenn?”

She looked away and pressed her lips together. Matt stood up and headed towards what he assumed was her bedroom. He got halfway down the hall before she yelled, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Fact-finding,” he tossed over his shoulder.

“The hell you are,” she muttered. Seconds later she slapped his arm. “I swear to God, if you go into my bedroom I will castrate you.”

He winced internally. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“Not at all.”

“Threaten me all you want, but I’m going to get some answers. I’m tired of being your verbal punching bag.” He turned and began walking again, just steps away from her bedroom.

“Then why the fuck do you keep coming around, Matt?” Jenn shouted.

Finally, some honest emotion.

He turned around and walked back towards her, crowded her against the wall. “Because I like you, Jenn. Despite the fact that you’re almost always a bitch to me, and despite the fact that sometimes you act like you wish I didn’t even exist, I fucking like you.”

“For the love of God,
why
? I treat you like shit.”

“Honestly? Sometimes I wonder. But then I remember that night in San Antonio and how easy it was to make you laugh, and how much we had in common, and how it felt to be inside of you and I want nothing more than to go back to that night and do things differently. Then I think about now, and the times when you let down your guard and you let me in, and I see this amazing, smart, fun, loyal and absolutely beautiful woman and I wonder what it’ll take for you to let me in all the way, because, dammit, Jenn, I want in all the way.”

And there went any sense of control he’d had over the situation.

“You’re insane.”

Matt pushed away from the wall. “Seriously? That’s all you have to say? I’m insane? For the love of God woman, I’m standing here basically cutting myself open and bleeding for you and all you can say is I’m insane? Just let me in, Jenn, let someone in because something has obviously been hurting you for a long, long time and all signs are pointing towards me being the culprit. So please, just tell me something, anything. Tell me your truth.”