Baseball and Other Lessons (Devil's Ranch Book 2) (24 page)

“Sorry about that. Something just struck me as being funny. Long story.” She waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss the entire incident. Jo’s brow was furrowed and Chase’s eyes were narrowed, swinging back and forth between Matt and Jenn. She purposely didn’t glance at Matt, afraid that if she did the jig would be up.

What the jig was, she didn’t really know. All she did know was that she still wasn’t ready for everyone else to know her business. Granted, not knowing what was going on between her and Matt probably played a part in that.

She was saved from having to make up something completely off-the-wall by the sudden ringing of Matt’s phone, cutting off the song. He reached in, picked it up and glanced at the screen.

“Sorry, guys, I’ve gotta take this.” He stepped away towards the pool and Jo got up to grab the platter of now cooling fish.

As they piled their plates with grilled, freshly caught bass, salad and roasted potatoes, Jenn kept one ear tuned to Matt. Just minutes ago he’d been more relaxed than she’d seen him in…well…ten years. Now, though, his body was tense, his jaw clenched. He rubbed a hand over his face and then his head—a sure sign he was frustrated about something—before stepping further away from the group.

Apparently whatever was going on, he didn’t want anyone else to know about it.

The realization caused a tiny pang of disappointed hurt to course through her. She fought to shake it off.

It’s not like you’re dating. Hell, you’re not even sleeping together.

Yet.

Shut. Up. The point is, you’re not sleeping together and you’re not dating, so you have no right to know what’s going on in his life.

But I want to.

Jenn almost dropped her plate.

Instead, she tightened her grip and sat back down. She smiled as she dug in, making appropriate noises and comments when necessary while watching Matt under her lashes. He rubbed a hand over his face again, and Jenn fought the urge to go to him and offer him comfort the way he’d offered her comfort last night.

Staying in her seat was harder than she’d expected.

#

“You have got to be shitting me.”

“Nope. I emailed you earlier but when you didn’t respond I figured I should maybe call before things blow up in the media.”

Matt rubbed a hand over his face and then his hair, feeling tension seep through every muscle in his body. “I’ve had a restraining order against that woman for years, Darrin, and we haven’t heard a peep out of her. Why now all of a sudden?”

“Who knows? Apparently she saw the video on YouTube and decided to concoct one hell of a lie about the two of you.”

“Fuck.”

Apparently his dear old stalker Heather had seen the YouTube video of him and Jenn dancing and had decided to start circulating lies on social media that the woman in the video was her rather than Jenn.

Never mind the fact that Heather had straight blonde hair and artificial breasts the last time he’d seen her, which was pretty much the opposite of Jenn.

“So does this mean the media’s figured out where I am?”

“It looks like Heather’s claiming the video was filmed here in Dallas, so for right now you’re still safe. That being said, it probably won’t take long until people start to figure out where that bar actually is.” Matt could tell from Darrin’s sudden silence that he was trying to figure out the best way to say something.

“Just spill it, Darrin.”

His agent sighed on the other end of the line. “What the hell were you doing dancing with some chick at a bar? You and I both know you’ve been cleared for social activities, but to anyone who doesn’t have access to your health record it looks like you’re living it up rather than healing.”

Matt tried to remember what all the video had captured. It had been taken from some distance away, so it hadn’t been an incredibly clear shot of him and Jenn. It had been taken from his left side, and he’d been hit on the right side of his head, so the video hadn’t captured the scar from where they’d stitched him back up.

“Any way we can spin this as an old video that someone just recently uploaded to YouTube?”

Darrin snorted. “I’m not sure if we could, especially considering the fact that it was just recently uploaded.”

“Seriously, D, hear me out. The video was taken from far away and the quality was kind of shaky. It was fairly dark in the bar that night, except for the lights on the dance floor, and those were colored. Everyone knows dance floor lights in bars distort things. There’s also the fact that the video was taken from my left side, and my scar’s on the right. Instead of just laying low and ignoring it, why don’t we get out ahead of this thing, be aggressive about it and make this story follow the narrative we want it to.”

“Did you really just say ‘follow the narrative’?”

Matt sighed. “Yes, I did. I find it hilarious everyone seems to forget I was an English major.”

“I wasn’t aware many people knew that.”

He shrugged. “They don’t. But that’s beside the point. My point is, we need to get ahead of the count here and spin this our way rather than letting Heather take the lead. We also need to show proof of the restraining order.”

Darrin fell silent again, but Matt could hear the tap tap tap of fingers against a hard surface. “Your idea has merit, I’ll give you that. I also agree that getting ahead of the count would serve us well in this situation, not only for your reputation but also for your privacy. That being said, I don’t know how far back we could go with this story, considering the song you were dancing to is a fairly new one.”

He hadn’t even paid attention to the song, had just been fascinated by Jenn and had needed to get close to her in whatever way possible. “How new?”

“Hold on, let me Google it.”

Matt waited as Darrin worked his search engine magic.

“Okay, I’m back. It’s not quite as new as I thought. Looks like it was released back in January so I think we should be able to spin this.”

Matt breathed a sigh of relief and his muscles began to relax. “Thank God.”

“I have to ask, though, who is she?”

And just like that, Matt tensed back up. “Who’s who?”

“The cute redhead you’re dancing with in the video.”

“Are you asking as my agent or as my friend?”

“Both. As your agent I want to know about any possible problems that might pop up. As your friend I’m curious about the woman you’re trying to protect.”

Considering Darrin was probably the only person in the world who really knew him, Matt didn’t even try to hide the truth. “She’s someone I’ve owed an apology to for a very, very long time.”

Darrin’s sharp inhalation was unmistakable. “Wait a second. Is that San Antonio girl?”

Darrin was also the only person Matt had ever told about that night, mostly because he’d been drunk off his ass one night about five years ago and had been feeling maudlin and nostalgic. “Yes, it is.”

“Holy shit, man. Okay. I’m going to run with your idea and see what we can do legally regarding Heather. I’m also going to see about pulling that video. In the meantime, try to stay out of bars, alright?”

Matt relaxed again. “I’ll try.”

“And don’t fuck this up with San Antonio girl again.”

Matt turned, caught Jenn watching him and smiled. “I don’t plan on it, D.”

He ended the call and walked back over to the patio.

“Everything alright?” Chase asked.

Matt smiled as he sat across from Jenn. “Fine. Darrin just had some stuff he needed to talk to me about.”

“On a Saturday night?” Jo asked.

He shrugged and met Jenn’s worried gaze. “You know how it is, no rest for the weary and all that.”

She gave him a little half smile, but he could tell she was still worried. “Everything’s good. No worries. Anyway. How’s the fish?” he asked as he reached for the platter of what was probably now-cold fish.

Everyone murmured sounds of appreciation, but his gaze remained fixed on Jenn. He gave her a reassuring smile, waited until everyone’s attention was elsewhere and mouthed to her, “Later.”

She nodded her head, smiled and went back to her salad as Matt thought about the fact that in just twenty-four hours they’d gone from Jenn hurling insults at him to worrying about him. The obvious concern on her face—for him—caused a slight pang somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. Idly, he rubbed his chest, wondering if she would ever stop making him feel like he was on the craziest rollercoaster ride of his life.

Chapter Sixteen

“So do you want
the good news or the bad news first?” Rene asked as soon as Jenn answered the phone.

Jenn closed her eyes and sighed. “Lay it on me, Rene. Give me the bad news first.”

She sensed her friend’s hesitation before the other woman finally said, “Well, the bad news is that the YouTube video went viral yesterday.”

“Seriously?” Why hadn’t Matt told her? Unless he didn’t know, but he was constantly on Facebook and Twitter—he would know if it had gone viral. Then again, he’d barely touched his phone yesterday and last night, except for that one call from Darrin.

“Seriously.”

“So what’s the good news?”

“The good news is that it was mysteriously taken down this morning and there’s some chick on Twitter bitching about it. Apparently she’d started bragging yesterday about the video, sending the link to media outlets and telling them the woman in the video was her and that she could give them an exclusive as to how Matt Roberts is doing and where he’s been hiding.”

Is this real life, or is this just fantasy?

Jenn groaned. “Do you know what the chick’s name was?”

Rene made a dismissive sound. “Heather something or other. She sounds like a total flake.”

Jenn collapsed back onto her bed and threw an arm over her eyes. “I cannot believe that bitch just popped back up.”

“Wait. You know this woman?”

“I wouldn’t say I know her. I know of her, and I’ve had a run-in with her in the past. Long story short, she’s not a nice person and Matt’s had a restraining order against her for like the past nine years or so.”

Rene whistled low. “Girl. I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself involved with, but this is almost as good as
Grey’s Anatomy
re-runs.”

“I don’t know if there’s a TV show on the planet that could compare to the weird mess that is my life right now.”
Or, y’know, the weird mess your life has been for the past ten years.

“So I have to ask…”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me ask!”

“Because I totally knew where you were going with that.”

“Where’d you think I was going?”

Jenn sighed. “You were going to ask me if I’ve slept with him.”

“I was just going to ask if you’d kissed him.”

“Bullshit,” Jenn laughed.

Rene tried to feign hurt, but then dissolved into laughs of her own. “Damn, you do know me too well. I take that as a no, you haven’t slept with him or a no, you’re not talking about it?”

“How about ‘it’s a really complicated situation’?”

“Girl, I told you, this is better than a
Grey’s
re-run.”

“You’re just bored is all.”

“Damn straight I am. I have to live vicariously through someone these days.”

Jenn rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure I’m the one you should be living vicariously through.”

“Girl, you’re sleeping with a super hot baseball star. I am so living vicariously through you.”

“I am not sleeping with him!” she exclaimed—loudly—just seconds before hearing her doorbell.

“Ooh. Booty call?”

“Are you for real?” she asked Rene as she climbed out of bed and padded towards the living room.

“I am so for real. Please tell me it’s McBaseball at your door, looking all hot and like he wants to ravish you.”

Jenn stopped in the middle of her living room and whispered into her phone, “McBaseball? Really? How many
Grey’s Anatomy
re-runs have you watched this summer?”

“All of them. Every. Single. One.”

“My God you need a life.”

“Like I said, I’m totally living vicariously through you.”

Jenn reached the door, looked through the peephole.It was indeed McBaseball—erm, Matt—at her door. She smiled and opened the door. Matt stood there, smiling back at her and Jenn said, “Hey, Rene? I’m gonna let you go.”

She could hear her friend yelling something about ravishing and baseball as she pulled the phone away from her ear. She tapped on “end,” and stepped aside to let Matt in.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your call.”

She closed the door behind him. “It’s okay. Besides, you had no way of knowing I was on the phone anyway.”

Said phone dinged in her hands. Jenn glanced down at the screen. There was a text message from Rene telling her to “Jump all over that and get you some.” Jenn shut down her phone. The last thing she needed was more suggestive text messages from her very married, suddenly inappropriate friend.