Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (47 page)

Quickly, I turn and walk back toward the house but not before Adam gets in the last word as he calls after me. “We’ll see about that!”

I slam the door shut and flip him off once he can’t see me. Giggles and burps greet me from the kitchen and I relax now that Grey’s mood has lightened since he’s not with his father. My phone rings and I answer when I see it’s my best friend.

“Hey, Ash. You wouldn’t believe the discussion I just had with Adam,” I tell her, using the code word so that Grey doesn’t constantly hear about Adam and me fighting.

“Well, tell me in a minute. I just got a phone call from Coach Piper… he’s moving.” She pauses before adding, “In two weeks.”

I sink to the couch and close my eyes. This can’t be happening. Adam will be elated to know the baseball coach is leaving town, which means the team will disintegrate. Meanwhile, the two boys in my kitchen will be devastated. Why do these things always happen at the worse time? Then again, is there ever a good time for bad things to happen?

CHAPTER 2

Jace

“Home sweet home!” Camila announces at we pull up in front of a run-down Victorian-style house.

I lean forward from the backseat of the SUV, moving between the front seats and squint, hoping the image in front of me isn’t real. The what was once white paint is almost completely peeled off, leaving brown decaying boards, the dead grass in the lawn matches the boards, and I can’t even count the number of shingles that are missing. The dangling Christmas lights are the only sign that anyone has lived here recently.

“Are you serious, Camila?” Upon closer inspection, I note that the frayed Christmas lights are no indication of the previous tenants.

Evan turns from the driver’s seat and narrows his eyes. “It’s my mom’s place, dick. My brother and I are letting you live here rent free so unless you’ve got money to fork over somewhere else, shut your pie hole.”

Evan gets out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Camila turns in her seat, her eyebrows drawn down just like her lips. “Evan’s very protective of his mother. She was an alcoholic and refused to let the boys fix up the place. She passed away last year and Evan’s vetoed any ideas to change anything or sell the house. The fact that he’s letting you stay here is a big step in his grieving process. So, please, Jace, don’t be an asshole about this.”

I sigh and lean back in the seat, staring at my new “home.” I turn thirty this fall and I refuse to still be living at my parents’ so this is better than nothing. “Don’t worry, Cam, but is it alright if I fix a few things? I don’t want the roof falling in on me the first hard rain that comes through.” I mean, I am living in Florida now and rain is inevitable.

“That should be fine…just don’t say anything to Evan about it.”

Camila opens the door and I follow her inside. Luckily, the inside is much nicer than the out. The decor is a bit dated, nothing like my penthouse in D.C., but it’s clean enough, even if there is a lingering scent of alcohol in the air. Camila gives me a hasty tour of the house and I note that Evan is not to be seen. When we get back to the front porch, he’s already in the SUV with the car running.

Camila looks at me with a soft smile on her face. “This is really hard on him, he hasn’t been back since the funeral.”

I shrug, acting like it’s no big deal. Besides, the sooner they leave, the sooner I can get inside. It’s only March but the heat is on and I can feel sweat beading on my forehead.

Camila lifts her dark hair off the back of her neck to feel the slight breeze in the air. “A few things before I go.” She hands me a sheet of paper. “You start your job at Dunn Hardware Shop tomorrow, the address and contact info is on here. Practice starts Monday for the Little League team you’ll be coaching to finish up your community service hours. I also included the phone number for one of Evan’s football coaches who will be your mentor. He’s expecting you to call.” She narrows her eyes when she mentions the mentor. She has good reason to because I probably won’t be dialing his number.

“Got it. Work starts tomorrow, coaching starts Monday, and call my babysitter.” The cocky grin I used to wear before my world got ripped away from me reappears until Camila digs her finger into my chest.

“I’m serious, Jace. Don’t screw this up. No drinking, no women, and don’t even think about going anywhere close to spring training.”

My old training camp is less than three hours away from my new place. Just because I’m banned from playing in the MLB doesn’t mean I can’t attend the games. I nod to appease her, but I’m not promising myself that I won’t go say hi to my old teammates.

Camila’s face lightens up and she pats my chest. “Glad we are on the same page now.” Her hand moves to my face and she rubs her thumb over my now freshly shaved cheek, she insisted I get a makeover for my new start and although I’m far from the man that I used to be, I now look like Jace Richards all-star pitcher and not Jace Richards hobo.

“Things are going to look up, Jace. Believe in yourself.” The engine revs and we both look at Evan who is impatiently waiting. Camila kisses my cheek and pulls away smiling. “Think of this as a second chance, another at bat.”

She skips down the uneven front steps but stops before she gets to the last one. Turning around, she pulls an envelope out of her purse. “I almost forgot. Mr. Walker asked that I give this to you. He said you should put it away for a rainy day.”

I shove the envelope in my back pocket and start to lean against the rotting pillar but then decide against it. I’d hate for my new place to come crashing down less than an hour after moving in. Their SUV drives down the long driveway and I watch until I can’t see the taillights. Camila’s always been good to me, even when I put her through hell and back as my agent and while Evan Purser isn’t my first choice to hang out with, I wish they would’ve stayed longer. My stomach knots and I feel like a kid on the first day of school—lonely and afraid, of what I don’t know. I’ve been on top of the world and knocked off my pedestal. Camila’s words ring in my head.
Another at bat
… it always took me a few swings to get warmed up. I smile, this is going to be good.

Laurel

“So did you hear who the new coach is?” Ashley asks, her blonde hair wrapped up on top of her head.

Sliding into the seat beside her on the bleachers, I look back at the parking lot. “It’s got to be a joke, there is no way the league would let someone like Jace Richards coach the boys.”

I have no idea how the rumor got started. Jace Richards’ isn’t even from Florida so the gossip is completely fiction. There used to be a Jace Richards’ groupie club around town since all the young, single, hot women would go to spring training and more than one of them came back gloating after making a mark on his bedpost. Even before he was exposed for his gambling scandal, the man repulsed me and if he ever hit on me, I wouldn’t even give him the time of day. Then again, my days of being a young, single, hot woman are long gone.

The watch on my wrist says it’s ten past nine. Holding up my wrist, I tap the screen. “Whoever the new coach is, he’s already on my shit list because he’s late!”

I feel like Adam making that statement except I’m not in a hurry to get anywhere. I’m a single mom who is a dental hygienist during the week with no social life on the weekend other than my son’s baseball. On the field, the boys are starting to lose focus as they’ve already been playing catch for twenty minutes and are beyond warmed up by now.

“Oh…my…god, it is
him!”
One of the moms exclaims and points to the parking lot.

Ashley and I rubberneck in the direction of the cars. The sun is directly behind him so it’s hard to make out his features. The man walking toward us is taller than your average dad, he’s got the muscular build of a professional player, but it’s the trademark faux-hawk that lets us know the rumor isn’t a rumor at all. As he gets closer, I can finally see his face and pictures don’t do the man justice. Those baby blues of his could make any woman be putty in his hands.

“Son of a bitch,” I mutter as the new coach strolls past us.

Ashley’s sharp elbow connects with my rib and she grins. “Son of a bitch it’s true or son of a bitch he’s one fine specimen of man?”

Jace strolls past all the parents, stepping onto the field and calling for the team to come over. The boys stand frozen, mouths gaping open as they tilt their heads back to stare up at their new coach. He says something again and the boys come running.

Glancing over at the other parents, they’re all grins and whispers. I roll my eyes, looking back at Ashley. “How is he even qualified to coach Little League? Did they run a background check on him?”

Ashley chuckles, not taking her eyes off our new coach who is bent over, hands on his knees with his perfect ass on display for all the women in the stands. “I think he has plenty of baseball experience to be qualified to coach.”

I throw up my hands in exasperation. “And you’re fine with a criminal coaching our kids?”

Ashley tears herself away from Jace’s backside only to find me staring at the same thing she was and she laughs. “He’s not a child predator, Laurel. The man made an unethical decision… just like Adam when he slept with his secretary.” She grins. “Sounds like he’s your type.”

Ashley’s been my best friend since kindergarten so she can get away with making a comment like that. When I was married, she knew more about my sex life, or lack thereof, than Adam did. When the bastard broke my heart, she’s the one that took me out to drown my sorrows and held my hair back at the end of the night. Groaning, I lean back beside her. She’s right, the league would be stupid to let him coach without running a background check so I’m sure he’s not a threat to our kids… as long as he doesn’t teach them ethics.

“Whatever, Ash. You know the chances of me dating are non-existent, especially a jerk like him.” I nod toward the field where Jace stands on the pitching mound, the kids filling in the other positions around him. We turn our attention back to the hottie in the center of the infield.

“Wow, what do you have against him?” Ashley glances at me out of the corner of her eyes. “Oh geez, Laurel, don’t tell me you’re one of the groupies that went to spring training and hooked up with him!”

I swat her leg and laugh. “No! You really think I’d keep that kind of secret from you?”

“Ow!” She rubs her leg like I really hurt her. “You’d better not. If you hooked up with him, you had better give me all the details… and I mean
all
.”

I turn to face her. “Is your sex life that bad that you have to live vicariously through me?”

“Hell no! I’m just saying that if you ever got in bed with a baseball god like Jace Richards then I’d want a play by play. Don’t get me wrong, Kurtis and I have a hot sex life, but his body is
nothing
like that.” She nods to the field again and we both subconsciously sigh at the sight in front of us.

“Duly noted, I’ll add that to our friendship pact. If I ever get laid by a baseball god, take notes and tell you.” Giggling, we pinky promise and watch the kids practice. We met in elementary school and some days, we still act like we’re still in fifth grade.

After a few minutes, Ashley asks again, “So for real, what’s your beef with Jace Richards?”

I shrug. “Everything I’ve read about him says he’s a cheater. He cheated his team, he cheated the system, he cheated on that trainer he was dating…”

“Oh, so you hate him because your ex cheated on you?”

Jace winds up again, whizzing another ball past the batter. “You know what they say, once a cheater, always a cheater.”

Ashley lifts her eyebrow. “Well, haven’t you heard, don’t always believe everything you read?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. Ashley has a point, I don’t know this guy. Maybe the tabloids lied about him, maybe there’s more to his story. I sigh, maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Then again, last time I gave a man the benefit of the doubt, I wound up divorced.

CHAPTER 3