Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (53 page)

“If it’s another asshole then absolutely I do. Come on, Laurel, didn’t you learn anything from Adam?” Evan leans against the counter, crossing his arms.

I jump up, taking a seat on the counter as I chew on a piece of celery. “Sure, I learned that men primarily think with their dicks and don’t care about anyone they hurt along the way so long as they get laid.”

Evan lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head. “Not all men, Laur, but for sure I’d say Adam Darbis and Jace Richards fall in that category.”

“First off, there is nothing going on between myself and Jace Richards.” I hold the stalk of celery in my hand, shaking it in his direction as I talk. “Second, how does Jace fall in that category?”

Evan rolls his eyes. “I know this town is pretty old-fashioned but you’ve got the Internet, right? All Jace wanted with Colie Adamson was to have a good girl on his arm that improved his reputation. He was fuckin’ all kinds of women behind her back. If that isn’t case and point of how you described Adam, I don’t know what is.”

I shake my head. “You really shouldn’t believe everything you read,” I repeat the words Jace and Ashley both told me.

Evan walks across the room, placing his hands over mine. “I’m sorry, Laurel, but Camila is best friends with Colie. She told her firsthand what happened.”

My stomach sinks and I glance back to the porch in time to see Jace storming off the deck around the front of the house. Quickly, I push Evan away and jump off the counter, running out the front door to catch Jace.

“Hey!” I yell at him, but he keeps walking. “Jace!” I jog down the front steps and catch up to him on the sidewalk as he’s walking away from my father’s house. Grabbing his hand, I tug on it and he turns around to look at me. A vein pulses in his forehead and he clenches his jaw.

“Stay away from me, Laurel. I’m a piece of shit and hurt everyone around me. I’d recommend you stay as far away from me as possible or you’ll only wind up hurt.”

I move my hand to his cheek, my thumb stroking that sexy hair on his face. Our eyes lock and his whole face is empty, void of any emotion except anger but looking hard enough, I know the anger only masks hurt.

“I haven’t seen any of that yet so why don’t you let me decide on my own?” His eyes close and he leans into my hand. Whispering, I tell him, “My daddy says you’re a good man, Jace Richards, and he’s never lied to me before. Show me that he’s right.”

Opening his eyes, Jace nods and wraps his arms around me. Easily, I slide my arms around his neck, inhaling deeply and taking in his sandalwood and vanilla cologne. I push Evan’s words out of my mind. Jace is trying, that’s what Daddy said so I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Just as much as my hormones are doing backflips, my heart is joining in on the gymnastics.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?

CHAPTER 11

Jace

Grey throws a fastball perfectly down the center of the plate and Sam snags it, sending it right back to him. I clap my hands together and he winds up again. The boys go through the motions of pitch and catch, the most basic fundamentals of the game, but instead of complaining, they both push each other to try harder, throw faster, to get better. This is the stuff that professionals are made out of and I’m happy to be a part it, encouraging them to follow their dreams.

Thank god Laurel talked me off the edge last Saturday. I was ready to throw away everything I worked for when she walked up to me and essentially told me to believe in myself, or at least believe in her father’s words. I don’t know what that man sees in me, and I haven’t known him long, but I know that I don’t want to disappoint him, or his daughter and grandson.

Thunder rumbles in the distance and dark clouds are rolling in. “Come on, guys. That’s it for today.” Fat raindrops fall from the sky and we don’t even have time to pick up all the equipment before the sky lets loose. The kids love it, taking their time to spin in circles, trying to catch raindrops in their mouths as we make our way to my Explorer. I open the door for the boys to crawl in back and Grey hesitates.

“What’s wrong?” I flip my head, pushing my damp hair off my forehead.

“I’ll get your seat wet.” Grey fidgets nervously, his eyes darting back and forth from my car seat to me.

“So what? It’ll dry.” Remnants of my hair gel roll into my eyes and I try to wipe it away with my fingers.

Grey’s face lights up. “Really? You won’t be mad?”

“Hell no!” My eyes get big as I catch my wording and Grey giggles, finally crawling in back and Sam gets in next to him.

I settle into the driver’s seat, wiping my face off with my work shirt before starting the engine. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I make sure the boys are buckled up before I back out of my parking spot. Classic rock plays through the radio and I turn it down so we can talk.

“Who gets mad at you about wet car seats?” I split my attention from the road and the mirror so I can see Grey’s reaction.

“My dad. He gets mad about everything.” Grey’s shoulders slump and he stares at the glove in his hand.

I can feel the vein in my forehead starting to pulse, a sign that my temper is getting heated. “He…” I clench my jaw, sick at the question I’m about to ask. “He doesn’t hurt you, does he?”

Grey shakes his head, not even hesitating. “No, not like that. He just yells a lot and doesn’t want me to bother him.”

I have to ask one more question and if the answer is yes, I’m going to find the prick myself and show him what’s up. “Has he ever…hurt your mom?”

“Not that I know of. Mom says he’s all bark and no bite so I shouldn’t sweat it.”

Forcing a smile, I nod. “Well, your mom’s a smart one. What about you, Sam? How’s your mom doing?”

Grey’s eyes shoot up to mine in the mirror and he shakes his head. I look over at Sam, who has a tear falling down his cheek, and I pull the car over. Shifting the car into park, I look back at him.

“Hey, man, sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” I reach back and pat his leg.

Sam wipes his eye and looks up. “I can handle it. I am the man of the house…well, I used to be. We don’t have a house any more, we had to sell it to pay medical bills.”

“Shit,” I mutter, not realizing it until Grey glares at me. His words put my life into perspective. I may be almost thirty living in some linebacker’s mom’s house but I’m not ten and homeless with a mother on her deathbed. “Sorry. Hey, Laurel’s not expecting us for another half hour, why don’t we get some ice cream?”

Sam perks up. “Chocolate?”

“Abso-fu—I mean, yeah, that sounds good.” Shit, I’ve got to remember my new best friends are ten, not grown men.

Laurel

“Where’s the kid?”

I roll my eyes. I hate when Adam calls Grey “the kid” like he’s some random stray dog we picked up and brought home. “Our
son
is at baseball practice.” I hand him a bottle of water and wait for him to tell me why he really stopped by.

“Don’t you think this baseball thing is going a little far?”

I scoff. “Too far? You’re the one that missed his birth because you were playing in the baseball state championship!” Seventeen and pregnant made my priorities change but not so much for Adam.

“I was a kid, what did I know? You ever going to let that go?” Adam shakes his head and takes a drink of water, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“Probably not. Now, tell me why you’re here?” I glance at the clock. Jace should be bringing the boys home any minute and I don’t want Adam to be here.

“All I’m saying is that with Bianca and me moving to New York, Grey’s not going to have time for baseball.”

“Why not?”

“Come on, Laurel. You know we’ll have to figure out a new custody agreement. Maybe he’ll spend half the school year with you, the other half with me?”

Suddenly feeling lightheaded, I drop to the couch. “Hell no, Adam! I’m not going to let Grey be away from me for months at a time.”

He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Well think about it, Laur, I’d rather us figure it out than have to waste money and go back to court.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something I’ll regret. Adam has more money than he knows what to do with but he refuses to spend any of it on his own child. It took all of my savings plus most of my parents’ to pay the lawyer for my divorce but when it comes to Grey, my parents and I agree that money is no object.

Adam’s hand is on my cheek and I pull back, not wanting his touch. “Laurel, don’t fight this. We’re moving to New York, but don’t think you’re getting rid of me. I
am
his father and I have rights.”

Adam lets himself out the front door and I curl into a ball on the couch, sobbing over the battle that lies ahead of me. I don’t understand him. Sure, he’s Grey’s dad, but he’s never been a father, never taken any interest in him or wanted to spend time with him. He’s only doing this because it’s his way of showing that he can control my life. He’s told me on more than one occasion that I took away his life when Grey was born and refused to leave town. This has nothing to do with our son and everything to do about getting revenge on me.

The side door opens and I quickly sit up, wiping the tears off my cheeks as Sam and Grey come zooming into the living room. They’re both drenched and I detect traces of chocolate in the corners of their mouths. Both of them talking at once, I manage to figure out that they were caught in the rain and Jace took them for ice cream. Laughing, I direct them both down the hallway to change into dry outfits. When I turn around, Jace is leaning in the doorway, his normally spiked up hair now flat and wet. He, too, has wet clothing and it clings to his sculpted muscles, giving me a better idea of what’s hidden underneath.

When our eyes meet, his smile fades and he takes a step toward me, his hands on either side of my face. “You’ve been crying.” It’s not a question, he’s stating fact.

I nod to the T.V. “Some sappy Lifetime movie, they always get me.”

He shakes his head. “Bullshit.”

I smile as he calls me out like I did to him. Pushing his hands off my face, I glance over his body, my stomach burning with lust and I force myself to look away from his pants. “You’re soaking wet, you should probably get home and change.”

“I’m not leaving until I know why you’ve been crying.”

I shrug and walk around him. “My ex stopped by—”

His hands move to my biceps and he holds me tightly. “He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“What?” I shake my head at the idea of Adam being man enough to hit anyone. “No! He’s too much of a pussy to do anything like that.”

Jace lets out his breath and pulls me against him. His wet clothes send a chill over me, but I’m warmed by the desire that’s coursing through me. He pulls away and looks down into my eyes, his hands lingering on my waist.

“If he ever hurt you or Grey—”

Slightly turned on at his protectiveness, I shake my head. “Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, but if he did… Laurel, I won’t ever let him, or anyone else, hurt you.”

Tears prick my eyes and I shut them tightly. “It’s too late.”

Jace’s rough fingers slide over my cheek. “Why? What’d he do?”

Opening my eyes, I take a deep breath, ready to reveal what I’ve been keeping to myself for the last couple weeks. “Grey’s dad, Adam, is getting married to his former secretary, the one who broke up our marriage. Him and the homewrecking whore are moving to New York and he stopped by to talk about a new custody arrangement.”

The tears don’t wait for permission. No, they just topple down my cheeks and Jace rubs his fingers over them, wiping them away, one after another. I try to pull away, mumbling as the word vomit begins. “I’m sorry. It’s not your business, I shouldn’t have said anything. You probably don’t care—”

“Laurel.” Jace says, getting my attention. “Shut up. Anything regarding you and Grey I care about and you don’t have to go through this alone.”

That’s all it takes and the tears come hot and they come hard. Jace Richards, why are you proving my Daddy to be right? I’ve been alone the majority of my adult life and didn’t mind it one bit. Now that Jace has made that statement, I never want to face anything by myself again.

CHAPTER 12