The Lucky Charm (The Portland Pioneers) (25 page)

“She has you tied up in way too many knots. You need to get her out of your system. Only one way to do that.” Most of Foxy’s pop-culture sexual psychology was utter bullshit; Jack wanted to ask him if any of these one-night stands had helped him forget Tabitha, but Jack liked his nose intact, so he didn’t.

“I told you before, it’s not just about sex.” Six months ago, he would have laughed himself silly at his own maudlin sentiment, but then Izzy had hit him square in the face like a two-by-four and he hadn’t exactly been the same since.

Noah was silent for a moment, as if he was considering this, which was highly unlikely because Jack had said it about fifty times in the last few weeks.

“You haven’t told her she’s your lucky charm, right?”

Jack snorted with a lot more confidence than he really felt. “Hell, no. I’m not going to complicate this even further by making her believe she’s obligated to be with me so we can win baseball games.”

“You’re right. That’s a little messed up, even for me,” Foxy admitted.

“She can’t know,” he repeated. “And I mean it. No quotes to the media, no anonymous tips,
nothing
. You’re locked tighter than a safe on this.”

“Hey, chill,” Foxy said with faux defensiveness. “You know I’ve kept quiet about her and you. Not a word.”

“Sorry, I just worry,” Jack admitted. “The last thing I need is for anybody to find out and freak her.”

“Would that be the worst thing?” Foxy asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’d even ask that. Of course it would be. She’d flip out and then whatever we have now would be over.”

“What I mean is that the status quo is gonna change sooner or later. Maybe instead of letting all of this happen
to
you, you should do something about it and make it happen on your terms.”

Jack didn’t like admitting it, but sometimes Noah made solid sense. “You’re either insane or actually right.”

Noah just shrugged. “Things are going to change. Nothing wrong with making sure they change in your favor.”

“It’s worth considering,” he finally admitted. “I’ll think on it.”

And he did, long after Noah had switched off the TV and had fallen asleep, his soft snores echoing off the walls of the dark room. There had to be a way they could be together without Izzy losing credibility as a reporter. And if there was, he was going to make it happen.

“Days like today almost make me like baseball,” Izzy said with a gusting sigh as she leaned out of the press box and breathed in the scent of sun-warmed, freshly mowed grass.

“It’s my favorite part of the game,” Pilar admitted, using a lineup card to fan herself as she lay back in her chair. “The peace and quiet before the storm.”

Izzy turned back to her companion and took in her recumbent pose and closed eyes. “Aren’t we supposed to be doing the interview about your charity?” she asked with a smile.

Pilar just waved a hand absentmindedly. “Ask away. Nobody says I can’t answer questions and work on my tan at the same time.”

“What made you want to become involved with Sport Cares?” Izzy asked, staying at her window perch, ostensibly to breathe the fresh air, but mainly because batting practice would be starting shortly and like an addict, she needed to see Jack. There was something mesmerizing about the way he hit the ball, swinging the bat with his strength, the muscles on his forearms flexing. She’d be a liar if she claimed it didn’t turn her on.

“You really want to know?” Pilar asked, and Izzy glanced back to see her raise a questioning eyebrow.

“Of course I do,” Izzy insisted, and to her own surprise, she actually did. After Jack had left her room last night, she’d done some quick reading in preparation for this meeting, and surprisingly, she’d found herself envious of the purpose that Pilar Richardson had in her life. She united professional athletes with kids who needed their help.

Izzy blamed her own aimlessness on the fact that she spent most of her time shopping and applying makeup and listening to Toby rant about how bad she was at her job. The only part of her days that felt worthwhile anymore were the evenings she spent with Jack. She could only imagine how amazing he could be for a child’s life; just look at the way he motivated and taught and supported her. Instantly, she felt a pang of guilt at how she was treating him, but she pushed it aside. The last thing she needed to do was slip up when it came to Jack, and she’d deemed Pilar Richardson a pretty crafty lady. She couldn’t let her guard down. Not right now.

“Did you know I used to be a model?”

Izzy glanced back at Pilar in surprise. “No, I didn’t. But now that you say so, you do have an arresting face.”

The arresting face crinkled in disgust, and Izzy laughed. “No, seriously. That’s all I was. A face,” Pilar continued. “I woke up one morning and realized that I hadn’t done a single worthwhile act in years. Everything in my life was centered around the way I looked. Grooming. Makeup. Clothes. And I was never good enough; there was always something to improve. No time to rest on your laurels and just be
happy
. It was always onwards and upwards to the next thing. I quit and didn’t look back. A golfer I’d casually dated was involved with Sport Cares and I literally walked into their headquarters and told them to use me any way they could. I just wanted to help.”

Izzy wondered if it would be a conflict of interest for her to confess to Pilar that she often had similar fantasies. Well, at least about the quitting part.

“That’s a beautiful story,” Izzy said, trying to quash the part of her that just wanted to commiserate. This wasn’t therapy; it was supposed to be an interview.

“What’s beautiful is the way the kids change and grow after being with these inspirational figures. And sometimes it’s not even inspiration they need, just someone to talk to who understands. So many of our athletes came from poor neighborhoods and didn’t have any family to help them out. Giving back gives them a sense of purpose, too.”

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t totally jealous of the passion in Pilar’s voice.
Just finish the season,
that little voice in Izzy’s head whispered
, just finish the season and then you’ll go back to Seattle and Charlie and find your little niche of broadcast heaven.

She’d already given up on becoming a doctor; she couldn’t give up on this dream, too.

“Tell me what you’re doing with the Pioneers organization,” Izzy said.

“A number of players have mentorships with kids in Portland,” Pilar said, “and Hector goes to the OHSU children’s cancer ward whenever he can spare some time. Would you like details of the fundraiser we have upcoming?”

“I’d love that,” Izzy said, already deciding that she’d participate if only to make herself feel better, but deep down she knew monetary contributions even to a well-deserving charity weren’t going to turn her life around. Only she could do that. If only she knew what direction to turn it to.

“When are you going to air the spot?” Pilar asked, and Izzy forced her wandering mind to focus.

“I’ve got to run it by Toby first, but probably next week, during the home stand.”

“That’s wonderful,
chica
. Thank you so much for the publicity. We can always use it.”

“Anytime,” Izzy said with a genuine smile.

The crack of a bat distracted her, and she glanced out the window to see who’d started batting practice.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” Pilar asked, and Izzy glanced over in surprise to see that she’d stood up and joined her at the ledge overlooking the ballpark.

“Fascinating?”

“It’s such an odd sport. This hitting of balls and running around the bases. But there’s also something magical about it. The sound of a home run being hit. The crowd singing the seventh-inning stretch. Peanuts and hot dogs. The parks even have a certain smell to them.”

Izzy looked out over the field of pristine green grass to the intensely blue sky overhead. “It’s beginning to grow on me,” she admitted. “I didn’t understand the pull of it at first, but I guess it slowly wins you over, before you even realize it.”

“When I first met my husband, I didn’t know a thing about baseball, and didn’t want to. He’d volunteered for Sport Cares, and said he’d mentor two boys instead of one if I’d go on a date with him.”

Izzy couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “And you said yes?”

“I
had
to. We were just going national and we needed more volunteers. Most professional athletes have their own charity organizations that focus their efforts in the communities they play in. We needed him, and as I discovered, I did, too.”

Izzy thought of all the nights Jack had sat with her, coaching her, laughing with her, kissing her.

“He took me to the ballpark on our first date,” Pilar said, her faraway gaze suggesting she was reliving it now, in her own mind. “At first, I thought he was just plain crazy. But it was his way of telling me that this sky, this grass, this soil, this
dust,
it’s in his blood.”

“Did you ever learn to feel that way, Mrs. Richardson?” Izzy asked.

“Call me Pilar,
chica
, and yes, I did. Slowly at first, then suddenly, I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. I fell in love with baseball and with my husband together. They’re two halves of one whole.”

“An interesting thought,” Izzy observed.

Pilar turned and gave her a penetrating glance. “Baseball is a selfish mistress. She has a hold, you understand, and when a man opens a place next to her for you, it is not easily done. It
means
something.”

Izzy wondered if Pilar was trying to tell her something, and if it meant she had found out about her and Jack.

“The woman better be sure then, absolutely sure,” Izzy finally said, “before she accepts that place.”

Pilar gave a sharp nod of affirmation, turning her gaze back to the field that was beginning to fill with players.

“I’d better get ready for the game,” Izzy said, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure Pilar could hear it through the thin material of her blouse. She couldn’t dare stay and wait for Pilar to confirm what she knew or didn’t know. Suddenly she wished that Jack weren’t at batting practice. She needed him to wrap those muscular arms around her and reassure her that all was still safe.
They
were safe.

“Remember what I said, and let me know when you will be airing the piece,” Pilar said with a bright smile, as if she hadn’t just been talking about men and baseball and its mysterious, quixotic pull.

“Of course,” Izzy said, gathering her notepad and pen, and giving Pilar a completely fake smile in response. And then she fled.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

From: Corey Rood

To: Isabel Dalton

Date: June 29, 2012 @ 6:46 AM

Subject: Jack Bennett

Ms. Dalton,

I wanted to check in with you on the status of the story we discussed two months ago. Yesterday I noticed that Jack Bennett is currently leading the All Star voting at his position. Obviously I am not an expert on the proper timing of these things, but this seems to be an ideal point to release the story. Please let me know what your timetable is.

Corey Rood

“I
hate to admit it,” Izzy said, as Toby leaned back in his desk chair and perused the email she’d just forwarded to him. “But he’s right.”

Of course, Toby didn’t even bother to reply, which Izzy supposed was pretty par for the course at this point in their working relationship. If they even had something that could be termed a working relationship. Mostly, he barked orders at her, and lately hadn’t even bothered to contradict her when he didn’t agree. He’d just sit there like the chair in front of him was empty and her voice was merely a figment of his imagination. She’d stupidly believed that the worst he could possibly dish out was his patronizing sneer, but the silent treatment was even worse.