Dare to Kiss (The Maxwell Series Book 1) (30 page)

“But why? What do the triplets have to do with me playing ball?”

“Nothing. You’re not any different than Renee. Aaron has a few problems this year. He doesn’t like girls on the team. He doesn’t want anyone taking the spotlight away from him. And it’s no secret, the rivalry between him and the Maxwell brothers. Frankly, out of everything I just said, my biggest concern is Kelton. He and Aaron have butted heads in the past. Kelton has a tendency to stir up trouble, too. When he does, the brothers stick together, and fists fly. So I needed the Maxwell family’s guarantee they wouldn’t be a problem. Nothing more. I don’t want bad publicity this year.”

“So why not ban Aaron from playing?”

“He hasn’t done anything for me to sideline him. He’s a good ballplayer. I already had a talk with him. He knows what’s at stake. Now, you should get to class.”

I pushed to my feet. I had one foot out the door then turned. “Coach, will I be facing Renee again on Friday?”

He looked up from his computer. “Sometimes, Lacey, facing your fears scares the demons away.”

Chapter 21

A
fter I left Coach’s office, word about Tammy’s suspension spread at lightning speed. Kids whispered in the halls and classes. I didn’t pay attention to the gossip. A small part of me wished Coach hadn’t found out. Sometimes people who got outed only returned with a vengeance. I prayed the name of the witness stayed hidden.

Kade and his brothers didn’t bother me. I’d thought Kelton would’ve continually hounded me until Kade and I talked. Surprisingly, Kelton kept his distance in chemistry and throughout the entire day, as did Kross and Kody. Kody was my lab partner, but he didn’t bring up Kade or Aaron. Even Kade didn’t spare me a look in psychology. When I sneaked looks at him, he had his head buried in his book or looking at Mr. Dobson.

My trig and calculus tests were brutal. I didn’t feel good when I handed them to Mrs. Flowers. It was hard to concentrate when all I kept thinking about was baseball, my conversation with Coach, Kade, Dad, my life, and the list went on. Would Coach have me facing Renee at tryouts? If so, could I face her again without having a panic attack? Now that Coach knew about my PTSD would he treat me any differently? Given that he’d said, “the way to get over your fears is to face your demons,” I didn’t think he would.

Then there was Kade. I loved him so much it hurt me to see him and infuriated me at the same time. Would I or could I get past the anger and the pain? Maybe Dad had it right all along when he hid behind his work to forget and to ease his pain. Maybe I needed to focus on school and baseball and forget about Kade.

The next day was much the same. Kross, Kelton, and Kody barely said anything to me. Kade gave me a passing glance in the hall. My heart exploded into a thousand pieces at the sadness in his eyes. I’d given him a second chance at my trust. He broke it.
How could I continue to trust him? How did anyone learn how to trust
?

I was on my way to meet Mark Wayland. I’d asked him at lunch if he would work with me on the ball field. Since he would be catching tomorrow during tryouts, I wanted us to get to know each other. A pitcher’s success in part lay in the hands of the catcher. Catchers were more or less a pitcher’s coach. Mark had agreed to practice, which surprised me since he knew Aaron.

Tyler was talking to Mark when I walked onto the field. “Hey, Lacey,” Mark said, his red hair matted to his head. “Tyler was trying to give me advice on what pitches you need to practice.”

I appreciated Tyler’s interest in my success, and all the time he’d spent with me since I moved here, but he needed to cut the apron strings. I knew what to work on.

Tyler glanced at me, and shrugged the arm he had in a sling. “Are we still on for a shake tonight?”

I’d forgotten all about getting together with Tyler. “I’m sorry. I can’t. My dad needs me home.”

His smile faded. I didn’t want to tell him I was grounded. I didn’t know Mark that well. He hung out with Aaron. I didn’t need any more rumors going around school about me.

“I gotta run,” Tyler said abruptly. He tucked a hand in his pocket and started for the stairs.

I let out sigh. “Tyler, wait.” I jogged up to him.

“I’m grounded,” I said low. “Why don’t you come by the house later?” Dad had work, and Mary was supposedly going out with Mr. Wiley again. Tyler wouldn’t stay long, anyway.

“Great,” Tyler said as his lips spread slowly.

Mark and I practiced. I worked on all three of my pitches and focused on the slider, which was getting better. Mark even complimented me on it. After about thirty minutes, it started to drizzle. I continued to throw. He continued to catch and coach me. We lasted an additional thirty minutes before the dark clouds really opened up. Large raindrops battered down on us, which was our cue to call it quits.

By the time I got home, I was a wet noodle. I kicked off my cleats in the laundry room between the garage and kitchen, then found Dad with his keys in hand, ready to leave for work.

“Don’t forget tryouts are tomorrow,” I said.

“I know.” He kissed my hair. “Mary is out. She left dinner for you in the fridge.” Then he was gone.

I made a beeline for the shower. After I peeled off my wet clothes, I stood in the middle of the tiled bathroom, contemplating if I wanted to take a bath or shower. The more I stared absently at the tub, the more my mind started to conjure up images of Kade, naked Kade. Kade and me naked, bodies twined together. Kade on top of me. Kade inside me. Kade’s lips on me. Kade’s sad eyes at school today.
Stop torturing yourself
.

My inner voice scolded me all through my shower and as I dressed. I had to keep the little devil talking in my head so I wouldn’t break down and cry. Tyler texted me around six p.m. and said he was on his way. I loped down to the kitchen. Mary had made spaghetti. She’d packaged individual servings. I pulled out a container, popped the top and heated it up in the microwave. When it dinged, so did the doorbell. I went and opened the door.

The rain beat against the gutters, the sound dinging like a low note on a xylophone.

I waved Tyler in before pushing the door shut.

“I was just heating up dinner. Would you like a bowl of spaghetti?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said as he followed me into the kitchen. He made himself comfortable on one of the barstools at the kitchen island and combed his fingers through his damp blond hair.

While I prepared a bowl for him, Tyler asked, “How did practice go?”

“Good. I think I have my slider tuned up. Mark was great in helping me. I should do well tomorrow.” Aside from how depressed I felt over Kade, I did feel confident about my pitching—although if I thought about whether Coach was going to make me pitch to Renee, my nerves kicked in.

When the food was ready, I sat down next to Tyler.

An awkward silence grew as we ate. I struggled to find words. What could I say that I hadn’t already said to him?

“Lacey.” He set down his fork, his hand reaching out to touch mine. “I want to be more than friends.”

Whoa
! I hopped off the barstool, taking my plate of spaghetti with me.
How many times did I have to tell him I wasn’t interested
? Not to mention, he knew Kade and I were an item.

He followed me. “Hey, let me finish.”

“Look, Tyler.” I turned midstride, colliding with him. As I did, my spaghetti ended up on my chest.
Crap
!

He grabbed a dishtowel that was sitting on the island behind him, then handed it to me. I needed more than a towel to clean myself as the spaghetti had slid down my legs to the floor.

“I need to change clothes,” I said as I dumped the container in the sink. I also wanted a chance to clear my head for a moment so I could think of another way to let him down without being a bitch.

“Lacey, let me start over.” He stood a few feet away near the fridge. “I came here to apologize. I shouldn’t have been an ass to you. You’ve been clear with me. While I do want more with you, I won’t risk our friendship.”

I was officially an idiot for overreacting
.
Still, he should have started his speech like that in the first place
.
Could we even truly be friends if he wanted more? I thought about Becca. She was beautiful and a good person. Why didn’t Tyler like her? I studied him as he stood beneath the recessed lights. Softness shone in his eyes, but a muscle ticked in his jaw. This had to be hard for him.

“I’m sorry, Tyler. I shouldn’t have lost it. I’ve been a little on edge lately. Let me change, then we can finish talking.” I hurried upstairs to my room. I shucked my sauce-ridden clothes for an old pair of worn-out jeans and a button-up blouse.

The doorbell rang.

“Tyler, can you get the door?” I shouted as I crossed the hall into the bathroom.

It was probably a door-to-door salesperson. We’d gotten a few solicitors since we moved here. I used the facilities then washed my hands. As I made my way downstairs, I noticed a couple of buttons weren’t fastened on my blouse. I had my hand on a button when Kade’s fiery voice made the hairs on my arm stand at attention.

“What are you doing here, Tyler?” Kade asked in a tone that could cut metal.

I ran down, jumping the steps two at a time. I flew around the bannister, down the hall and into the kitchen. A knot coiled tightly in my stomach.

“It’s none of your business,” Tyler said.

Oh, God
. Kade and Tyler were nose to nose near the island.

“I think it is my business. You’re trying to move in on my girl?” Kade said through clenched teeth.

“What are you doing here, Kade?” I asked as I grabbed hold of his flexing bicep.

He looked at me, his gaze traveling down my chest, where it lingered for a second before he narrowed his eyes at me.

I glanced down.
Crap!
My cleavage was on display. “You should leave, Kade.” He needed to cool off.

“I should go,” Tyler said, backing away from Kade.

“No,” I blurted out. Tyler was my guest, and Kade wasn’t going to bully him into leaving.

Kade glowered at me, his nostrils flaring. Then he stormed out of the kitchen.

I’ll be right back,
I mouthed to Tyler. I scurried to the front door. “Kade?”

I followed him onto the porch, closing the door behind me. “Kade,” I called again. Maybe he shouldn’t drive in the state of mind he was in. I remembered the ride to the hospital, when he almost hit a car.

He turned from the edge of the porch, hands in his torn jeans, hair wet, eyes appraising. He glanced at Tyler’s SUV then back at me.

Leaves swirled and rustled in the yard. Water dripped from somewhere off the roof or the gutters.

“So you get mad at me then run to Tyler.” His tone was colder than ice, if that were possible, but his eyes flashed with hurt.

I clenched my hands at my side so he wouldn’t see them shaking. My emotions were on a death-defying rollercoaster ride—anger, love, disappointment, hurt, the cycle continually repeating.

“It’s not what you think,” I said quietly.

He glanced at my cleavage. “It isn’t, huh?”

I was convinced that anything I said wouldn’t help to soothe his anger or the pain.

Nature’s sounds: twittering, rain, leaves scraping together, drips, dings, everything but his voice or mine. He studied me for what felt like forever. My body shivered and not from the brisk air. Then he closed the distance between us, his lips infinitesimally close to mine. I wanted to crawl up his beautiful, hard body and kiss him to death. But his rage only served to heighten mine.

The hurt in his eyes cleared. In its place was a blank mass of nothing. When he brushed his lips lightly over mine, I turned my head. I wasn’t ready to kiss and make up, not in his state of emotional chaos, or mine.

He hit the door above my head with his hand.

I flinched.

He marched to his truck, taking long strides through the rain. I didn’t move until the sound of his engine became a whisper in the night air. I dragged my back down the door until my butt hit the cold wet porch. I hugged my knees to my chest and shuddered. Tears pooled in my eyes.
Did I just lose Kade Maxwell
?

After Kade left me at my doorstep, I’d gone back inside to apologize to Tyler. When he looked at me with puppy dog eyes, the dam of water burst. I’d tried to stop the tears, but they only got worse when he hugged me. I hated for him to see me like that. But the gentleness of his touch calmed me, and I didn’t want to be alone. We didn’t talk about Kade or the almost-fight between them. He just held me. I appreciated the quiet between us. The last thing I wanted to hear was
I told you so
. But a good friend wouldn’t say something like that.

Puddles of water dotted the road’s edge in the morning. The rain had quit sometime during the night. I should have been excited that it wasn’t raining because tryouts were that afternoon. I had one last chance at my baseball dream. But as I drove myself to school, all I had on my mind was Kade. The hurt in his eyes kept me awake for most of the night. I shook off the thought as I searched for a parking space in the school’s lot. I could understand why Kade parked down at the sports complex. I’d just found a space at the end of an aisle when I spotted Kelton, Kross and Kody leaning against Kross’s red Jeep Wrangler three spaces over from me.

I gathered my backpack, jumped out, and walked straight behind my car, between two parked cars to the next aisle. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I didn’t want to talk about Kade or hear what they had to say. Actually, given Kelton’s arrogance and how he carried me into Coach’s office, I didn’t trust him, and I wanted to try and concentrate on baseball, not Kade.

“Lacey,” one of the triplets shouted.

Grabbing the straps of my backpack, I walked at a brisk pace. I passed a boy with black-rimmed glasses.

“Kelton is calling you,” the boy said.

I smiled and walked faster, hopping up onto the sidewalk in front of an oak tree. I’d just taken one step past the oak when voices behind me cut through the soft breeze.

“Lacey, we just want to talk,” one of the triplets said.

Listen to them. Then maybe they’ll leave you alone.
I spun around. “What?”

“Whoa,” Kelton said. “Who pissed in your cornflakes?”

The Maxwells.
All three of them were a force to be reckoned with, standing together, their broad shoulders back, strong jaws jutting forward and eyes shining with confidence and determination.

I narrowed my eyes at the pompous idiot. “Kelton, don’t start with me today. Now, say what’s on your mind. I have to get to class.”

“We have twenty minutes before the bell,” Kody said as a matter of fact.

“I don’t. So talk.” I did, but I wasn’t telling them that.

A short redheaded girl with streaks of white through her hair passed us. “Hi, Kody,” she said.

Kody didn’t look at or acknowledge the girl.

“Would you and Kade please talk?” Kross asked in a sweet tone.

“Have you ever tried to talk to someone when you’re mad?” I asked as I pinned my gaze on each of them.

They held their backpacks on one shoulder, scrutinizing me like I was this weird chick who’d just dropped down from another planet.