Delay of Game (The Baltimore Banners Book 6) (21 page)

She didn't know how to put those thoughts and memories into words to ease the pain from Justin's past. But she had to try. "Justin, it's not your fault. She was your mom. She was supporting you. You're not to blame—"

"Val, really. I'm okay. It happened a long time ago."

"But it's still happening. With your father. The way he treats you."

"Yeah, well. He's partly right." Justin stepped back, pulling his arm away from her. "I almost quit playing. Dad made me keep going. Said I owed it to Mom. To him. To keep going until I made pro. Then keep going even more. It never mattered how good I was, though, because in his eyes, it was never good enough."

Val swallowed, her throat thick with emotion as she watched Justin. He tried to shrug it off, to act so casual about everything he just said. Like it was expected. Like it was normal. She couldn't imagine growing up like that, couldn't imagine what it must have been like knowing his own father would never support him. That his own father resented him.

But she understood now, why Justin always seemed to believe he was never good enough. Some of his comments, his actions, made so much more sense now. Is this what her brother meant when he warned her that Justin was carrying around too much baggage? Was this what Mat had been referring to that afternoon at her apartment?

She didn't care. They could take their warnings and shove them. All Val cared about right now was the man in front of her. Not the man he was afraid he was, but the man she knew him to be.

The man she had fallen in love with.

The realization didn't scare her half as much as it should. She'd fallen in love with Justin, probably even before the accident. Knowing about his childhood only cemented that fact. Randy would call her a fool. Maybe she was, knowing what she knew now. But she didn't care. She loved Justin, his entire imperfect self.

Val stepped forward and threw her arms around Justin, holding him tight. She couldn't tell him. Not now, not just yet. He might think she was telling him out of pity and she didn't want that. No, she couldn't tell him, but maybe she could show him.

His arm came around her, slowly at first, like he wasn't quite sure what she was doing. Then his body finally relaxed, the tension easing out of him as he held her closer. The sound of his breathing echoed in her ear, deep relaxing breaths that warmed her. She ran her hands in small circles against his back and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. Holding, soothing, comforting.

Justin pulled back just a little and nudged her chin up with his hand so she was looking at him. "I didn't mean to dump that on you."

"You didn't dump anything."

"And I didn't mean to drag you into my dysfunctional family drama."

"You didn't."

"And I want—"

"I'm not going home tomorrow." Val leaned back, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not, so you can just stop thinking that way now."

"Val, you don't want to hang out at my father's while I go over everything."

"Then I won't. I'll drop you off when you need to be there and then go be a tourist. I'll fit right in."

Justin watched her, his eyes deep and filled with an emotion she didn't understand. Or maybe she just didn't want to understand it, didn't want to get her hopes up. He finally smiled, one of his tilted grins, the chipped tooth making him look young and almost boyish.

"Go be a tourist, hm?"

"Yup. I'm sure there's lots of stuff I can get into."

"Somehow, that wouldn't surprise me." He leaned down and kissed her, his mouth gentle and warm against hers. Val curled her hand into his shirt and surrendered to the kiss, her pulse racing ahead under his touch. And then he pulled away, ending it too soon and leaving her fighting to catch her breath.

"Well, if you want to be a tourist, maybe we should start with that ghost tour."

"Ghost tour?"

Justin nodded and wrapped his hand around hers, tugging her toward the door. "That's what you wanted to do, right?"

Val wanted to say no, wanted to tell him that she could think of at least a dozen different things she'd rather do—starting with the large tub in the bathroom and ending in front of the gas fireplace in the bedroom. But he was finally smiling, the shadows gone from his eyes.

Val glanced over her shoulder, her gaze darting to the bathroom. They were going to be here for a week, there would be plenty of time to check out the tub later.

"Are you sure everything's okay? You don't sound quite as excited as you did before you left."

Val fell back on the bed, kicking her feet up and resting them on the headboard before letting out a long sigh. Leave it to Alyssa to pick up on her mood within the first few minutes of their phone conversation. "Everything's fine. Justin's father is a major asshole though."

"What?" Val winced at the screech in Alyssa's voice. "Val, I can't believe you just said that!"

"It's the truth. He's just…he's a piece of work. The way he talks to Justin? It's like he deliberately finds fault. With everything."

There was only silence on the other end. Val imagined Alyssa walking to the office door and closing it, could see her friend's frown without even being there. A few more seconds went by before Alyssa spoke again, her voice softer this time. "Val, are you sure you're not reading into things? Maybe you're just imagining—"

"No, I'm not. Trust me." She thought about telling Alyssa what Justin had told her, about how his father blamed him for his mother's death. But she didn't. That was something Justin had shared only with her; she wasn't going to share his secrets, not even with Alyssa. "It's just not a good situation."

"If it's not good, why did he go home?"

"Because he thinks it's his responsibility."

"Why is your jaw clenched?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your jaw is clenched. I can tell, even over the phone. It's the way your voice gets when you're angry about something."

Val worked on relaxing her jaw then took a deep breath. She
was
angry. Not at Justin, but on his behalf. She didn't understand why he put up with it. It was one thing to feel responsible, to feel like you needed to help out family, no matter how dysfunctional they were. If he wanted to do that, then fine, he could just write a check and mail it. After meeting his father, that was more than she would do.

What she didn't understand was why Justin went over there every day, subjecting himself to the abuse. And no mistake, that was exactly what it was. It was almost like Justin thought he deserved it, that he was doing penance for something that he had nothing to do with. And it upset her, deeply, more than she thought it would.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Why are you angry?"

Val sighed then stretched her legs, easing her sore muscles. "I'm not. Not really. At least not that I can explain."

"Well that made sense. Everything okay with you and Justin? You guys aren't arguing or anything, are you?"

"No, of course not." Val rolled to her side, trying to stifle a groan at the twinge in her back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm lying on the bed stretching."

"Uh, why?"

"Because my whole body is sore. I went horseback riding today. For two hours. I don't think I can move."

Alyssa didn't bother to hide her laugh, the noise clear even through the phone. "You went horseback riding?"

"Yeah. It was a guided tour of the battlefield. Not one of my better ideas."

"A tour? But why horseback?"

"Because I already did the bus tour. I thought the horseback tour would be fun."

"Yeah, because you ride horses all the time."

"Stop laughing, it's not funny. I don't think I'll be able to walk for a week."

"Go soak in the tub."

"I will. I'm just waiting for Justin to get back."

"Okay, you didn't need to share quite that much." There was a pause, filled with the sounds of typing. "So that's what you do while Justin's at his father's? Go on tours? How many different tours are there?"

"Well, you can do a bus tour, a car tour, horseback, bicycle, Segway. Hiking. I think that's it."

"So which one are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I'm not. I'm all toured out." Val rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling. "And I'm bored."

Alyssa laughed again, her disbelief clear in the sound. "You've only been up there for three days."

"Yeah, but I think I've done everything. I went through the museum at the Visitor Center, saw the movie, saw the Cyclorama. And okay, that was actually pretty cool." Val counted off on her fingers, trying to remember everything else. "Did some shopping in the gift store—which is huge, by the way. I've been around the battlefield twice. Went on a ghost tour. What else? Um, walked around town—"

"Bored? I'd be exhausted. Val, you're not supposed to do everything all at once."

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Honestly, the only bad thing is all the kids. Apparently May is peak season for school groups up here. The little shits."

"Val!"

"No, I'm serious. You wouldn’t believe how ignorant some of these kids are. If we ever acted that way when we were in high school, our parents would have gone off on us."

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?"

"Positive. I was in the gift shop and this huge group came in and just destroyed it. Throwing things across the store, opening up the jars of jams and jellies they sell and sticking their fingers in it—"

"Okay, that's just gross."

"Tell me about it. Two kids even opened up some bottles of the Sarsaparilla and started squirting it at each other."

"The what?"

"Sarsaparilla. It's like root beer. I got some for you guys to try. I think we could sell it at the restaurant."

"Why?"

"Why not? It could be a novelty item. Maybe Jodi and Darrin could come up with some old fashioned floats or something. It would be different."

"If you say so."

"I say so. Anyway, if you guys decide to come up here, don't come in May."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem. I can't exactly see Randy going full-on history tourist."

"You never know, he might surprise you. How is big brother, anyway? Still moping?"

"Of course. I'm giving him one more day and then putting my foot down. He's driving me crazy."

This time it was Val's turn to laugh. Alyssa was experiencing her first real losing season with Randy and was having her own issues with trying to figure out how to handle it. "He'll get over it. This isn't the first time they've lost, and it won't be the last."

"That sounds so harsh."

"Maybe, but it's true." Val stretched once more then glanced at the clock. "I need to go. Justin should be back soon, I want to get things ready for him."

"I don't even want to know. Call if you get bored again."

Val laughed, said goodbye, and disconnected the call. Then she took a deep breath and rolled to the side, using the momentum to carry her to the edge of the bed. If she had realized how sore it would make her, she would have skipped the horseback riding.

Then she really would have been bored, with nothing else to do.

She grabbed some fresh clothes and her bag of purchases then hobbled to the bathroom. After a quick shower to rid herself of the horse funk, she ran the water for the tub, letting it heat. Then she pulled the few purchases from the bag and eyed them with satisfaction.

She placed the scented candles around the edge of the tub and lit them. Then she closed the drain so the tub would fill before adding a packet of bath salts. They were scented as well, but not too strong. And they weren't floral, which was a bonus. She didn't think Justin wanted to smell like flowers.

She wrapped a towel around her and hurried out to the living room, grabbing the bottle of wine from the small refrigerator. It was the one purchase she wasn't certain about. As far as she knew, Justin hadn't had any alcohol to drink since the night she'd carried him into her place. Not a drop. She didn't know if offering him wine was a bad thing or not. Or if he even drank wine.

She stared at the bottle, wondering again if she should open it or not. She finally grabbed the cork screw and pulled the cork, then took the bottle and two glasses into the bathroom. It was there if they wanted it. Nothing said they had to drink it.

Val looked around, surveying her handiwork. Water steamed in the tub, the mild scent of the bath salts mixing with the spicier scents of the candles. Chilled wine sat ready—or not—on the counter. The only thing she wasn't happy with was the bright light. Val reached behind her and hit the light switch. Not too bad. If it was completely dark outside, the candles probably wouldn't be bright enough. But afternoon sun still flooded the rooms, adding enough light that the atmosphere was just right.

The only thing missing was Justin.

As if on cue, she heard the front door open. Val yanked on the towel and tossed it to the side then climbed over the edge of the tub, wincing as heat washed over her. She turned the faucet so only cold water came out, then bent over and ran her hand through the water, mixing it so the temperature was more bearable.

"Val?"

Close enough. She turned off the faucet and sank into the water, sucking air into her lungs with a hiss. Then she stretched out, draping her arms over the tub in what she hoped was a sexy pose, and called out.

"I'm in here."

Justin's steps came closer then stopped just outside the partially closed bathroom door. "I just wanted to let you know I was back."

"I heard."

"Okay." She heard footsteps again, only now they were walking away.

"Justin, you can come in and keep me company if you want."

"No, I don't want to bother you."

Val swallowed a groan and resisted the urge to sink under the water. It wasn't supposed to be this hard. "You won't be bothering me, honest."

Silence. Had he already walked away? She took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "Justin? Could you come in here a second? I need help with something."

"What was that?"

"Oh my God." Val smacked her hand on the side of the tub in frustration then raised her voice. "Could you please come in here?"

A full minute went by with no reply. Val was ready to get out of the tub and go drag him in when the door finally opened and Justin took a step inside.

She didn't shriek. She wanted to, even opened her mouth to, but the only sound that came out was a horrified gasp. It caught in her throat, choking her and making her cough.

Dirt covered Justin, from his forehead down to the tips of his boots. Streaks were smeared across his face, blotches here and there where it looked like he had tried to wash them off. The frayed collar of his t-shirt was torn, the once-gray material covered in the same dirt that smeared his face. There was a rip in the knee of his dirty jeans and she could see dried blood on the exposed skin beneath the tear. Even the cast on his broken arm sported smears of dirt.

What horrified her the most was the bruise on his right cheekbone, a puffy reddish-purple with the tiniest cut at the outside edge. Somebody had hit him. Someone had actually hit Justin.

Anger tore through her and she jumped from the tub, heedless of water sloshing over the side. She climbed out, grabbing the edge so she wouldn't slip, and knocked two of the candles into the water. She didn't care, focused only on the man in front of her.

"Justin! Oh my God, what happened?"

He shook his head and held his hands out to stop her, taking a step back. "Val, don't."

"Who hit you? Justin, you need to get cleaned up. Need to get that dirt off—" Val stopped, her mind finally processing the smell as Justin took another step back.

"It's not dirt."

Val leaned forward, frowning. No, it wasn't dirt. The anger grew stronger, lodging in her chest, burning with its intensity. She turned on the bathroom light then grabbed a washcloth from the towel rack, fisting it in her hand as she ran water into the sink. Justin looked even worse in the light. "Who hit you? Your father?"

Justin looked away, but not before she saw the truth in his eyes. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Bullshit." She squeezed the excess water from the cloth then grabbed his injured arm, carefully turning it, trying to see if any dirt and muck had gotten under the cast. "What happened?"

"Nothing, just a small disagreement." Justin pulled his arm from her grasp then grabbed the washcloth. His eyes darted to her then down to his arm, a small blush coloring his face. "You, uh, might want to put on a robe. Or something."

Val glanced down at herself and almost laughed, but she was afraid it would sound too hysterical. Justin's father had hit him and he was worried about her standing in front of him, naked? She muttered a few curse words then grabbed one of the robes hanging on the back of the door. "It's not like you haven't already seen everything."

Justin glanced up at her, the corner of his mouth lifting in a small smile. Then he looked at the tub, at the candles on the ledge and the bottle of wine on the counter. The smile faded and he looked away, brushing at the mess surrounding his cast.

"Looks like I need to add one more thing to the list of things I fucked up."

"Stop it!" The shrillness of her voice startled both of them but she didn't care. Val stepped forward, pushing her finger against Justin's broad chest. "Just stop it! You're not a fuck-up, Justin.
You
didn't fuck anything up. I'm tired of hearing you say that."