Getting Lucky (The Portland Pioneers Book 2) (39 page)

Noah popped the cork on the champagne and caught the first wild stream in the glass Maggie shoved in front of him.

“Thanks,” he said, sending her a grateful smile. When she tried to hand the glass back, he just shook his head. “That’s for you,” he said. “You deserve it.”

Maggie wasn’t sure that was entirely true. Mostly, the New Year’s Eve dinner had
gone very well, with a good turnout and lots of compliments on the food. Even with only diner experience, Janice and Hannah had done a really elegant job serving.

Really, there wasn’t anything for her perfectionist brain to pick apart, but Maggie still felt uneasy and like the evening itself felt somehow incomplete. The dinner had been fine, but it hadn’t been great. Maggie might chalk up her subdued attitude to the fact that due to her high standards in ingredients, the dinner hadn’t been as financially successful as she’d hoped, but the reality was that her mood had nothing to do with the dinner. She was silently stewing that Jack Bennett, Noah’s best friend, had come to Sand Point to convince him that retiring was a bad idea.

She’d just come to grips with the idea that he’d be leaving soon. She had believed that he’d be cleared from his concussion eventually, and that inevitably he’d have to leave Sand Point and for a while, they’d see very little of each other. It wasn’t like she could spend more than a day or two in Portland when the team was home, and he had only a handful of days off where he could theoretically come down to Sand Point. Maggie had given herself a very firm pep talk. It would be hard, it would be definitely be tough, but she loved him enough that it would be worth it in the end. The baseball season was long, yes, but it didn’t last forever. They’d be together again. After all, he’d bought a house
here and unless she’d wildly mis-read his attention and his off-hand remarks, he was remodeling it into a home for the two of them to share eventually.

Then Noah had gone and thrown a wrench into all her stoic girlfriend preparation, and announced he was considering retiring. Suddenly, Maggie couldn’t help the visions that kept floating through her uncooperative brain. It was probably too soon and the timing was awful, but she wanted forever and she wanted forever to start as soon as possible.

Just a week ago, she’d had been all ready to attempt a long distance relationship, but now Maggie felt nauseous at the idea of giving him back to the Pioneers.

“You look lost in thought.” Maggie glanced up and saw Izzy Dalton, Jack’s girlfriend, standing in front of her with a quizzical smile and her champagne flute dangling casually from her fingertips. Noah hadn’t said much about Izzy, only that she had held Tabitha’s job after she’d left, so Maggie definitely hadn’t expected someone so down to earth.

“Uh, yeah. I guess. It’s been a crazy week here,” Maggie admitted, leaning against one of the booth tables. After the last of the dinner guests had left, Maggie had invited some friends for champagne and to celebrate the New Year. Maggie had not been surprised to see that Noah had brought Jack and Izzy. Cal was over in the corner, talking to Jack. Noah was on the other side of the room, chatting with Rosa and Miguel and Ella Pomeroy. There was a pleasant buzz of conversation, but Maggie could just hear the music Noah had programmed on the jukebox. All in all, it was a good night and a good New Years, but Maggie just couldn’t seem to shake her melancholy.

“I can only imagine,” Izzy said. She paused, giving Maggie a wry grin. “I assume you know why Jack woke up one morning with a fierce desire to see Sand Point.”

“Of course,” Maggie said. “It’s not exactly a huge secret. Noah’s thinking about retiring. Jack is here to talk him out of it.”

“Noah’s been avoiding the conversation but Jack’s stubborn. It’ll happen eventually,” Izzy said with a reluctant sigh.

“Why is he so against it?” Maggie asked, because she was more than a little curious.

Izzy just laughed. “For Jack, baseball is the best thing that could ever happen to him. He worships it. He never wants to do anything else. When he finally needs to retire, we’re probably going to have to lock him up so he won’t hobble back onto the field. According to him, Noah’s giving up before he’s explored all his options.”

“But you don’t agree.”

“Noah isn’t usually a spontaneous guy, despite his reputation. He tends to think things through pretty well before he does them. If he’s decided to retire, he did it because it was the right decision for him. It’s not up to other people to make that choice for him, even if they don’t agree with it.” Izzy glanced fondly over at her boyfriend, who was laughing raucously with Cal, and gave a little shake of her head. “Jack does
mean well, and eventually he’ll see this whole thing from Noah’s side, but it might be a difficult few days before he does.”

Maggie finished her glass of champagne and gave Izzy a frank look. “You are
not
what I expected.”

Izzy’s face broke into a wide smile. “Can I say the same about you? I mean, I never met your sister, she was long gone by the time I showed up in Portland but her reputation did precede her.”

“Tabitha can be. . .difficult,” Maggie admitted. “Her morality is more flexible than most.”

“And Noah said she didn’t really mind
that you two were together now?” Izzy asked, so incredulous that Maggie could only chuckle.

“I think it honestly amused her more than anything else. Tabitha doesn’t get attached to men. Not in the usual way, anyway.”

Then Maggie glanced up and suddenly realized that Cal had joined their little group. “Uh,” Maggie stalled, really hoping that he hadn’t heard what she’d said. Tabitha was a pretty sensitive subject between them right now.

“Do you mind if I borrow Maggie for a sec?” Cal asked.

Izzy shook her head, a rueful smile on her face. “I think I’d better go make sure Jack hasn’t scared anyone off.”

When Izzy left to find Jack, Maggie glanced over at Cal. “What is it?” she asked.

Cal’s expression was so hesitant, so careful, her heart caught in her throat. “Is everything alright?”

“Let’s go somewhere. . .quieter,” he suggested. “I have something to tell you and it might be better if we weren’t around everyone else.”

Maggie followed him to the empty, gleaming kitchen, and regarded him warily. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to go out of my mind,” she told him.

Cal shoved his hands into his pockets. “I got a job in San Francisco.”

“What?” Maggie exclaimed. “You
what
?”

“I thought I would just say it,” he said. “I thought about trying to soften it, but I decided it was better this way.”

Maggie glared at him. “What the hell are you thinking? This is your home. What about your business? People here depend on you, Calvin.”

Shock, anger, hurt—a whirlwind of emotions she didn’t really understand—were swirling inside her. Was this her
fault? Had she driven him away by rejecting him? By picking Noah?

“Maggie,” he said softly, “I never wanted to stay here. Not like you. I wanted to stay in the city, I wanted to be an architect. I came back here to run my dad’s business, and that’s all it’s ever been to me—his business. And for a long time, I stayed for you, because I knew you needed the help.”

Maggie wiped an angry tear off her cheek. “Fuck you, Calvin,” she ground out. “I didn’t need your help. If you wanted to leave so much. . .”

“God, Mags, not like that. I knew this was going to be hard. . .” Cal murmured to himself.

“Is this because of Tabitha?” Maggie asked in a hard voice.

“No.
No
.” Cal shook his head vigorously. “Definitely no.”

“So what’s this job then?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s pretty bottom rung, but it’s at one of the biggest architecture firms in San Francisco. It’ll be crap at first but I think it’s a huge opportunity.”

Maggie hated the way she felt her anger softening. She wanted to stay angry forever, but the hope and the excitement in Cal’s voice was hard to miss. He wanted
this. He wanted it more than he’d ever wanted to stay in Sand Point. They were close friends, but she would never have wanted to him to stay here for her. He deserved everything he wanted in life, and if he knew he wasn’t going to get it here, then it was the right decision to leave.

She just wished that she wouldn’t miss him so god damned much.

“That’s good,” she murmured, glancing down at the floor. “You should take it then.”

“Maggie,” Cal chided, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a warm, firm hug. “It’ll be alright. I’ll come back. You know I’m not disappearing forever. Besides, you’re going to be all wrapped up in Noah, anyway.”

“Maybe,” Maggie sniffed into his shoulder. “He might not retire after all. Jack came here to make him change his mind and apparently they’re making him see some other expert in Portland.”

Cal chuckled, letting her go. “If you really believe that, then you haven’t been paying attention. He’s staying here. He’s been thinking about staying here for a while, I think.”

“When are you leaving?”

“A few weeks,” Cal said. “Lots to finish up. Noah has got a good grip on the rest of his remodel. He knows the subs to call. And it’s a good thing too, ‘cause he might actually take over the business.”

“
What?
” Maggie exclaimed, feeling the floor shift underneath her for the second time in the last fifteen minutes.

“I asked him and he said he’d think about it. But he really likes it and let’s face it, he needs something to keep him occupied. He’ll go crazy, otherwise.”

Maggie wasn’t arguing that. She’d been kind of dreading the first few weeks of the season, the first time Noah wouldn’t be playing in probably twenty years. But she’d never dreamed that he’d want what Cal had.

“He might not need the money,” Cal said, shooting her a soft look, “but he’ll need an occupation.”

“Yeah, yeah, he will,” Maggie babbled. “You’re right. I’m just. . . .it’s a lot to take in.”

Cal leaned back against one of the gleaming counters. “A lot has changed since he showed up in town.”

Maggie felt like this was the understatement of the century. She could look back on the person she’d been that early November evening, and it was hard to even recognize herself. So much had changed, her most of all.

“You’re taking a risk,” Maggie told Cal, “but you’re right to.”

A huge smile broke over his face. “I’m just glad you aren’t angry.”

“Oh, I’m not
happy
about you leaving,” Maggie countered as they walked back to the party.

“There’s the Maggie May I know,” Cal said, grinning.

Noah watched as Maggie and Cal disappeared from the party and knew that he’d made good on his promise to tell Maggie the truth and felt a little of his worry trickle away. She wouldn’t be happy about the news, but she’d be okay in the end. She loved Calvin enough to want what was best for him, even if she didn’t necessarily like it.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Noah glanced up and saw Jack standing in front of him, and for the first time tonight, he was alone. There wasn’t anyone to save him from this conversation.

“Maybe, a little,” Noah admitted. “You could have told me you were coming.”

“And have you disappear with Maggie before we could get there? No, it was better like this. By the way, your face was priceless when you realized I was here.”

Noah scowled at his best friend. “I was coming to Portland next week. Bryce was even going to set up a dinner. Anything you needed to say could have waited ‘til then or god forbid, you pick up a phone.”

Jack just smiled innocently, which Noah knew was one big fucking lie. “What I had to say you needed to hear now. By the time you make it to Portland, your mind is already going to be made up.”

“How do you know my mind isn’t already made up?”

“Please,” Jack scoffed. “You’ve been avoiding me. That’s evidence enough.”

Noah gripped his beer bottle and for the first time since he’d met Jack Bennett, wished the guy would just disappear and leave him alone. He didn’t need Jack reminding him of everything he was going to lose if he decided to retire.

And he definitely would lose things. He’d lose Jack like this, day in and day out. He’d lose the daily grind of baseball games, of nine guys banding together to accomplish something special. He’d lose the possibility of a ring—the possibility of being remembered in the history books. And while he’d definitely liked the monetary benefits of playing professional baseball, he’d miss the sport itself. He’d miss the weight of a bat in his hand and the steely, determined glare of a pitcher as he wound up.

It was all these things and more that kept Noah from saying with certainty that he was ready to retire. Deep down, it was hard to deny it was almost definitely the right thing to do, but Noah figured he was still in a mourning period.

And looking at Jack just made everything hurt worse.

“We’ll see,” Noah said. He didn’t really want to see the Pioneers’ new expert but maybe there’d be a miracle. He should be happy there was still a sliver of hope left, but he hated it. He wanted the choice to be clear, cut and dry, and require no effort on his part.