Head Over Heels (13 page)

After a pause, Reagan said, “I was cleaning up from lunch and I heard him scream and slam the door. I didn’t know what was going on.”

“Daddy issues. He called Jarrod and Jarrod didn’t answer or call him back.”

This time Reagan cursed. “I swear I never let him use my phone until now.” Worry rose in Reagan’s voice.

“No, I know. He used a phone at a friend’s house.” Kari wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I told him no video games until I get back. He’s fine using the computer.”

“You got it, boss. So how’s it going over there?” Reagan asked.

“Not bad. As a matter of fact, the call that interrupted us was from Thane. He wants to meet tonight to talk business.” She smiled.

“Way to hit it out of the park. That’s great. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. Good luck.”

Kari would need more than luck to impress a player baseball analysts compared to some of the greats. If she wanted to be on better footing than earlier, she would need to get some good sleep in, and she would need to do some research. Did Thane need to stay with the Carolina Wrens? He would probably do better in New York or even Chicago.

Before she could think about any of that, she had something crucial to take care of right now. She punched in the speed dial to Jarrod, knowing, as usual, he wouldn’t answer. He never did when she called him. He would return her call a day or more later.

On the fourth ring, the line clicked.

“Speak.”

Kari closed her eyes and had to count in her head before she spoke. She didn’t want to start a conversation with the father of her child with an argument. “You know it’s me. Why would you answer the phone like that to the woman who had your first child?” Unfortunately, Kari couldn’t help herself with confronting Jarrod.

“On the treadmill.”

Lie. She didn’t hear any fluctuations in his voice or the sound of a whirring tread. She’d spoken to plenty of athletes who worked out while they talked to her. She knew the difference.

“No, you’re not, but it’s better than the truth.”

Jarrod sniggered. “Your spitfire edge hasn’t softened at all with age. Maybe that’s why you’re still single.”

“And your ability to lie will continue to help you bed as many women as possible. The last time I heard about you, you were up to five kids now. Or is it seven? I heard the last birth was twins.” She reached behind herself to unzip her dress.

“Are you calling to remind me again that you have my number-one seed?” Jarrod’s naturally deep voice dipped down lower.

Back in high school, she found that trait drop-dead sexy. Now the tone and the man producing it turned her stomach. How could she have been that stupid to have sex with him at such a young age and get pregnant? She would definitely instill in Michael the importance of waiting until marriage to even have sex.

“Enough about me. You’re calling for a reason. You normally do.” Jarrod chuckled.

“Yes, we are beyond the stage of having pleasant conversations anymore.” She took off her dress and draped it on the back of a chair. “I’m calling about Michael.”

“The greatest basketball player ever,” Jarrod said with enthusiasm.

“The child we named him after.” Kari had wanted to name him after her grandfather, the man who’d raised her for most of her life. She yielded to her man. Mistake.

“What’s up?”

Kari heard some beeping sounds through the phone. Maybe Jarrod had been on the treadmill. “He said he tried calling you. He’s ten, Jarrod.”

“I know how old our son is. My fiancée thinks it’s hot that I have a ten-year-old and I’m only twenty-eight.” He released a grunt that sounded pornographic.

Kari shook her head. “Fascinating. Listen, Michael is getting to that age where he needs a male figure in his life. He wants to talk to you more. He wants to see you more. He had to look on your Web site to see that you’re going to be on the East Coast in a couple of weeks. Are you going to be able to come by and see him?”

A pause lingered before he released a long, arduous sigh like she’d asked him for a kidney. “I don’t know. I have an important game.”

“Exhibition.” She knew better than anyone that those types of games meant the players could phone in their performances.

“And I’m doing tons of press. Doing a couple of morning shows and all the New York late-night gigs. I’m only in town for a couple of days before I’m back out on the West Coast.”

Kari sighed loud enough to show her displeasure to the man who’d helped create Michael. “He asks for very little. A call. A visit.”

“What? The money isn’t enough?”

Kari’s temperature rose the more she had to explain to Michael’s father about the role he needed to play in their child’s life. “No, it isn’t. He wants to see you.”

“I sent him a poster. I even signed it. If I see it up on eBay, I’m not sending him anything else.”

Kari could no longer bite her tongue. “Asshole. Pure and simple. I don’t ask you for much. I really don’t. I know ex-wife number one took half your money. And ex-wife number two took a couple of homes. I haven’t done interviews about you. I don’t talk about you. I don’t ask you for money. I just want you to be a part of our son’s life. Is that so hard?”

Again, he laughed. “Hard? You don’t know anything about having it hard. You like that career you have? Thank me for it.”

Kari bolted to her feet. “I earned my spot as a sports agent. I have the education, the background, and the passion for what I do.”

“Yeah, having a kid by Jarrod Townsend didn’t help you secure it at all, huh?”

The comment hurt her more than she wanted. It had been a niggling voice of doubt in her head for years. She’d never mentioned Jarrod in her interview and barely talked about the man at work.

Before she answered, before she ruined the fragile relationship she had with her son’s father, Kari took a breath. “Jarrod, we have a son to raise. We have to work together to give him a fully united family unit. He loves you.” Saying that took a lot of strength, but she managed to choke the words out. “Even though we’re no longer together, we have to work as a team for our child. A phone call to your son would go a long way.”

It sounded like Jarrod spoke to someone who must have been in the same room with him before he addressed her. “I give you plenty of child support. Use the money to bring him up to see me.” He disconnected the call.

Kari threw her phone into her open purse that sat on a desk. Jarrod did provide a substantial amount of money to support Michael. That money shouldn’t have to go to travel tickets to see his own father.

She would have to figure out something for Michael. Jarrod might feel comfortable disappointing their child. She didn’t and wouldn’t. For now, though, she needed a nap. She had a big night. Maybe if she could get Thane to sign a contract with her to represent him, she could be on the road and back home tomorrow. She could only hope.

* * * *

Thane didn’t want to go to Sharp, his mother’s clothing boutique.
His
clothing boutique now. After talking to Kari, he had planned on heading back to his hotel to get some more sleep before his date, well, meeting. Yes, meeting.

As he drove, he kept heading toward the Oceanfront area until he reached the boutique. The quaint spot reminded him of a typical beach cottage. It had probably been a vacation rental before his mother bought it and made it into a clothing store.

What attracted Thane to this place more than her other two businesses had to be the beach. Although the storefront sat on the other side of the street from the boardwalk, he could look out the front door and see the ocean in between the buildings. When Queen felt generous on the days she dragged him to work with her, she would allow him to go to the beach. She only asked that he return on time, and for him to not drag a bunch of sand back with him. Remembering that caveat brought a smile to his face.

He pulled his rental beside the small light blue building and sat in the car for a moment. With the chilly weather, the streets remained bare with the exception of some construction workers repairing the road for the upcoming season.

Thane couldn’t stay in the car forever. It felt like it’d taken him years to get to this point. As he thought about it, using years as a timeframe could be classified as accurate. Once he went away to college, Thane rarely came home. When he did, he didn’t visit Sharp.

He got out of the rental. The crisp sea air hit him first. The familiar fishy aroma wafted to his nose. The sounds of jackhammers and dump trucks replaced the usual beach noises. To escape the intrusive sounds, Thane unlocked the door and stepped into the place, then locked the door behind him.

Thankfully, his mother left the electricity on so the pipes wouldn’t freeze in the winter. He flipped a switch on the wall. The fan started spinning, but the light didn’t come on like he hoped. Great. He would have to replace the bulb.

So that he could see, he ripped down a sheet of newspaper that covered part of the front window. He didn’t remove all the paper though. He needed enough light to move around, although he knew he could navigate through the place blindfolded.

He put his hand out in front of him to feel for the display table his mother had in the center of the room. As soon as he touched it, he shifted to the side to make a beeline to the office area. Once he found it, he felt around the wall for an alternate light source. He flipped the second switch and the office light came on, which offered a bit more illumination to the main showroom.

Thane looked around the place. Nothing looked different, yet everything had changed. His mother wouldn’t be the one uncovering the display shelves and counters. She wouldn’t be the one selling her designs. She wouldn’t be here.

He went back into the office. The hardwood floors under his feet squeaked with each step. Thane felt odd taking a seat behind the desk. That had always been Queen’s spot. As the new owner, he would have to get used to occupying this chair and taking over her duties, or at least part of them.

Gunnar and Gideon had already taken over their inherited businesses and had been running them for at least a month or more. It would be business as usual for them. Thane felt so behind the eight ball on everything.

Elizabeth’s familiar floral scent immediately wafted up to his nose. In that moment, he felt like Elizabeth sat with him again.

Thane opened the desk drawer to see if he could find more clues about his mother. The slender top drawer offered nothing except for pens, loose change, stamps, and hard candy. He opened a side drawer. No surprise. It looked organized and straight.

He reached down for the first file and pulled it out. Instead of finding business documents, it contained sketches…
his
sketches. The first file had drawings he’d done at probably around age five or six. The crude drawings looked like he’d tried to sketch a man’s suit. From the thick blue lines, it must have been a pinstriped one.

Thane laughed at his failed attempt. He pulled out the second folder and found similar drawings he’d done. Twelve additional files contained his artwork. The last folder broke him. Inside, it held not only his sketch of his future baseball uniform, it also had a photo he hadn’t seen in years.

Tears filled his eyes as he stared at the shot of him and Queen sitting on the steps in front of her store. She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she kissed him on his cheek. He remembered taking that picture with his mother and had wondered where it had gone.

Thane dropped the picture and buried his face in his hands. He’d never imagined a life without his biggest supporter. There would be no way he could run her business. As soon as he could, he would have to figure out a way to sell it and go.

Kari glared at her watch for the fifth time in two minutes. To be sure it hadn’t failed, she picked up her phone and checked the time there. Yep, Thane Wells had officially stood her up. The restaurant confirmed they hadn’t gotten a reservation from Thane or any special requests for a private table.

Twice in one day, she’d been disappointed by a man. Unlike her situation with Jarrod, she could rectify this circumstance face-to-face. She stormed out to the hotel’s lobby. She wanted to go to Thane’s room and curse him out to his face. She knew hotel security wouldn’t let her go up. She had managed to skate by yesterday only because she had Thane with her.

She punched in the speed dial to call him. It went straight to voice mail.

“Damn it.” She called Chelsi.

Even outside of work, the woman could work magic.

“Hey, Kari. How’s our favorite baseball player? Sign him yet?” Chelsi asked with a playful lilt to her voice.

“No, and I’m pissed.” Kari paced the marble floor.

“What’s going on?”

“He called me.
He
called
me
and asked me to meet him at his hotel restaurant at seven to discuss business. Nothing. He’s not here, and he’s not answering his phone. I even used the hotel’s phone to call his room phone directly. Have you heard any news about him going back to spring training? Anything online about him?” Kari knew if the man sneezed, Chelsi would hear about it and let her know.

“Let me check something.” Chelsi remained quiet for a moment. “Nothing about him going back to training.” After another beat, she offered more information. “Okay, I did a Google search on his mother, Elizabeth Sommerville.”

“Why are you looking her up? She died.” Kari felt bad enough that she’d intruded on the woman’s funeral.

“I’m seeing if I can find out anything about her other than she had three incredibly hot sons. Ah-ha.”

Kari stopped pacing. “What?”

“The mother owned a bunch of businesses.”

Kari shrugged. “And?”

“A couple of months ago, Gunnar Wells gave up his illustrious MMA career to start his own hair care line. I’m assuming he has something to do with his mother’s hair salon,” Chelsi said.

The logic kind of made sense even though it still surprised Kari that this champion had given up his career to do hair. “Okay, what else?”

“Uh, looks like she also owns a flower shop. Wait a minute.” Chelsi made a couple of clicking noises through the phone. “Ah, there are a ton of pictures on social media of Gideon in some flower shop. I would say he’s got that place locked down.”