Making a Comeback (19 page)

Santiago was the kind of hitter who would stare down a pitcher, daring him to throw his best pitch. It felt as if he was daring Cooper to make a mistake. But instead of challenging him on the field, he was challenging him over Annabelle.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me how special Annabelle is.” Cooper couldn’t help but be a little defensive.

“No, I don’t.” Marco gave a slight shake of his head.

Cooper started throwing the steaks on the grill. He felt like he was on trial here. It was almost like when he’d given his testimony to the league during the preliminary hearings in the FITNatural investigation. He’d given his answers as honestly and completely as possible and it still felt like they didn’t believe him.

“I certainly don’t want her to get hurt.” It was too soon to turn the steaks, but Cooper felt like he should be doing something. Anything to take the pressure off.

“You care about her,” Marco acknowledged.

“Yes. And her daughters, too.” Cooper smiled, thinking of how special Sophie and Olivia were. How attached he’d become in such a short time.

“They’re sweet.” Marco took a step towards him. “But can you tell them apart?”

“Yeah. Actually I can.” Cooper turned to face the other man. “First of all, Olivia is usually in pink. She’s a little more girly. And Sophie is more… Outgoing. Confident. She’s like Annabelle in some ways.”

“Yeah?”

“But even though Olivia is a little more hesitant, she’s very loyal.” Cooper’s heart swelled a little knowing she’d accepted him.

“Also like her mother.” Marco gave a little nod.

“How well do you know Annabelle?” Cooper wasn’t crazy about the idea that she’d been with Marco.

“We dated about eight years ago.” At the height of her career.

Cooper just gave a nod.

“She was beautiful and sweet,” Marco said. “But she was pretty insecure, especially for someone who’d been on the cover of
Sports Illustrated
. But then I guess we were all pretty insecure at twenty.”

“Yeah. Insecure and cocky at the same time. Not a good combination.” Cooper remembered what he’d been like at that age. No good for anyone.

“I guess I started thinking she couldn’t handle the lifestyle.” Marco was now the one sounding defensive. Like he had to explain himself to the other man. “Would she need constant reassurance when I was on the road? The last thing you want to think about when you’re trying to get your career off the ground is having to calm your girlfriend down before every road trip.”

“Guess you don’t have to worry about that with Hunter?”

“No. She’s got faith in me.” Marco’s face lit in a goofy grin. He was one hundred percent in love with his wife. “It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. To have someone who believes in you even when you don’t believe in yourself. Especially when you don’t believe in yourself.”

Cooper turned back to the grill. He was starting to feel like he knew what Marco was talking about. Annabelle believed in him even after she learned about his steroid use. She still wanted him. It wasn’t anything like Hunter giving up her team for Marco, but it was something. Something he could build on.

“Hey, you need another beer?” Marco asked.

“No. I’m good.” For the first time in a long time, he really was.

Marco disappeared into the house and returned with another beer for himself. “I think the ladies are talking about us in there. They got real quiet when I went into the kitchen.”

“I’m sure they are.”

“I almost get the feeling Annabelle is worried about us out here.” Marco tilted the bottle and took a quick sip. “Maybe she’s just used to the way her ex acted when any other men dared even look at her. The guy was a real jerk.”

“Yeah. I always got that feeling about him.” Cooper didn’t really want to think about the man Annabelle was technically still married to, let alone talk about him. “But there must have been something appealing about him. She did marry him. He gave her two wonderful children.”

“The guy doesn’t deserve them.” Marco had a lot of contempt for the man. “When I think of how he could have brought down the Goliaths… He could have ruined Hunter.”

“Yeah, well he wasn’t the only one who put the Goliaths in a bad position.” The sick feeling returned to Cooper’s stomach. “Your wife was smart to get rid of me.”

“Yeah. I almost forgot you were involved.”

“I can never forget.” Cooper downed the last half of his now warm beer. “And I’m sure there are a lot of people that will make sure I don’t ever forget my mistake.”

Marco made a grunting noise. It wasn’t a comfortable topic of conversation. But Marco wouldn’t have to keep having the conversation for the rest of his life.

“Are you looking forward to going down to spring training in a few weeks?” Cooper was more than a little envious. “This year’s going to be a lot different coming off a World Series win.”

“Yeah.” Marco sounded less than enthusiastic. “I mean, I’m ready to get back to work. I have a lot to prove with the new contract. And defending the title is going to be tough. But we’ve got a solid team. We only lost a few guys. I just hope we can replace Scottsdale.”

“I can’t believe he retired. Man, that guy is a legend.” Cooper just shook his head, wishing he hadn’t screwed up and would have had the chance to go through the season with the man. “But I guess if anyone deserved to go out like he did, it would be The Monk.”

“He is going out at the top of his game. He’s got nothing left to prove. The man’s got two Cy Young Awards, a perfect game, and as soon as they’re back from the designer, he’ll have his World Series ring.” The conversation was starting to flow, now that they were talking about baseball.

“You’ll have that ring, too.” Envy gnawed at Cooper. He should have been a part of that team. And it was his own damn fault he hadn’t been.

“Oh, I’ve already got the most important ring there is.” Marco glanced down at his left hand. The he looked at his beer and shook his head. “Oh man, listen to me. You’re gonna have to call the league. Have them come take my man card.”

“Nah.” It wasn’t just missing out on the World Series that made him jealous of Marco. “But it’s not like the league would listen to me anyway.”

“You think you’re the first guy to make a mistake?” Marco took a long drink. “And sad to say, but you won’t be the last. If you hadn’t gotten hurt, you’d be counting the days until you have to report.”

“If I hadn’t gotten hurt…” Cooper let out a frustrated breath. “I wouldn’t have your contract, but I’d be in pretty good shape.”

“You’re still in your prime.” Marco said. “You’ve got a lot of baseball left in you.”

“That’s what I thought. I figured I’d be one of those guys they’d have to pry the ball out of my cold, dead hand.”

“There’s nothing worse than a guy who should’ve quit a long time ago but doesn’t see it.”

“Yeah. It’s almost painful.”

“Then there are the guys who quit too soon.” Marco shook his head again. “I mean, is Johnny Scottsdale going to wake up in a few years and wonder if he still had it in him?”

“Probably.” Cooper had asked himself that same question many times in the last few months.

“See, that’s the thing.” Marco sat down in one of the patio chairs. “I worry about Hunter. I don’t think walking away from the game is going to be any easier on her than it is for us players.”

“Yeah, but she can always come back.”

“True. She doesn’t have to worry about her age catching up with her.” Marco stretched out his legs. “She’ll be back. By the time I’ve got to be dragged out of the game, she’ll be ready to step back in. I just hope…”

Marco shifted in his chair. He was restless. “I just hope she doesn’t resent me for taking her away from her work. Maybe it would be easier if we had kids.”

Cooper didn’t know what to say. He barely knew the guy, yet he was sharing some personal stuff. Maybe a little too personal.

“These steaks are about done.” Cooper removed the steaks one by one, placing them on the clean platter Annabelle had provided for him.

“Let’s eat.” Marco stood, grabbed his beer bottle and the empties, and followed Cooper into the house.

Dinner was going along smoothly when Sophie picked up a green bean, bit it in half, and turned to Cooper. “So are you my mom’s boyfriend?”

He carefully set his fork down, swallowed, and gave Annabelle a look that was a cross between a plea for help and a question of his own.

“What makes you ask that, sweetheart?” Annabelle wondered how much her daughters had seen, heard, or imagined about her relationship with Cooper.

“I don’t know?” She popped the other half of her green bean into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “It just seems like he should be your boyfriend.”

Annabelle snuck a peek at his face. He was smiling. Maybe he agreed with Sophie’s assessment.

“He’s your friend. And he’s a boy.” Olivia joined in the conversation. “He should be your boyfriend.”

“He is my friend.” Annabelle felt her cheeks grow warm. “But we can talk about this later. We have company.”

“Daddy has a girlfriend,” Sophie informed them. “So I guess you should have a boyfriend. And we like Cooper.”

“Yeah. We like Cooper,” Olivia confirmed.

“I like you, too.” Cooper gave each girl a warm smile. “All three of you.”

He gave Annabelle a different kind of smile. The kind that suggested he would be more than happy to discuss this later. Much later.

“So tell me about your new school.” Hunter, bless her heart, steered the conversation in a different direction.

The girls quickly switched gears, filling them in on Miss Ramirez, the hundredth day of school play they were working on, and a list of all the activities going on in Kindergarten.

Finally, dinner was over.

“I’ll take care of the dishes,” Cooper offered. “While you get the girls cleaned up.”

It had become routine, but with the girls’ comments about whether or not he was Annabelle’s boyfriend, she wondered if she shouldn’t tell him he didn’t have to help clean up. But she knew he’d do it anyway.

“Can Cooper sing to us when we have our jammies on?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah, can he?” Olivia made the request unanimous.

“Sure. I’ll run next door and get my guitar.” His smile told Annabelle he wasn’t in any way frightened off by the girls’ inquiry.

Annabelle herded her daughters upstairs to the bathroom. She turned on the bathwater while the girls undressed.

“So is he your boyfriend?” Sophie stood there half undressed, with her hands on her hips, demanding an answer.

“I don’t know if ‘boyfriend’ is the right word.” Annabelle’s cheeks flushed. “We haven’t known each other long enough to get too worried about that kind of thing.”

“But you do like him?” Olivia stepped cautiously into the tub.

“Yeah, like,
like him
, like him?” Sophie followed her sister, but with a splash.

“Yes. I like him.” Annabelle felt her blush spread from her cheeks to the rest of her body. “I really like him.”

“Maybe you’ll marry him and he can be our new Daddy,” Olivia suggested.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” How did they get to this point so quickly? “I don’t want to get married any time soon.”

“Why not?” Sophie reached for the shampoo.

“First of all, it’s not a good idea to get married right after getting divorced.” It wasn’t a good idea to get involved with someone when she wasn’t even divorced yet. “And you already have a Daddy. No one will ever replace him.”

“Yeah, but we can have two daddies.” Sophie made it sound so simple. “Lots of kids do.”

“Yeah, there are all kinds of families.” Olivia chimed in. “Some have a mommy and a daddy that live in the same house. Some have just a mommy or just a daddy. Some have two houses. Some even have two mommies or two daddies that live in the same house.”

What were they teaching them at school? Tolerance, sure, but the puzzled look on Olivia’s face told Annabelle she couldn’t quite figure out what it all meant.

“Well, the important thing to remember about families is that they love each other.” Annabelle tried to soothe her daughter’s concerns. She wasn’t sure if they were feeling a little insecure about their family situation. Maybe that’s why they were pushing for a romantic union between her and Cooper.

“We love Cooper,” Sophie said and then she dunked her head under the water to rinse.

“Yeah. We love Cooper.” Olivia looked at Annabelle with big, hopeful eyes.

“Let’s finish your bath, get your pajamas on, and get your teeth brushed.” Annabelle worried that her daughters would be crushed when Cooper was no longer a part of their lives.

“Okay.” Sophie was far too cooperative.

“Then we can have our bedtime song.” And Olivia was far too attached.

They all were.

* * * *

Sure enough, Cooper returned with his guitar just in time for bed. He sang silly songs, eliciting giggles and applause from the twins. He sang a mix of classic rock ballads and a few songs from the girls favorite princess movies. And then he plucked a now familiar melody, but he left out the words. Because she’d told him not to sing about her. Or maybe because he didn’t want the girls to get too excited about him singing a song just for her.

Finally, both girls were barely able to keep their eyes open.

“Goodnight, Cooper.” Sophie smiled at him, melting Annabelle’s heart.

“Goodnight, Sophie.” His smile liquefied more than her heart.

“’Night.” Olivia jumped out of bed and flung her arms around him.

“Goodnight, Olivia.” He returned her hug and Annabelle had a feeling they were all setting themselves up for a huge fall when this cozy little arrangement fell apart.

Cooper stood outside the door while she said her own goodnights. He pulled her into his arms the minute she stepped into the hallway and kissed her. Soft. Sweet. So damn sexy.

“Cooper.” She tried to push him away, but they both had been waiting all night for this. For more. Her body was already anticipating taking a few more steps down the hall until they reached her bedroom, guitar and clothing optional. Well, the guitar was optional, clothing was definitely not necessary.