Making a Comeback (22 page)

“I screwed up.” He might as well have the words tattooed on his forehead.

“Yeah. You did.” Her disappointment was displayed clearly on her face. “I still want to see what you’ve got.”

“I’ll set something up. Tomorrow morning?” He was going to have to start paying Sanders for rental of his facility.

“Sounds good.” Hunter gave a quick nod. He couldn’t quite figure her out. She’d made it clear that she no longer worked for the Goliaths, yet here she was in essence setting up a scouting session. She still had baseball in her blood.

Did he?

* * * *

Hunter was waiting for him right on time. She seemed almost giddy at the prospect of watching him pitch.

“Where’s Marco?” he asked as he grabbed his once again well-used gear bag. “Isn’t he coming?”

“No he’s helping Annabelle with some caulk.”

“Excuse me?”

“Replacing the
caulk
…” she enunciated the last word carefully. “In her bathroom.”

“Oh. I guess I didn’t hear you right.” The fact that his mind drifted to a completely different place disturbed him. “You know they used to date.”

“Yeah. I know.” She chuckled and shook her head.

“It doesn’t bother you that they’re together? Alone?” He unlocked the door of his Escalade.

“No.” She let him hold the door open for her and climbed in. “I do have to admit I was a little jealous at first. When Marco and I were still getting a feel for each other.”

He nodded before heading around to the driver’s side.

“I trust them both.” Hunter clicked her seatbelt into place. “Marco is an honorable man. And Annabelle doesn’t have a deceitful bone in her body.”

“Yet she’s committed adultery.” He tried to keep that comment to himself but it slipped out.

“And that bothers you.” Hunter not only heard his statement, she read the underlying feelings.

“Yeah. A little. Technically, she’s still married.” Not that he wanted to jet off to Vegas and tie the knot anytime soon. But maybe he’d like to have the option. “Believe it or not, I’m not the kind of guy who likes to break the rules.”

“Not unless you’re desperate?” Hunter guessed. “I think I understand why you violated the league’s drug use policy. I wish you hadn’t, but I do understand it.”

“It was stupid and selfish.” His gut churned even now. “I wish I had done things differently. I wish I had just gone to the trainer like I should have.”

“I still would have traded you for Marco,” Hunter said with a smile. “So why Annabelle? Why did you break the rules for her?”

“She’s everything I’ve ever wanted.” It was true. “The first time I saw her picture, I knew. She’s the one. Every woman I’ve ever gone out with has been unfairly compared to her.”

“That is pretty unfair.” Hunter agreed.

“Yeah, I know she’s stunning. But it wasn’t just her looks. There was always something about her…” He’d never been able to explain his obsession with Annabelle. Not even to himself. “And now that I know her… She’s more than just a pretty face. She’s warm, and funny. And smart, too. She’s a great mother. A good friend…”

“Sounds like the perfect woman.”

“Except for one thing.” Cooper admitted. “She’s still married.”

“She filed for divorce before she even met you.” Hunter reminded him. “She moved down here to make a fresh start.”

“Yeah. I know.” But they couldn’t move past the beginning. Not until her marriage ended. “And then she got into an accident. And her independence was shattered.”

“She got the all clear to drive.”

“Good. Then she doesn’t need me.”

“Yes she does.” Hunter reached across the center console to pat his hand. “Just make sure she doesn’t feel like she needs you.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Yeah, but if you pull it off, you could retire and make billions off the self-help book.”

“Maybe I’m not ready to retire.”

“Isn’t that what we’re going to find out?”

“I really appreciate you taking the time to help with this.” Annabelle stood in her downstairs bathroom watching Marco squeeze caulking along the edge of her bathtub. “I’m just not very handy with this kind of thing.”

“You could have asked Cooper.” Marco wielded the caulk gun with the same confidence he wielded at bat.

“Maybe.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I think I dropped the ball with him.”

“How?”

“I pushed him away.”

“He hasn’t gone far.”

“A guy like him…” She blinked back the tears stinging her eyes. Swallowed the massive lump in her throat. “He’s got plenty of options. Even without a baseball contract—with his looks, his voice… You know why musicians get even more girls than ballplayers, don’t you?”

“No smelly jock straps?” There was that charm of his. But she didn’t feel that little flutter of attraction. Maybe it was because he was married to her friend. Or maybe it was because there was someone else who sent her heart racing.

“Come on, women would line up to wash yours,” Annabelle teased. She still liked him, and would always appreciate his friendship.

“The clubhouse attendant takes care of the laundry.” Marco pretended he didn’t know what she meant. “Besides, I’m a married man. Happily married.”

“I know. Hunter is perfect for you.”

“She is.” He looked up at her with a goofy, happy grin on his face. But then he got all serious on her. “Look, I don’t know if Cooper’s right for you. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

Marco smoothed the last bit of caulk with his finger and wiped his hands on an old towel.

“Do you think he’ll pitch this year?” She watched him clean up the supplies.

“I would be really surprised if he didn’t.”

“So he could only be around for another month or so?”

“Teams start reporting to spring training in mid-February.”

“So I guess I need to decide if it’s worth getting involved in what can only be a temporary relationship?” Annabelle asked.

“I moved around a lot as a kid.” Marco stood and looked her straight in the eye. “I know what it’s like to leave people you’ve grown to care about. But I never regretted making friends, even when I knew there was a good chance I’d never see them after I moved again.”

“Did you ever have a close relationship with any of your mom’s boyfriends?”

“My mom didn’t have boyfriends.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess maybe she did, but none she ever brought home. The only man I’ve ever met that she’s been involved with is my father.”

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with how your dating Cooper will affect your daughters. I know they like him.”

“I just don’t want them to get their hopes up.”

“Too late.” Marco leaned against the tile wall. “I was there at dinner. Of course they have fantasies about you marrying again. They play with dolls, watch fairy tales, and still need to believe in a happily-ever-after.”

“Maybe I should have them play with toy cars or Legos instead.”

“They’d drive the cars to pretend dates. Build dream houses out of the Legos.” He shook his head. “I always wanted my mom to find someone and get married. Do you have any idea of how many coaches I tried to set her up with?”

“You were looking for a dad?”

“No. Well, maybe. But mostly I wanted her to be happy.” He smiled. “And your girls want you to be happy.”

“Even if it is only temporary?”

“Don’t deny yourself some happiness because you worry it won’t be forever.” Marco leaned forward. “Not every relationship is meant to be permanent. And sometimes friendships can endure even when you don’t see each other every day.”

“Like we’ve remained friends?” Annabelle asked. “I still owe you for helping investigate Clayton. And I’m not talking about the money you spent on the private investigator.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” He shifted uncomfortably. “But let me ask you something. You filed for divorce after finding out about Clayton’s involvement in FITNatural. The same company that provided the steroids Cooper took.”

“So what’s your question?”

“Why did you divorce your husband?”

“I think I was ready to divorce him when I asked you to help me investigate him. His investment in FITNatural was just the final straw.” She really didn’t want to get into it, but she needed to explain how she could forgive a man she’d just met while giving up on the man who’d been her husband for almost seven years. “He’d betrayed me in so many ways. He never loved me. Sure, he loved the idea of having me as his wife.
The beautiful Annabelle Jones.
But he never loved me. He never even…”

No. She wasn’t going to discuss her marital woes with Marco. No matter how sympathetic and well-meaning he was.

“I know it seems kind of hypocritical of me to divorce Clayton in the midst of the scandal, only to fall into bed with the man who was also involved. But I’m convinced Cooper only did it because he was hurt. He just wanted to help the team. Clayton was only after the money.”

“Some will say it was greed that drove Cooper, too. If he hadn’t been caught, he could have signed for a ridiculous amount of money.”

“But now he’s just hoping to find a team who’ll invite him to camp.” Her heart ached for Cooper. “And he’ll have to work twice as hard to prove he belongs there.”

“Probably. But he belongs there. The man can pitch.”

“And that makes up for everything?”

“No. But as much as we’d like to believe all is fair in love and baseball, certain truths remain. A talented player is going to get away with more than a less talented one. Especially in a game that brings in nine billion a year.”

“But that’s not why you play. It’s not why either of you play the game.”

“No. But it’s part of it. I mean, yeah, the money’s nice. You know, feeling like I can take care of my family. I wanted to be able to give my mother everything she never had. I wouldn’t be able to do that in any other job.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I do love the game. And yeah, the thought of not playing anymore can be terrifying. Can make a guy take desperate measures.”

“So he’ll do anything to get back in the game?”

“I don’t know him well enough to say for sure, but for most of us, leaving the game before we’re ready…” His face twisted into goofy, love-struck grin. “God, I’m such a lucky bastard.”

“Yes. You are.”

“Hunter wouldn’t let me give up baseball. I would have, for her. But she knew me so well, she gave up her team so I could stay in the game.”

What would Annabelle give up for Cooper? She didn’t have much to sacrifice. Her career was over. Her fortune would only last so long. About the only thing she had left was her independence, but she’d never really had that in the first place.

* * * *

Cooper stood on the practice mound. He’d warmed up and was getting ready to pitch in front of his former owner. The woman he’d hurt the most by his suspension.

He was baffled by her request to videotape him throwing a bullpen session. Forty to fifty pitches should be enough to give her an idea of what he had left in his throwing arm. But why? She had nothing to gain by seeing if he was ready to return to the game.

Marco had hinted that she was bored. According to him, she’d been the real force behind the Goliaths’ success for the past several years. Now she was relegated to the status of a player’s wife. She’d gone from the front office to the background.

“Whenever you’re ready.” She held her camera steady, just waiting for him to show off his stuff. The radar gun was already set up. Brandon was in the squat behind the plate.

Cooper tried to empty his mind. He didn’t want to think about how much slower his fastball was. Or what would happen if he didn’t make it back. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he did.

He just needed to think about throwing the ball sixty feet, six inches. The rest would fall into place after that.

He picked up a ball. Held it in his left hand like an old friend. With a nod to his catcher, he stepped up to the rubber. Digging his toe in the dirt, he tried to find just the right feel. Once he was comfortable in his footing, he brought the ball and his glove to his chest.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump
went his heart. Throwing a baseball was as natural to him as breathing. He’d performed in front of sold-out home crowds, hostile opposing team fans, and die-hard hold-outs who’d stuck around for five extra innings of scoreless baseball hoping he wasn’t going to be the one to blow it and send them all home disappointed.

It took him three pitches to stop thinking. He settled into the rhythm of pitching. The ball was going where he wanted it. The pop of the catcher’s mitt sounded like he was throwing at least ninety. Not as hard as he used to throw, but hopefully hard enough.

After about forty-five pitches, Hunter put down her camera. “I’ve seen enough.”

She had a hopeful grin on her face.

Cooper rolled his shoulders, tilted his neck from side to side, and tried to contain the excitement he felt from knowing he’d done his best. It wasn’t quite like being in a real game, facing professional hitters, but after being out of it for so long, it was something.

“So what are you planning on doing with the video?”

“Sell it to the highest bidder.” Hunter was almost giddy, but he wasn’t sure if it was from his performance, or simply because she was back in the game herself.

Like so many things in his life, he’d only come to appreciate all the work she’d done for the Goliaths after he’d been let go. They were a family. And he’d been the spoiled kid who hadn’t realized how good he’d had it.

He knew the chances of him being welcomed back were pretty slim. But the fact that Hunter had enough faith in him to even take a look was something. Or maybe she was just doing it for Annabelle’s sake. The two women were good friends.

But if he signed with any team other than L.A., Anaheim, or even San Diego, his relationship with Annabelle would be seriously challenged. A minimum of eight months away would not make it easy on her. Or her daughters. It’s not like he could ask them to go with him, wherever he ended up.

Getting back to baseball could mean losing Annabelle. But if he didn’t have baseball, he’d have nothing to give her.