Rundown (Curveball Book 2) (23 page)

I
take a seat on one of the benches, intending to talk to Everett about
Spencer once Breanne’s inside.  I must have dozed off because
Breanne’s back before I know it, handing us coffee.  

“
Ready
to head back?” she ask.

I
nod and take her hand.  As we make our way to the car, my phone
rings.   

“
Brett,
what’s up?”

“
Hey
man, I’m glad I caught you.  Can you talk because I have great
news.”

“
Yeah?”

“
The
Sox just faxed over a contract.  They’re giving you a
three-year extension for $21 million.”

“
Fuck
yeah!” I yell, earning me dirty looks from more than a few patrons.

I
hand my cup to Everett and scoop Breanne up with my free hand,
peppering her with kisses while I spin her around.  She clings
to me, giggling, and likely wondering what’s come over me.

“
That’s
great news, Brett.  I’ll be back tomorrow night if signing the
contract can wait until then.”

“
Sounds
good.  Why don’t you and Breanne come for dinner and we do
paperwork after?”

I
agree and end the call.  I set Breanne down and cup her face as
she watches me with curious happiness.  “What was that about?”

“
My
contract’s been renewed with Boston.  We’re celebrating!”

Everett
congratulates me and hands me back my coffee, which I chuck in the
garbage.  For the first time since I left for California, I feel
energized.

We
pull up to Steuben Brewing Company after hitting up several of the
local wineries.  One of the owners, who I’ve met before, and
his wife welcome us as we walk up to the counter.

“
What
can I get for you?” the man asks.

I
look to Breanne.  “I don’t know, what do you recommend?”
she asks.

“
Are
you looking for something light or dark?”

“
Hmm,
both?” she laughs.  The man nods and tilts his head towards
me.  

“
Same,”
I tell him.

“
Three
tasting flights then?” he asks, placing three paddles, each with
slots for four glasses, in front of us.  

I
look expectantly over at Everett who shakes his head no. While having
a permanent designated driver has come in handy, I wish Everett could
enjoy himself a little.  After everything we’ve been through,
we’ve definitely bonded and it would be nice to throw back a few
drinks together.   

“
Just
the two.”

We
select our four beers and head to a table in front of floor to
ceiling windows facing the lake.  Breanne sips her Hopyard IPA
and lets out the faintest moan.  It still amazes me that every
sound that comes out of her affects me so primitively. 

“
The
view is beautiful, Drew. “

“
Breathtaking,”
I reply, staring at her.  Breanne smirks at me over her shoulder
and playfully rolls her eyes.

“
See
that field to the left?” I ask, pointing to a few acres of land.  

“
Which
haystack am I looking at?”

I
lightly hip check her.  “All of it.  Wouldn’t it be the
perfect spot for a winery or a B&B?”

Breanne
turns to me, misty-eyed.  “You really were listening,” she
whispers, referring to her rant in the woods when she mentioned that
starting a winery one day was a dream of hers.

“
Every
word,” I wink and kiss her forehead.

“
Thanks
for bringing me here.”

“
To
the brewery?”

“
I
meant for bringing me to your hometown, but I love the beer too.”

“
I
want to share everything with you.  Speaking of which,” I say,
“now that I’m officially staying in Boston, we need to figure out
our living situation.  I can’t keep going back and forth
between our places.   And given everything that’s going
on, I need us to be together where I can protect you all the time,
not just from sunrise to midnight.”

“
I
want that too,” she agrees.  “If we aren’t going to stay
in Brookline, we’ll need to figure something out.  I like the
school district and I don’t want to put the burden of making new
friends and starting a new school on them if we’re also leaving the
only place they’ve ever lived.”

“
Then
we’ll stay in Brookline.”

“
Really?
 It’s that simple, huh?”

“
The
only detail that matters is being under the same roof.  The rest
is up to you.”

“
When
do we start looking?”

“
It’s
funny you should ask.  I actually have an appointment set up for
us next week to meet with a realtor that Brett recommended. 
There are five houses in Brookline that I think we should look at.”

“
I
thought I got to pick?” 

I
smirk.  “I wanted to give you something to work with. 
 Besides, I already knew that you’d want a big yard, five
bedrooms, a nice sized kitchen and a real fireplace. “

“
You’re
pretty confident about this,” she says.

“
About
us?  Why wouldn’t I be?”

“
About
the requirements for my dream house.  You didn’t even know
you’d be in Boston.”

“
Baby,
it didn’t matter what team I signed with, you’re my home.  And
I know what you want,” I wink.

Breanne
cocks her eyebrows and tilts her hand as a challenge.

“
Did
I miss something?”

“
Yes,
actually,” she protests.

I
tilt my head to the side. “And what would that be?”

“
The
master bedroom needs to have a large en suite with a Jacuzzi tub,
separate shower, and a dual vanity with lots of counter space.”

I
lean forward taking her hand and press it to my lips. “That was a
given.”

I
place her hand on my thigh and watch her eyes pop open, clearly
figuring out that my mind is about ten steps ahead of our
conversation.  I can’t stop picturing her pressed up against
the glass walls of a shower, spread out on a counter and riding me in
a tub that we don’t even have. 

“
I’m
pretty sure they have a bathroom here.”

Breanne
yanks her hand away and tosses back the rest of her beer.  “Alright,
Casanova, stop flashing those sexy dimples at me and show me the
houses you found.”

Groaning,
I take out my phone and pull up the site.  Before it’s fully
loaded, Breanne grabs my phone and scans over the houses I selected.
 The smile that spreads across her face is so big, I must have
done good.  

“
That
one,” she says, turning the phone towards me.  “That’s the
one.”

When
we get back to my parent’s house it’s almost dinnertime. 
 Maddie’s still napping, Aubrey’s helping my mom prepare
food and Colin and my dad are watching a show on the history
channel.  Since everyone else is occupied, I tell Breanne to put
sneakers on because we’re leaving tomorrow and there’s one more
place I want to go.

“
We’re
only going about a quarter mile.  No need for back up,” I tell
Everett as we head outside.  

“
My
orders are to be with you at all times.”

“
We
are literally in one of the safest towns in America.  We’ll be
fine.  Why don’t you grab a beer and relax?  Maybe take a
walk with Corinne.”

“
You
know I can’t let you go without me,” Everett says, completely
ignoring the rest of my comment.

I
shrug and take Breanne’s hand.  “Suit yourself.”

The
three of us head into the woods, though to Everett’s credit he
hangs back a few hundred yards.   We reach our destination,
and after Everett does a sweep of the inside, he leaves, shutting the
door behind him.

“
So
this is the infamous barn,” Breanne says, looking around the
dilapidated structure that has miraculously withstood countless
winters.

“
This
is it,” I reply. 

“
It’s
perfect,”

I
walk slowly around the room, letting the flood of memories wash over
me.  Breanne’s right – there is something perfect about this
barn.   Over the years I’ve often thought about finding
the owner and buying it so that it could really belong to me.  For
some reason having legal rights to this place would ruin the mystery
and adventure of it all, and that was the best part when Alexis and I
were kids.  It energized us, made it our secret.  And
that’s exactly why I never follow through.

 “
Is
this a wheel from a covered wagon?” Breanne asks, walking over to
the rusted object.

“
Probably. 
There’s a ton of old stuff like that in these woods.  Alexis
and I saved the cool stuff in an old suitcase we once found.  I
wonder if it’s still here.” 

I
climb a short ladder that leads to a small loft filled with hay,  

“
What’s
in here?” Breanne asks, following me in.

“
Buried
treasure, I hope.”

I
start digging through the hay in the back corner of the room, and am
pleased when the suitcase Alexis and I used as our treasure chest is
still there.  I take the lid off and grab a handful of items to
show to Breanne – fossils, arrowheads and parts of rusted tools. 
Breanne carefully picks out a few of the items, taking her time to
study the intricate shapes of the different arrowheads.  As she
returns them to the box, I notice that something else has caught her
attention.  I lean forward, peering into the box and watch as
she brushes a few items to the side.  To my surprise, she pulls
out an envelope, which she hands to me.   Inside, there’s
a letter.

Not
all treasure is buried,

Some
is simply locked away.

At
times, dangling in front of you,

Or
stored out of harms way.

Shattered
glass can’t break our memories,

They
aren’t measured with a clock.

You’re
the one who holds the key,

She
the door to unlock.

Guard
the people and secrets you uncover,

As
those who protect us sometimes lie.