Strike Zone (25 page)

Rhodes flexed his own hands. “I’ll leave when I’m ready.”

“Ready is
now
,” Sloan stated.

Rhodes took his time departing. “I need to place a bid on the painting of James River Stadium. It would look good on the living room wall of my trailer. A double-wide.”

A double-wide?
Eve blinked. Rhodes made millions of dollars, yet his roof could detach and his trailer roll in a storm.

The man was an enigma.

The teammates stared at each other for another full minute before Rhodes and the dog walkers moved on.

“Asshole,” Sloan muttered under his breath. “The man comes into the Rogues organization and moves to the top of the batting order. Now he’s trying to steal our women.”

“I’m not your woman.”

Sloan looked battle-weary. “We need to talk, Eve. Give me five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”

Still she hesitated. She’d heard from Taylor that Sloan had matured. As a starting pitcher, he was taking his new responsibilities seriously. When he wasn’t playing, he was practicing. On his occasional night off, he took Addie and her friends to the mall or to a movie.

Both Taylor and Addie favored him with a compliment whenever they brought up his name. Eve had closed her ears to their praise.

She fingered a pearl button on her swing jacket. The white skirt suit had clean-cut lines and made her feel feminine.

Sloan looked very masculine. Even though she was wearing wedge heels, he topped her by six inches. The width of his shoulders blocked all that was going on behind him. The laughter and barking indicated many of those gathered were finding the perfect pet to take home.

Sloan held his ground, looking determined. “Five minutes,” he repeated.

She wasn’t sure if she could handle sixty seconds with this man. Standing close, surrounded by his body heat, she wanted nothing more than to lean into him and remember how their bodies fit.

But physical fit wasn’t good enough. He lived life by his three-date rule. And they’d hit the three mark months ago.

She was close to agreeing to talk when two women in tight tops and short skirts bracketed Sloan. The redhead carried a Chihuahua in a mesh satchel; the brunette talked baby talk to the tiny dog.

Both women greeted him with the look of having seen him naked. The brunette playfully ran her fingers across his shoulders. The redhead touched his arm.

All the color drained from Sloan’s face. “Bad timing, ladies. I’m trying to make up with my . . . my . . .” He blanked on the right word.

“Your girlfriend?” The redhead tossed her hair.

“Your fiancée?” questioned the brunette.

Sloan gritted his teeth. “Yet to be established.”

The redhead stuck out her bottom lip, pouting. “If things don’t work out, you’ve got our number.”

Eve had their number too. She watched the slow twitch-twitch of their hips as they moved on, both tall and slinky, and absolute head-turners.

“Your time’s been cut to two minutes.” She looked at her watch. “Starting now.”

He didn’t waste a second. “I’ve missed you, Eve.”

She’d missed him too. Only her heart knew how much.

“I was a jerk,” he admitted. “I should never have taken you to New Year’s and subjected you to—”

“Your rotation squad?”

“I’ve enjoyed most of them once, some of them twice,” he admitted. “But I haven’t taken anyone to bed since the night we went to the club.”

Hard to believe. But she hoped his words were true.

“I’m not a bad guy. I may not get things right the first time out, but I’m worth a second chance.”

“What comes with a second chance?” she asked.

“Starting over.”

“Another three dates?”

“Why not?”

“What happens when those dates end?” She needed to know. “Do I hold my breath for a third renewal?”

His jaw worked. “You’re complicating a simple issue.”

“There’s nothing simple about us,” she said.

“I have fun with you, Eve. I want us to be friends.”

Friends played paintball and rode go-karts. Friends caught a movie. Maybe he meant friends with benefits.

She’d wanted more, and Sloan had offered less. Disappointment almost choked her. It was time to move her life along.

She released her breath. “Friends . . . I’ll give it some thought.”

“How much time do you need? Twenty, thirty minutes?”

“A lot longer than that.”

She eased around him while her knees still held up.

Her steps were as heavy as her heart as she crossed the lawn to examine a painting of a sun-warmed brick street and an outdoor café in the historic district. The rich golden hues depicted summer in Richmond. She placed her bid. The painting would brighten Thrill Seekers.

She bumped into Kason Rhodes on the north side of the lawn. He was hunkered down beside a black-and-rust Doberman puppy. “This is Cimarron,” he said.

Eve watched as the little gator mouth sawed on Kason’s hand, leaving teeth marks. Rhodes didn’t seem to mind. “I bid on your painting,” he said as he scratched Cim’s ears.

Eve felt relieved. “Glad someone did.”

“I wasn’t the only one, sweet Eve. I cheated and looked at the auction slips in the envelope beside your painting. You had twenty solid bids, one as high as fifty thousand.”

Eve’s eyes went wide. “It’s not worth—”

“That’s the value Sloan McCaffrey’s put on your painting. I added ten grand.”

She stiffened. “Why would you do that?”

“To see if he’d fight for you.”

“Sloan won’t.”

“I’m betting he will.”

“I don’t want him to have the painting. He can keep his money—”

“The money goes to Animal Rescue,” Rhodes reminded her. “Let Sloan win you.”

At eight o’clock, Brek Stryker stood behind a podium on the veranda and announced the winners of the silent auction. He looked clean-cut and all business in a white button-down and navy slacks. Taylor stood beside him in a sky blue sundress. They made a handsome couple.

Brek went down the list of paintings and announced the winners. Eve’s bid won the outdoor café in the historic district. Brek held her painting of James River Stadium until the very end.

She scanned the crowd and found Kason Rhodes on the outskirts of the bidders, alone, his face hard—but not as hard as Sloan McCaffrey’s expression as he worked his way toward the veranda. He stood before Brek, his gaze locked on the painting.

Taylor slipped the bids from the envelope and quickly sorted through them. She then handed two slips of paper to Brek. “There’s been a tie.” Brek’s deep voice carried on the night air. “Sloan McCaffrey and Kason Rhodes have both bid sixty thousand for Eve Hannah’s painting. Does either man wish to go higher?”

Eve stood perfectly still. Sloan had sneaked in and upped his bid, matching Rhodes’s own.

“Sixty-five,” Rhodes called out.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the Rogues’ latest acquisition. Kason’s eyes connected with Eve’s. He was waiting for her to signal that she preferred Sloan to get her painting.

“Seventy.” Sloan was not to be outbid.

“Eighty.” Rhodes kicked it up a notch.

“One hundred.” Sloan’s voice was tight.

Eve cut the air with her hand, backing Rhodes off. Sloan had bid an enormous amount of money. He deserved to win. Kason Rhodes nodded—and Sloan was awarded her painting.

Eve had thrown her heart into that project. Sloan would take half her heart home with him.

Brek went on to announce all those who’d adopted pets. He mentioned Psycho McMillan and Risk Kincaid, then noted that shortstop Zen Driscoll and his wife Stevie had chosen a Boxer named Gibson.

Sophie Hart from the animal sanctuary had selected a swaybacked black Lab to keep Sky Dog company.

Twenty additional rescued dogs were placed with good homes. At the end of the night, three dogs remained: the Jack Russell, Juliet; the English bulldog, Dozier; and the Dobie pup, Cimarron.

An odd couple at best, Juliet and Dozier lay side by side on the veranda. The Jack Russell’s head rested on the bulldog’s paws. Cimarron tugged on his leash, full of puppy energy and wanting to play. The Dobie would prove a handful for his owner.

“Let’s make the evening an all-out success,” Brek Stryker encouraged from the podium. “Juliet and Dozier appear to be soul mates. I’d like to see them go together.”

So would Eve. She crossed her fingers and bounced on her toes, anxious for someone to bid on both. Her studio apartment was too small for the twosome; otherwise she’d have taken them in a heartbeat.

“Five thousand for the pair,” Sloan McCaffrey called out.

He looked at Eve as if he’d known she wanted Juliet and Dozier to go to a good home. Her lungs filled with air she couldn’t expel. She was utterly stunned by Sloan’s generosity. He’d proved he’d do anything for her.

The crowd applauded McCaffrey as he climbed onto the veranda and claimed Eve’s painting as well as the two dogs.

Dozier’s and Juliet’s souls matched. The dogs needed each other. Only Cimarron now remained.

Holding the two leashes, Sloan led the dogs down the steps. He looked at Eve and cocked his head, requesting help.

The man knew she couldn’t resist lending a hand.

“Thank you,” she managed.

“These are
our
dogs,” he told her straight-out. “Make time for us, Eve. I want you involved in their care. We’ll set up a schedule for walks and playtime. Deal?”

She nodded. She’d make time for the dogs, and maybe even for Sloan. She’d never seen him more sincere. They’d go slowly. Maybe friends could be lovers—someday.

Cimarron’s whine turned Eve around. The Dobie was tugging and gnawing on his leash, lunging and trying to capture someone’s attention. He wanted a home too.

Eve knew whom Cim needed. She touched Sloan’s arm. “Buy Cimarron,” she requested.

Sloan lifted a brow, skeptical. “
Three
dogs?” He blew out a breath. “Guess I could extend my backyard fence.”

“Only two for us,” she quickly explained. “I’m giving one away.”

He poked his tongue into his cheek, narrowing his eyes. “Giving it away to who?”

“You won’t like my choice.”

Sloan shifted the painting to Eve, along with both dogs. “I can guess, and I’m already hating it.”

He caught Brek Stryker’s attention and raised his checkbook for Cimarron. The crowd whooped and howled, clapping their hands red. Sloan was their hero.

In his race down the verandah steps, Cimarron tripped Sloan. The man caught himself before he went head over ass. “This pup is trouble,” he told Eve.

“So is his owner.” Eve took Cim’s leash, then looked over the crowd. People were dispersing fast, and it took her a full minute to locate her man.

He’d turned and was already heading for the parking lot.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Sloan.

She took off at a fast walk, only to be pulled into a jog by Cimarron. The dog sensed her direction, and was off to the races.

“Kason!” she shouted.

Rhodes looked over his shoulder, then turned slowly. His expression remained hard, even when he saw Cimarron.

“What’s up, sweet Eve?” he asked when she approached.

“I have a puppy who needs a home,” she said.

Rhodes’s lips compressed. “You thought of me?”

His lack of enthusiasm set her back a step.

Cim ignored Rhodes’s indifference. The dog jerked Eve off her feet in order to reach the man.

Cim pawed Rhodes’s leg, whining obnoxiously, and bit at his knee. All the while Kason looked down at the Dobie, unmoved.

For a split second Eve thought she’d made a mistake. Rhodes could easily refuse Cimarron. Maybe her instincts had been off. Maybe Kason truly was a loner.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I thought—”

“I needed a friend?”

She slowly nodded.

“I’m my own man. I do alone just fine.” Rhodes looked from her to Cimarron. “Puppies are needy.”

“It’s okay to need.”

“Do your attentions come with the dog?” he asked.

“I’m too sweet for you, remember?”

“Way too sweet.” His gaze dropped to Cimarron. The pup now lay at his feet, his head resting on the toe of Rhodes’s boot.

“I’m making Cim a gift.” Eve made one last-ditch effort to convince Rhodes to take the pup. “One you can’t return.”

An indecisive silence ensued. In the end, Rhodes surprised her. “We’ll give it a trial run, no promises.”

Eve’s hand shook as she handed him the leash.

She knew when he took Cim that he wouldn’t be giving him back. The pup got his second wind. The only way to calm him was for Rhodes to pick him up.

One last look at man and Dobie, and Eve knew Kason belonged to Cimarron. The pup had claimed him and would dominate his life—in a very good way.

Rhodes gave her no more than a brief nod as he departed.

Eve didn’t expect more. The
swoosh-swoosh
of the dog’s tail against Kason’s side brought the day to a positive close.

It was time to find Sloan.

She turned and nearly slammed into him. The painting shifted beneath his arm and he caught it. The dogs stood poised, Dozier protecting his Juliet.
Family
crossed Eve’s mind. All waiting for her.

Sloan had stood back and allowed her time with Rhodes. He’d no doubt hated every second, yet he’d allowed her to do what she’d needed to do.

He shot a dark look at Kason’s back. “I can’t believe you gave him a dog.”

“Cimarron needed a home. The pup will be a second heartbeat in Kason’s double-wide.”

“I’ve heard Rhodes lives deep in the woods.”

“Where do you live, Sloan McCaffrey?”

“Thirty minutes south.”

“Maybe I’ll follow you home.”

He looked at Juliet and Dozier, then back at her. “We’d like that.”

In the middle of the parking lot, Eve went up on tiptoe and kissed Sloan full on the mouth. She appreciated this man—appreciated him so much they stopped traffic.

It was Kason Rhodes, leaning on the horn of his battered Hummer, who broke them apart. Eve cut a look at driver and dog as they passed. Cimarron had taken a seat on Rhodes’s lap; she wasn’t sure who was driving.

She took Juliet’s leash from Sloan’s outstretched hand, and together they crossed the lot to his gray Silverado.