Summer Swing (28 page)

“It’s not the tattoos,” I admitted honestly.

“It’s not? Well that’s good to know because tons of people have ‘em.
And it’s not like I’m done over like Nate or anything.
”

“
Your tattoos aren’t
scary
or
whatever
. I mean you only have, what, three? –
That I know of.
And they’re not
unappealing in the least bit
.
I
t’s just… Your overall look, I guess. The way you kind of
watch
everything and don’t say much. It’s when you don’t smile,” I suddenly realized. “That’s what it is. Because when you smile, you look friendly an
d approachable, and when you don’t,
it’s the opposite.”

“Hm
m
, so I should smile more?”

“Well not if it’s fake. I’ve
been seeing
you smile more, though.”

“Because I’m around you
. It’s easy to smile around you. You have a way about you th
at makes it easier to be happy
. I see it with the other people you’re with, too. And the reason I just observe and don’t speak is because life is easier that way. I’m accountable for less,” he
shrugged
.

I laughed. “I guess with my job I have to speak, and what I say can really make or break me on air.”

“That’s why you’re good at what you do. The best part is that it’s just…
you
. There’s nothing about what you say or do that’s phony. It would be nice if everybody could just be like that all the time
.
I guess with me I feel it’s better not to say anything because I just assume it won’t matter anyway.”

“You
just
keep people at a distance
. Some people are like that.
O
thers don’t care what they say,
or different emotions fuel what they say. Dawn is very open. She just blurts everything out that she’s feeling. She’s kind of an open book. Wyatt tends to say what he means beca
use he wants to get his way
. The difference between those two is that Wyatt says certain things to get him from point A to point B—he’s an operator—and Dawn speaks her mind truly from the heart.
Dawn says things that are strictly driven by how she feels
.
”

“And Gage?
How would you type him
?”

“Gage. Hmm. Well Gage
and I got to know each other over the phone before we even met. For me it kind of helped because I have a hard time with that ‘get to know you phase’ at the beginning of a relationship.
And then
I was really nervous when I was going to meet him for the first time,” I smiled. “But I think the whole ER situation gave me so
mething else to focus on, so it
helped. In person he
used to be a little more reserved
at first
, but I think he’s more comfortable around me now, and he has an easier time speaking his mind. He used to hold back a lot, just until he could figure me out better and predict how I might react. But now I think he realizes that he can pretty much say anything and I won’t judge him. I might
have a response
, but I won’t hold it against him. At least that’s what he’s told me.”

“Well I think that sounds accurate. It’s what I said
about you
, as well.
”

We were both quiet for a bit as we ate. I smiled when he held a cassette tape in his hand and popped into the tape deck.
Depeche Mode began to play and I had to chuckle.

“So that’s what was playing in my car that day, wasn’t it?”
I realized.

He nodded. “Yep, but I’ve got the ancient version on tape.”

“You ever think of putting a CD player in here?”

“Nah, I’ll sell this thing before I go back to California. I have a few things I want to do to it and I can probably make a few bucks off of it.”

“So how will you get back home? Nate and his taxi gonna come pick you up again?”

“Actually, yeah. Hey, maybe you’d like to hang out with him for a bit while he’s here?” he teased.

“Uh, a
s long as you’re around to keep me safe,” I chuckled seriously.

He gave me a look of surprise. “You’d really spend time with him?”

“Yeah, but like I said…only if you were around, too. So why
does
he come all the way up here? Why didn’t you just drive your
own car from California? Or, uh,
buy one there before you came here…”

He shrugged. “I have
a truck
at home
but
I
just chose to catch a ride with Nate. He’s got friends
and family
up in Seattle that he decided to visit, so after he dumped me off here, he headed up north for the summer. Him and his buddy Quinn are giving the Caddy a makeover,” he smiled. “He’ll head back down in a couple of weeks when I’m done here, and then we’ll head home.”

“Doesn’t Nate have a job?”

“Yeah, he rebuilds cars.”

“Legally?”

He gave me a funny look and I felt really embarrassed. But he
chuckled good-naturedly and
said, “Y
eah, legally.
He doesn’t
jack
cars, if that’s what you mean.”

“Maybe that’s what I meant. I’m not sure.”

He shrugged.
“Nate’s kind of a different guy. I don’t blame you for feeling nervous about him. After all, he did try to run you over.”

“He tried to, huh?” I smiled.

“Yep. He said, ‘I haven’t hit anyone in a parking lot
this week
; I think I’m due.
Oh, there’s a pretty girl; let’s see what
vicious
names she’ll call me.
’ ”

With a laugh I said,
“So I was the lucky victim?”

“Yep. Easily accessible because you
were
just…
standing there
.”
I rolled my eyes at him and he laughed.
“Right, so he was going a little fast,” he seemed to agree.

“With, what, Death Metal screaming in the background? Actually that was probably how I avoided getting run over. I heard the music first.”

He sighed and said, “I really am sorry about that, though. Truly. It scared the crap out of me and I thought for sure he was gonna nail you.”

“He did.”

“Yeah, I know.
And
you wouldn’t let me help you.
I wanted to make sure you were okay but you just took off.
”

“I kind of just wanted to get away from you guys.”

“Yeah, that was pretty obvious. And I saw the team ja
cket you grabbed from the truck;
I knew I should probably just avoid you. I knew you had to be associated with someone from the team, and I
was afraid
that would be bad news for me.”

“What do you mean? Because you thought I’d get you in trouble?”

“Yeah, I was kind of worried. But after a while I realized you didn’t even recognize me,” he laughed.

“I didn’t. Not until I saw you at the house that day. You look so different in a baseball uniform.”

“Yeah, the uniforms make you resemble everyone else. That’s probably a good thing in my case.”

I smiled and said, “It’s just a different side of you. It’s not any better or worse.”

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but I was surprised when he said, “You never told Gage it was me in the car. How come?”

I looked at him for a few seconds before I shrugged and said, “
It wasn’t necessary. By the time I realized who you were, the incident was long over with. There was no
need to
mention it again.”

“And what if it ever comes up again?”

“Tyse, it wasn’t even your fault, so there’s no point in bringing your name into it.”

“What if I were to tell him what really happened?”

“What? He already knows what happened.”

“That some ass clown hit you with his car, swore at you for being in his way, and barely cared to see if you were okay?”

“That ass clown was not you,” I chuckled. “You were very nice about it, even if I didn’t let you
come
near me.”

“But he doesn’t know I was there when it happened. What would he say if he knew?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’d rather he not have any problems with his teammates if it’s not necessary. I don’t think there would be anything for him to be upset over, but it’s all in the past.”

I wasn’t really sure what the issue was, but it was
nice
of him to be concerned about it. No, I hadn’t told Gage that Tyse was in the car that hit me. I truly
did
think it would have mattered, but
I liked how everyone got along
and I didn’t want there to be a reason for
that to change
.

I had a great lunch break with Tyse that day. Having the distraction from my work stresses was exactly what I nee
ded, and I was very grateful.
When I returned to work I felt pretty happy, rejuvenated, and ready to get a load of work done. I dismissed thoughts of Belinda Martin, and held on to happier feelings instead.

My sister needed some more help moving her
things after I got off work, so
I spent some time over at her old place, even cleaning a little bit while she made
two trips
to Wyatt’s.
Apparently Tyse and Wyatt had moved some of the furniture that morning, even though Tyse made no mention to me that he’d been helping out. I think that may have been where he came from when he met me at the radio station.

Since Dawn had made dinner that night, she insisted that I stay to eat.
I was kind of impressed that she was getting a lot better at cooking, and I could really tell that she enjoyed it. Wyatt even seemed to compliment her a lot, and he even helped clean up afterwards. That really meant a lot to me.

Around eight
I
was gradually trying to work my way out of the house so I could head home, but Dawn kept trying to keep me there for some reason. First
it was just conversation she kept me busy with, then
she wanted me to help her decide wh
i
ch things she could get rid of—
the house had become a little crowded when she’d added her things to Wyatt’s. I’d
already
told her she needed to sort through things as she packed them up, but she wanted to decide once everything was together.

“I really need to get home, Dawn. I’m tired and I
just want to go to bed.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get your things moved into the other house,” she frowned. “But you can stay here tonight. How about you just take up Gage’s old room for the night. It’s kind of filled with boxes and stuff, but the bed is available.”

It was really appealing to me because I didn’t look forward to the drive home. But I said, “Nah, that’s okay.
”

“Well why do you need to stay at mom and dad’s? Do you have anything there that you need for work tomorrow?”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”

“Then just stay here, silly. No need to waste the gas.”

“You already have a house
ful
l
, Dawn.”

“Oh, pssh. Those guys are clear on the other end of the house and they don’t even make a peep. I think you should just—”

The front door opened just then, and the face that appeared was not a face I was expecting. Gage smiled at me and said, “Surprise.”

I glanced at my sister and she looked really pleased she was able to keep a secret. Then I made my way to Gage and nestle
d myself against him
. It felt so good to be in his arms aga
in, even though it’d only been a couple of
days since I last saw him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “I’m so happy to see you.”

I looked up at him and he gave me a long, affectionate kiss. “My aunt is staying with my mom for the week, so I figured I’d come up here for a few days.”

“For a few days? Really?”

He nodded as he led me to the ba
ck of the house where
we sat down on the couch together in the family room. That’s when I noticed Wyatt and Dawn had
discreetly
disappeared to
their
bed
room.

“I might even be up here for a few days next week, too. I’ll just have to see how this
business sale works out.”