Double Play (8 page)

“How
was Oklahoma?”

“Hotter
than hell, Doc. Ain't rained in a month.”

“I
grew up about a hundred miles west of Kadele. Mama was an OSU grad, Daddy was a
Longhorn. I remember thinking they were getting a divorce same time every year,
late October. That's an interesting group of people live down that way.”

“They
can be stubborn, that's for sure.”

“Good
people, though.”

J.D.
pulled off his shirt and hopped up on the trainer’s table.

“You
do any heavy lifting while you were home?”

“No,
Sir. Ain't my property. Not yet anyway. Put a bid on it before I left but it
won't be easy getting’ old Hank to sell it to me, even if I double the price.”

“Investing
in retirement?”

“You
might say that.”

“Well,
it's not a bad idea.

“You
trying to tell me something, Doc?”

“Taking
its good old time healing. Lots of scar tissue. We should get in there and
clean it out, J.D. You're gonna need another three weeks before you're ready
for the field.”

“Federals
want me to report in ten days.”

“They’ll
change their minds.”

“I
can't mess this up, Doc. This is my big shot.”

“Surgery
is your best bet. That scar tissue is getting in the way of optimum function.
One way or another, it'll never be 100 per cent.”

“Federals
hear you say that, they'll cut me loose. They’re looking for a closer on the
season, is all. I’m determined to convince them to keep me for good. You gotta
give me a chance. I can beat this thing.”

“I
know you're a fighter, J.D., but not everything can be overcome by sheer
willpower.”

“You
don’t know nothin’ about me, then.”

“How
old are you, J.D.?”

“Twenty
five.”

“Got
a girl?”

J.D.
hesitated.

“Rumor
is, you're gettin’ hitched.”

“Yes,
Sir.”

“Good
for you. That young woman is the best thing that ever happened to you.

I've been around
a lot of years; always know love when I see it. I could tell the minute I saw
you two together. You were a changed man when you took up with her- had a
sudden sense of purpose about you, a real desire to make a life for yourself. I
could even see it on the field. You concentrated, gave it your all. I told my
wife- don't have to worry about that boy anymore. He's got his head on
straight, found himself a good girl. Halee, right?”

“Halee...”

“She's
a fine young woman. A real looker, too. Good for you, J.D. Love of a woman
makes life worth living. I'll schedule your surgery for first thing next week,
sooner if they can fit us in.”

“Can’t
do that, Doc. Can’t take the chance.”

Doc
took his time moving around the treatment room, putting things back while J.D.
buttoned his shirt. “I’m willing to make you a deal,” he said after careful
thought. “I’ll get you to the end of the season if you promise me you’ll agree
to the surgery the very next day.”

“No
steroids, Doc. I play by the book.”

“No
steroids.”

J.D.
held out his hand. “You have my word.”

J.D.
packed up his duffle bag and headed for the parking lot. He pulled out onto the
highway toward the Titan’s Stadium and flipped through every song on his iPod, searching
for some noise to distract him from his melancholy. New York just couldn’t come
fast enough. He needed to be a thousand miles from Halee McCarthy to get his head
back in the game. It was bad enough that he couldn’t get her off his mind, but
it seemed like everywhere he turned someone was commenting on how they belonged
together. His arm was killing him, Hank Long was fighting every offer he made
on the ranch, and Tony was playing games with his career. The last thing he
needed right now was a distraction like Halee. He needed a different kind of
woman in his life right now- a woman like Catrina Hiett. Cat would make the
perfect decoy for the Federals’ morality committee- around for photo shoots and
social events, gone when she wasn’t needed. He played with the ring box in his pocket,
trying to muster the enthusiasm to hand it over to his new fiancé and coming up
short.

Travis
Tritt bellowed out a ballad from the Porsche speakers, reconnecting J.D.’s
brain to the night on Sam’s boat. He’d started the evening with only one goal
in mind- the best sex of his life. Halee had delivered. But she’d been
different than the others. There was a sweetness to Halee that made him want to
bury his face into her silky hair and confess all his hopes and fears. And that
scared him, scared him bad. The same fear had been all he’d needed to drive her
away a year ago. Now that same fear was driving him back to her.

He
tapped his fingers against the steering wheel and made a quick decision. One
u-turn and he was headed for the west side of town.

***

“I
found some of Vince’s old things. Maybe they’ll fit him. There’s diapers and
baby food in there, too. I got the six month size. That’s how old he is, right?”

“I
think so.” Halee balanced a bulging paper sack on one free arm and navigated
her way toward the kitchen counter. Ty sat on her opposite hip, playing with
her hair and squealing with delight while he tugged on the silky strands. “Thanks,
Rita,” she said, pecking her friend on the cheek.

Rita
grimaced.

“Sorry.
I haven’t had a chance to shower,” said Halee, removing Ty’s fingers before he
yanked out a fistful of hair.  He let out a cry of protest. “I’ll pay you back
next week.”

“Don’t
worry about it.” Rita set two more bags on the counter. “This could be my last
chance to play Aunt Rita.” She tickled Ty’s exposed tummy. “So this is the kid.
He’s cute.”

“Yup.
This is Ty.”

“Hi,
Ty.” Rita squeezed his little foot. Ty giggled. “Any luck finding Ty’s mom?”

“The
cops are on it.”

“She
do any illegal shit? Like prostitution?”

“I
wouldn’t know.”

“Yeh,
well cross your fingers. That’s about the only way they’re gonna find her.
Busted or dead.”

Halee
covered Ty’s ears. “Not in front of the baby, Rita!”

“Looks
like she wasn’t so great a mom, anyway. The kid’s too thin. And he’s got that
look in his eye- you know, like he’s seen more than he should.”

“He’s
just disoriented,” said Halee, holding him closer. “He’ll be fine.”

“How
come they didn’t take him away? The cops. How come they left him here with you?”

Halee
shrugged. “They sent Bobby. He knew Social Services was on the way over.”

“They’re
coming tonight?”

“I
told him I’d wait thirty minutes at the office, and then he could find me
here.”

“Good
for you.”

Halee
put Ty down on a blanket she’d spread over the worn carpet and sighed. “What am
I gonna do, Rita?”

“Give
him back, that’s what you’re gonna do.”

“To
whom? Someone who leaves him cold and soaked in urine in a downtown building?
He’s lucky I stopped in. He could have been there until Monday morning without
food or water. He could have died.”

“He
didn’t die, Halee. He’s fine. He’s going to be fine. I called Frank.”

“What
for?”

“Because
you need a lawyer.”

“Not
Frank.”

“You
can barely feed yourself and you’re turning down a pro bono attorney. Frank’s a
jerk but he’s a good attorney.”

“I’m
just afraid of what you have to do to make it up to him.”

“So
I’ll bake him his favorite lasagna. I had him draw up temporary custody papers,
just in case. I still think you should give him back.”

Halee
sighed. “I love this child, Rita. I can’t stand the thought of giving him
back.”

Rita
rubbed Halee’s arm. “You might have to, Hun. You want to catch a shower? I’ll
watch the kid.”

Halee
looked like she wanted to cry. “You would do that?”

“Of
course!”

“I’ll
be quick, I swear.” She backed slowly from the room. Ty screamed in protest.
She hesitated.

“Just
go,” said Rita, pushing her toward the shower. “You give in now, you’ll never
be able to put him down.”

Halee’s
face twisted with guilt.

“Go!”

She
turned and ran toward the bathroom. In another minute she stood under the
hottest water the old plumbing would deliver and tried to forget for one minute
that someone had left her a baby to raise.

Halee
hadn’t been in the shower more than five minutes when the doorbell rang. Rita
peered through the peephole at a short dark haired man in a raincoat holding a
clipboard.

She
opened the door.

The
man peered past her and did a quick assessment of the situation. “Social Services.”

“Yeh,
I figured. Let me see some i.d.”

Sanchez
held up the badge at the end of a lanyard hanging from his neck without making
eye contact, walked past Rita and stopped by the blanket.

“This
is the child?”

“Yup.”

He
took out his clipboard and began marking a checklist, circling the child like a
statue in a museum. “Age?”

“How
do I know?” asked Rita. “I just got here.”

“You
are?”

Rita
crossed her arms. “A friend.”

Sanchez
grunted.

“You
gonna find his mother?”

“Who
is his mother?”

“I
figured you might recognize him. I’m pretty sure his mother uses your
services.”

“What
services?”

“You
know. Food stamps, that kind of shit.”

“I
don’t do food stamps,” said Sanchez, making another mark on his form.

The
doorbell rang again. Rita peered through the peephole and broke into a grin.
She flung the door wide open.

“Well,
look who’s here! I thought you were gone to New York.”

“Pert
near.” J.D. stuck his head in the door. “How you been, Rita?” He bent down and
gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Damn,
you smell nice. What’s that, Armani or something?”

J.D.
shrugged. “Some stuff they put in the locker room. Halee home?”

“Her
and half of Chicago. Sunflowers!” she exclaimed. “Halee’s favorite. I’ll put
them in water.”

Sanchez
approached. “You are?”

“Shaw.”
He extended his hand. “J.D. Shaw.”

Sanchez
squeezed his hand as hard as he could. “The baseball player,” he said with the
most enthusiasm he’d displayed all evening.

“That’s
right.”

“You
live here?”

J.D.
hesitated. “No…”

“You
are Halee McCarthy’s boyfriend?”

“I
didn’t catch your name,” said J.D., glancing between Sanchez and Ty.

“Ricardo
Sanchez, Social Services. You want to adopt a baby with Miss McCarthy?”

“No,
he does not.” J.D. turned and watched as Halee strolled toward him, her wet
hair wrapped high in a pink towel. She’d dressed in a Cubs tee shirt and a pair
of jogging shorts, her long legs still glistening with beads of water. The look
on her face spelled trouble.

J.D.’s
jaw slackened. A line of sweat beads formed on his forehead. His mouth curled
at the corners.

“Maybe
he does,” Rita suggested with a smirk.

 “What
in the world are you doing here?” muttered Halee.

“We
need to talk,” said J.D.

“I’m
busy right now.”

J.D.
glanced at the baby. “So it seems.”

“It’s
about time you showed up,” she said, turning toward Sanchez. “Ty was hungry and
cold three hours ago. Seems to me you make a living refusing to do your job.”

“You
are not my only case, Miss McCarthy.”

“Heaven
help us.”

J.D.
moved to the kitchen for a better view. So Halee had the fight in her, after
all. This was a side of her he hadn’t seen before, and he wasn’t complaining. He
didn’t know who this Sanchez fellow was, but he didn’t seem like he had good
intentions. And it looked like he’d met his match.

“The
baby goes with me,” said Sanchez. “Sign here.”

Halee
pulled the form from Sanchez’s clipboard and slowly tore it in half, keeping
her eyes glued on his. “Over my dead body.”

J.D.
grinned.

“That’s
a federal offense.”

“I
doubt it. Besides, the boys in blue were already here. They said I could keep
him.”

Rita
stepped forward and shoved a piece of paper into Sanchez’s chest. “My lawyer
drew up temporary custody papers. The baby stays here.”

Sanchez
muttered something, and then reached for Ty. Ty screamed.

“Don’t
touch him!” Halee tried to pull Ty from Sanchez’s arms. The pink towel fell
from her head, allowing a mass of unruly damp curls to spill out onto her
shoulders.

“He
goes with me. This apartment is not suitable!”

J.D.
stepped forward, inserting himself between Sanchez and Halee. “Halee, stop,” he
said in a calming voice. “You’re going to hurt the baby. What’s going on here,
anyway?”

Halee
began to cry. “I found this baby in my office, cold and starving,” she said,
clutching the child to her chest. “His mother gave him to me. This man is
trying to take him away.”

J.D.
turned toward Sanchez. “Is that right?”

“She
failed her test.”

J.D.
frowned. “What test?”

“Halee
wants to adopt a kid,” said Rita. “Sanchez won’t let her.”

“She
has no bedroom, no food!” cried Sanchez. “No husband, no boyfriend!”

J.D.
watched Halee pace back and forth across the tiny apartment, her face streaked
with tears. She held the screaming child to her chest as if she were clinging
to life itself.

“She
has me.”

A
hush fell over the room. Sanchez peered at J.D. with suspicion. “You are the
boyfriend?”

“That’s
right.” J.D. focused on Halee’s beautiful face and felt his throat tighten. He
fumbled with the ring box in his pocket, approaching her slowly, as if any
sudden move might spook her. She stared at him warily through tired eyes and
held her breath.