Forgiving Patience (14 page)

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Jake wanted to
be pissed about the change in time, but that would only prove how big of an ass
he was. And some of the guys on the team were already complaining about his
competitiveness. This time he decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Okay,” Tommy said.

Jake just stared at his feet until he
heard the engine fire up and back down the drive. He didn’t want to look at the
damage he’d done to Bradley’s face…hell, he didn’t want to look at the damage
the kid had done to his. But he had to admit, he’d taught his brother well. The
guy gave out a good punch. Any older brother would be proud.

“Sorry.”

“What?” Bradley wasn’t going to make
it easy for him.

“I said I’m sorry. It’s been a lousy
couple of days, and I didn’t feel like hearing your smart-ass mouth.”

“So you just decided to sucker punch
me?”

“Yep.”

“Well okay, but you owe me…or is it
me who owes you?”

Just like that, it was over. Bradley
let it go as Jake just having a few bad days. God, the guy could piss anybody
off. Where did he get off being so damn happy? Bradley rose to his feet, dusted
off his shirt and pants, and held out a hand. Jake only stared at him for a
second before he took it, pulling himself up to his feet. He grabbed the shirt
he had pulled off earlier and tossed it to his brother to clean up the bloody
nose he’d caused. Both brothers wiped blood for a few minutes before either one
spoke.

“So, you need help with this porch?”

“
Naw
, I got
it. You’ve got enough to handle.”

“You’re worse than a woman. Quit
being stubborn and let me help with the porch. It will save on time.”

Both brothers worked in unison for
the rest of the day. After several repetitions of an Aerosmith CD and a
six-pack of beer, the small porch was finished.

* * * *

According to Em, Thursday nights in
Patience were meant for softball. Anna had vaguely remembered some softball
games going on between the adults when she lived here, but since she didn’t
have an adult sober enough or physically able to play in her household, she’d
never been to one. At first she’d resisted coming, but what else was she going
to do? She’d spent the last two days cleaning Garrett’s apartment, walking at
the track, and one day she’d had dinner with Em and Tommy. Anna’s body was too
sore to walk another lap at what was now considered the never-ending walking
track, and plus, Em would be at the game.

The breeze blew in from the west, it
probably was going to allow lots of balls to sail out of the park. The
outfielders would sure be busy tonight trying to keep them in. She had worn
flip-flops, jean capris and a Yankees T-shirt with her man’s number on it.
Derek Jeter was a legend. When he did decide to play his last game, he for sure
would be going to the hall of fame. And besides his skills at short-stop…he was
gorgeous. She was proud to wear number two on her back. It was most likely
going to raise a few eyebrows since the entire town started and ended with Jake
Lawrence…number twenty-five…playing third base. But she couldn’t blame the
town, or Jake for that matter; he gave the townsfolk something to believe in,
gave them someone to cheer for and say, “Hey, that kid is from right here in
Patience, Tennessee.” Even she was proud of what he’d accomplished.

Both sides of the road and the
parking lot were full of cars. Luckily, she found a spot just as someone was
leaving. It looked like a little league team had just finished a game. She
closed the roof of the car, shut off the engine, and placed her keys in the
console.

Making her way to the bleachers for
the home team, she noticed that kids were running past her. “Come on, guys.
Let’s go see Jake before it starts.” The group of young boys seemed truly
excited. It was good for them to have someone to look up to. It was important
for all kids to have role models. And it was good Jake had cleaned up his act.
Those kids deserved to have him to look up to.

“Anna, over here,” Em hollered,
waving a hand and motioning for her. “About time you got here. It would have
started already but one of the guys from the opposing team wasn’t here yet and
the umpire wasn’t finished chalking the field.”

“Sorry. It took a little while to
find a parking spot.”

“Liar. You probably just rolled out
of bed. You need to go see a sleep doctor. I’ve haven’t seen anyone else past
the age of eighteen who doesn’t get up till noon every day,” Em insisted.

If only her friend really knew that
she actually got less than five hours of sleep a night. A sleep doctor wasn’t
going to help what was wrong with her—she needed a vacation from her mind. Her
problem was that it never shut off—never giving her a long enough break so she
could fall asleep and stay that way. She hated taking medicine for her
disorder, if that’s what it was, but it was the only way for her to remain sane
and not be a crazed wacko.

“It’s after six,” Anna said after
taking a look at her watch.

“Well, just saying, it wouldn’t
surprise me.”

Anna stared through the lenses of her
sunglasses out onto the field to see the same group of kids who’d just about
run her over surrounding Jake. He was demonstrating a good batting stance and
swing while
squishing the bug
—as those in the baseball world liked
to call it. Though she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help but smile. Her heart
seemed to grow a couple sizes larger than her chest allowed. She was starting
to respect him for how he’d lost everything he loved and yet still turned his
life around. Those kids down there worshiped him because deep down, he was a
good person. Maybe she was being a tad too hard on him. He was a human who had
made mistakes, and all he could do was try to make them better.

Sunday night at the walking track was
the last time she’d seen him. And it had surprised her how he’d stayed away.
She thought he might try to use some excuse to come by and see her, but he
hadn’t. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or elated for him to have
finally gotten the hint she didn’t want him around.

“So, who’s playing?” Anna asked.

“We’re playing Knight County,” Em
replied, taking a draw of her soft drink.

Anna looked around at all the men
dressed in fitted gray uniform pants, white and red shirts, and solid red caps
with the initials P.C. on them. They all looked the same. The only way she
could tell who each guy was by the names on their backs.

Wait.

“Is that Jesse out there?”

“Yeah. She plays second base.”

“She plays with all these men?” Anna
was shocked, but shouldn’t have been. If any girl was going to beat up on some
men, it would be Jesse in all her glory.

“Tommy hates it, but that’s only
because she’s better than him. She’s one of the best players on the team.
Well—besides Jake.”

Well, good for her. She liked that
chick more every day.

There were more people she
recognized. Besides Jesse, she also knew Bradley, Tommy, and Tex—a guy she’d
gone to school with. She remembered seeing him at Em and Tommy’s party, but she
had been a little too preoccupied with Jake and Ms. Edna’s sex talk to make it
a point of talking to him.

She was watching Jake chase the kids
off the field so the game could get started when Em asked, “You trying to be a
rebel?”

Anna frowned. “What?”

Em pointed to her Jeter shirt and
smiled. She guessed she was being some type of rebel. But it honestly didn’t
matter to her. Originally, the shirt was meant to only be worn to bed during
her time in Patience, but when Em had invited her to the softball game, it
seemed like the perfect time to shake the wrinkles out and wear it outside of
the house.

She shrugged. “What—my shirt? It was
the only baseball attire I had, and I’m at a ballgame. What else was I supposed
to wear?”

“By looks of the old men from the top
of the bleachers, you were supposed to wear anything but
that
.” Em pretended to be disgusted.

She hadn’t meant to, but she took a
glance back to find four older men, giving her the eye as if to say
child,
who do you think you are, wearing that piece of trash?
Oh, well, if they didn’t like it,
they could stop staring a hole in her back.

It was already the fifth inning. She
cheered when it was appropriate and booed the opposing pitcher when he tried to
pick off one of Patience’s guys on first. Like she’d predicted to herself, the
outfielders had to stay alert for the many balls carrying as far as the fence.
Tex was playing centerfield, along with a left and right fielder she didn’t
know.

While she was seated on the first
base side of the field, she unfortunately couldn’t hear, but could see, Jake
yelling from his third base position at Bradley—who was playing
short-stop—about something he was doing wrong. Once or twice she’d seen the
brother’s eyes venture to the crowd and wondered if that was what angered Jake.

A ground ball was hit up the third
base line, Jake fielded it, threw it to Tommy at first to beat out the speedy
runner trying to get a base hit. He didn’t take a moment to enjoy the play he
had just made or to take a breather; he was ready for the next batter. His legs
were apart, knees bent, and he was extremely focused on the man situating
himself in the batter’s box. He was fluid and smooth with his movements,
especially considering he’d suffered a pretty bad knee injury less than two
years ago. Anna couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to have lost his
childlike enjoyment while he was on the field. When he had first started
playing in the big leagues, he was like a kid out there. Of course she knew he
played hard and wanted to win, but she also was aware that he knew what he was
being paid to do—live out a bigger-than-life dream. She just couldn’t help but
be sad at seeing this man’s face.

God—she couldn’t shake the memory of
him from that first day when she’d walked up her driveway and he surprised her
on her front porch. Despite his hard and way too serious expression, he was
sexy as hell. The way he looked in those pants and ball cap were causing
wetness that had nothing to do with the damp, humid air. This was bad…really,
really bad.

After the last out was made, the home
team crowd cheered for their boys and girl. High fives were given around the
pitcher’s mound. The crowd started to go their separate ways. It was still a
work night so most had to get up in the morning for their last day of the
workweek. The small-town life seemed simple to her, but it was something she’d
never minded in the past. She was a small-town girl. It was one of the reasons
she’d never tested the big city. New York was a place she wanted to visit, but
never would she actually move there.

“Anna, you ready?”

Anna looked up at the voice to see Em
standing above her. She was the only one still seated on the bleachers staring
at the field and the one player who stood on it.

“You go ahead. I think I’m going to
stick around for a while.”

“You taking what I said the other day
to heart?”

Anna knew Em was referring to her
idea of Anna having sex with Jake. “No. God, no. I just woke up, remember,” she
playfully said. “I just want to enjoy the night air.”

“If you say so. I’ll call you
tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Why
in the hell am I waiting on Jake?
It had been a long four days since she’d seen him and had
time to cool off. Of course she was furious at his comment. And she had every
right to be. He’d left her the night he slept with that whore. She might have
broken up with him first, but she had good, logical reasons for that. What
reasons did he have for jumping in bed with Cara?

Anna didn’t know if Jake knew she was
there, but that was fine with her. She was more than satisfied to just watch
him pack his bag with several balls, a couple of bats, and his mitt. He handled
each piece with such gentle care, like he was touching it for the last time. It
was too sad to watch anymore.

“Hey, slugger,
whatcha
doing down there?” Anna hollered.

When he finally looked up from his
task, she could see pain in his eyes. “Just packing. I’ll be up in a sec.” He
finished with his bag, left it sitting outside of the dugout, and walked
through the gate and casually up the bleachers.

“Great game,” she congratulated,
giving him a guarded smile. It was new to her, being the one making the first
move. Usually it was he who tried to sweet talk her into his life nowadays. She
couldn’t help but notice his swollen lip. It looked like it had been busted
recently.

“It was a win. A little close because
of my dick of a brother. I swear that guy has babe radar. If a single woman is
within ten feet, he’s going to know about it. He needs to leave the women alone
when we’re on the field and concentrate. Oh—and nice shirt, by the way.” Of
course he would have something to say about her Yankees T-shirt.

“I don’t want to hear it. I’ve
already had your cheering section all but threaten to have me removed from the
ballpark.”