Love Bats Last (The Heart of the Game) (17 page)

Sabrina had given him a sisterly lecture as they’d driven home that night, and her words still ran in his mind. Jackie had won over Sabrina, that much was clear. Sabrina always put relationships first;
he’d
always considered that a female thing. But when he searched his heart, he knew that he too valued the people in his life. There’d just never been a love interest in that inner circle. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in his living room and watched a sailing yacht maneuver around Alcatraz, skimming the choppy waters.

Love
.

This was no time for love. He glugged down his coffee and willed himself awake. He wasn’t sleeping well. Worse, he wasn’t seeing the ball like he wanted. And he wasn’t focused. That bothered him most of all.

Some nights as he lay awake in the darkness and played the events of the past months in his mind, he felt he was coming unseamed. He’d run the math over and over in his mind. If he didn’t snap to and rack up more hits, he’d blow his chance at the title and, perhaps worse, he’d let down his team. No matter how he crunched the numbers or considered the probabilities, it always came out the same: he needed to focus on baseball.

That couldn’t be so hard.

The dull gnawing in his gut told him it just might be.

The ring of his cellphone pulled him back from his puzzling thoughts. It was Gage.

“It’s six thirty,” Alex said.

“Thanks,” Gage said. “That’s exactly why I called. What a relief. I thought my watch might be off by a couple minutes and I thought I’d check yours.” Cell static garbled his chuckle. “What time do you have to be at the ballpark today?”

“You making me breakfast?”

“Water rescue,” Gage said through the static. “Bit of an emergency. I’m on my way to J dock at Pier 39. I need a big guy. You’re my nominee.”

“I can be there in fifteen minutes.” Action was always a good antidote for confusing feelings. So what if he used up some energy? At least he’d have a clearer head.

“You rock, Alex.”

And so what that once again he was putting something else before baseball? He could handle it. He couldn’t let the Center down.

Hell, he didn’t want to let Jackie down.

Alex walked down the wooden plank leading to J Dock at Pier 39. A couple of fishermen moored there were readying their boats for the day, and a few early-bird tourists stood gaping at the one hundred or so sea lions on K Dock. With the noise of the barking sea lions, he wouldn’t call it quiet. No one knew why the sea lions chose to haul out there every year, but they’d become a big draw for tourists. Where else could you sip a latte and watch wild marine mammals up close?

Gage was waiting for him on the dock beside the Center’s inflatable Zodiac.

My hero
, Gage pantomimed before saying, “Jump down there and strap this baby in.”

Alex grabbed the hooped net that Gage held out and jumped into the Zodiac.

“Just tell me it’s not a whale this time,” Alex said. He strapped the net against the side of the boat near the front. “I’d need more coffee if it’s a whale.”

“It’s a bull Steller sea lion.”

Alex whistled. Steller sea lions were an endangered species, not often seen around the area. And they were big.

“The Coast Guard spotted it on the rocks north of Muir Beach,” Gage said. He threw a coil of rope down to Alex. “The cliffs there are too crumbly to rappel, so going in by water’s the only way to get at it.” He handed down three life vests. “The packing strap he got caught in will choke him if we can’t remove it. He may have had it for years, but now he’s grown and it’s slicing into his neck.”

Alex caught the wetsuit Gage tossed down.

“Put this on. You might need it, but I hope not. There’s a restroom at the end of the dock to the right.”

Alex hopped up to the dock.

“The bull’s about ten feet long,” Gage added in warning.

“I should’ve had the extra coffee.”

“Yeah. Well, you can have my last donut.” Gage held out a crumpled bag.

“I’m not that desperate.” Alex grinned. “Not yet.”

He suited up in the restroom stall, rolled his jeans and T-shirt into a tight ball and headed back to J dock.

He hopped into the Zodiac just as Jackie walked up.

“Hey, boss,” Gage said. “What’re you doing here? Thought you were still in Hawaii.”

“It’s your lucky day—I got in yesterday.” She looked at Alex. “Hello, Alex. I hope you can swim,” she said with a hint of a smile.

“I can do the one hundred meters in less than a minute and a half,” Alex said.

Gage whistled.

Jackie crossed her arms and leveled her gaze. “This is the
ocean
we’re talking here.”

“It’s a Steller,” Gage said.

“I got that,” she said. “You should have two more crew for this.”

Gage looked up from where he was fiddling with the motor. “Eric’s in Cabo, and Jim didn’t answer.”

Jackie shook her head.

“It’s beached, Jack. If all goes well, none of us will be swimming.”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Jackie said, pivoting and then striding down the dock.

Alex watched her walk away and hoped Gage was right. It was far too early for swimming in the bracing waters of the Pacific.

The boat trip around Point Bonita and through the rough water known as the Potato Patch didn’t serve Jackie well. For most of the journey she sat slumped, her head between her knees. Alex felt sorry for her, but knew better than to say anything. A wave hit them broadside and sloshed cold water over the side of the tossing boat. Instinctively he moved to steady Jackie, but she fisted her hands in the pontoon rope and didn’t look up. He crouched down, near enough to grab her if she lost her grip.

“Times like this I do wonder why I didn’t take the job with dolphins in the Florida Keys,” Gage said as another wave smacked the boat and soaked them good. Alex admired his skill as he navigated the troughs of the waves and maneuvered away from the point toward the crescent of rocky shore just north of Muir Beach. “Warm water. Piña coladas. Babes.”

Jackie tipped up her head. A wavering smile showed briefly. “No hockey?”

Not only was she pale, she looked tired. But even wet and fighting seasickness, she was beautiful. Yet it was more than just her physical beauty. The woman had a presence that seemed to trumpet into his soul.

“For a man who loves skating on ice, your tropical fantasies surprise me,” Alex said.

“Let’s
not
get into Gage’s fantasies,” Jackie muttered. “I’m not sure I could take it.”

The boat lurched in a near shore wave and tossed Jackie into Alex’s lap. He closed his hands around her ribs and kept her from slipping into the bottom of the boat. Even through the neoprene of her wetsuit, he could feel the gentle curve of her hips. A discussion of fantasies was not a safe topic, never would be with her around.

She blinked up at him as he righted her. For a flashing instant, he saw her eyes widen, felt her relax in his hands. Then she stiffened and the look in her eyes was all
Dr. Brandon
once again.

Nope. No time for fantasies.

“When we pull in”—Gage pointed to the shore—“Alex, you hop out and take the net with you, then pull the boat up. I’ll hop out and net the guy, and you and I will hold the net over him while Jackie clips the strap and pulls it free. Then we push off.”

“I saw the Coast Guard photos this morning,” Jackie said. “He’ll need a shot of antibiotics.”

“Too close for too long, Jack.”

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. If Alex were a betting man, he’d say the sea lion would get its drug.

At Gage’s signal, Alex unstrapped the net.

Gage motored the Zodiac closer to the beach. Alex saw the red gash on the sea lion’s neck. The animal, perhaps startled by the sound of the motor, reared up. Gage cut the engine, but not before the sea lion charged into the breakers.

“Plan B,” Jackie said. Before he or Gage could move, she jumped over the side.

“Damn her!” Gage leaned over the side of the boat.

Stronger words rose in Alex’s mind as he readied to jump in after her. As he slung a leg over the side, Jackie surfaced.

“Come on in, Alex. The water’s delightful.”

Gage knelt at the side of the boat and wedged his foot into the stabilizing ropes. “Give me your hand.” He reached for Jackie. “This is insane.”

“It’s an
endangered species
.” Jackie sputtered as a wave caught her. “You just net him, Gage, and I can clip the strap.” She held up her knife. “Alex can handle the boat.”

“She’s serious,” Alex said.

“She’s crazy, that’s what she is.”

“If you two are finished discussing my state of mind”—she glanced over her shoulder as she treaded the rolling waves—“I think our guest of honor has decided our next move for us.”

The sea lion was not six feet from the boat.

Gage motioned and Alex took his place at the motor.

“Steer at an angle. If you have to, run it up onto the beach.”

Gage readied the net and threw. The sea lion bucked into it.

“Give me a hand,” he shouted to Alex. “Jackie, back off. Get out of the way!”

Alex cut the motor and slid to the front of the boat. Jackie was not moving away, she was swimming straight for the net and the big bull. The bull reared again and the net caught her arm. Both she and the sea lion plunged below the surface. Alex dove over the side. The water was murky, but he was able to see enough to pull the net away and free her arm. They surfaced, sputtering.

“Just hold it,” she said, nodding to the handle of the net. “It’s working.”

He wanted to grab Jackie and throw her into the boat—then maybe sit on her for good measure—but he swallowed back his fear and grabbed the handle of the net. The slope of the tideline was shallow enough that the sea lion couldn’t dive and escape the net. Jackie dove under the water and swam straight into the side of the net, pressing up against the bull.

Alex counted off twenty seconds.

“Get her up,” Gage said.

“I’ll give her thirty seconds, total,” Alex said, swallowing his panic and counting in his head. Then the jig was up—he’d haul her in no matter what.

He counted off six more seconds and prepared to dive. At seven seconds she surfaced, brandishing the severed packing strap.

“Got it!” she shouted with a smile. “Gage, hand me the syringe wrapped in my towel.”

“No deal,” Gage said. “Get in the boat. He’ll be fine.”

“I’ll fire you.”

“Miami beckons.” He leaned over the boat. “Hand her up.” He motioned to Alex. “We’ll pull the net off once you’re both in.” He tied the rope of the net handle to the boat.

“I am
not
going in,” Jackie protested. “Hand me my syringe.”

“But you are,” Alex said. He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her to the boat. “You most definitely are. You can’t fire
me
.”

Alex reached under her butt and pushed her up over the side of the boat. Gage grabbed her under her arms and hauled her into the Zodiac. Alex levered his foot in the rope and Gage hauled him up over the side as well.

He landed face-first in a foot of water that had washed into the boat. He fell against Jackie when he scrambled to his knees.

Gage tugged the line holding the net and the thrashing sea lion to the side of the boat.

“Lever the net handle under you,” Gage instructed. Working together, they pulled the net free of the sea lion.

The three of them balanced in the pitching boat and watched as the big animal appeared to debate whether to swim out to sea or back up to the beach. It eyed the boat and then hauled up onto the beach. It sat, erect, staring at them.

“It’ll need to recover after all that,” Gage said as he bound the net to the side of the boat.

“Mutiny,” Jackie huffed. “No other word for it.”

“You can shoot us at dawn,” Alex said. He’d only had his hands on her butt for a few brief seconds, but it had been enough to tell him he wanted more. That he even entertained such a thought at a time like this probably did warrant being shot at dawn.

Jackie was seasick all the way back to Pier 39. If anyone had told him that watching a woman struggling to keep from getting seasick could be rousing, he’d have considered them nuts. But as he watched her try to hide her misery, his admiration for her grew by the minute. When the boat lurched in a wave and he ended up with her hips in his hands to steady her, his admiration wasn’t the only thing that grew in response. He shifted his position and looked away, tried to call up some stats and ignore the effect she had on him, but for the rest of the ride he was aware of her every move. The woman could torment him without even trying.