The Ace (2 page)

Chapter Two

Sitting in the stands of the ballpark for the Rockets’ home opener, Karen sat bundled tightly in her winter jacket, hat and mittens next to her younger half-sister, Shannon. With the season opening in early April, the fans knew to come prepared for the erratic Michigan weather. It could be hot and sweltering or cold and snowy. This year, Opening Day was of the winter variety.

“I’m going to freeze my butt off,” she complained as she rubbed her hands together.

Shannon sipped on her hot chocolate, her eyes twinkling above the rim. Even though the girls had different fathers, the similarities between them were striking. From their long blond hair and golden skin to their bright, blue eyes, they could almost pass for twins—if Shannon didn’t stand four inches taller.

“Tell me about it, but I’m still glad that Danny’s out of the picture so I could come. Speaking of that, you never did tell me what went down with him. Another woman? He decided he didn’t want to use deodorant anymore? He uttered the dreaded ‘R word’?”

“‘R word’?”

“
Relationship
.”

“Ah.” Karen laughed and shook her head before giving a small shrug. “It was just time.”

“Why? Something had to have made it ‘just time.’”

“Ease off, counselor,” she teased, used to Shannon cross-examining every little thing. Shannon, an up-and-coming lawyer, had recently graduated from law school and passed the bar on her first try. Karen couldn’t be more proud of her baby sis, despite believing that Shannon was only doing what her demanding and overbearing father pressured her to. She kept that belief to herself, not wanting to create a rift between them, but it took nearly all Karen had to bite her tongue. Shannon looked up to her dad and Karen understood that, even though her own relationship with him was cordial—at best—ever since he’d married her mom.

“What? I’m just trying to understand. It’s not like you’re loose with the details.”

Karen reached out and tugged Shannon’s blue knit cap farther down over her hair. “Because there are no details. He was getting a little too cozy and I wasn’t, so it was time to put an end to things.”

Shannon paused for a second before she said, “Huh.”

“Jesus, you sound just like Maddie,” Karen said with a scowl. “All of you with your all-knowing huhs.”

“Probably because we know this is classic Karen behavior.”

“Classic nothing,” she snarled. “Don’t be annoying.”

Shannon grinned. “Oh, yeah, classic Karen denial, as well.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” she said as she slung one arm over her sister’s shoulders and hugged her. “You love me.”

“You’re right. I do love you, even when you’re being an ass.”

Shannon laughed as they turned their attention to the field, watching the players unload from the dugout for the pre-game ceremonies. They stood up and cheered loudly during the team introductions, each player tipping his cap to acknowledge the fans when the PA announcer introduced him.

After the singing of the national anthem and a few other on-the-field ceremonies, the new season was officially underway with a loud cheer from the crowd. Every baseball fan looked toward the first home game as a sign of spring and the end of winter, even if it didn’t feel like it that particular day, and that was certainly something to applaud loudly in and of itself.

They sat back down as the players, wearing multiple layers under their crisp white uniforms, tossed balls around on the field, warming up as much as they could in the bright winter sunshine. Karen didn’t see any of it, however. Her attention was only on the tall, muscular man standing atop the pitching mound in the middle of the infield, throwing pitches to his catcher as he warmed up. She never saw anything else when Jerry Smutton was around. She could watch him forever; he was just that beautiful to her.

Not only did she find him to be physically appealing, but she also enjoyed watching him pitch. The way his long, strong body flowed through the motions, showing strength and perfection, was awe-inspiring. She marveled how he could command such a small object and hurl it toward home plate, topping—and sometimes exceeding—one hundred miles per hour without appearing to break a sweat.

Jerry wasn’t just her favorite player but, as the Ace of the team, he had become the clear fan favorite. A quick glance around the stands proved this—Smutton jerseys were all over the place. What everyone seemed to enjoy the most was that his personality always shone through. Sure, he took the game seriously—to the point of appearing severe at times—and he was fiercely competitive, but there were also sparks of a more lighthearted side. Quick smiles he shared with his teammates on the field and his expressions when an opposing player got the best of him showed how much he enjoyed himself out there. He had fun each time he took the field and it drew in the crowd, connected them to him. They liked to have fun with him, but at the same time, they had no doubt he would get the job done. He was Detroit’s adopted son and everyone believed wholeheartedly that he could strap the city onto his shoulders and lead them to the next pennant.

Shannon glanced at her and smirked. “Oh, your crush is back, I see.”

“Stop it. I do not have a crush on him. I just like watching him.”

“Yeah, right. That’s why you get that dreamy look on your face whenever you see him.”

Karen forced herself to turn away from the field and scowled at her sister. “I do not have a dreamy look on my face.”

“I bet you’re all heated up now, don’t even notice the cold anymore,” Shannon teased.

“Shut up,” she said with a laugh as she swatted at her sister’s arm, refusing to acknowledge the truth in her words.

“Don’t you see him when you’re at Maddie’s? I thought he lived just a few doors down from them and you’d be past your infatuation by now.”

“I am not infatuated with him,” Karen huffed. “And no, I don’t see him whenever I’m at Maddie’s.”

She wasn’t going to tell Shannon how bummed she was about that. She’d hoped that because her best friend was now engaged to one of his teammates, and since he lived in the same complex as Maddie, he would be around more, but that hadn’t been the case, much to her disappointment.

“He seems like he’d be a nice guy. He doesn’t look like an egomaniac in any of his interviews, despite the fact that he just signed one of the largest contracts in baseball history.” Shannon watched Jerry from their perch in the stands. “What was it? Two hundred million over ten years or something ridiculous like that?”

Karen shrugged with indifference. “Maybe, who knows? I mean, that’s just on camera, for show. His ego could be out of control for all we know. He could be taking advantage of weak women everywhere, leaving broken hearts in his wake while he sets up his next conquest.”

“Karen!” she exclaimed. “You don’t know that he’s like that. Not every guy is as much of a dog as you like to believe.”

It had been weird meeting Jerry once Maddie had gotten involved with Chase, after so many years of watching him from afar. She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but she had been pleasantly surprised to find that he really seemed like just an average guy. He didn’t appear to have an ounce of arrogance in him when he wasn’t in baseball mode.

In fact, if you didn’t know who he was, you would never guess that he was a multimillionaire athlete with a fastball feared throughout the league. He was so normal that it was almost disconcerting. With the new contract, however, she had to believe that the money, along with all the fame and publicity, had gone straight to his head.

“No,” she said, pointing toward the infield where he stood, “but I wouldn’t be surprised to find a secret side of him. I mean, look at him. He’s young, successful, making a boatload of money, like you said, and you think that’s not going to change him? Not a chance. He’s going to milk it for all he can.”

“Chase is young, successful and making a boatload of money, and yet look at him.”

Karen shook her head as she glanced at the dugout where she knew Chase would be sitting. “Chase is an oddity. I love him dearly, but there’s something wrong with that boy.”

Shannon laughed. “You’re right. I never would have guessed someone his age would be ready to settle down with someone twelve years older and with a kid, even as gorgeous as Maddie is.” She took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Well, maybe with the wedding planning, Jerry’ll be around more. I’m sure Chase will have him stand up with him since they’re good friends. And everyone knows you’ll shove your way into being maid of honor.”

“And why wouldn’t I be maid of honor?” she asked with a scoff, ignoring the trill of excitement that passed through her at the thought of possibly spending time with Jerry.

“I’m sure you will be, but I’m just saying it’s not like you’d give Maddie any choice about it,” Shannon said with a knowing smile.

“Hmm, whatever. I choose to ignore your snarkiness,” Karen said. She studied Jerry with a contemplative look. “It might be better if I didn’t really get to know him.”

“Why’s that?”

“I mean, I don’t want to ruin
this
,” she said, sweeping her mitten-covered hand toward the field. The first batter on the opposing team was stepping up to the plate to begin the game. “If I start spending a lot of time with him, he’ll just fall in love with me and I’ll eventually have to break his heart and he’ll act the fool and I’ll end up hating him and I’ll never be able to go to another Rockets game again until he retires. Probably just best to keep him as my favorite player and that’s it.”

Shannon snorted. “Oh, good Lord. Break his heart...,” she repeated as she laughed and shook her head at her sister. “You’re a piece of work.”

Karen laughed with her and sat back, settling in for a long game of watching Jerry do his thing and enjoying every minute of it.

* * *

“Where are we going?” Karen asked Maddie as she and Shannon trailed after her and Bree.

After the end of the game, which the Rockets had won, they’d met up with Maddie and Bree in the concourse area and, after Maddie had flashed some badge to Security, were now following them down a long tunnel that appeared to never end.

“We’re going to meet up with Chase,” Maddie said, glancing over her shoulder as she held Bree’s hand. “This is where we meet him after the game.”

“Ooohhh,” Shannon teased as she hip-checked Karen. “Maybe Jerry will be there too and you can get up close and personal.”

“Shut up,” Karen said as she shoved her sister, but didn’t miss the smile that Maddie threw them. “You too.”

“Lips are sealed,” Maddie said. “No one will mention your little crush.”

Karen sighed heavily. “I really hate you all.”

They stood around for a few minutes, bouncing on their toes trying to keep warm as they waited for Chase to emerge from the tunnel. When they finally spotted his tall frame, Bree gave a little squeal as she ran and launched herself into his arms.

“Hey, there. It’s nice to see you back in town. Awesome win today.” Karen stood on her toes to give him a one-armed hug once he’d extricated himself from Bree and Maddie.

“It’s good to see you, Karen. Hey, Shannon,” he said with a nod to Karen’s sister. “Smutty threw an awesome game today. Good way to start the season, that’s for sure.”

“What are you making up about me, Patty?” Jerry asked as he walked over to them with the catcher, Matt Buck, on his heels. He glanced over at Karen and a huge grin broke out on his face. “Aunt Karen! Where have you been, my love?”

Her eyes bugged out as he pulled her into arms and gave her a big bear hug, squishing her into his black North Face jacket. “What...” she sputtered as he squeezed her tight against his long, hard body. She was too shocked to enjoy being so close to him, but she caught a hint of his cologne. Woodsy, with a touch of amber, and that made her mouth water.

He pulled back and his coffee-colored eyes sparkled down at her. His short, dark brown hair was still damp from a shower. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. We all know I’m your favorite and that’s why I’m so glad I could give you, my number-one fan, a good game today.”

Before she could even utter a response, he cocked his head over his shoulder. “That’s Matt Buck. Bucky, this is Aunt Karen.”

Matt laughed as he held out his hand, his cobalt eyes twinkling as they crinkled in the corners. “Somehow I find it hard to believe that you’re his aunt.”

“He could only wish.”

Jerry chuckled but then noticed the tall blonde standing behind Karen and straightened up. “And who are you? You have to be related to this one here. You look just like her, only taller.”

Shannon smiled, despite hating the reminder that she stood out like an Amazon woman, and held out her hand as she walked over to him. “I’m Shannon and yes, she’s my sister.”

He shook it with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you, Shannon. Jerry Smutton.”

“Uh, yeah, I got that,” she said with a snigger. Her smile became shy as she met Matt’s eyes and gave him a little finger wave. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Um, yeah,” he said with a big smile of his own. “Nice to meet you too.”

Shannon tore her eyes away from him breaking the sudden awkwardness and noticed that Karen was still staring at Jerry. “I think you’ve somehow accomplished making her speechless,” she said to Jerry with a humorous glint in her eye. “That’s quite a feat.”

“Oh fuc...shut up,” Karen quickly corrected when Maddie cleared her throat loudly and glanced down at Bree. “Just because he’s a big smart-ass doesn’t make me speechless. I’m just in awe of the size of the ego that walked in here and I’m feeling a bit smothered.”

Jerry threw his head back and laughed. “Whose ego? Mine or yours?”

Karen jerked back in surprise before her brows puckered. “My ego? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I’ve heard all about you, Aunt Karen,” he teased with a wag of his finger. “All the stories.”

Karen looked over his shoulder at Maddie and Chase. Both of them shrugged, indicating they had no idea what he was referring to.

“And what stories would those be, Smutty?” she asked, using the nickname his teammates had bestowed upon him.

He paused for a second and then laughed again. “You called me Smutty. That’s funny. Come on, Bucky.”