The Ace (4 page)

Chapter Four

Karen drove to Maddie’s with her car window open a crack, savoring the mild fresh air after a long, cold winter. She was looking forward to spending time with her friend and enjoying a nice dinner since she knew their time would be limited now with Chase back in town.

Pulling up in front, she parked on the street and climbed out. After a quick jaunt up the sidewalk, she reached for the doorknob and caught herself just before she walked in, which she would have done before Chase moved in. She knocked like a polite visitor and waved when she spotted him through the screen door.

“Hi there,” she said as he held it open for her while she stepped in. “How are you, sweetie?”

He smiled, his big brown eyes brightening at the sight of her. “I’m good.” He leaned down to give her a hug. “Come on back,” he said as he motioned toward the kitchen. “Let me get you something to drink.”

She followed him and glanced out the window over the sink. Maddie was taking advantage of the unusually warm spring day and had set the table on the back deck. Noticing that there seemed to be more plates than needed, she counted the place settings. “I see I’m not the only guest of honor tonight. Who else is coming?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Maddie breezed in with Bree right behind her.

“Hi, Aunt Karen!”

She leaned down and picked up the little girl for a hug. “Hi, mini-Maddie! How are you?”

She giggled at the nickname, but was used to it since everyone always commented on how much she resembled her mother with her jet-black hair, fair skin and bright green eyes. “I’m good now that Chase is finally home.”

“What? Do you think he’s going to play with you all of the time or something?” Karen teased as she tickled her. “I’m sure he has other things to do, like baseball.”

Bree looked over Karen’s shoulder at him, suddenly uncertain. He grinned as he grabbed her out of Karen’s arms and hung her upside down from her ankles. “Of course I am! Don’t listen to Aunt Karen. She’s just teasing.”

Bree laughed as he flipped her back up, then scuttled off to answer the front door. Chase raised an eyebrow at Karen before following.

“Who else is coming tonight?” Karen asked Maddie. Maddie remained quiet, with a small smile tugging at her lips and her eyes twinkling, and Karen glowered at her. “This better not be a setup or something. I’m serious, Maddie. I’ll walk out of here if you’ve got some blind date thing up your sleeve...”

“Relax,” she finally said. “It’s not a setup, but I do think you’ll enjoy the company tonight.”

“Why? Who is it?”

Maddie gave her a playful nudge before turning into the living room. Karen watched from the kitchen as Jerry stepped into the condo and felt her heart pick up a beat. He was dressed in a simple black T-shirt, which only accentuated his broad shoulders and massive chest, and low-riding dark jeans with frayed edges that hung loose, but didn’t hide his strong legs. She swallowed deeply and a flush of warmth broke out over her skin. She still hadn’t gotten over that spark that had flown between them when she’d seen him Opening Day and whenever she thought about it, a shiver traveled down from her head to her toes. She was glad that she’d taken the time to make herself presentable despite thinking it was only going to be dinner with Chase, Maddie and Bree, and thanked God she’d decided on her new cropped, skinny jeans.

“Oh, it’s just you,” she said as she strode casually into the room.

At the sound of her voice, Jerry looked up from his conversation with Chase and grinned. His deep brown eyes, framed by lashes so dark and thick that they were the envy of women everywhere, visibly brightened. “There she is! I knew she’d be sweating bullets until I got here.”

He crossed over to her, his long legs eating up the space in four steps, and enveloped her into another big bear hug. “It’s okay, Karen. I’m here now so you can stop worrying.”

She fought back a smile as she shoved him away, even though she would have loved nothing more than to stay in his strong arms, pressing against his warm, solid chest. She’d admired him for so long that it was a little weird to be so up close with the real deal, and she didn’t want him to know how much she actually liked it. “Get off me, you big oaf.”

He laughed as he turned back to Chase and Maddie with his arm still around her. “It’s okay, guys. She’s just embarrassed to show her excitement in front of an audience, but, believe me, she’s ecstatic to see me.”

Maddie laughed as she headed to the kitchen. “Come on back. Let’s sit outside since the weather is finally warming up around here.”

With a beer in hand, Jerry sat down at the patio table with a long sigh of contentment and reached up as Karen walked by to pull her down into the seat next to him. “What’s up, Aunt Karen? It’s been so long since I saw you last.”

“I just saw you like two weeks ago,” she replied.

“Like I said, that’s like forever,” he said with a teasing smirk. “What have you been doing?”

Maddie raised an encouraging eyebrow at Karen before sitting down at the table, but Karen ignored her as she shrugged and took a drink of her wine. “Just working.”

“Working? You work?”

Karen turned toward him and scowled. “Yes, you ass, I work.” She didn’t care who she was talking to, her personality didn’t change for anyone. Not even for her favorite ballplayer, who made her heart stumble around her chest and her palms sweat. “Why wouldn’t I work?”

“I thought you just hung out here all day with Maddie doing your nails or whatever.” Jerry ducked out of her reach and laughed, a dimple in his right cheek making a quick appearance when she tried to punch his arm. “Well, if that isn’t true, then what do you do?”

“I’m a real estate agent.”

He stopped mid-reach toward the beer on the table in front of him. “Real estate agent? Like in houses?”

“Yes, like in houses.”

“Tell him about your latest client,” Maddie said. “He’s a real winner.”

“Oh, the toilet guy?” At Maddie’s nod, she snickered and told them how she’d caught him studying the inside of a toilet.

Jerry laughed, but then frowned. “Do you get a lot of weirdos like that?”

Karen thought back on all of her clients recalling a few that could definitely fall into that category. “Sometimes, not a lot though. Comes with the territory, unfortunately.”

“And you go to these houses with them by yourself?”

“Yes. Why? Do you want to be my bodyguard?” she asked, a teasing glint shining in her eyes.

“It just seems like it would be a little dangerous for a single woman. You just never know...” he broke off and took a deep drink of his beer, trying to cover up the sudden awkwardness.

She stared at him for a second, her blue eyes sparkling with humor, before giving him a big grin. “Aww! Smutty’s worried about me!”

He grinned at her use of his nickname. “Someone’s got to watch out for your ass. One of these days your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

Maddie laughed. “I believe that’s already happened. More than once actually.”

“Really? I’d like to hear those stories,” he said.

“No, you don’t,” Karen said quickly as she turned away, putting the subject to rest. Everyone smiled as they imagined exactly the kind of trouble her mouth could get her into.

She caught Jerry’s eye. “What are you smiling at?”

“You’re a funny woman,” he said as he eyed her with what looked like interest.

She wasn’t sure how to take that, unsure if it was a compliment or some backward slam against her personality. Either way, coming from her favorite Rockets player, it sounded good.

* * *

Long after the sun had descended, leaving them cloaked in the soft glow of multiple candles and the porch light, everybody lingered around the table. The temperature had dropped and there was a gentle breeze, but everyone remained outside, enjoying the fresh air. Only Bree had gone back inside the house to watch television, bored with the adult conversation.

“That was great, Maddie. Thank you,” Jerry said, looking comfortably full from dinner as he lounged back in his chair cradling a bottle of beer in his lap.

Maddie reached out and grabbed her fiancé’s hand. “You’re welcome, but there was a reason we asked you both to dinner tonight. There’s something that we wanted to talk to you about.”

“Of course I will. Who the hell else would you have?” Karen said as she leaned her head against her chair.

“What’s she talking about?” Jerry asked.

Maddie smiled as she looked at her friend. “Karen’s just good at reading my mind.” She turned back to him. “Both of you are very important to us and we want to share our special day with you. We wanted to ask if you would stand up in our wedding, as best man and maid of honor.”

“Again, of course I will,” Karen said as she sat up. “It’s not like I’d let you have anyone else.”

“Exactly,” her friend replied in amused agreement.

“Wow,” Jerry said. “I’m honored. Of course.” He stood up, shaking Chase’s hand and gave his shoulder a friendly slap before lowering himself back in his chair. Even though he and Chase had gotten close the year before, he was truly surprised and flattered that Chase wanted him to be his best man. “What am I going to have to do exactly? Control her?” he asked as he shoved his thumb in Karen’s direction.

“Hey! It’s more like I’m going to have to babysit you,” she fired back.

He turned and looked at her with an innocent look on his face. “Me? Why would you need to watch me? I’m perfectly well behaved.”

“Right and I’m a nun.”

His lips curved slightly, but he didn’t crack. It always surprised him that a face as beautifully pure as hers could have such a sassy mouth. “And what I have ever done to make you think otherwise?”

Karen looked around him at Chase, as if seeking the confirmation from him, but he just held up his hands with a grin. “I’m not involved in this.”

“Wimp,” she said and her eyes came back to Jerry’s. “Fine. What have
I
done?”

Jerry was losing his battle against smiling, and his lips twitched fiercely. “Uh...well...”

“I think you’ll both need to babysit each other,” Maddie interrupted with impartiality. “You’re both troublemakers.”

“Hey!” they protested in unison.

Maddie shrugged, unconcerned with their glares. “Well, you are.”

“When is the blessed event?” Jerry asked them.

“Well, since we’re going into October this year,” Chase said as Jerry nodded in silent agreement, “it’s going to be November ninth.”

“You’re damn right we’re going into October this year, without a doubt,” Jerry concurred.

“Last year was a long winter, that’s for sure,” Chase said as he shook his head. “I know I was miserable to be around,” he said with a wistful glance at Maddie. “I’ve got to make up for it.”

“It could happen to any of us,” Jerry said. He understood the guilt that Chase felt, but as players, they all had to learn to have short memories or else they would never get past the hard losses.

“Yeah, yeah,” Chase said as he stood up and started stacking the dishes. “It still sucked though.”

Maddie watched his back as he walked through the door before giving Jerry a sad smile. “He’s taking it hard. He feels like he let the team down.” She sighed as she stood up and trailed Chase into the house with the remaining dishes in hand.

Jerry took a moment to check Karen out as she watched Maddie step into the kitchen. She really was beautiful in an almost breathtaking way, stunning to the point that there were moments when he could only stare in awe. Combine that with her feisty personality and quick mouth, a rare combination in his experience, and Jerry was definitely intrigued.

Karen glanced his way with a snicker. “Boy, all you ballplayers are mental cases.”

He grinned, displaying perfectly straight teeth. “In more ways than one, baby.”

“And you’re the biggest head case of them all.”

“In more ways than one.”

“You’re an idiot,” she said with a laugh, making her blue eyes brighten.

“You have a nice laugh,” he said, still smiling, but his eyes were serious. “You should do it more often.”

The smile fell from her face and her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. In an instant, she looked irritated, and almost unnerved, before she turned away from him, seeming to examine the dark backyard, quickly putting the conversation to rest.

Jerry watched her profile as he tried to decipher her mixed messages, wondering how she could go from open and carefree to closed off almost instantly. She was definitely a complex woman and as much as he should be avoiding that, his fascination with her only seemed to grow.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to decide if he wanted to take that next step and if he did, if he wanted to do it with Karen. Finding out she was a real estate agent seemed almost too perfect, given his recent thoughts toward purchasing a home. Recalling the spark he’d felt pass between them on Opening Day, he cleared his throat. “I want to ask you a favor. I was wondering if you’d show me some houses.”

* * *

Karen turned back toward him, her interest piqued and not just because she might be able to spend more time with him—a no-brainer—but because she would actually be paid to do it, as well. A win-win situation for her. “You want to buy a house?”

He nodded. “Thinking about it. I just signed a new contract and so it looks like I’ll be here for a while. The condo thing is gettin’ old and cramped, and I’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to have a house where I can spread out.”

“Okay. Where do you want to look?”

“Around this area. I like it here in Royal Oak.”

“Why don’t you just build something?” she asked, wondering why he wouldn’t want to start brand new, especially since he could afford anything he wanted.

He shrugged. “I could and I might still, but it doesn’t hurt to see what’s out there, no?”

“And what’s your price range? What are you looking for?”

“How about this? I’ll tell you what’s most important to me and you can pick the rest. I want a nice big backyard and a nice big, finished basement.”

Karen waited, and when she saw he wasn’t going to add more, she pressed on, unable to believe his only concerns were that it had a backyard and a basement, that she could show him anything she wanted as long as it had those two things. That seemed too easy, as well as too good to be true. “And?”