so easily, so naturally, words he’d never dreamed he’d hear directed at him from a woman like her. A woman he could trust in, believe in, a woman with whom he could be himself. She was so amazing, so much more than he deserved, and she was meant to be his.
He also knew that things didn’t always work out the way they should.
Pepper put her hand on Mark’s. “My dad says it’s okay to make mistakes,” she said very quietly.
Mark’s dad had often told him the same thing. In fact, Ramon was right this minute out there in the stands cheering his son on, which he’d do no matter what mistakes Mark made.
“Everyone makes them,” the girl said. “But only the very brave fix their mistakes.”
Mark lifted his head and looked her into her old-soul eyes. “You’re right.” He’d pulled Rainey in even as he’d pushed her away. He was good at that, the push/pull. Standing, he locked eyes with Rainey. She stood off to the side between the bleachers and the snack bar. Close enough to have heard the entire conversation.
The ump whistled that the time out was over. Sharee went off to bat, and the other girls plopped back down on the bench of the dugout.
Mark didn’t move, didn’t break eye contact with Rainey. He had no idea how long they could have kept that up, communicating their longing without a word, when the sharp crack of Sharee connecting with the ball surprised them both.
SHAREE’S HIT WENT straight up the line and Rainey watched as the girl took off running. The teen still had an attitude the size of the diamond, but she had it under control these days. There were fewer blowups and hardly a single bad word out of her all week.
Of course that might have been because Todd was in the stands watching her, cheering her on.
Sharee glanced at the teen and blushed.
Todd, already in uniform for his game, grinned.
Watching them caused both a pang in Rainey’s heart and a smile on her face.
But that faded fast as she caught sight of the man in dirty jeans and wrinkled shirt walking toward the field from the parking lot. He staggered a bit, but his eyes stayed focused on the diamond.
Martin, Sharee’s father.
Drunk.
Just what Sharee needed, for her father to humiliate her today.
Rainey moved towards him, wanting to run the other way, but she couldn’t let him ruin the game for Sharee. “Martin, wait.”
“Gettoutta my way.”
He smelled like a brewery and looked like he’d slept in one. “Did you come to see the game?” she asked.
“I came to see my daughter,” he slurred, blinking slowly like an owl. “She stole money from my wallet. She’s going to pay for that.”
Rainey’s gut tightened. “I have your money in my office,” she said, gesturing in the opposite direction of the field. No way was she letting him out there to embarrass Sharee.
Not that Rainey was going to take him to her office either. Hell, no. He was a mean drunk, and her unease had turned to fear. She led him around the side of the building, heading back toward the parking lot, her phone in her hand to call Rick for help if necessary, when suddenly she was slammed up against the brick building, hard enough that she saw stars. But that wasn’t her biggest problem. That would be the forearm across her throat, blocking her airway.
Her fear turned to terror.
“You told her to call the police on me,” Martin hissed, his fingers biting into Rainey’s arms. “Didn’t you, bitch?”
Bitch… It
There was no one in sight. They were all watching the game. She wasn’t quite in view of the parking lot, and was out of view of the stands. In succeeding to get him away from the field, she’d screwed herself. “Martin, I can’t…breathe.”
“Because of you, Sharee called the police on me the other night. I went to jail, and lost my job when I couldn’t make bail.”
“You shouldn’t…hit her.”
Martin gave Rainey another shove against the brick wall, and her head snapped against it, hard. More stars. She’d have slid to the ground if he hadn’t been holding her up. He pressed harder against her throat and her vision shrank to a pinpoint. “Stay away from my kid,” he gritted out. “Stay away from me. You hear me?”
She heard him, barely, over the rush of blood pounding through her ears. Unable to draw a breath, she clawed at his hands.
“Answer me, bitch!”
She answered in the only way she could. With a knee to his crotch.
His scream was high-pitched, and thankfully very loud as he let go and they both hit the ground.
Martin bellowed in pain again.
Pounding footsteps sounded, and cool hands reached for her. “Jesus.
“I’ve got you,” he said firmly, pulling her against him, his voice raw with emotion. “I’ve got you, Rainey.”
There were others with him, the whole field by the sounds of it, but she could only sigh in relief as the spots claimed her.
15
RAINEY BLINKED AND found herself staring up at a white ceiling. She was in the hospital.
“You’re okay.” Mark’s voice, then his face, appeared in front of her, looking more fierce and intense than she’d ever seen him.
“You have a concussion,” he said. “And your windpipe is strained.” As was his voice. “You’re going to hurt like hell, but you’re okay.”
She nodded and held his gaze. It was blazing with bare emotion. She tried to say his name, but nothing came out.
“Don’t,” he murmured. He leaned over her, one arm braced at her far hip, the other stroking her hair back from her face. “Talking will just hurt.” Turning, he reached for a cup with a straw and helped her drink. “You’re supposed to just lie there quiet until morning,” he said.
She felt surrounded by him, in a really warm way. She swallowed and winced. “Martin-”
“In jail,” he said tightly, and dropped his head, eyes closed for a beat. Then he met her gaze. “You did great, Rainey. You took a really bad situation and handled it. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”
“Did you win?”
He stared at her in shock for a beat, before an exhausted but warm smile crossed his face. “Yeah. I won.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “But not the game. We declared a tie. God, Rainey. I thought I’d lost you. I just found you and I thought you were gone.”
She remembered how he’d looked earlier, in his sunglasses, hat low over his game face, letting nothing ruffle him.
Nothing.
In fact, she’d never seen anything ruffle the man…except her.
She got to him. And there was a good reason for that. He loved her, too.
And if she hadn’t already been head over heels, she’d have fallen for him right then and there, even as she watched the pain and hurt flash in his eyes, neither of which he tried to hold back from her. “Sixty-five seconds,” he said. “You weren’t breathing for sixty-five seconds after we found you. I lived and died during each one of them.” He
