Page 7

After Ethan had hit for a while, I’d picked up my own bat, and I’d been able to visualize my mechanics in a way I hadn’t done in years. The balls I’d hit today had been the best since I started rehab. I didn’t have my power and form back completely, and I would never win another Golden Bat award, but today had been magical. I could finally visualize where the ball would fly and how far it would go. It was a solid start.

Jane’s message had thrown me off-balance. What kind of gossip did she expect me to hear, and what wild scheme was she expecting me to play along with? I put the phone back into my locker and went to the showers. I’d talk to her tonight. My focus needed to stay on baseball, and I’d promised Wally no distractions.

I had a ton of shit to take care of. I had booked a room at the local Holiday Inn until I could find a decent apartment to rent, and I still had to check in. Tomorrow was about finding an apartment and taking care of all the annoying crap that came with moving to a new city—and in this case, an entirely different country. Because I was already a Canadian citizen, my immigration status wasn’t a problem, but there was still a pile of administrative things to be done. The team was taking care of some of it, but they couldn’t go to the DMV for me. Little shit like that would eat up most of my early days in Red Rock.

The last few days had been incredibly hectic. From the minute my agent called me to say that I’d convinced Vancouver to sign me, I hadn’t stopped moving. I’d packed enough of my things to get by and called a moving company to pack up the rest of my condo and put everything in storage temporarily. I had no idea how long this gig would last, so there was no point putting down any roots. I’d hired a leasing company to find a temporary tenant for my condo while I was gone, so it wasn’t left empty. I’d hardly had time to sleep, but it was all worth it. I was one step away from getting back to where I wanted to be.

After my shower, I approached the lockers with my towel slung low around my hips, and was greeted with a shocked whistle.

“That truck did a real number on you, didn’t it?”

My abdomen and legs were covered in puckered pink scars, and the towel exposed a lot of them. I didn’t care—most ballplayers were covered in surgical scars. Mine were a little more prominent, a little less neat and tidy. At least I was still here. I had to grin when I saw the player sitting by the lockers.

“Bennie, what the hell are you doing in Triple-A ball? I thought you got retired last year.” Bennie Rodriguez and I had played together in Seattle for a season years earlier, before he got traded.

In his mid-thirties, the Dominican pitcher who had been released by New York at the end of the previous season just laughed.

“They tried, man, they tried. Vancouver thought I might have some life left in me yet. Looks like they thought the same thing about you. It’s good to see you back.”

“It’s good to be back. For a while it wasn’t looking good, but I never was a guy who listened to his doctors.” If I had listened to the doctors who operated on me after the semitruck had totalled my car two years ago, I’d still be limping around using a cane.

“I got no complaints. The ones that rebuilt my shoulder did a damn good job.” Bennie pointed at the scars around his right shoulder.

Ethan came around the corner, already showered and dressed in the clothes he’d worn earlier while helping Jane.

“You ready to head home?” I was getting hungry, and the promise of Jane’s lasagna had me eager to head out. I wanted to know what the hell her text had been about.

“Who’s this? I saw you taking batting practice with him earlier,” Bennie said.

“This is Ethan Templeton, future major league outfielder,” I said. Ethan blushed at the praise, but he’d earned it. The teenager had tremendous power for someone not yet done growing. He would be a top pick straight out of high school, unless he opted to go to college first. He’d probably be offered scholarships from every top college there was. Batting practice alone had shown me Ethan had more raw hitting talent than anyone I’d seen in years.

“Templeton . . . are you Chad’s son?”

Ethan’s mouth turned down, but he nodded, and I wondered about his relationship with Chad.

“Carter was helping me with some tips to improve my hitting.”

“Not that he needs a lot of help,” I added. “He’s got a ton of natural talent. He’ll be a household name one day.”

I dressed as they spoke and reached for my suit jacket. I hadn’t unpacked anything yet, and I was overdressed for dinner at Jane’s, wearing a designer suit. It couldn’t be helped. I hadn’t planned on taking BP today at all. The club had asked me to check in with them and attend the tasting event. But with my uniform ready, I couldn’t say no to Ethan’s request for help.

“Cook. Come in here for a minute, will you?” Wally asked.

I muffled my groan. I wanted to leave, not have another meeting with my manager on the very first day I was here. What could he want now? It had been two hours since our last one-on-one. I slung my jacket over my shoulder and walked over to Wally’s office, leaning against the doorframe. No point in getting comfortable, I didn’t plan to stay long. “Yeah, Skip?”

“I just got a call from an old friend. I hear you’re moving in with Jane Morris. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you this: Keep your personal life out of the clubhouse. I meant it when I said that the club hired you because you don’t create problems. Don’t start now.”

Moving in with Jane? What the hell was he talking about? Her message popped into my head. Jane had told people I was moving in with her? What had happened in the last few hours? Until today she hadn’t even known I was coming to town. What was she thinking? I hid my confusion as I delivered what I hoped would be a harmless little white lie. “Jane is an old friend. I stayed with her when I first came up from Triple-A to play in Texas. She’s doing me a favour while I look for a place.”

The frown creasing Wally’s face eased at my response, but he still looked pretty unhappy. “I see. Well, I hear her ex is back in town, and he’s not too thrilled about the arrangement. You should be prepared for a few comments about it.”

Chad was in town? I was a little surprised that he would come out to Alberta after the major league season had already started. His broadcast job would require him to be back in Texas, ready to announce games and travel with the team.

“I promise, Skip, no trouble. I probably won’t even see him before he leaves to join the team.”

Wally’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t hear? Texas cut him loose. They’ve kept the details hush-hush, but someone I know in their system tells me that he got caught betting on games. You know the league doesn’t tolerate that. He’s back here to take over his dad’s tractor dealership.”

I managed not to laugh, but I could feel my lips twitching. Chad Templeton selling tractors? I couldn’t see it. Chad was more the type to sell high-end sports cars. Which did nothing to explain why Jane had told Chad that I was staying with her. If Chad really was moving back here, this little white lie could go very wrong. If either of them found out my part in the breakdown of their marriage, I didn’t relish the thought of the chaos that would create.