He sighed as he left the bed and looked outside. Yet another bright and cheery November morning in Hope’s Turn. With blue skies, white, cottony clouds, and tons of naked trees waving at him through the window, the town seemed to be encouraging him to clean up, get dressed, and venture out into the crisp, windy weather.
Such a nice contrast from a hectic schedule that had only recently ended with their loss in the playoffs. As much as he’d wanted to win, he appreciated being able to see family again. During the season, they’d have as many as 160 games in 180 days. A lot of travel and wear and tear on the body. Though still fit and in his prime, Grant felt he’d hit his target—playing for a major league ball club and getting into the playoffs, which they’d won last year.
He had everything he wanted in life.
Except the girl.
With renewed motivation, he took a luxurious, hot shower. Apparently, Piper wasn’t holding grudges because she’d left him water hot enough to boil an egg. No doubt already been up and gone for the day, a go-getter, Piper Mason used to rise at the crack of dawn. (And from the information he’d been subtly gathering from his brother and her brother, she still did.) He’d slept in until nine, an unheard of event that he cherished.
After drying off and dressing, he made his way to the kitchen and found a note on the counter next to a hot pot of coffee.
Hey slacker, left you some coffee. Jenna’s at school. I’m working today. But I’ll be back around six. If you want to do dinner, shoot me a text. I’m bringing home Chinese. She’d left her number.
Grant poured himself a cup and warmed at the idea of them sharing dinner, with or without Jenna. Maybe she’d be at her boyfriend’s tonight. Then he could start working on his plan to win Piper over. Mrs. Piper Weston. A lofty goal, sure, but Grant had always been one to set his sights high and not stop until he achieved victory.
Graduate college in three years with summa cum laude honors. Check.
Be recruited to the major leagues at the age of twenty-one. Check.
Play first string instead of sitting the bench. Check.
Play catcher for his team of choice—that had taken a few more years than he’d thought. But then, yes. Check.
Grant methodically worked through problems, encouraged by obstacles because his brain needed constant challenge.
Up until now, his goals had been to train hard and study so as to increase his batting average and work well with his teammates to win games. Winning Piper’s heart would take effort he was happy to expend, but he still hadn’t quite figured out how to go about getting her trust and affection.
His good friends on the team thought him crazy for wanting a woman above all else. But none of them knew Piper. And none of them had such stellar relationships that he’d have listened to their advice.
He had never been a saint, but everything Grant had ever done centered around his vision of the perfect life. Relationships with women had nurtured friendships and taught him about sex, which he’d use to one day please his wife. Accumulating wealth was necessary to provide for his future family. They’d never starve, never have to uproot their lives because a job elsewhere mandated the move.
To Grant, family was everything. Losing his at the tender age of twelve had hurt. A lot. But he didn’t want just anyone, and he didn’t want some untouchable dream.
He wanted the girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. He just had to make her see that they were meant to be. After the drama she’d been through with that loser ex of hers, he knew he had an uphill battle to win her over. But with some time and magic around the holidays, he knew he could do it. When Grant set his mind to something, he achieved results.
He’d do whatever it took to make Piper see he meant business. That he was in love.
Now he just had to put his plan into action. But he had a bad feeling he’d missed something important. If only he could remember what he’d forgotten.
Jenna had waited impatiently for the day to end. English had dragged on. Math had been awful, but right after lunch, everyone had a tough time staying awake. Even the teacher.
Finally, the end of school bell rang, and she raced out the door, smacking into Simon, her boyfriend.
They’d been best friends forever. But it had taken some clever work on her part to show the dunderhead she and he should date. He’d grown the past summer and now stood even taller than her. He’d also developed more muscles due to football and lifting weights, and she thought he looked even cuter now than he had in middle school. And he’d been super cute back then.
“Whoa. Where are you off to in a hurry?” He pushed a hank of light brown hair away from his eyes and smiled. When she didn’t smile back, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you have practice?” The team had a big game this Friday—the state championship! It was a huge deal and everyone in the school was talking about it.
“Yeah, but not until later. What’s up, Jenna?”
“I have something to take care of. Want to come?”
“Sure.”
They took his car to her Uncle Cade’s. “So you know my dad and Cade have been best friends since they were little, right?”
“Yeah. I like Cade. He’s funny.”
