By noon, the four of us are downtown walking through the various gift shops and sipping hot chocolate so we can stay warm. It may be a gorgeous day, but it’s bitterly cold. Much colder than it was the day before.
“Have you had a chance to go skiing?” Morgan asks, stepping to the side to allow a few guys wearing snow boots to pass.
“Except for last night, this is the first time we’ve actually gotten out to do anything.” It’s been several years since I’ve actually put on a pair of skis and as much as I’d like to give it another try, I can’t. I can’t risk an accident right now.
“I’m surprised there’s not something in your contract about it,” Morgan mentions, exchanging glances with Sierra and me. “But hey, I can’t blame you for staying indoors. I’d have this woman between the sheets too.”
I stop in the middle of the sidewalk. I’m literally at a loss for words. My brother has some nerve insinuating that anything more has been going on between Sierra and me. Even if it was, it’s not something to poke fun about. I’m embarrassed, to say the least. I am, though, partly to blame for not saying anything to Sierra sooner about the whole baseball thing. The confusionon her face says as much. I grab hold of her hand and allow my brother and Breah to walk on ahead of us.
“I’m so sorry about my brother’s comment,” I apologize as soon as he’s out of earshot. “He was way out of line to disrespect you in that way.”
“It’s okay,” she says, a hint of moisture in her eyes. She quickly looks away, pretending to be interested in something else.
“No, it’s not okay.” I come to a complete stop and place my hand on her shoulder. “He owes you an apology for saying something so stupid. As for the contract he’s referring to, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
“Oh?”
“Sierra, I’m a professional baseball player, okay? I don’t get a lot of playing time, but I’m hoping to change that next season. When people find out that I play for the Florida Firebirds, they immediately want to look up my stats. They’re not bad, but they’re not great either. I simply don’t get to play as much as I’d like to.”
“I…I had no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone famous before.”
“That’s just it. I’mnotfamous. Not even close. I’m just a guy who went to this rural high school that managed to catch the attention of a few scouts. I went to college for two years then got picked up to play AA and AAA. I’m praying like hell they don’t send me back down to the minors again. It’s the chance we all take, I get that, but I don’t want to take steps backwards. I want to excel and go forward. Even if it means going somewhere else.”
“I’d love to come watch you play,” she says and swipes her gloved hand across her cheek. “I’d sit in the stands and cheer for you every time you come up to bat. I’d even make one of the posters with your name on it.”
“You crack me up, you know that?” Her comments makes me feel a little better about the situation.
“Is there some reason why you didn’t want me to know?”
“It’s not that I wanted to hide it from you. You’d eventually find out at some point if we remained friends, but I didn’t want it to be the only reason why you stuck around. It’s a stressful job and you can’t afford to lose your focus. Women come and go, especially when they realize you can’t always give them one hundred percent of your attention. It’s even harder when they find out you’re not making as much money as some of the top players.”
“That makes sense. I just didn’t understand when your brother mentioned your contract. I was like what contract is he talking about?”
“There’s usually a clause they add in about doing certain things that could be dangerous—sky diving, rock climbing, you get the idea. I’m nothing more than an amateur skier. I fall down more than I stand.” I can’t help laughing. “Yeah, I’ve busted my ass more times than I like to admit.”
“Can I ask you something?” Sierra stops walking and steps off to the side.
“Yeah.”
“I know we just met and the way we met is…well, I’ll just say…it makes for a great story, but I feel like maybe we were supposed to cross paths. Perhaps it was fate?”
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t make a habit of pulling over or turning around for just any stranded motorist. In fact, I think you’re probably the first person I’ve actually stopped to assist. And even then, I couldn’t offer you much in the way of actually doing anything other than offering you a ride.”
“My parents really harped on me as a kid about stranger danger. So getting in the truck with you wasn’t something I took lightly. Dad was sitting on one shoulder shaking his finger at mewhile mom was perched on the other side telling me what a nice guy you seemed to be. Life’s all about taking chances, huh?”
“Come on, let’s catch up with Morgan and Breah before they come back looking for us. If my brother doesn’t apologize to you before the day is over, I’m going to take him out behind the cabin and beat his ass.”
“I’m sure he didn’t really mean it the way it came across.”
“Regardless, he shouldn’t have said it.”
“Isn’t that one of those fudge shops up ahead?” Sierra points to a building with swirls and designs painted on the front glass. “Because I’ve been dying for some peanut butter fudge.”
“Get out of here. Do you really like peanut butter fudge?”
“It’sthebest!”
By the time we make it back to my truck, we’re both loaded down with shopping bags full of gifts and knick knacks. They’re mostly hers, but I managed to find a few things for some of my friends back in Florida.
