I glance in Tali’s room as I pass it, but I don’t see anyone in there.I keep going until I get to Jamie’s closed door.Knocking quietly, I wait, shifting from foot to foot.I'm so anxious.So worried Jamie’s going to say this won't work.
I wouldn’t even be able to blame him.What happened tonight isn't his fault and I'm sure he’s used to his house being peaceful and quiet.I don’t want to ruin that for him.
I'm just about to leave him alone when the doorknob twists and swings open.Jamie’s on the other side in nothing except a pair of athletic shorts hanging low on his hips.
“Hey,” I whisper, trying to gauge where his head is at.
“Hey, are you ok?”His eyes search mine, but I'm not sure what he’s looking for.
“Yeah… I'm sorry about what happened.Is Tali ok?”
“She’s sound asleep.”He pushes the door open a little further and moves so I can see her lying in the middle of his bed.She looks so tiny.
“Oh, ok.I’ll leave you alone for the night.I just wanted to apologize and check on you.”I turn to leave, but Jamie reaches out and grabs my arm.
“Winnie, stop.”He spins me back around to face him and takes a step closer.“You don’t need to talk to me about anything, I know this isn't really my business…”
“What do you want to know?”
“Has… Has Wheeler ever hurt you?”
“Never.”I make sure to maintain eye contact so he knows I'm telling him the truth.Wheeler and I aren’t perfect for each other, but he never did anything to scare me or hurt me.
“Ok.I was worried after how he exploded.I just wanted to make sure.”
“Why?”
“Because you matter to me.You matter to Tali.I’ve never seen her warm up to someone as quickly as she has with you.”
I smile, unsure of how to respond to him.He’s such a sweetheart and goes out of his way to make sure I'm ok.I think working for him and living here will be a nice change of pace.I just hope I don’t screw it up.
Chapter 11
Schmidt
“Daddydoesn’twanttogo to work,” I groan as I glance at the clock while I feed Tali another bite of food.
She scrunches up her nose as she gives me a big toothy smile.I love how happy she is whenever she’s with me.It makes me want to say screw it and retire from baseball altogether.I have enough money saved up, I could survive for a long time before I’d need to find another job.
“We’ll be ok.”Winnie places her hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know you didn’t.I'm sure this is hard on you and the closer you get to the season starting the harder it will get.”She smiles at me like she completely understands where I'm coming from.
It’s crazy how quickly we’ve clicked.Sometimes it feels like we’ve known each other forever and not just a few days.It’s nice.Easy.Exactly what I need.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I could bring her to the stadium for lunch if you’d like.It’s whatever you’re comfortable with.I'm not sure if you’re ready for the entire team to meet her.”
“I was thinking… Saturday is the team picnic at Owen Powell’s house.I skipped it last year, but I'm thinking of going this time.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”She smiles, lighting up the entire room.
“Would you come with us?”
“Of course.”
