She gathered her things and headed out to the ballfield, needing to see Jack and to ground herself in something real and solid.
She found him on the field with the JV team, running drills. Carson was at shortstop, Ben at second base, and a handful of other freshmen were scattered across the diamond. Jack stood near the pitcher's mound, his arms crossed over his chest, calling out instructions and encouragement.
Rachel climbed into the bleachers and sat down, letting the familiar sounds of practice wash over her. The crack of the bat. The thud of the ball hitting gloves. Jack's voice carried across the field, steady and sure.
She watched him work with the kids, watched Carson look at him with such trust and admiration, and the worry of the day started to drift away. This was Jack. Her Jack. The boy who'd protected her when they were kids, the man who was protecting these kids now.
Rachel remembered what it was like to see him play for Baytown High School all those years ago. How he'd looked on this same field, younger and less scarred by life. Always smiling with a joke or a shout of encouragement to his fellow teammates, but with the same focused intensity he brought to everything he did.
The time they’d spent apart seemed to drift away as she sat there watching him. The years, the distance, the mistakes they'd both made… all of it faded into background noise. What mattered was this. Right now. Jack on the field with his brother and these kids, teaching them not just baseball but how to be good men.
Practice ended, and Jack looked up at her and smiled. Her day was finally getting better, and she smiled in return.
Then his gaze moved to another spectator, and his smile dropped. Rachel looked over to see a pretty, long-legged, athletic woman with short, dark hair stand and jog over to him. She threw her arms around him, calling out, “Jack! I thought I'd surprise you!”
He didn’t return the hug, but placed his hands on the woman’s shoulders and gently stepped back. “Melissa. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“I was flying through Norfolk, and my next transport flight to Germany won’t leave until tomorrow. I thought we could have dinner and catch up.”
Rachel sat unmoving, her heart in her stomach. Or maybe it was her heartbeat racing that she heard, and her stomach was just in knots. She couldn’t take her eyes off them, but in her peripheral vision, she could see some of the JV players staring.
They knew their coach was going out with her, yet here he’d just been in an embrace with another woman. In truth, a rather one-sided, awkward embrace, but she had a feeling the young teens wouldn’t know that distinction.
She could tell the instant when Jack realized the same thing, and he stepped back another foot.
The woman… Melissa, cocked her head, and her voice lowered. “Jack?”
Jack looked up, and his gaze held Rachel’s before looking back at Melissa. “Excuse me,” he said, then jogged to where she sat. Reaching his hand out, he begged Rachel to take it with his eyes. She could see embarrassment and fear in his eyes, and in that second, Rachel understood that Jack didn’t want there to be any question about who he was with. She offered a quick nod, placed her hand in his, and allowed him to gently pull her to him. With his arm wrapped around her, he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
She twisted her neck to keep her eyes on him. “There’s no reason to be sorry. I’m fine.” She believed the words, but it was hard to keep the jealousy from slithering through her.
Gratitude filled his eyes, and for a few seconds, they shared a private smile that, in hindsight, she knew everyone around had witnessed. She was aware that many of the JV boys had stayed where they were, probably wondering if they would witness a catfight.
She started forward, glad for Jack’s arms still anchored around her shoulders. As they approached Melissa, she watched as understanding flooded the other woman’s eyes.
“Melissa, this is my girlfriend. Rachel, I’d like you to meet Melissa, a fellow Academy graduate.”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Rachel said as she reached her hand out.
Without hesitation, Melissa accepted the gesture. “You, too. I’m so sorry to have come without checking first. That was incredibly rude of me.”
“Not at all.”
Melissa smiled at her, tilting her head again as she peered at Rachel. “Now I can see why Jack was so keen to leave the Navy.” She looked at Jack and said, “It was great to see you again, but I think I’ll take the amazing Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel back to Norfolk. In truth, I have some work to do before my flight leaves.”
“Please don’t rush off on my account,” Rachel said, realizing the other woman’s presence didn’t threaten her. Granted, it wasn’t exactly comfortable, but she trusted Jack.
Melissa smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, but honestly, I just wanted to see an old Academy friend. And now, I can tell that he has successfully transitioned out of the Navy and is once more entrenched in the life he always wanted. And with the right person.” She looked up at Jack and chuckled. “Congratulations, Jack. You deserve the best, and it looks like you have it.”
Rachel stepped to the side, giving Jack the room to say goodbye. He then wrapped his arm around Rachel as they watched Melissa walk to the parking lot.
Jack looked down, immediately apologizing. “Christ, Rach. I’m so sorry. That was… shit… I’m so sorry.”
She smiled up at him and, with her arms around his waist, chuckled. “Honestly, Jack, with the way my day has gone, I’m not surprised an old girlfriend of yours showed up out of the blue.”
“She was never a girlfriend?—”
“Well, whatever she was, I trust you. If you had wanted to have dinner with her, that would have been fine?—”
