Pitching to Win (Over the Fence #1) (10 page)

“Okay, calm down mom. It’s not like I’m getting down on one knee tomorrow. She isn’t even my girlfriend yet.” Although if I had my way, this weekend would change all of that.

“Yes, I know that, caro, but a mother can dream. Ever since you’ve left my house all empty, all I can imagine is little grandbabies filling it back up!” She says dreamily as she walks to the sink, putting her glass in it.

Okay, girlfriend I could accomplish for her. Grandbabies…yeah that would have to wait.

“
O
k
, so I brought over like, every sexy nighty I could find in my drawer!”

Chloe dumps a sparkly pink tote all over my bed, and a jungle of silk and lace cover the entire comforter.

“Chlo, I’m going for like..two and a half days…” I look to Kels for help, who snorts and shrugs, turning away to wrap my jewelry in a pouch. Chloe catches my look, and scowls.

“Oh whatever, you two! This is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to any of us, I’m allowed to go a little crazy. Plus, you need to look irresistible when you finally get back on that horse.” She winks at me, clearly talking about the sex that was apparently on everyone’s mind.

Yes, they were helping me pack for my weekend with Owen at the beach, but I really needed them here more for moral support. This was the closest I’d ever gotten to having sex since Gregory, and I needed a pep talk.

“What if I freak out?” I voice the thought that has been circling my mind for days. Ever since Owen had asked me to go on the trip.

“You mean like seize up in terror and chop his dick off?” My eyes flare wide at Kels’ imagination situation. I hadn’t even considered the possibility of physically hurting him! “Calm down, crazy. You’re not going to freak. And you definitely won’t chop his dick off. Although, you may give it the time of it’s life.” She sticks her tongue out. What was this, make-sexual-innuendos-at-Minka Day?

“You’re going to be fine, boo. Nothing thus far has given you any indication you’ll freak out. In fact, you melt in that boy’s hands like putty if all the things you have told us are correct. So, I think it’ll
cum
to you just fine,” Chlo snickers as she pats my arm. Then, grabbing a handful of pink and ribbons, “I think these ones are perfect!”

Yeah, no. Pink was my color in accessories, maybe a handbag or a shoe here and there. But, I couldn’t cover myself in the stuff like Chloe did.

Sifting through the pile, I select a tasteful navy number and a lacey white bridal looking number. Hey, I was technically a born-again virgin, no one had touched my lady bits in a
long
time. It would convey the right message.

“I’ll take these two.” I fold them and lay them in my small tote bag.

“Those are sooooo Minka.” Kels rolls her eyes, turning back and stuffing two particularly teeny bathing suits in the bag.

“Oh, I’m sorry I’m not the nude beach type.” I drawl sarcastically.

“That was only a
couple
of times in France. And don’t knock it till you try it,” She points, giving me the stink-eye.

I need to change the subject. The butterflies in my stomach thinking about sex with Owen are giving me indigestion. And that’s the last thing I need for this car ride with him.

“Hey, you know who is single?” I turn to Chloe, knowing the news will excite her.

“Who?!” My best friends chirp at the same time. We were nothing but shameless gossips, the three of us. But then again, who wasn’t? If you try to deny it, I call your bluff.

“Miles Farriston.” I smile chummily, folding a pair of pajama shorts on top of the burgeoning pile of clothes in my weekend bag.

“WHAT!? Ooooh, Chloe might have an orgasm on the spot!” Kels bumps her hips into Chloe’s slender thigh. Yes, Chloe was tall, but my other soul-sister was tiny. Kels’ petite frame barely came up to Chloe’s shoulder.

“Wait, really? I thought he was dating some hoity-toity college bitch. Or at least that’s what his Facebook said last week.” She blushes.

“Guilty! I see you Facebook stalker.” I stick my tongue out at her.

“Oh whatever, don’t think we don’t notice when you literally go through all of Owen’s pics in one sitting.” Her and Kels share a private grin. So the boy had a lot of dreamy pics. I couldn’t help it.

“Yes, he is very photogenic. Sue me. Back to the matter at hand, though. Farris. You gonna make your move. Finally?”

She shrugs. “Maybe. What has Owen told you?”

Ah, the inside intel game. I saw her strategy. “Not much. Just that Farris isn’t taking the breakup well, but that his ex was a total scheming gold digger. Owen hated her. Maybe you can nurse him back to health, if you know what I mean.”

“Look at Queen Conservative making a sexual suggestion! I like what Owen has been doing to you. He has my vote.” Kels nods seriously.

I pick up a beautiful blush pink maxi dress I’d bought up this week and fold it delicately before placing it in my suitcase. “Well he does have some magical fingers.” I wink, and both girls gasp at my sudden kiss-and-tell attitude. “But that’s all I’ll say!”

“Well, getting back to me, maybe I will go after Miles. There is still about a month left to this summer. And it’s been totally boring so far. I need some action.” Chloe walks across the room on tip toe and plunges into a deep plié when she reaches my dresser.

A knock came from my door. Hm, I wasn’t expecting Owen for another 20 minutes.

The door opens and there stands dad. My eyes widen and I stare in surprise. Wow, he didn’t usually make an appearance in the middle of the day. Better yet, I don’t remember the last time he had made an appearance. He’d been avoiding the house like the plague for the last week. Ever since I’d unleashed almost 18 years of emotion on him.

And shit. I hadn’t even told him I was leaving for the weekend. And now I was scrambling in my brain for some kind of excuse…

Which all went out the window because my two best friends, who I would have used in 99 percent of excuses, were here. Helping me pack. For my trip to the beach with Owen. Alone. With Owen.

Double shit.

He eyed the open duffel bag on my bed curiously.

“Hello girls, how are you?” He asks politely.

“Great.” Chloe says, a hostile tinge to her tone. Of course the girls knew my feelings about practically being an orphan, and Chlo wasn’t the type to leave the thoughts in her mind.

“Nice to see you, Chief.” Kels, on the other hand, flirted with my dad mercilessly. I think she partially did it because my dad was “cute” (her words). Or the fact that it made him hideously uncomfortable.

“Ahh, Minka can we talk in the kitchen for a moment?”

Here we go. Better bite the bullet now. Whatever, if he threw a fit I’d just run away. Not like he would notice for a day or two.

“Sure.”

I throw the girls an eye roll before following him through the house and into the kitchen.

We stand face to face, leaning against the granite counter tops. I wasn’t speaking first. He had called this little family meeting, and I wasn’t about to start this chat off.

“Listen, I…um, I want to apologize for not being around much lately.” He’s avoiding my eyes, looking anywhere around the kitchen but at my face. At this current moment, he looked like he was addressing the toaster.

I snort. “Lately? Try like, the last 18 years.”

“I know, Minka, I haven’t been the most attentive father, but—”

“No, dad. You really haven’t been.” I can feel the lump starting to form in my throat. Shit, today was supposed to be a good day. I did not want to cry.

“You know why its so hard for me. Why I can’t…” he made a waving motion between us.

“Yes, I know. Mom died, dad. But guess what? You still had one woman in your life. One woman who very much wanted you to be here.” I snap at him, feeling the tears shift in the wells of my eyes. Soon they’d be spilling down my cheeks.

My father stands there, motionless. I think I see his jaw tick. We never spoke about her. Never brought her up.

My mother.

She’d died almost 18 years ago, while giving birth to me. Complications with the labor, they’d told my father.

Not that he’d told me that. Kelsey’s uncle was friendly with my dad, and he’d spilled the secret after hours of drinking. Kels had told me when we were 10.

“You had me, dad. The little girl who felt ashamed because her dad would never come home to spend time with her. Wondering what she had done to drive him away. The little girl who had to hide a picture of her mother in her bedroom drawer for fear she would get in trouble. The little girl who only ever wanted love and affection. And instead was met with a big, empty house.”

I sniff, trying to suck up the tears that were already dripping down my face. My voice was hoarse as it left my body. I couldn’t keep the feelings in anymore. He’d wasted 18 years,
18 years
, on his grief.

I look up and gasp. My father, the police chief, stands in front of me with tears in his eyes.

“You just….you look so much like her.” His voice barely registers above a whisper. His hand moves almost of its own accord and comes to rest on my cheek. “It hurts to look at you sometimes.”

He wipes at his eyes, trying to get his emotions in check.

“I’m so sorry, Minka. I know I’ve drowned us both in my ocean of grief. I just…when your mother died, I went with her. My soul was crushed. I didn’t know how to take care of a baby. And I especially didn’t know how to do it without the angel that I loved more than life itself.”

He stops, choking up at referencing mom. It was something he hadn’t said out loud in years.

“When I brought you home from that hospital…this place. It smelled like her. It had her style, I could still see her clothes laid out on the bed. She was in every corner of this place. Those first few years were a special kind of hell for me. So as soon as I was able to put you in daycare and get out of this prison, I did. Its why I never come home. I can’t stand to sleep in our bed. The bed I shared with Grace. It’s just so much easier to bury the pain in my work. And then you started to grow up. You have her hair, her eyes, her smile. When you put on that dress for your first spring dance, my heart almost damn near stopped. You were the spitting image of Grace. I didn’t come home for a week after that. I couldn’t handle it.”

I know he hadn’t come home that week. If he had, he would have found me sitting on the bathroom floor, sobbing uncontrollably while contemplating if I should end it all.

“I’m just so damn sorry, Minks. You mean everything to me. And I’m so damn proud of you. I know how accomplished you are. What an amazing young woman you have become. I know…I know I’ve messed up. And you don’t owe me a thing. But, I want to try. You only have one more year left at home. And I want to prove it to you that you mean more to me than anything else in this life. Can I do that? Can you let me do that?

I think I was standing in a puddle I was crying so hard. Silent sobs wrack my body. I give him a slight nod.

I had never hated him. I understood his pain. But, I wanted to get through our pain together and develop our family. No matter how small it was.

He moved to envelope me in his arms, and I squeeze him back. Relief pours through my system. This was the moment I had been waiting years for, and we were finally going to work on our relationship. Pushing back, I try to cut the serious moment with a joke.

“So now would be a great time for you to begin your trustful-dad phase and let me go on a trip alone with my sort-of man friend to the beach.”

“Wait, what?” He looks down sternly as he wipes a tear from my cheek.

“Well so….there is this guy who recently came into my life. He’s really great…and um, he asked me to take a trip this weekend with him. And he’s picking me up in 20 minutes.” I try for my best innocent smile.

“And you think I’m just going to let this little boy take my daughter away, alone I presume, for three days?”

“Yes? Come on dad, this is our first test. You can trust me, I promise. Owen is a great guy, and he will take care of me.”

Just then, the doorbell sings with the arrival of Owen. Welp, guess it was as good a time as any to introduce him to the folks. Or folk. Okay, that joke was probably too soon.

“And that’s him now!” I smile, turning to grab his hand and pull him toward the front door.

I pull the door open and lose my words for a minute. Owen stands casually on our front porch in a loose white button down and khaki shorts. Both were perfectly tailored to him. I could make out the lines and curves of his muscles through the fabric. His golden brown hair was slicked back the way I loved it, and he was wearing aviators on his prominent nose. I think I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

And then I see his face as my father crowds into the doorway behind me. I can’t help but laugh at his panicked look as he rips the aviators he’s wearing off his face. Glancing back, I realize my father is still in uniform.

“Dad, this is Owen Axel. Owen, my dad.” I make short introductions.

“He…hello sir. Really nice to meet you. You have an amazing daughter.” Owen stammers as he sticks out his hand for my father to shake.

My father grips it, hard. I see Owen go a little pale. I can’t contain my glee.

“That’s Chief to you. As in Police Chief. Which is who I am.” My father puffs his chest up. Oh lord.

Owen shoots me a death glare. Whoops, had I forgot to mention that?

“I understand you want to take my daughter away for the weekend.”

“Uh, yes sir. Only if that’s ok, Chief. I can promise you she will be protected, safe, and I will, and already do, regard her with the utmost respect.”

Suck up.

“Well, if you leave me the address of the beach house, your license, plate number and cell phone I can call, than she is allowed to go. But I warn you, Axel. Any funny business with my little girl and I will have every cop in the state make sure to pay you a visit.”

Owen looks as if he might pee his pants. God, that little cry fest was so worth seeing this hilarity ensue.

“Yes…yes, Chief.”

I chime in. “Well, I’m going to go get my stuff. We can load up your truck and head out. Love you, daddy!”

And with that, I skip away to fill Kels and Chlo in quickly on the soap opera that was my life.