Single (Stockton Beavers #1) (22 page)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Roberta

"I can't believe you let my two ex-boyfriends into your home," I whisper in Luke's ear.

"Excuse me…
our
home," he says before winking at me. "Besides, you should know by now, I'm not the jealous type."

"I know, and I'm glad of it, but I still can't wait for this night to be over." I glance at him. "I can't believe we didn't cancel this party for the Kings after we found out we were getting Summer today."

I pat Summer's soft, sweet head that's currently nuzzled against Luke's chest, and he smiles at me before surveying the noisy horde that's filtering in and out of the kitchen, eager to sample the spread of sandwiches and salads arranged on the table as a makeshift buffet.

"It's amazing she's able to sleep through all this, isn't it?" He rubs Summer's back while rocking her gently in his arms. "But it's how Dad would've wanted it. His door was always open to any ballplayer who happened to be in Stockton."

I grunt. "Yeah, and based on the way they're filling their plates, they're certainly not shy about accepting our hospitality. Do you think there'll be anything left for us to eat?"

He grins at me over Summer's head. "With the Beavers and the Kings, as well as both coaching staffs here, there must be over sixty men in the house right now. I don't think there'll be a crumb left by the time they get done."

I cast a worried look in his direction. "What if Summer gets hungry?"

He kisses her soft, blond hair. "She's out like a light. There's no way she's waking up anytime soon." He reaches for my hand. "Don't worry, Mama. Daddy's got it all under control."

My attention is focused on Luke and what a natural he is when it comes to being a father when someone taps me on the arm. Reluctantly, I turn around. "Yes…?" But the word dies on my lips once I see who it is.

"Umm, Roberta? I'm sorry to bother you, but how the heck are ya?" Scott Harper gives me his most captivating smile, while Jake Woodbury stands sheepishly behind him. "Oh, is that your little girl?" Scott moves in, bending down to peer into her face. "She's a cutie. Hey, little one. What's up?"

Jake clubs him on the back. "Stop it, Scott. You're gonna wake her up." He shoots me a nervous glance before stepping alongside me. "Hey, Roberta. It's good to see you again."

I awkwardly press my lips together. "Yeah, you too."

There's no getting around it. I feel guilty being around Jake again, guilty that through me, he unknowingly became another victim of David's violence. I never told Jake what David did to me, and I never will. But I didn't treat Jake as well as I should have. I let David's evil influence poison my life for far too long. It's true I never loved Jake, but I never set out to hurt him either. I just wasn't able to deal with the emotions that getting pregnant again stirred up inside me.

Jake always called me his wounded bird, but I think before I met Luke I was more like an injured bear, slowly bleeding to death in the wild. I was someone Jake should've stayed far away from. I was hurt, scared, thinking I had to claw at anyone who tried to help me in order to defend myself, believing that even though Jake meant well, he would only hurt me in the end.

Luke was able to succeed with me where Jake couldn't, for one very important reason. From the beginning, I always viewed Luke as a fellow victim. He was someone who knew what it meant to suffer at the hands of David. In my mind, Luke wasn't above me or below me. We were the same. While, where Jake was concerned, I just wasn't able to get there with him. I wasn't ready, and bottom line, we just weren't right for each other. He couldn't understand what I was going through because I never let him in. I was broken, and until I was able to heal, the only thing I was capable of was breaking him too. David may have been the root cause behind it all, but when it came to Jake, I take full responsibility for being the one who caused him so much pain.

That's why I'm apprehensive about seeing him again. I know just how much I hurt him by walking away after I miscarried, fleeing to Landry's ranch in Texas, leaving him to cope with the loss all alone. Now that he's married with a new baby son, I hope his wife and child have healed his wounds, just like Luke and Summer healed mine—the ones I didn't mean to inflict, but did. I can only pray that the two of us have found happiness each in our own way.

Jake jams his hands into his pockets, his eyes quickly leaving my face and traveling to Summer. "What's her name?"

"Summer Rose," Luke answers for me while smiling back at Jake.

Encouraged by Luke's response, Jake loosens up. "You guys really brought her home today? Wow, that's amazing. Congratulations."

Luke is practically beaming he's so happy. "Thanks, man. The foster care system wanted to place her in a good home as soon as possible, and we jumped at the opportunity to take her in. She's only our foster daughter for now, but we're hoping to adopt her."

Scott nods enthusiastically. "That's awesome, bro."

But I'm surprised when Jake doesn't reply. Instead, he just chews on his bottom lip while his eyes drop to the floor.

Scott, sensing Jake's discomfort, starts wrapping things up. "Yeah, thanks again for everything. It was nice meeting you, Single. Maybe we'll get to turn some double plays together in New York, once the Heimlichs get their heads outta their asses."

Luke laughs at him. "Aren't you married to a Heimlich?"

"Yeah." He leans in. "But it doesn't mean I agree with everything they do." He rocks back on his heels with a knowing gleam in his eyes. "C'mon, Woodchucker. Let's grab some cake before Jilly comes in and devours the whole thing."

But Jake stays firmly rooted to the spot. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Scott shrugs. "All right. Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn ya." Stepping back, he positions himself directly behind Jake's back in order to mouth to me, "Go easy on him."

I roll my eyes, just as Jake looks up at me. Unsure of himself, he gives me a timid smile before running a hand through his thick, dark hair. "Roberta, I just want you to know how happy I am for you." He throws a hasty glance at Luke. "For the both of you."

Overwhelmed, I just stand there, not knowing what to say. I've never been good at handling my emotions, and Luke knows that. When I don't respond, he covers for me. "You have a little boy of your own now, don't you?"

Jake's smile matches Luke's. "Yeah, his name is Caleb."

"Well, hopefully, we'll be able to introduce him to Summer someday," Luke replies warmly.

Jake nods before looking at me. "I'd really like that."

Luke subtly nudges my arm with his elbow, urging me to respond, and I jab him back before sputtering, "Yeah…that'd be great.
Really
great."

Summer shifts in Luke's arms, and Jake takes that as his cue to leave. "All right, cool. I think I'm gonna go grab a piece of that cake Scott mentioned. Take care, you guys."

"See ya, man," Luke responds. Summer yawns, snuggling her face under his chin, and when he gazes at me, he looks as content as can be. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Not for you," I moan, still mentally beating myself up over it.

He chuckles, gazing at the clock above my head. "Okay, I know you were dreading that. But it's over now, and you got through it. More than that, you made the guy feel good." He smiles at me. "So what do you say we put this little lady to bed?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What about our guests?"

He gives me a sly grin as he begins walking out of the kitchen with Summer clinging to him. "I think I know who'd be more than happy to take over for us." I follow him, wondering what he's up to, when he strides over to Landry. "Hey, man, feel like playing host for a while?"

Landry staggers up from the couch, where a moment ago he was precariously balancing a plateful of food on his lap. "Are you kiddin'? I know a thing or two about keeping these ruffians in line."

"Oh, yeah?" I challenge him. "And how are you gonna do that when you can't even eat without getting it all over yourself?" I point at the stain he has on the front of his shirt.

He looks down at it helplessly, his plate in one hand, a plastic cup in the other. "Gosh, darn it. I didn't even see that." He glances across the room anxiously before calling out, "Ruby!"

An attractive woman with a cute pixie haircut looks up and smiles over at us, and the group of Beaver players who were hanging on her every word warily glance at their boss, hoping they're not in trouble for flirting with his girlfriend.

Landry juts his chin at her proudly. "Look at 'em all. They're spellbound just listenin' to her."

"She really is wonderful, Landry," I don't hesitate to admit. "I don't know how we would've pulled this off tonight, if not for her. She ran around Stockton all day, helping us put everything together."

A huge grin stretches across Landry's face. "And you wanna know the best thing? My kids are absolutely crazy about her."

"And you're not?" Luke teases.

"I'm not even gonna try to deny it. She has me hook, line, and sinker," he gloats as she walks over to join us. "There you are, baby. We were just talkin' 'bout ya."

She reaches for his napkin, dipping it in his cup before going to work on the stain on his shirt. "Oh, no, not again. Mike, enough already," Ruby says bashfully as her hands come to rest on his chest. "Roberta and Luke need to get that little one of theirs to bed."

"Isn't she great?" Landry sighs dreamily.

I shake my head in amusement. "You are so whipped, cowboy. I hope you know that, Ruby."

She giggles, smiling up at him. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

Luke calls back to them when we reach the foot of the stairs. "We're still on for dinner tomorrow night, right? Russo's after the game?"

Landry gives him a big thumbs-up, once Ruby takes his plate out of his hand. "You know it, Single. It's all about celebrating another opening day. And since you're the team captain now, I intend to bounce some ideas off ya. Get your input about helping Hoff adjust to his role as backup catcher, and how to keep Rob focused down here now that he's had a taste of the big time."

Luke nods. "Sounds good, boss."

I give them a wave, and just as we start to climb the stairs, the front door opens and Danny steps inside.

"Hey, you two…or should I say, you three?" He grins at us. "Oh man, is Summer asleep? And here I was hoping I'd get to hear my boy, Single, put his mad, bedtime-story-reading skills to use."

"Well, you'd be the perfect person for me to practice on," Luke fires back. "Since I can't tell you how many times I've woken up on the bus to find you drooling all over my shoulder."

Danny glances at me, looking for sympathy. "Do you see how he treats me, Roberta?"

"Yeah," I mutter. "And you totally deserve it."

He clutches his chest dramatically, like I just ripped his heart out, and Summer lifts her head to stare at him.

Danny gulps, going rigid. "Oh, crap…she's up."

Summer stares at him, her eyes going wide when she sees his long, red beard.

Luke's eyes dart between the two of them. "Danny, I think you're scaring my kid."

He backs up slowly with his hands in the air. "Okay, I'm outta here. The last thing I wanna do is make her cry or something."

"She'd be the first female to ever cry over you, since it's usually the other way around," Luke taunts him.

"Hey," he says, sticking his head around the corner and waggling his eyebrows at us. "Did I tell you I met someone?"

"You did?" Luke and I reply, snickering when Summer's head whips between the two of us, not sure what to make of our reaction.

"Uncle Danny finally convinced some poor girl to go out with him." Luke raises Summer's arm in victory when she wraps her fingers around his thumb.

"You actually went on date…for real this time?" I question him.

"Hey, guys, it's not funny," Danny protests, his feelings obviously hurt. "I really like this girl, and she really likes me."

"If you say so, dude," Luke responds, trying to hide his smile.

"Just wait until you meet her," he insists. "You'll see. She's perfect for me."

I exchange a doubtful glance with Luke, knowing how, when it comes to relationships, nothing ever seems to last for Danny. "Yeah, you'll have to bring her over sometime."

He nods. "Well, she's coming to a game next week, so maybe we can all meet up afterward."

"Okay…" I trail off.

"Goodnight, Danny," Luke groans as he starts up the stairs again, and I have no choice but to follow him.

"What was that all about?" I ask as we walk down the hallway.

"I have no idea," Luke says, stepping inside the room at the far end. "But it can't be good. Danny has the worst luck when it comes to women. Every time he starts dating someone new, he always thinks she's the one. And all that ever happens is he gets his heart trampled on, over and over again."

"Well, maybe this time—" I stop short when he shoots me a skeptical look as he lowers Summer into her crib.

He pulls the tiny blanket over her as she settles in. "Danny's like a brother to me. I care about him. I really do. But right now, I'd like to concentrate on us."

He holds out his hand to me, and I readily lean into him as he wraps his arms around me. "I can't believe this is real. That she's here…in your mom's old room."

Luke swallows, tightening his hold on me. "I only wish Mom could be with us too."

"We're gonna see her tomorrow before the game," I remind him. "I can't wait for her to meet Summer."

"Yeah, me too," he sighs.

I give him a minute, knowing it's still hard on him at times, not having his mom here with us. That's why I decorated the room the way I did. I rub his arm, urging him to look around. "What do you think? Does it look like a real nursery? I know it's not done yet…"

He glances at the wall beside the crib. "Hey, aren't those the butterflies that were on the cover of your journal?"

I nod, happy that he noticed. "Yeah, I thought they belonged in here." I take a deep breath. "I kinda like the thought of them watching over her. Of your mom watching over her."