Double Play (14 page)

“Not
at all. I just want to talk with his mother.”

“His
mother is dead. Died bringing him into this world. His daddy’s dead, too. 
Mexican good for nothing by the name of Carmenas, spent more time in jail than
out.”

And
so the dark good looks, thought Halee. One mystery solved. “Then who is Faye
Shaw?”

“Faye
worked on the ranch where J.D. was born. Spinster woman, never cared much for
marrying. Took little Jose Carmenas in and raised him like her own. Gave him
her last name.”

“So
where can I find this Faye Shaw?”

“You
leave me a note, I’ll get it to Faye.”

“I
need to talk with her face to face.”

Monty
sighed and trudged over to a rotary phone behind the counter. Keeping his eyes
focused on Halee, he dialed seven digits and then waited, settling on a rickety
corner stool.

Halee
paced the creaking wooden floor, wondering whether she should get Ty from the
car. From here he looked content, spending the majority of his energy trying to
eat the padded lining of the car seat’s safety belt. The interior of the car
was surely more comfortable than this musty old store. The temperature display
on the Pizza Hut’s marquee read 85 degrees. It was only 10 A.M. Monty didn’t
seem to mind.

“Well
hello there, Faye. How have you been doing?”

Halee
raised her brows and waited.

“I
ain’t seen you or Glenda in town for quite some time. You ain’t been shopping
down in Carlisle at those chain stores, now have ya?”

Halee
checked her watch. Maybe she wasn’t on an exact schedule, but she sure as heck
didn’t want to stay in Kadele any longer than necessary.

“I
hear Hank’s been suffering with the rheumatism.”

Halee
glared at Monty. He summarily ignored her.

“You
plannin’ on attendin’ the church picnic this Sunday? Oh, I know it. I ain’t
been good at getting’ there on Sunday neither.”

Enough
was enough. Halee spinned on her heels and headed for her car, letting the
screen door slam behind her. Monty wasn’t the only one with the knowledge of
Faye’s address in this town. She’d just put the car in reverse when Monty
sauntered out onto the front porch and motioned for her to lower the window.

“She
said she’ll see ya,” he said, slipping a piece of paper into Halee’s hand. “Two
miles north, turn left and follow the creek till you cross the railroad tracks.
Drive another mile until you see the Double HL ranch on your right. Hers is the
powder blue trailer set up on the hill.”

Faye
Shaw dumped out a bucket of dirty soap water and briefly admired the fresh
shine on her kitchen floor. She hadn’t kept up very well with her housekeeping
lately. Once J.D. had moved out, it didn’t seem necessary to cook or to clean.
Besides the bridge club that changed houses every week, Hank was about her only
company, poor company at that. But things were changing in a hurry.

First,
J.D. had about knocked down her door in the middle of the night Tuesday,
carrying on about an emergency and an accident. Once he’d taken stock of the
situation and demanded about fifty times that she guarantee that she wasn’t
sick or hurt or lacking for anything, he’d settled into the back bedroom and
slept like he used to when he was growing an inch a month, waking up only to
the smell of dinner in the late afternoon. He’d been crazily attentive, making
her sit while he did the dishes, fixing this and that around the trailer. The
sling was off his shoulder, and he only rubbed it occasionally at the end of
the day. He hadn’t said a word about what had brought him to Oklahoma and she
hadn’t asked. It was just good to have him home.

And
then came the call from Monty, announcing that a fancy woman from New York was
in town looking for her. Something about J.D. Something the woman could only
tell her face to face. Things were getting stranger by the minute.

She’d
just finished changing into a clean pair of pressed shorts and one of her
better knit sleeveless tops when she heard the crunch of gravel on the
driveway. Mack and Chance began their half-hearted barking, confirming that it
wasn’t J.D., who’d left for town a few hours earlier to talk to the realtor. She
pulled back the perfectly starched white lace curtains and watched as a tall
well-dressed strawberry blonde  leaned over into the backseat of a mush colored
Buick and lifted out a pudgy baby boy. The boy was three shades darker than his
caregiver, and overdressed for the Oklahoma heat. He giggled as the young woman
tickled his belly, then his toes, lifting him high above her head and
pretending to fly while making airplane noises. Faye had been bracing herself
for a pushy New York executive, but by the way she was kissing that baby, this young
woman didn’t fit that bill at all. She wondered whose baby he was, and what the
two of them were doing here.

J.D.
pulled into the driveway before she had a chance to find out.

He’d
barely put the truck into park before his boots hit the gravel. Faye watched in
awe as her son stormed toward the young woman in her driveway.

“No!
No, no, no!” J.D. circled the rental car, sizing up the woman with more heat
than she’d seen her son display in quite some time. If Faye didn’t know better,
she’d say her Johnny had fallen hard and was doing everything he could to deny
it. Just like her boy, always running against the wind.  She smiled, despite
herself.

“I’m
not here for me, J.D.,” said the girl. “I’m here for the Federals.”

“The
Federals don’t have no business in my hometown. So you can take that message
back to Mrs. Pryor and all the pricks who work for her.”

“Does
that include me?”

“If
you want it to.”

The
young woman gasped. So did Faye.

“Baseball’s
a dirty business, Halee. I want Faye kept out of it.”

The
baby leaned away from the young woman’s body and reached out to J.D. with a
shrill scream. J.D. took the small boy into his arms and settled him on one hip
as if he’d done it a dozen times before. He continued to circle the car like a
tiger in a zoo cage. The baby squealed with delight and sucked on his dirty t-shirt.
For a few moments, all Faye could hear was the sound of J.D.’s boots crunching
the gravel and the baby’s gurgles.

 “If
you want me to leave, I’ll leave.”

 “I
do.”

Faye
grimaced. The young woman slammed her car door and stalked toward J.D., hands
on hips.

“Why
do you always do that?” she demanded.

J.D.
looked nervous. He rubbed the baby’s head and shifted him higher on his hip. “What?”
he asked without looking at her.

“Why
do you always decide where I can be and where I can’t? I can’t be in New York,
I can’t be in Oklahoma…”

“Why
do you keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

They
both cringed visibly, as if the words had come from nowhere and struck them simultaneously.

The
girl lowered her voice. Faye leaned a little closer to the window, grasping for
each word. “Victoria Pryor ordered me to come here and personally invite your
mother to your engagement party.”

A
small cry escaped Faye’s throat. Engagement? First J.D. had kept the Federals
contract secret, now his engagement? Was this woman his fiancé, and if not,
then why did he look like he could eat her with his eyes?

“I
told you, I don’t want her involved.”

“In
your marriage? You don’t want your mother involved in your marriage?”

J.D.
raked one hand through his hair and looked away.

“Never
mind,” said the young woman, pulling the baby back into her arms. “You can tell
her yourself.” She slid the child back into his car seat. He began to cry.

Faye
rushed to the door and shoved the screen door open.

“That’s
a beautiful little boy you got there!” She took each porch step carefully in
her white wedge sandals and slowly approached the car.

Halee
tightened Ty’s car seat belt and straightened. 

“Faye
Shaw,” she offered, extending her hand. “Pleased to meet ya.”

Halee
conjured up a smile and pulled at the silk sweater stuck to her sweaty back.
She took Faye’s hand. “Halee McCarthy.”

Faye
glanced at J.D. leaning up against the bumper of his truck. He’d cracked a cold
beer and was gazing down the fence line, planning his next move. “I hear you
come a long way to talk to me, Miss McCarthy,” she said. “What is it I can do
for you?”

“If
you don’t mind,” said Halee, “I think I’ll let J.D. do the talking. J.D. likes
complete control over everything.”

J.D.
whistled. “Well, ain’t that special, comin’ from you.”

“You
look too warm, Dear,” Faye interjected, sending a steely glance toward J.D.
“Would you like to change into some lighter clothes?”

“I
didn’t bring anything lighter with me.”

“Then
you could borrow something of mine.”

“I
won’t be staying,” said Halee, glancing nervously at Ty, who continued to
scream.  “I know when I’m not welcome.”

Faye
touched her hand. “This is my home,” she said softly, “and I say you’re
welcome.”

J.D.
set his beer bottle aside and stalked over to the Buick, leaned over into the
back seat, and extracted Ty. The child immediately ceased his temper tantrum.

“I’ll
take him,” said Halee, pulling the child from J.D.’s arms.

J.D.
held fast. “He likes me.”

“Why
don’t I take him a while?” Faye offered. “Looks like you two have a lot to talk
about.”

J.D.
slid the child into his mother’s arms. Ty grabbed Faye’s neckline and commenced
to gurgle.

“He
likes you, too, Faye,” said J.D. with no small measure of pride.

Halee
fanned herself with the back of the car rental agreement. “Mrs. Shaw, I can’t
ask you…”

“Johnny,
why don’t you take our guest for a little tour of the city? She could probably
use a little barbeque and sweet tea after her long journey.”

Halee
watched J.D. melt under his mother’s insistence. He tossed back the last drops
of his beer and pulled his truck keys from the pocket of his loose fitting
jeans, silently leaning against the fender while the two women worked out
logistics.

Faye
took Halee by the hand and led her up the three steps into the small trailer.
“He’s a stubborn boy, for sure,” said Faye in a tone of confidence. “Underneath
that tough exterior is a heart of gold.”

Halee
deposited Ty’s overnight bag on a chair and peered toward the back bedrooms.

“Go
ahead and help yourself to some lighter clothes,” said Faye. “The back bedroom
closet has some nice sundresses about your size left behind by Hank’s daughter.
Hank’s the owner,” said Faye, setting Ty down on a blanket in the middle of the
floor.

“Are
you sure this isn’t too much trouble?”

Faye
gazed down on Ty with affection. “I don’t get much chance at playing grandma,”
said Faye, “and the way Johnny’s going, I might never get a chance.”

“Mrs.
Shaw, I don’t know if J.D. has told you, but he’s engaged to be married. I’m here
to invite you to the party. The Federals will pay for your airfare and hotel
while you’re in New York, plus any associated expenses.”

Faye
took on a faraway look. She knelt down on Ty’s blanket. “What’s her name?”

Halee
hesitated. “Catrina Hiett.”

“What’s
she like?” asked Faye, rubbing Ty’s small head. He gurgled contentedly.

Halee
cleared her throat. “She’s quite beautiful, actually.”

“Yes,
I expect she is. That’s always been Johnny’s measure of a woman. How about her
character?” Faye looked up with so much hope that Halee’s heart contracted.

“I
can’t vouch for that,” she said softly.

Faye
shook her head. “I know my boy, Miss McCarthy. I hope you don’t mind my saying
so, but I believe his heart is elsewhere.” She continued to stroke the child’s
smooth skin. “A mother knows these things.”

“I
hope you’ll come to New York,” said Halee lightly. “It will mean a lot to J.D.”

Faye
stared at Halee for a few minutes. “Change his mind.”

“I’m
sorry?”

“He
has feelings for you. I can tell.”

Halee
snorted. “Those feelings are not positive, I assure you.”

“They’re
stronger than you think,” Faye insisted. “He don’t know his own heart.”

“I
appreciate you saying so, Mrs. Shaw, but…”

“I
raised him myself, you know. Took him in just like you’ve taken this child in.
He ain’t yours, is he?”

“No,”
said Halee softly. “Not yet, anyway.”

“It
don’t matter, you know. You still love them like they’re your own.”

“Yes.”
Halee glanced toward the back room. “I…I think I’ll go look for that dress you
mentioned.”

Faye
didn’t say anything, didn’t look up. She just continued to stroke Ty’s little
head as if she’d discovered lost treasure.

***

Ten minutes later, Halee breezed down the trailer’s
front steps in a light yellow sundress that left little to the imagination.
Spaghetti straps held up layers of sheer fabric that flowed into a light skirt
easily picked up by the gentle breeze. The scooped neckline dipped low, showing
off her pretty freckled chest and toned arms. The short skirt gave her long tan
legs room to breathe. She’d pulled her hair off her shoulders and borrowed a
set of yellow flip flops to match the dress. J.D. thought he’d never seen her
look so carefree and happy.

Or so darn sexy.

He kept his face rigid, devoid of expression.

“Where to?” he asked, holding the passenger side of the
truck open and watching those long lean legs climb on board.

“I’m starving,” Halee confessed. “That barbeque sounds
just right.”

“Barbeque it is,” J.D. mumbled. He wiped the sweat from
his brow as he circled the truck. The Oklahoma heat had raised about ten degrees
when she’d put on that dress.

Halee leaned over and adjusted the radio to a local
country station. “I always like to get the local flavor when I travel,” she
said.

J.D. tried to keep his eyes on the road, but the way she
was leaning over, switching those stations, he could hardly breathe. He could
smell her hair from the driver’s seat, that sweet floral scent so clean and
fresh. That little mole on her back was poking out of her sundress, tempting
him to pull the truck over and run his tongue along her flawless skin.

“I thought you said you never left Chicago,” he said.

“Theoretically, then.” She propped her bare feet up on
the dash, all ten pretty pink toes lined up in a row, and began to hum to the
country tunes. Her skirt slid down her legs, exposing her firm thighs. J.D.
shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.

“Kadele ain’t too big a town. Ain’t much to show you.”

“That’s ok,” said Halee lightly. “I wouldn’t want to
leave Ty for long anyway.”

The
wind was blowing loose curls from her ponytail, brushing her flushed face with
soft wisps of reddish blonde hair. J.D. tried not to stare. “What made you
bring him?” he asked, gluing his eyes back on the road.

“Who,
Ty?”

J.D.
nodded.

Halee
shrugged. “I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him one more day.”

“I
had a dog like that once,” said J.D. “Name was Buddy. Tried to take him to
school with me every day. Teacher wouldn’t let Buddy in the door, so he waited
outside for me till I was done. Then we’d walk home ‘cause he wasn’t allowed on
the bus. Till the bus driver Mr. Puckett took pity on me and let him ride. I
need to find Mr. Puckett and tell him thank you sometime.”

He
pulled into the parking lot in front of a low slung diner with thick cottonwood
trees shading the surrounding lawns. Loud Cajun music poured out onto a wide
front porch. A dozen pickup trucks were lined up outside. Fat Jimmy’s was
hopping already, even though it was barely 11 A.M. “Best barbeque in town,”
said J.D. “We can sit out at one of the picnic tables if you ain’t too warm,” he
said, cutting the engine. “It can get pretty wild inside.”  In another minute
he was opening her door and offering her a hand.

She
took it, sliding off the tall seat and landing dangerously close. He resisted
the urge to kiss her right here in Fat Jimmy’s parking lot for the whole world
to see. What the hell had gotten into him anyway? After two weeks in New York
under constant surveillance by the media and Cat, this freedom was going to his
head. He had to keep it together. In another few months he’d prove himself to
the Federals and then he’d be a free agent again. For now he had to maintain
his image as Cat’s fiancé.