Making a Comeback (24 page)

They started with a choral piece, the whole class singing about how they were “one hundred days smarter.” Then a group of ten students stepped forward to sing about counting by tens. They were followed by a group of five kids, and then Sophie and Olivia stepped up to the microphone.

They were dressed in matching camouflage jackets and hats, looking like twin soldiers.

“Two, four, six, eight, counting by twos is really great.” they sang and marched.

“Ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, counting in pairs won’t keep us waiting.”

The song went on like that until they got to “ninety-six, ninety-eight, one hundred. After all that counting we’re really tired.” They ended with a dramatic sweep of their hands across their foreheads.

For the finale, the whole class counted to one hundred and ended with “We are one hundred days smarter.”

The audience cheered, and when Sophie and Olivia came off the stage, Cooper presented them with their flowers. They were thrilled.

“Look Mommy, we got flowers.” Olivia buried her face in the blooms and inhaled.

“Just like real actresses,” Sophie exclaimed.

“Or princesses,” Olivia added.

They ran off to show their teacher and their friends. The auditorium was a buzz of excitement. Twenty-seven five- and six-year-olds were running around, singing the songs, and munching on cookies and cider.

Just as he’d feared, one little girl was unhappy about not getting flowers. When tempting her with a second cookie didn’t satisfy her, the father approached Cooper.

“How dare you show up here?” Red-faced, the man balled his fists.

“I guess I should have brought flowers for everyone.” Cooper might have been able to divide up the flowers for each girl in the class, if he’d thought of it in time.

“I’m not talking about the flowers, asshole.” The man leaned closer, his voice raised in fury. “You’re a fraud. A cheater. A disgrace to the game and this country.”

Cooper could feel everyone’s attention turning toward them as the man continued to inch his way forward.

“Maybe we should discuss this outside.” Cooper tried to keep his cool, like he did on the mound, when instead of coming in and shutting the opposition down, he’d been lit up like Opening Night fireworks. “There are children here.”

“Oh, now you give a damn about the kids?” The man’s voice got even louder. “You sure as hell weren’t thinking about the kids when you stuck a needle in your arm.”

He knew he couldn’t win an argument with this man. He turned to Annabelle and said, “I am so sorry. I’ll wait for you at the car.”

Half hoping the man would follow him, he turned and left the school auditorium.

The coward stayed behind.

Even so, he didn’t walk directly to his vehicle. Even though it was a well-lit parking lot, the thought of an ambush played in the back of his head.

What had he been thinking in coming to the play? He’d ruined it for everyone. How was he going to explain to Sophie and Olivia why their classmate’s father had felt the need to verbally attack him? How was he going to explain what he’d done?

Pacing in front of the school, he tried to ignore the suspicious glances cast by the parents as they ushered their performers to their cars.

He’d paid for his sin. Fifty games, plus the trade. But it would never be enough. There would always be some guy somewhere who would feel the need to point out his mistake. Loudly and publicly.

Annabelle gave her thanks and congratulations to the teacher and then she gathered up her daughters. The wife of the man who’d confronted Cooper gave her an apologetic glance, but Annabelle couldn’t help but feel like every eye was on her and her girls.

What had been a wonderful evening had degraded into something else. Sophie and Olivia looked shocked and confused that their classmate’s father would start yelling at Cooper. They too thought it had something to do with their flowers, and they weren’t quite sure what to do with the thoughtful bouquets.

They found Cooper pacing in front of his SUV. She could tell by the way he moved that he was agitated. He looked like a man who wanted to hit something. Or someone.

But as soon as he saw the three of them, he stopped pacing. His face broke into a wide grin and he crouched down to the twins’ level.

“You two were fantastic.” He held his arms open and both girls crashed into his embrace. “I’m so proud of you both.”

“Thank you.” They remembered their manners at least.

“That was the best hundredth day of school play I’ve ever seen.” He continued the praise like the two of them were the only things that mattered. “Probably the best anyone has ever seen.”

“Did you really like it?” Olivia asked, eyes wide.

“I did.” And he sounded like he meant it.

Cooper unlocked the doors of his SUV, helped Olivia climb into the backseat, and buckled her in. Sophie scrambled up the other side, and he reached over to make sure her seatbelt was fastened before walking around to get behind the wheel.

He shot Annabelle a quick glance before starting the vehicle. Despite his brave face for the girls, he was rattled. Her heart ached knowing how hard he was trying to keep from showing his frustration. How hard he was trying to keep the mood light and focused on the reason they were there tonight.

“Are we still up for pizza?” He asked as he pulled out of the school parking lot.

“Maybe some other time.” Annabelle didn’t want to put him under any more pressure.

“Well, we need to eat, don’t we?” He had a point.

“True, but maybe we could get it to go?” she suggested.

“Sure. I forgot how superstars need their beauty sleep.”

Giggles erupted from the back seat.

Cooper picked up a pizza and they took it back to her place. Annabelle got a couple of vases down for the girls’ flowers while he dished up slices of pizza.

Sophie devoured two whole slices, but Olivia picked the pepperoni off her slice and nibbled as if she was being forced to eat overcooked vegetables.

“Why did that man yell at you?” She pushed her plate aside. “Was it because Skyler didn’t get flowers, too?”

“It had nothing to do with the flowers.” Cooper wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“He called you a big cheater.” Sophie was still chewing. “Why would he call you a cheater when you’re not?”

“Well.” He pushed his chair back and set his napkin on the table next to his plate. “You see, I did cheat.”

Both girls looked at him, wide eyed, with grave concern on their faces.

“See, I took some medicine—no, drugs—I wasn’t supposed to.” He looked like he was facing an executioner. “I knew they were against the rules, but I took them anyway. And I got into a lot of trouble for it.”

“What kind of trouble?” Olivia asked.

“I got suspended for almost half the season,” Cooper explained. “That means I couldn’t play and my team had to find someone else to do my job.”

“Oh.”

“Why did you take the bad drugs?” Sophie wanted to know.

“Well, I was hurt. And I was afraid if I told the trainers, I’d have to miss some games.” It couldn’t be easy for him to admit his mistakes, especially to a couple of six-year-olds. “But I should have told the truth from the beginning. I should have talked to a doctor instead of trying to take care of it myself.”

“Are you going to play baseball again?” Sophie asked.

“I hope so.” Cooper shifted in his chair. “I had an operation on my shoulder and it’s all better now. But some teams might not want me because of what I did.”

“Because you cheated?” Olivia sounded like the word was hard to pronounce. “And cheaters never win.”

“Right. Cheaters never win.” He held his head high, but Annabelle could tell he wanted to get as far away from them as possible. Yet he was doing much better than he probably thought. “But I won’t do it again.”

“Promise?” Olivia asked.

“I promise.” He nodded.

Olivia slid off her chair and went to him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.

* * * *

Cooper could feel Olivia’s little heart beating as she held on tight. He didn’t deserve her affection. Or her sister’s. He certainly didn’t deserve Annabelle’s.

When Olivia let out a loud yawn, Annabelle suggested they get ready for bed.

“How ’bout we skip the baths, tonight?” Annabelle made it sound like a special treat.

“Okay.” Sophie yawned, too. “As long as we still get to hear a bedtime song.”

“Please?” Olivia’s wide-eyed plea was impossible to resist.

“Sure.” He finished the last bite of his pizza. “I’ll sing you a bedtime song.”

“I’ll take care of the cleanup while you run and get your guitar.” Annabelle’s smile went straight to his heart. He wanted this. Wanted it so much. But he couldn’t risk putting them through another public embarrassment. He didn’t want to have to worry about strangers coming up to him and laying into him about his steroid use. They didn’t need to be exposed to that kind of scene again.

“Thanks.” He patted Sophie on the top of the head and gave Olivia his best smile before slipping out the back door.

By the time he returned, the kitchen was clean, and the girls were already in bed, tucked in tight and waiting for him to sing.

He took his too-familiar place between them. He tried to think of something upbeat, but his fingers could only pick out sad songs.

But they seemed to do the trick. Both girls were soon fast asleep.

Annabelle stood in the doorway, with a sleepy, come-hither smile on her face.

He stood, carefully carrying his guitar to the hallway. “I should go.”

“Or you could stay.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” His heart twisted at the thought of disappointing her. But better to let go now, before it got that much harder to walk away.

“Why not?” She leaned against the wall, keeping her voice low.

“I’m really sorry about what happened at the play.” He had to fight to keep his hands to himself. He wanted her. More than ever. But… “I hate that you and the girls had to hear that. I don’t want to put you through that again.”

“It was a little embarrassing. But I felt more sorry for that guy’s daughter than for us.” She pushed off the wall, leaning toward him.

“But it was my fault. Everything he said was because of what I’d done.”

“You made a mistake.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re human.”

“But you shouldn’t have to pay for that mistake.”

“Maybe not, but you’ve already paid for it.”

“Only officially.”

“You think you’re the only one who’s screwed up?” She shook her head, frustrated with him. She dropped her hands to her sides. “You think you’re the only one with regrets?”

“No.”

“You want to know why I quit modeling?”

“Because you got married. Had babies.”

“No. I’d walked away before I met Clayton.”

She started down the hall, motioning for him to follow her to her bedroom.

“I quit because I made a fool of myself.” Annabelle sat on the edge of her bed. He stood in the doorway, not trusting himself to come all the way in. “I got greedy. I wanted a third cover. I thought it would be my ticket. I would have done anything to get it. Including sleeping with the photographer.”

“I guess I’m glad you didn’t.”

“I did. I slept with Alfonso. He’d promised to make me a star. He told me his camera would reveal the fire deep inside me.” Her voice contained a note of regret. “He convinced me that I could be wild, unleashed, and uninhibited.”

“That’s just great.” He really didn’t want to hear about her sexual liberation at the hands of the famous artiste, Alfonso. A guy so famous he only needed one name.

“For the first time in my life, I felt like I didn’t have to hold myself back.” She crossed her arms over her chest, as if she were trying to hold back painful memories. “It was liberating. Until I found out he’d also been sleeping with two other models.”

“I’m sorry.” And he was, mostly. He didn’t like that she’d been hurt. “That was a rotten thing to do.”

“My reaction was pretty rotten, too.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, as if she felt a sudden chill. “I was a total bitch, actually.”

“He probably deserved it.” The son of a bitch.

“I destroyed half his camera equipment.” She didn’t sound quite so justified. “Probably thousands of dollars’ worth, but that wasn’t the worst part.”

He waited for her to go on.

“The worst part was how I lashed out at the other girls.” She shuddered at the memory. “I would have made a reality show producer blush. I got into a hair-pulling, nail-clawing, face-slapping cat fight. I actually drew blood on Serena’s face.”

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Then she let out a huge sigh and drew her hand up to the left side of her face, where the scars were still fresh.

“Maybe this is my penance.” She gave him a crooked smile, the left side of her mouth still not able to stretch into a full grimace. “My payback for being such a bitch.”

“You don’t deserve this.” He moved from the doorway to her side, and reached up to stroke her cheek. “There is nothing you could have done to deserve this.”

“I don’t know.” She lightly touched her scars. “I went on a bit of a self-destructive phase. After the Alfonso fiasco, I went a little crazy. Sowed my wild oats.”

He didn’t want to think about what that meant.

“Sometimes I miss the wild girl I used to be.” She sighed. “But then I settled down to become this closed off, uptight woman who ended up
settling
. I don’t think either of them are the real me”

“So who is the real you?”

“I think I’m somewhere in between. I’m not the wild child who slept her way through New Zealand and South Africa. But I’m not the empty shell of a woman who just smiled and pretended my world revolved around my husband. I think I’d like to be a woman who goes after what she wants.” She gave him a wicked grin and reached for him. “I want you, Nathan Cooper. I like who I am when I’m with you. I feel…alive. And safe. When I’m with you, I feel beautiful.”

She touched her scar, but he grabbed her wrists, gently pushed her onto the bed, and covered her mouth with his. She tasted so good. So full of passion and hunger. Even a little bit wild.