Fastball (20 page)

She had arrived a few minutes early that
afternoon at her favorite Italian restaurant, an unpretentious,
family-run place on 2
^nd
Street where she’d agreed to
meet Martha. Maddie had the day off, with one of her colleagues
covering this afternoon’s game in her absence. She and Martha
hadn’t had a chance to catch up for a few weeks, so Maddie was
looking forward to lunch. Though she really shouldn’t tell a soul
about her relationship with Jake, she trusted Martha completely.
Plus, she needed someone to confide in or else she might very well
go nuts.

As was her style, Martha swept in fashionably
late, turning the head of every man in the restaurant. Maddie
wished she had a tenth of her friend’s beauty and flair. She
couldn’t help feeling a little envious, but then she reminded
herself of what she did have—a wonderful, insanely sexy man. Every
time the thought of Jake crossed her mind, which was at least a few
hundred times a day, she felt like doing a little happy dance.

“Hon, it’s about time we did this,” Martha
exclaimed in her southern drawl, kissing Maddie on both cheeks
before sliding gracefully into her seat at the cozy little table.
“You look utterly fantastic, girl. Positively glowing! Is that a
new haircut?”

Maddie grinned, knowing Martha wasn’t someone
prone to insincere flattery about how women looked. If Martha said
you looked good, she meant it. “Nope. No new haircut. I feel really
good, so I guess it shows. You look beyond fabulous yourself, as
always.”

After the usual rapid catch-up, they both
ordered lunch, and then Maddie decided to jump right in with her
news. Doing her best to look deeply serious, she said in a low
voice, “Martha, I shouldn’t be telling anybody about this, but
you’re a dear friend and I know you’ll keep this secret to the
grave if you have to. Am I right?”

Martha cocked her head to one side, her
lustrous blond hair falling across her slender shoulders. “Whew. To
the grave? Maddie, honey, I’m pretty good with a secret, but I do
hope the grave is still a few decades away.”

Maddie grinned. “I’m exaggerating, of course,
but this is good stuff, and I’m not going to tell you until you
promise right now that your lips are sealed.”

“Well, now that you’ve thoroughly whetted my
curiosity, I guess I have to promise.” She crossed her heart and
assumed a soulful expression. “If anybody wants to know, I can tell
you they’d get more out of Mount Rushmore than they will out of
me.”

They both laughed, although Maddie was
actually starting to feel a little nervous about telling her
friend. Right now, it was her precious secret—hers and Jake’s. Once
they told anybody, even close friends, it could very well start to
impact their relationship.

“Now, come on, spit it out!” Martha
prompted.

Maddie sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I
guess I might as well just say it. Jake and I have been seeing each
other for about ten days now.”

Martha’s eyes practically popped right out of
her head. “No way! You’re serious?”

“I’m completely serious.”

“Hon, that’s way past fabulous!” Martha
leaned over the table and hugged her enthusiastically, almost
knocking over the wine glasses. “For gosh sake, you’ve got to tell
me all. Don’t leave out a single thing!” She ran a finger across
her lips in a zipping gesture. “And these lips are totally
sealed.”

Maddie let some of the tension ease from her
shoulders. After taking a healthy gulp of wine, she launched into
the whole thing, ending with their hot night at the Madison—minus
the salacious details, of course. “It was a totally amazing night,”
she finished, knowing she sounded like a sap, “and it’s just kept
getting better and better. It’s knocked me completely off my
feet.”

Martha gave her a saucy, conspiratorial look.
“Hon, I’ve just got to ask this. Is Jake as incredibly hot in bed
as I’ve imagined?” She tried to look serious but started to giggle
when she saw Maddie’s startled expression. Then Maddie started to
laugh, too.

“God, Martha, do you fantasize about every
good-looking guy you meet?”

“Not really. Just every good-looking guy in a
uniform.”

“You are totally incorrigible, Martha
Winston. And you better be kidding when you talk about Jake like
that, or else,” she warned in a mockingly severe voice. “But to get
back to your rude question, let me just say that Jake did not
disappoint me in any way, shape, or form. Not that night, and not
since. In fact, quite the contrary.” She couldn’t help blushing,
especially when the memory of exactly how creative Jake could be
popped into her brain. She would not, however, be sharing those
details, not even with Martha.

Especially not with Martha.

Her friend laughed. “Look at you, all
red-faced and shy! Okay, now that the good stuff is out of the way,
tell me what else is going on. There has to be more to it than just
the sex, right?”

“You’re right,” Maddie admitted. “I’d be the
happiest woman in the world right now, if it wasn’t for the little
problem we have.”

“I know what you’re going to say, don’t
I?”

“Of course you do. Jake and I can’t be seen
together, at least not for the foreseeable future.”

Martha smiled sympathetically. “You sure
can’t. But, Maddie, you know you’re not going to be able to keep
your relationship secret for very long, right? Jake’s a celebrity.
People recognize him wherever he goes. You can hide for a while,
but not forever. Maybe not for very long at all. You’ve got to have
a plan to handle that.”

“I know.” She fiddled with the stem of her
wine glass. “I hardly think about anything else, except when we’re
making love. Every other moment, I’m wondering how this is all
going to turn out. Jake and I have been skirting the subject,
trying to pretend we’re not both obsessed by it. We’re so happy
with each other that we don’t want to let thoughts of the future
get in the way. But I have to admit it’s really getting to me. I
can’t bear the thought of having to give up my career at the
Post
, but Jake’s not about to retire, either. Not by a long
shot. He’s playing great again, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see
the Patriots dangle a multi-year contract in front of him sooner or
later.”

Martha narrowed her eyes in thought, and when
she did that, Maddie knew it was time to listen carefully. “Hon,
I’m probably not the best person to be giving you advice…”

“No,” Maddie interrupted her, “go ahead. I’ve
always relied on you for wise words. You know that.”

“Well, then, for what it’s worth, I think
maybe you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself. You’ve only been
together about ten days or so. I don’t think you should spoil a
perfectly fabulous romance by trying to somehow control the future.
These things have a way of working themselves out if you give them
time. But if you try to force it, well, chances are it’ll come to
grief. Only time will tell if this thing between you and Jake is
real, and if it actually requires that kind of sacrifice on either
or both of your parts.”

Maddie was struck by the fact that Martha’s
advice echoed what Emma had said. And it was the truth. As hard as
it was for her to do, there was no point stewing about events
beyond their control. And Maddie didn’t even know for sure if Jake
wanted
a future with her. Since the idea of a future without
Jake was too depressing to even contemplate, she decided to ignore
it.

She saluted Martha with her wine glass.
“You’re right, as usual. Sometimes all it takes is a good friend’s
advice to help get your head back on straight. And you come so much
cheaper than a shrink.”

Her friend grinned broadly. “It’s not often
somebody says I come cheap.”

They clinked their glasses together, but then
Martha’s face turned serious again. “Here’s to good luck, hon. All
good things aside, I think you’re going to need it.”

***

As Jake waited for his turn in the batting
cage before the start of the afternoon’s game, Nate Carter ambled
over. “Can we talk for a minute?” Nate nodded toward the visitors’
dugout, now empty as the Washington Nationals waited in their
clubhouse to take their turn at batting practice.

Jake frowned at the odd request. “Okay.” As
they headed toward the steps of the empty dugout, he studied the
troubled expression on his friend’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked
before Nate had a chance to begin.

“Man, we need to talk,” Nate said, his eyes
darting around. “I’m pretty sure something really bad is going on
with Robbie.” He finished his observation with an unhappy
grimace.

Fuck.
Not again. Why the hell couldn’t
Robbie stay out of trouble?

Jake shot a quick glance to where the man in
question and a few of the other players were standing on the far
side of the cage. “What’s he done now?” he asked in a resigned
voice.

Nate’s gaze also slid over to the batting
cage. “Not here. And let’s not make it obvious we’re talking about
him, okay? I need to tell you about something I’ve found out. Can
we meet someplace after the game?”

“I guess so,” Jake said. “But now I’m going
to be thinking about this for the whole damn game. I know Robbie
can be an asshole, but he’s been a good friend to me.”

Nate gave a sympathetic nod. “He trusts you,
which is why we need to talk. But obviously not anywhere around
here.”

Jake gave an impatient sigh. “My place, right
after the game?”

“Sure. Sorry, man, but when you hear me out
you’ll know why I had to talk to you.” Nate strode away, giving the
guys at the batting cage an easy smile for the benefit of anyone
who might be watching.

As Jake had predicted, his focus was shot for
the rest of the practice and right through the game. It was stupid,
but he thought of Robbie almost like a little brother, and the idea
that he might be in trouble again worried the hell out of him. That
worry dogged him onto the field, and he wound up going 1 for 4 with
just a sickly dribbler for an infield hit to go along with two
strikeouts. Worse yet, the Patriots lost 2-1 to the Nationals.
After his ninth inning strikeout, Jake had uncharacteristically
tossed his bat and kicked his helmet toward the dugout. His
immature gesture had prompted a warning from the home plate
umpire.

By the time the game ended and he made it
into the clubhouse, Jake felt like strangling Nate Carter. Nate
always meant well, but he had a habit of charging into unknown
situations like a rampaging bull. But Jake had a bad feeling that
Robbie probably
was
in trouble. The guy’s behavior had been
erratic the last few months, and although Jake had tried to ignore
it his gut was now telling him that something was there, after
all.

Jake headed back to his condo feeling pissed
off about pretty much everything except Maddie. When he had an
afternoon game, like today, it was an opportunity for Maddie and
him to get away somewhere early and then spend the whole evening
together. They’d made plans today to drive out to a restaurant in a
little town in Lancaster County—only an hour away—where he thought
they were unlikely to be recognized. Now he’d have to change those
plans, and that rankled, especially since he and Maddie hadn’t been
getting nearly as much time together as they wanted.

But Nate had looked uncharacteristically grim
when he’d asked to meet, and Jake didn’t have the heart to say no,
especially since he didn’t want to reveal his plans with Maddie.
Not even to his best friend. Instead, he called Maddie, and
together they came up with Plan B—he’d head to her condo after
meeting Nate and they’d stay in and order Vietnamese takeout. A
pretty damn good Plan B, actually, but it nagged at him because
Maddie had really looked forward to getting away for the evening.
She never complained, but he hated not being able to give her what
she wanted almost as much as he hated sneaking around. The woman
was the best thing to have come his way in forever, and it was
ridiculous that he couldn’t be with her in the way she
deserved.

A few minutes after he got off the phone with
Maddie, Nate buzzed up. Jake met him at the door and his heart sank
again when he took in his friend’s unsettled and anxious
expression. Nate Carter didn’t do anxious, so whatever it was it
must be bad.

He shoved a beer into Nate’s hand before the
guy had even sat down. “Okay, so what the hell’s going on? I’ve
been pissed at you all day, but I know you wouldn’t have done this
unless you thought you had a damn good reason.” Jake sat back on
the sofa, feet up on the heavy glass coffee table.

Nate frowned. “What’s your problem, dude? Got
a heavy date tonight or something?”

If you only knew, pal.

“I’m getting a mani-pedi at the spa,” Jake
returned dryly.

Nate laughed, almost spraying out his beer.
“I hope they charge you at least double with those oversized mitts
and size fourteens of yours.”

Jake gestured with his beer bottle at the
tattoo snaking out from under the cut-off sleeve of Nate’s shirt.
“Peanuts compared to what you shelled out for that stupid
body
art.
A freaking tornado, for fuck’s sake.”

Nate rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous
that fans don’t call you something cool like
The
Tornado
.”

Now that the macho prelims were over, Jake
figured it was time to get on with it. “Just spit it out, man. What
the hell’s up with Rob?”

Nate nodded, his expression going
dead-serious again. “I think he’s in a whole mess of trouble. And
I’m coming to you not just because you’re his friend, but because
you’re the team leader again, too.”

“Bullshit. No way—not after all the time I’ve
been out.”

Nate snorted. “Wrong again, dude. I’m telling
you—the guys all still look up to you. They always have. You’re the
veteran, and you’ve led the way. Besides, you’ve probably had
experience dealing with something like this over the years.”