Double Play (17 page)

Faye
clutched her purse and sighed. “Sorry to say.”

“Where
are you staying?”

“The
Federals put me up here. I got a big room overlooking the park.”

“That’s
nice.”

“I
guess so.”

Halee
took a deep breath. “I thought you would have stayed with J.D.”

“He
wanted me to. But that woman he’s marrying wouldn’t allow it.”

“I
see. Well… it sounds like you have a nice room.”

“I
do.”

“You
could stay with me.”

Faye’s
blue eyes brightened. “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble.”

“I
would love for you to stay with me,” said Halee. “I have so many bedrooms I
don’t know what to do with them. And Ty would be so happy to see you again.”

Faye
smiled wide. “Is he here?”

“No.
He’s at home with a new sitter.”

Faye
looked concerned. “Does he like her?”

“It’s
a he, actually. Comes highly recommended by the service.”

“I
see.” Faye studied Halee’s face. “Ain’t you worried?”

“Yes,”
Halee confessed, taking her hand. “Yes, of course, I am. Every time we’re apart
I’m worried. Do you ever get over this crazy protectiveness, Faye?”

Faye
shook her head. “I worry about Johnny every day.”

“Let’s
go find him,” said Halee. “Let’s tell him you’re coming to stay with me.”

***

“Congratulations,
J.D.” Sam pecked her friend on the cheek and glared toward Catrina, surrounded
by a hoard of male admirers.

J.D.
put his arm around Sam’s waist and pulled her close, planting a kiss on top of her
head. “I can’t believe you came all this way for my party.”

“Don’t
get too confident, Hon. I had a gig at the Carnegie. I thought I might drop by
and try to sort out this mess.”

“Well,
I’m glad to see ya.”

“You
look good enough to eat. If that arm of yours ever gives out, you’ve got a
career modeling, my friend.”

J.D.
pulled at his tie. “Uncomfortable as hell.”

“I
heard you blew them away on the field today. It sounds like everything’s going
just as planned.”

J.D.
nodded. “Gettin’ there.”

“Uhha.”
Sam sipped on her drink. “Your fiancé is a real looker,” she said, watching Cat
entertain her admirers. She turned back to J.D. and stared him straight in the
eye. “I like Halee better. And from the way I’ve seen you look at her, so do
you. What are you up to?”

            J.D.
chuckled. “Sam, Sam, Sam. You never mince words, do you?”

            “Don’t
avoid the question.”

“I
know what I’m doing.”

“Clearly
not.”

“Just
trust me.”

“Is
that what you said to Halee?”

“Halee
and I ain’t seeing each other.”

“That’s
obvious. Why not?”

“Simple.
I don’t need a wife.”

“No
one
needs
a wife, J.D. Men
want
a wife. Men marry women because
they love them.”

“It’s
a requirement of my contract, Sam. They want me married. ‘Cept I don’t want to
be married.  Neither does Cat. Cat’s just a decoy till they change their minds.”

“And
I say the gig’s up. Maybe it was a requirement to have a wife a month ago.
Today, after the performance you just gave them, they don’t care if you show up
with your gay lover. They just want you in a Federals uniform.”

“I
told you, I know what I’m doing.”

“I
don’t understand you. I’ve never watched you bow to anyone. Whenever someone asks
me to compromise what I stand for, you are my role model. J.D. always stands up
for what he believes in; that’s what I tell myself. Now look at you, ready to
take up with that little viper and tell the biggest string of lies ever told
just so you can land a big paycheck.” Sam shook her head. “What’s happened to
you, J.D.?”

Catrina
came up from behind and wrapped her arms around J.D.’s waist. “Let’s go, Baby,”
she cooed, glaring at Sam. “I’m in the mood for love.”

Sam
continued to stare J.D. right in the eye. “I’ve got someone I need to talk to,
Cat,” said J.D. “You go on home without me.”

“Baaay...beee,”
Cat whined. “I’m tired. I don’t want to go home by myself.”

J.D.
released Cat’s arms and turned on her. Her dress had all but fallen from her
chest. She was three sheets to the wind. “Wiley,” he called across the room. He
tossed his friend his car keys. “See Cat home, would ya?”

“Sure,
J.D.”

J.D.
turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Halee
couldn’t remember a night when she’d felt more tired. She hadn’t had but a few
sips of champagne, so she couldn’t blame the alcohol. She’d even managed to fit
in a quick nap before the party. Maybe the emotional exhaustion of watching
J.D. throw his life away had her energy reserves all used up. More likely it
was something she didn’t want to think about.

She
calculated back to the day J.D. had driven her to his secret swimming hole and
given her the most memorable afternoon of a lifetime. Exactly four weeks since
the hottest sex of her life, exactly three months since the night of ecstasy on
Sam’s boat. Since J.D. had announced his engagement, there hadn’t been any
reason to continue birth control. The pills made her nauseous, anyhow. She’d
been glad to be done with them. At the lake, she’d thrown caution to the wind,
praying she’d get away with it. Something told her she hadn’t.

She
pulled her light jacket over her sleeveless dress and took Faye’s arm, gently leading
her toward the exit and the line of cabs waiting outside. She’d texted J.D.,
who looked far too busy to talk to her, that his mother would be coming home
with her. After his rejection in Oklahoma, it was hard enough to face him, but
the thought that she might be carrying his child was enough to render her
speechless in his company. What could she say to a man on the night of his
engagement to someone else? I think I’m having your baby?

She
caught sight of him moving deliberately their way just as she reached the
hotel’s front lobby. He had that showdown look on his whiskered face. She
wasn’t up to an argument with J.D. She just wanted him to hold her in his arms
and take away all the lies of the past three months. She wanted happily ever
after.

J.D.
walked right up to his mother and took her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Mama,” he
whispered against her hair. “I didn’t mean to leave you all night. Are you
alright?”

Halee
watched as Faye closed her eyes against her child’s shoulder. For the first
time in her life, she recognized the look on Faye’s face, a mirror of that deep
emotion cursing through her own veins. The love of a child was overwhelming. To
be loved in return was God’s greatest gift.

“I
don’t like it here, J.D. I want to go home.”

“I’ll
take you home,” J.D. assured her. “I can stay with you tonight if you’d like.”

“I’m
staying with Halee,” Faye announced cheerfully. “I’m going to see Ty.”

J.D.
broke into a wide grin. His gaze turned toward Halee. He looked apologetic,
humble. “I’d like to join you if you don’t mind,” he said in a beseeching tone.
“I’d like to make amends.”

Halee
glanced through the crowd, confused. “Where’s Cat?”

Cries
from the front entrance cut his answer short. “Miss McCarthy!” A tall young man
dressed in a tee shirt and jeans came crashing toward them, shouting Halee’s
name between bouts of breathlessness. “I came as quickly as I could…”

“Where’s
Ty?” Halee demanded, grabbing his arm.

“I
tried to call you. You didn’t answer.”

“What’s
happened to Ty?” Halee’s voice reached crescendo. J.D. tried to calm her. She
pushed him away and raced for the nearest cab.

“He’s
gone!” the young man called after her.

“What
do you mean, he’s…”

“They
took him away. They left these papers.”

“Oh,
my Lord,” Faye gasped.

Halee
leaned against the side of the cab like she’d taken a blow to the chest. Her
face wore a look of abject horror. Faye went to comfort her while J.D. took the
papers from the young man’s hands and read them through.

“What
the hell…?” He whipped out his phone and hit speed dial. “Dale, it’s J.D.
Remember that custody case you helped with a couple months back? Social
Services came and took the child tonight. Said they found his mother and she
wants him back. I’m in New York. Can you find out what’s going on?” J.D. nodded
and asked a few more questions, then disconnected and turned back toward Halee.
She could barely stand.

“There’s
nothing we can do tonight, Halee,” said J.D. in a comforting tone. He took her
arm. She pushed him away. “Come on, Honey, let’s get you home.”

“No!”
Halee screamed. “He’s somewhere out there! He needs me!”

“Dale
will track him down. He’ll call as soon as he knows more.”

“Take
me to the nearest police station,” Halee ordered the driver. She yanked open
the cab door and slid onto the back seat. J.D. and Faye slid in beside her.

“I
don’t need help,” Halee insisted. “I can do this alone.”

“I
know you can, Honey,” said J.D., “but we’re worried, too.”

The
cab driver darted out into traffic.

“They
can’t just take him,” Halee mumbled to no one. Her shaking hands patted her
knees in a frenetic rhythm, in time with her tapping feet. She stared out the
window, snapping her head sideways every time she caught sight of a dark
skinned baby. “Drive faster,” she told the cabbie.

Faye
rested one hand on hers. “It’ll be alright, Dear. You’ll see.”

“She
can’t give him away and then demand him back,” Halee insisted. “He’s mine…she
gave him to me…” She met J.D.’s earnest stare in the low light of the cab.
“Where is he?” Her lower lip trembled. One fat tear dripped from her right eye.
Her chin dropped to her lap and she held herself around the middle, releasing a
deep guttural groan.

“What’s
wrong, Dear?” asked Faye, taking her arm. “Halee?”

“I…
don’t… know.” Halee’s words came out staccato. She felt another sharp pain and
cried out. A warm rush of water burst out between her legs. She looked down in
the light of the passing street lamps and gasped at the pool of red blood
running down the seat and onto the cab’s floor. “Take me…take me to the
hospital,” she whispered. And then the world went black.

***

Grim
faces filled the waiting room. Faye sat silently in a corner, staring at the
posters that warned of high blood pressure and heart disease as if in a narcotic
trance. Sam visited the nurses’ station every five minutes, desperate for an
update on Halee’s condition and getting no answers. Cam rubbed Stephen’s back
and refreshed his supply of Kleenex periodically. J.D., on his fifth cup of
coffee, paced back and forth, driving Rita to distraction.

“Land
already!” she called out more than once. But J.D. didn’t hear a word. He was
too busy beating himself up.

How
stupid could he have been? Why hadn’t he read the signs? After years of running
cattle, he should have recognized a pregnant female. Weight gain, fatigue,
emotions gone wild. She hadn’t had a drink all night.

Halee
carrying his child. Sweet, kind Halee. Why couldn’t he be granted this one
gift, this one chance at the life he’d always wanted? 

His
cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the text message, hoping for good news from
Dale.

Where
R U?
Cat demanded
.

Hospital.

What
happened?

Friend
collapsed.
He didn’t need Cat’s wrath right now. He’d deal with her later.

Who?

Fill
u in later.

She
texted something back. He slid his phone back into his pocket, filing her and
her incessant demands away. He caught Faye’s image in his peripheral vision and
slowly approached. She sat still, her eyes closed. He took the chair across
from hers. She opened her eyes.

“I
ain’t much on religion,” he began.

“I
know it,” she said. “I been prayin’ for the both of us. What about the child?”
she asked. “What about Ty?”

“Dale
says he’s back in Chicago. Says we can sue for custody, but it’s a long shot.”

“We?”

“You
don’t think I’m gonna let her go twice, do ya?”

Faye
smiled. “We all make mistakes, Johnny. It’s a fool who doesn’t learn from ‘em.”

“I
just hope I get a second chance.”

Rita
plopped down beside him, spitting vinegar. “You want to tell me how this
happened?”

J.D.
opened his mouth to respond.

“Never
mind,” said Rita. “I can guess how it happened. I want to know why. I want to
know why you’re engaged to Catrina Hiett while Halee is pregnant with your
child. Because unless I was dreaming, you and that bimbo in the red dress were
looking like you were ready to create your own Johnny Jr. up on that stage tonight.”

“You
got it all wrong, Rita.”

“Me
and three hundred other people. Or maybe you’re a better actor than you think.
Maybe you’ve been acting all along. Maybe Halee is the last to know.”

“I
never meant for this to happen.”

“See,
that’s the trouble. You didn’t want this, but Halee did. She’s been in love
with you since the first time you went out.”

J.D.
sat back, completely stunned.

Rita
smacked him on his bad shoulder. He winced in pain. “How stupid are you, you
big jerk? Girls like Halee don’t sleep with guys unless they mean it.”

The
double doors leading to the surgical suite flew open and a woman in scrubs
approached the gathering. “McCarthy family?”

“That’s
us!” shouted Rita. She raced over to the doctor and pushed to the front of the
crowd. “How’s Halee? Is she ok?”

“She’s
holding her own.”

“And
the baby?”

“I’m
afraid we couldn’t save the child,” said the doctor gently.

J.D.
turned away. Faye came to his side, stroking his arm.  Rita swallowed hard. “Can
we see her?”

“She’s
resting.”

“Does
she know?”

 “Yes,
she knows. She needs to stay sedated for a few hours. She’s lost a lot of
blood. I’ll allow one visitor. She’s asking for someone named J.D.”

J.D.
stepped forward.

“Are
you the husband?”

“No,”
he said. His voice held a touch of regret.

“The
father?”

“I
reckon so.”

“Follow
me.”

He
walked silently three steps behind the doctor down a polished corridor, his gut
filled with raw emotion. What would he say to her? Sorry was the only word that
came to mind. But sorry couldn’t quite cut it anymore.

After
several right turns, the doctor motioned to a room on the left. “Keep it to ten
minutes, ok?” She touched his arm. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

J.D.
lingered a moment outside Halee’s room until the doctor had turned a corner. The
sickening smells of antiseptic and death took him back to the night of his
father’s accident, restoring memories he had tried hard to bury. Carlos Carmenas,
for good or bad, had been all a small boy had to cling to with one parent
already gone. If it hadn’t been for Faye…

He
raked his hand through his hair and willed himself to enter Halee’s room. He
could see her feet from the hallway, the only part of her not hidden by a
curtain. She stirred.

“J.D.?”

He
took several steps. “Yeh. Yeh, it’s me.” He peered around the curtain. She lay on
her back, her eyes closed, her creamy skin as white as the sheet that covered
her. Her strawberry blonde hair lay damp from her night of agony against a small
flat pillow. Several IV drips hung by the bed, snaking their way into her
tender veins. She looked so young and innocent. He glanced down to where the
baby should have been, his baby. After all the women he’d slept with, he’d
never foreseen the day when someone would call him Daddy. He’d been so careful,
until Halee, that is. But then, everything with Halee was different.

She
cracked one eyelid and reached out to him. He took her hand and rubbed her
fingers with a kind of quiet reverence.

“I’m
sorry, J.D.” Her voice came out in a hushed whisper. “I wasn’t strong enough to
carry her. I guess I’ve never been strong enough to do much.”

“Don’t
say that, Baby.”

One
tear trickled down onto her pillowcase. She formed her words slowly, carefully.
“I wanted her, J.D. I wanted to have your child more than anything. I just wanted
a piece of you to hold onto, you know?  I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tricked you
that way.”

J.D.
kissed her palm, holding her small hand against his lips. “We can start over,
Baby,” he said. “We can have a whole bunch of kids. I love you, Halee. I want
to marry you…”

“Shhh.”
 A brief smile formed on her lips. “No more lies.”

 “I
ain’t…”

“You’ve
been lying so much, you don’t even know what the truth is anymore, J.D.”

“That
ain’t so…”

“Help
me find Ty,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Help me get him back. I promise
I’ll stay out of your life forever if you just help me find him.” A deeply
mournful cry escaped her, a gut wrenching sob from deep within. J.D. shuddered.

A
nurse entered and sized up J.D. with apparent disapproval. “You’ll have to go,”
she said in a stern tone.

J.D.
leaned over and kissed Halee gently on the forehead, then her moist cheeks, then
on her full pink lips, and whispered the words she longed to hear.

“I’ll
find him.”

***

The
clock displayed five a.m. by the time J.D. dragged himself across the threshold
of his apartment. Faye, Sam and Rita had all gone home with Cam and Stephen,
insisting they wouldn’t be welcome in Cat’s home and feeling too strange to
stay in Halee’s empty apartment without her. Maybe it was for the best. He
wasn’t exactly good company right now.

He
turned the lock and pushed open the heavy door to the flat he shared with
Catrina, his pretend fiancé. What a mess he’d made. The lies had seemed so
innocent at the time the Federals had named their conditions. So innocent and
so necessary.

The
plan had been to stage a fight immediately after the engagement party and go
their separate ways. Yet something told him Cat was reconsidering her position.
After just a few weeks living in the Big Apple, Catrina liked her role just a
little too much. She’d been coming on stronger, even out of public view. And
she’d burned through J.D.’s money so quickly, he’d had to hide his sign on
bonus in another account before she dashed his dreams of ever buying the Double
HL Ranch.