Love from Left Field (28 page)

She wrapped her blanket around her and stumbled down the hall just as the door opened. Her mother walked, holding a large brown bag with wonderful smells emitting from them. Miranda’s stomach rumbled in response, the first time she’d been hungry since everything had turned to shit. Gwen faced her and shook her head.

“Well, you certainly look nothing like Ms. Georgia, Miranda. Didn’t I teach you better than this?”

“Mom, forgive me if I’m just not in the mood right now. I’m tired and really don’t want a lecture.” Miranda wandered into the living room and curled up on the couch.

“You’re a mess. I brought your favorite – fried chicken. Now get in here and eat something. And don’t tell me you’re not hungry because I can hear your stomach from here.”

Miranda dragged herself up from the couch and into the dining area where her mother set the table. She didn’t expect to eat but as soon as the first bite of crispy chicken hit her tongue, she was ravenous and she devoured the meal in short order. Meanwhile, her mother watched her, sipping iced tea.

“You look like hell. A good, Southern woman wouldn’t be caught dead looking like that.”

“Since you invaded my space, and I had no plans of being seen, I’ll risk it.” Miranda smiled sweetly.

“You missed dinner the other night.” Her mother switched tactics.

Miranda shot her a sharp glance. “You’re kidding right?”

Gwen folded her hands in her lap and pursed her lips. “I know your father can be difficult.”

“Difficult?” Miranda burst out laughing. “He fired his daughter.”

“You resigned.”

“He didn’t stop me.” Miranda sighed. “We’ll get past it. Just not right now. I need some space from him, the team.”

“And Lucas?” The question was spoken softly.

Miranda waited for the familiar sharp stab of pain, but it was only a dull ache. Maybe she was getting better, getting over Lucas.

“Mom, what do you want?”

“Your father wants to speak to you. He needs you to do one more thing. Can you please help him, considering quitting was not exactly helpful to his health?” The words had a sharp edge to them.

Miranda narrowed her gaze. “What about me? He wasn’t nice to anyone at the office, especially his daughter.”

“I’ll go out to the car and get him. You may want to wash your face and comb your hair at least.” She cast a sour look around the messy living room. “You don’t have enough time to pick up, unfortunately.”

*

“I have no
interest in going back to the stadium, not for anything.” Miranda’s hands twisted in her lap.

Seamus sat on the chair, right next to her sweater tossed over the back of it. She glared at him but he gave her an innocent look. “I just need this one last thing from you. Only the president can do it.”

“Former president.”

“Fine. Former president. But I still need one. Then I’ll leave you alone.” He absently rubbed his chest and gave her a pathetic sigh.

Damn him. “I don’t have time for this.”

“What? No time for your dear old dad, who almost died a few months ago? I won’t be around forever you know. Besides you don’t have a job yet so why bother packing?”

“My condo is on the market and I already had several offers. I’ll probably need to be out in thirty days.”

“I hope you didn’t accept any offers. You might end up staying here.”

She clenched her fist and looked at him. “You and I both know I can’t do that.”

“Because of the memories? Lucas rejected the offer and is heading to Seattle.” Seamus stood up and took her hand in his. “You did a great job with the team and deserve to enjoy a moment in the sun. It might be our last time together as business partners.”

Alarmed, she grasped his shoulder. “Is everything alright?”

He rubbed his chest and looked tired. “You never know.”

She gave him a look. “Truth?”

He scowled. “You’re as bad as your mother. No, I promised her we would go on that cruise to Europe. I’ve gotten out of it for years but now, I have no excuse.”

She pulled him down on the couch, ignoring the blankets that tumbled off. “Are you okay, dad? How are you doing?”

He looked pensive for a moment then nodded. “I’m doing okay, although I could use your help. You did a good job in my absence. I probably should have told you before now, listened to you more.”

Miranda narrowed her gaze. What was he up to? “I think this is for the best, Dad. I need to move on, figure out what I want with my life.”

“You love the Knights. Would you consider coming back?”

Miranda paused, thinking. She had expected her father to ask her back once he had cooled down. But this, his attitude today was completely different than she had thought. He was not demanding but humble, asking, not ordering. She had lived and worked with him long enough to know he was capable of any kind of subterfuge to get what he wanted. Damn him, if only she knew if she could trust him.

But coming back to the Knights? She shook her head. “No, Dad. I have a friend from college and her company might have an opening for me. In Charlotte.”

His face reflected his shock. “You’re moving?”

She nodded. “That’s why I’m selling my condo, Dad. I think this is for the best.”

“Are you convincing yourself or me?” He pursed his lips and stood. “Fine. I won’t stand in your way. But can you come to the stadium next week for us to finalize the loan payments with the commissioner?”

Her eyes widened. “We made the payment?”

He looked away. “In a matter of speaking. But you need to be there, okay?”

She nodded. “Promise.”

He stood there for a moment, studying her, then he awkwardly hugged her. “I’m sorry, Miranda. This heart thing really threw me… No wait, no excuses. I’ve always been difficult and being scared with my heart attack is not a good enough excuse for how I behaved. If you ever change your mind, the Knights would welcome you back. As would I.”

He shuffled out of her living room, leaving her alone in the mess of a condo and her life, shocked by the events but feeling freer than she had in years. She had her own path to forge now. Scary, but she could handle it. And Charlotte didn’t have a major league baseball team so her chances of running into Lucas were almost nonexistent. Thank God.

One last thing to do and she could move on with her life.

M
iranda adjusted her
dark blue suit jacket and took a deep breath. She had sat in her car for thirty minutes before gaining the courage to come into the stadium today. The last thing she had wanted to do was face anybody, knowing she had let them down. But her father had asked her to be there and, like the good daughter she was, she’d come running. But this was the last time.

She looked around the waiting area outside the executive offices at the familiar pictures, the furniture, her former assistant, and she felt a pang in her heart. She wanted to go in the office and demand her job back. She pressed a hand to her chest at the picture of Jacob Wainright. She had passed that portrait a thousand times before but only today she could see Lucas in his soft eyes, the gentle smile, the forthright posture. She closed her eyes but only saw Lucas. The image was so vivid she could swear she could smell his cologne. When the scent got stronger, she opened her eyes.

Lucas stood a few steps away, an unreadable expression on his face, the door to her old office open behind him.

“I thought you were headed to Seattle. But I guess president of the Knights was too hard to resist.” She couldn’t help the bitterness in her voice even as her heart flip-flopped in her chest.

His brow furrowed then he glanced behind him. “Oh, I’m not president. I’m just helping out until the next president is hired. I’m not applying.”

“Maybe you should. You’d be good at it.”

“There’s only one person who belongs in that office and it’s not me,” he said softly, looking like he wanted to grab her but he restrained himself, his hands turning white on the tablet he held.

She wanted to go to him, too, but she had only recently found her pride and she wasn’t going to give it up that easily. “So my father asked you to stay on or did Roger?”

“Your father. He decided to go back to what you had set up. Prosser is not being traded. Things are settling down.” His gaze was intense and piercing as if trying to convey a message.

She nodded. “Thanks for your help. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for either of you.”

“Your father never told you I was here, did he?”

He looked tired, circles under his eyes, and he looked like he may have lost weight. She was glad she took her mother’s advice and dressed to impress. She just didn’t know she had to fool Lucas.

“No, he didn’t. But it doesn’t matter.”

The conference room door opened, interrupting their conversation.

Seamus stood framed in the doorway. “Good, you’re both here. Come in, please.”

She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, gliding into the office, Lucas following behind her. One last thing, she chanted in her mind. One more. Then she was free.

*

Roger Martinelli sat
at one end of the conference table, pencil tapping rapidly on the pad of paper in front of him, looking irritated. Seamus sat in his usual spot, with Miranda and Lucas in the middle of the table on either side. Silence reigned for several long moments, then Roger cleared his throat.

“Seamus, you called for this meeting. I flew down from Chicago. What do you want?”

“We have a loan payment due in a couple of weeks.” He slid an envelope to Miranda, nodding towards Roger. “Here you go, early.”

She passed it down to Roger, wondering if this was what he needed her to do. She looked up and caught Lucas studying her intensely, gaze never wavering. Roger barely glanced at the envelope.

“You could have wired the money. I don’t require a physical check or to do this in person.”

Seamus nodded. “Miranda, do you have a dollar?”

Now, thoroughly confused, Miranda whispered, “Right now?”

He nodded and she shrugged. She opened her purse and flipped through the bills. “I only have a five.”

He nodded seriously and scratched something on a piece of paper. “That’ll do fine.”

He handed the paper to Lucas who signed it then handed it to Roger. Roger frowned and took the paper, scanning it quickly then his head jerked up and he stared at Seamus.

“What the hell, Seamus?”

“You wanted me gone and, since I made the payment, you can’t force me out. But I’m giving you your wish, and my wife’s wish to be honest. She gave me an ultimatum after my heart attack. She wanted me to retire and for us to spend more time together.”

“That could be a huge mistake,” Lucas murmured.

Seamus grinned. “Yes, Gwen might get sick of me or something before long, but she wants it and I owe her. She’s stood by me for years. She deserves to have what she wants. God knows why, but she wants me. So, meet the new owner of the Knights – Miranda Callahan, my daughter, who just bought the team for five dollars.”

Roger’s face went from white to red in seconds flat as he read the document in more detail.

“It’s all in order.” Lucas stated. “We had lawyers look at it and draft the details. There are a few things to work out, but the bottom line is Seamus is stepping down in favor of his daughter.”

The room spun around Miranda. “Dad, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”

He reached over and took her hand. “You were right, about everything. You’re the right person to lead the team into the future. I was clinging to the past, to my ideas, not ready to move on. We need you. I need you. Will you take on the Knights?”

It seemed like everyone held their breath in the room, all for different reasons. Lucas nodded once to her, encouraging her. Her mind whirled with the possibilities. Everything she had always wanted, had been preparing for her whole life. She had once thought it was gone but she knew the Knights were a part of her.

She stood, hands bracing her on the table. “Looks like I own the Knights.” And she turned to Roger. “And I don’t want you interfering any longer in my team. Are we clear?”

Roger stood, gathering his papers. “We have some things to work out but, congratulations, Ms. Callahan. I look forward to working with you.”