The Changeup (Men of the Show) (15 page)

“Will we be able to see you when we get there?” Maddie asked.

“Unfortunately, no. I’m pitching that day so I’ll be at the park already. Game day mode, you know how it is.”

Maddie sighed. She knew she was going to have to do this eventually, but she’d hoped it would be on her own turf. Perhaps it was better if it was on neutral ground and it would be nice to take a little road trip with Bree. She was going to have to get a grip on herself and get it over with. “Okay. We’ll be there.”

He gave his fist a little pump at her agreement. “Awesome. I’ll email you the hotel details and directions.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

He hung up the phone and took a sip of his water, relieved that it hadn’t been as big of a battle as he was anticipating it to be. “She’ll be there.”

“This will be good, for us to meet her. Now we can see for ourselves what a wonderful person she is.” Anne said with a motherly squeeze of his hand.

* * *

After saying goodbye to him for the night, his parents headed to their room. Anne leaned her head against her husband’s arm and sighed. “Well, it seems our son is in love.”

Rick shook his head with a small grin. “It looks that way, doesn’t it? I don’t know why we’re surprised that he’s going about it the same way he did with baseball—with a full head of stubbornness.” He snickered. “And how’d you like that speech about what is age anyway, but a life stat? Always trying to philosophize his way through things.”

She laughed softly. “That’s our son.”

Chapter Fifteen

Pulling up in front of the hotel, Maddie placed her car in Park and once again asked herself if she knew what she was getting herself into. On the four-hour drive to Chicago, she’d repeatedly fought against the urge to turn the car around and head home, back to safety. But each time, she talked herself out of it and reminded herself that if she wanted to be with Chase, she was going to have to step up and deal with things that may not be pleasant at first. If she ever wanted to get to the point where they could be left alone and enjoy each other, then she was going to have to get through the ugly. She knew not everyone was going to be on board right away, but she’d promised Chase that she was going to stand united with him, and now she had to do that with his parents...alone.

Even though her anxiety level had reached an all-time high and she could feel herself wanting to hyperventilate, she told herself she was an adult and she could handle this. She couldn’t always depend on him, she was going to have to do some of this on her own and she was going to have to start now whether she liked it or not. If things got too hairy, she could always count on Bree to charm everyone.

With one more glance out her window, she took a deep breath, steeled herself and muttered, “Here goes nothing.”

Letting the valet park her car, Maddie took Bree by the hand, hoping it would stop hers from shaking, and led them into the hotel lobby, walking straight up to the front desk. While they stood waiting for the clerk to return with their room keys, a couple tentatively approached them, the woman with a hesitant look.

“Maddie?”

Without any introduction, she knew she was looking at Chase’s parents. He had his father’s height with his mother’s features. Even though her throat tightened with nerves, she did a mental fist pump at seeing them both with gray hair. She’d been worried that she would look as if she could be his mother’s not-that-much-younger sister. She was happy that there appeared to be at least two decades between them. Unless, she thought with new worry, his mother was prematurely gray. “Yes, hi. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Patton.”

“Please, call me Anne, and this is my husband Rick,” she said as she took Maddie’s hand.

Rick barely gave her hand a shake before dropping it quickly while the look on his face remained neutral.

“It’s nice to meet both of you. This is my daughter Bree.” She put her hand on Bree’s shoulder.

Chase’s mother knelt down to Bree’s level and smiled. “Hi, Bree. It’s so nice to meet you. Chase has told us so much about you.”

She grinned in reply, but had apparently decided to play coy for the time being.

“Here are you keys, ma’am.”

Maddie took the keys from the hotel clerk before turning back to Chase’s parents. She gestured at their bag. “Well, I guess we should unload in our room.”

“We thought we’d walk around downtown a bit before heading to the park,” Chase’s father said, finally breaking his silence. Rick’s demeanor was still cool and reserved, but he extended the invitation anyway. “Why don’t you meet us back down here in about an hour?”

“Sure, sounds good. Let’s go, Bree.”

When the elevator doors closed behind them, she was thankful they were the only ones in there. She closed her eyes as she sunk against the back wall. She’d gotten the reaction she’d been expecting from his father. He wasn’t outright rude, but he wasn’t exactly welcoming either.

His mother, on the other hand, had been very nice and tried to ease the tension between everyone. It was going to be a long night if Rick continued to observe her from a distance as if he was waiting for her to say or do something wrong. She didn’t know how much her nerves could handle.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?”

Maddie turned to see Bree watching her curiously. “I’m just a little nervous, honey. Chase’s dad didn’t seem too happy with me.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess he isn’t too happy about Chase and me. He probably thinks I’m too old for him.”

“I think Chase makes you happy.”

She smiled down at her daughter. “He does, honey. He does make me happy.”

Maddie unlocked the door to their room and dumped their bag on the bed before collapsing beside it. Her cell phone rang from the depths of her purse and pulling it out she saw it was Chase.

“We were just talking about you,” she said.

“Oh yeah? I hope it was something good.”

“Yes, it was. Bree was telling me that she thinks you make me happy and I agreed with her.”

Chase chuckled. “That’s good to know and I think you make me happy too.”

“Well, now that everybody’s happy, what’s up?”

“I wanted to make sure you guys made it okay. No problems with the room, was there?”

“No, everything’s fine. We met your parents already and we’re meeting them in the lobby in about an hour.”

“How’d that go?” Chase asked. She could hear the worry in his voice.

“You mom was very nice. Your dad...well, let’s just say he didn’t seem too thrilled.”

“Yeah, I was afraid of that. Give him time. He’ll come around.”

“I hope so. Either that or he’ll just give in and give me the third degree like it looks like he wants to.”

“He won’t do that. I promise,” he assured her.

“If you say so,” she said with a sigh, not fully convinced. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you after the game, okay? Let me talk to Bree a second.”

“Okay. See you later.” She handed the phone to her daughter. “He wants to talk to you.”

Maddie stretched back out on the bed and half listened to their conversation, which consisted mostly of Bree giggling and saying “Okay.” Her thoughts went back to how she was going to manage the rest of the night with his father. She was going to have to find a way to make him understand that she was with Chase because of the wonderful, caring man that he was. That he had filled a hole in her and Bree’s lives that nobody had ever filled before. She knew his dad was worried that her reasons for being with Chase were purely selfish and would be wary of anything that could jeopardize his career. His concern was totally as a parent and she understood that. She didn’t know exactly how she would make him comfortable with their situation, especially when there were times when she still had doubts, but she had to believe time was the answer to everything. Given enough of it, everything would fall into place.

* * *

She and Bree stepped back into the lobby an hour later and spotted his parents standing by the front door. Following them out onto the sidewalk, they all walked in silence, Bree and Rick walking ahead while Maddie and Anne fell behind. The sun shone down on them, adding heat to the already muggy city air.

“So Chase tells us you’re a middle school counselor,” Anne said breaking the awkward silence. “That sounds interesting.”

“Oh, it can definitely have its interesting moments,” she replied with a big grin.

“I remember my boys at that age,” Anne said, nodding in agreement. “There was never a dull moment.” She looked at her timidly. “I know this is probably inappropriate since we just met and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where’s Bree’s father?”

“We’re divorced. He decided he didn’t want kids after hearing I was pregnant.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “That didn’t seem to mesh with the idea of me having a family.”

“Good heavens, I would think not! He doesn’t see Bree then?”

“Not much. Sometimes he’ll take her for a week or so, but it’s usually to some family function or something. His family wants to see her even if he doesn’t.”

Anne shook her head with pity. “That’s a shame. I couldn’t imagine if Rick hadn’t been involved in the boys’ lives. He’s the reason they’re both in baseball.”

“That’s what Chase said.” Maddie’s mouth curved unconsciously. “Chase is unbelievable with Bree.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said proudly. “He’s always had a big heart. Not that his brother doesn’t, don’t get me wrong, but Chase has always been so generous. He always wants to correct some injustice that he sees, even if he’s the only one who sees it. He’s very loyal and devoted.”

They turned the corner and continued down the busy sidewalk, passing multiple storefronts and restaurants, the smell of specialty dishes wafting out through open doors. Maddie ignored the growl of her stomach, reminding her that it had been a while since she’d eaten. “Whatever the reason behind it, I’m so appreciative. He’s given something to Bree that I’ve never been able to give her and she would never get from her father. I don’t think Bree even realized what she was missing until Chase. It’s like he’s saved her from never experiencing what it is like to have a dad, from believing that there’s something wrong with her because her dad doesn’t want to spend time with her.”

“There are just some things that only a father can give a child that their mother can’t, no matter how hard she tries.” Anne turned her head toward Maddie. “I could tell by the way he spoke about Bree that he cares very much for her. He wants to be that father figure in her life.”

Maddie glanced at the store windows as they walked by and shook her head in confusion. “It’s a real struggle for me. I really care for Chase and we just seem to work, as odd as it is because of the age difference...I can’t explain it. We help each other, learn with each other and support each other. But it seems too much for him to take on at this point, you know? I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but he won’t listen to me or he tells me everything will be fine. I assume you and Rick have said just as much.”

A look of surprise crossed over his mother’s face. She was sure it was a shock to hear that even she had talked to Chase about the same concerns she was sure his parents were voicing to him, that she wasn’t so naive to believe everything was perfect.

Anne stopped walking and turned to face her. “And what about you? How do you fit into this picture?” she asked pointedly.

“Me?” She shrugged as she looked down at the sidewalk. “I guess he thinks I need to be saved too.”

“Saved from what?”

“Myself.”

Anne nodded as if she understood. Her dark, compassionate eyes, so like her son’s, trailed over Maddie’s face before she smiled again. “Chase is usually very good at judging character and I can see that he didn’t get it wrong here. I have to admit that when I heard you were so much older, I could only worry and think the worst. I wondered what it was exactly that you saw in him and what you could possibly want from him, being at such a different stage in your life. Now I see you’re just like the rest of us, in awe of him and his spirit. You see him for who he truly is and not only the amazing athlete that everyone else knows him as. You’re a very lucky woman, Maddie. You’ve touched my son where no one has before and I can assure you, he’ll treat you like a queen.” She reached out and gave her hands a squeeze. “Now, let’s go eat.”

* * *

They arrived at the game well before the seven o’clock start time and made their way down to their field-level seats along the third baseline. The visiting bull pen was to their left, behind the fence in left field. From their seats, they could catch glimpses of Chase loosening up as he tossed balls back and forth with the catcher.

Maddie tried to ignore Rick’s big looming presence next to her since he had yet to say more than two words to her, or so it seemed. He’d bonded with Bree over dinner, not a surprise, but any conversation between him and Maddie was awkward and stilted at best.

She still couldn’t get over how fast Anne had accepted her. Her words had deeply touched her and Maddie knew that as a mother, she wouldn’t give them out freely. His father, on the other hand, was a different story. She was going to have to find a way during the game to get him to stop looking at her suspiciously all the time. He didn’t have to accept her outright as he did Bree, but she wanted at least things to be civil between them. The only problem was she didn’t know where to start. She hoped inspiration would hit and she could get him talking.

“Hey, Bree. Come here.” Pulling a small plastic bag out from underneath the light jacket he’d brought with him, Rick reached in and withdrew its contents. “I thought you’d like to have this—you could wear it tonight.”

Bree’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and her small mouth formed the shape of an O as she took in the small pink-and-white Detroit Rockets jersey with the name
Patton
spelled out over the number twenty-four across the back. “Oh, I love it! Can I put it on now?”

Rick helped pull the jersey over her head and watched in amusement as she twisted around trying to see the name on the back.

“That was awfully nice of you. Thank you,” Maddie said quietly.

He turned toward her and the smile fell from his face as he cleared his throat. “It’s nothing. I thought Chase would get a kick out of seeing her wear that.”

“I may never get her out of it,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s pink, her absolute favorite color.”

He didn’t say anything, but he did manage a small smile before something over her shoulder caught his attention. “Here he comes.”

Maddie turned in the direction he was looking and saw Chase walking out of the bull pen carrying his glove and red Rockets jacket. He kept his head down and ignored the heckling of the Chicago fans as he walked by them. Occasionally, a cheer of encouragement from a Detroit fan, many of whom sat sprinkled throughout the stadium, rang out over the jeers. As he walked by their seats, he glanced in their direction and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement.

“Go get ’em,” Rick said as he passed.

Bree stood up and twirled around in her jersey. Chase didn’t stop, but he did throw his hand up for her to slap as he walked by. It was enough to make her night and her face glowed when she sat back in her seat. Anne caught Maddie’s eye and smiled before turning back to Bree. “Yep, I’m never getting that off of her,” she repeated.

As she waited for the game to begin, Maddie looked around the stadium watching as the fans filed in. The familiar smells of hot dogs, beer and popcorn swirled around her. Nighttime was starting to fall and the day’s mugginess had lost some of its thickness, making it easier to breathe. A slight breeze blew in from right field and she shivered, eyeing Rick’s jacket and wishing she’d remembered to bring hers. Her heart lightened at the sight of Bree sitting on the edge of her seat, waiting impatiently, and she sat back thinking that things couldn’t be any better. Even though she’d never been a baseball fan before and really hadn’t attended that many games in the past, she was finding it enjoyable. It surprised her how relaxing and how much fun it was to come to a ballpark, chill out and watch the game play out in front of her. The game wasn’t too slow and it wasn’t too fast, but it moved at just the right pace to sit back and unwind on a warm afternoon or a balmy evening.