Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (19 page)

“I didn’t mean to confuse
you. I didn’t intend to tell you I cleaned out the house. I texted
you to tell you about Kaelyn ruining my plan to get her to spend
time with a girl instead of a guy. I’m not plotting anything. I
don’t know how to answer any of the other questions because I’m not
so sure myself.”

“We’re both adults, and we’re
connected by a twisted bitch called fate, and it sucks because I
would never want anything to happen to your family. I know you know
this about me. I’m not going to lie, because it’s not right for you
or me, but I do like you. If you want to be friends, then it’s my
honor to be your friend. If you want, I don’t know, something else
or more, then we can discuss it later, or whatever.” I try not to
sound like a desperate fool who’s throwing herself at his feet and
begging him to date me.

“I like the way things are
right now. That’s pretty much the only thing I’m certain of.”

“Then let’s be friends,” I
blurt out with a bit too much excitement. “I like talking to you,
Trent. I really do. I know you’re taking small steps to gain
control of your life and not letting the grief overtake you. You
are raising a beautiful daughter and she needs to be your focus. I
understand more than anyone. But I feel better knowing this and I’m
sorry I acted like a crazy lunatic, because I was one.”

“You weren’t acting crazy. I
can’t blame you for not knowing what to expect from me.” He looks
down at his untouched coffee. “So, we’re good? You feel better,
right?”

“Yes, we’re good. Thank you,
Trent. I really do want to be friends. I’m glad I got this all off
my chest too.”

“Maybe just call next time?”
He teases me and smiles.

“I promise no more showing up
at the job site begging security to let me in.” I hold up my right
hand with a grin. “Promise.”

Trent chuckles. “You tried
begging security to let you in? I’m sure they didn’t even crack a
smile.”

“Oh no, he wasn’t going to
let me in without a pass to save my life. Trust me.”

“Yeah, they’re extremely good
at their job. I should head home and relieve my grandmother.”

“Thanks again.”

I watch Trent leave the
coffee house, and my heart swells. I feel so much better knowing
where he and I stand. I can deal with everything else later.

***

“WE NEED TO talk.”

Granny turns from where she’s
standing at the stove, cooking breakfast. I’m about to leave for a
few road games, and the plan is for them to head to the library
today. My stomach feels uneasy about how this conversation might
go, but I’ve been thinking about it and I’m certain it should
happen.

“About what?” Granny turns
her attention back to the food.

I didn’t exactly want to have
this conversation with her back, but my timing was off obviously.
“I’ve appreciated you helping me as much as you have, Granny, and I
never intended for it to be long-term, but I didn’t exactly think
about it being short-term either.” At this, she turns to eye me,
scrutinizing me. Granny can be an intimidating woman. “I think it’s
time I start looking for a live-in nanny. I’d appreciate your help
in finding someone who’d be good for her. With my schedule, she
definitely needs someone and I’m sure you’re ready to return to
being just her Granny.”

She removes a pot of grits
from the stove, turning off the burner before facing me. “I wish I
could fight you on this because I don’t mind one bit helping you
out and I love my granddaughter to death, but you need a nanny,”
she agrees. “I’m getting old and my goodness, that child is nothing
but energy, especially now she’s out of school.”

“I know.” I offer her a small
smile. “I want to get started looking. I don’t know how long it’ll
take to find someone.” Clearing my throat, I add, “I’m thinking
about seeing if Mom and Dad or Deborah’s parents want her to visit
for a week or two at some point this summer, too.”

“Have you spoken to them
lately?”

I shake my head. What would I
say to them?

“What about your
parents?”

I shake my head again.

“What’s going on with the
Davis girl? You haven’t mentioned her lately.”

“It’s Knowles,” I correct,
not wanting to think about Scarlett as a Davis, even if she is
related to the man. “Nothing new. We’re friends. There’s a
reporter, if you can call him that, who thinks I was having an
affair with her before Deborah died. I don’t think he’s anything to
worry about though.” I don’t want to talk about that, so I
backtrack. “So, you’ll help me look for a nanny?”

Granny chuckles and nods,
walking over to me. “Of course, I will. I already have someone in
mind, too.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I was discussing my
little ball of energy of a granddaughter with some of my BINGO
girls and one of them mentioned that her granddaughter is a college
student in need of a job. She might be a good fit. She’s young,
could keep up with Kaelyn, and would most likely have the flexible
kind of schedule you’d need. Plus, she has nieces and nephews
around Kaelyn’s age.”

I eye my Granny. “Have you
been scouting out a nanny all this time?”

She grins, pats my cheek, and
then nods. “I already have the girl’s number and know she’d be
interested.”

I laugh and hug her. “I’d be
lost without you, Granny.”

“Yes, you would, boy. Yes,
you would. Go get your daughter for breakfast.”

Leaving her, I walk down to
Kaelyn’s room. Hearing soft cries causes me to run the rest of the
way. Kaelyn is standing at the foot of her bed, tears plopping onto
the floor as she holds her stomach, bent over, vomit on the floor
in front of her.

“I don’t feel good, Daddy,”
she whines when she lifts her head.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” I
say gently, picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom as she
rest her head on my shoulder.

“Are you mad?” she
whispers.

“Mad? Why would I be
mad?”

“I threw up on the
floor.”

I rub her back. “No, I’m not
mad. You didn’t mean to.” I sit her on the counter, and feel her
forehead with the back of my hand. She’s burning up. “What’s
bothering my girl?”

“My tummy hurts, Daddy.” Her
eyes well with tears, breaking my heart. Her hair is all over the
place from where she was sleeping, and she looks miserable.

I grab a cloth, wet it, and
wipe her mouth. I get a little cup, fill it with water, and hand it
to her so she can swish. Next, I find the thermometer.

“What’s going on?”

I glance over at Granny. “She
threw up, and I’m pretty sure she’s got a fever. You should go
home. I can’t risk you getting sick as well, Granny.” She is in her
seventies, and I’m not risking her catching whatever Kaelyn may
have and it be even worse on her.

“You’re supposed to leave in
an hour for your flight.”

“My daughter is sick. I’m not
leaving her,” I snap and immediately follow with, “Sorry.” The
thermometer beeps and I squeeze my eyes closed when I see it’s a
little over hundred. “Go on home and I’ll handle everything here,”
I tell Granny.

She wants to protest, I can
see it in her barely parted lips, but she closes them and nods when
I tell her what her fever is.

“Let’s get my girl back in
bed.” The fact that Kaelyn doesn’t protest is a testament to how
bad she feels. I get her in bed when Granny brings me some medicine
for her to take before she leaves. I give it to her and clean up
the vomit.

“Will you lay with me,
Daddy?” Kaelyn asks, her eyes barely open.

“Yeah, sweet pea. I need to
wash my hands and call work first, okay?”

She nods and I quickly do
just that. At first, Coach doesn’t sound pleased, but I explain
that it’s just me, she’s sick, and I’ll be damned if I’m leaving
town while she is. After I hang up, I find the small bowl Deborah
kept in the hall closet just for throwing up. I place it on the
coffee table in the living room and return to Kaelyn.

I pick her up, grab her
pillow, carry her to the living room, and we sit on the couch. She
leans against me, and I turn on the cartoons for her.

“If you feel like you’re
going to throw up again, tell me.”

“Okay,” she mumbles as I pull
the blanket off the back of the couch and cover her up. I rub her
back and then her soothe her hair away from her face when she rests
her head on her pillow in my lap.

Kaelyn throws up a few more
times throughout the day. Granny ends up returning briefly to drop
off Ginger Ale and soup. Kaelyn refuses to eat, no matter how much
I try to coax her. She’ll sip the drink though. My phone vibrates
on and off with texts from some of my teammates, the first coming
from Blake, all sending get well wishes to Kaelyn.

Around dinnertime, I try
again to get her to eat.

“Come on, sweet pea. You’ll
feel better.”

“I’m not hungry, Daddy,” she
replies with a tone full of annoyance and a whine. She’d rather
sleep.

“I know, but don’t you want
to feel better? Just little sips, like with the drink. It won’t
even feel like you’re eating.” She makes no move to sit up.
“Kaelyn, come on. Sit up. I need you to eat something. Then you can
sleep, promise.” How in the hell am I supposed to get my kid to
eat? I’m certain she has a stomach virus, but she hasn’t eaten all
day and my worries will ease if she’ll just take one spoonful of
soup.

When I tug gently on her arm,
thank God, she sits up. I’m sitting on the coffee table in front of
her and I bring the bowl closer to her before scooping up just the
broth in the chicken noodle soup. Kaelyn opens her mouth and meets
the spoon. She eats all of six spoonfuls before shaking her head,
refusing to eat more.

I reclaim my seat and she
lies on me again. My phone vibrates, and I pick it up to see a text
from Scarlett.

Scarlett: Sorry in advance
if I’m overstepping. I saw you didn’t travel with the team. Hope
everything is okay.

Me: Kaelyn’s sick. Probably
a stomach virus, so I’m home with her.

Scarlett: Aw, poor kid. :(
Hope she feels better.

“Daddy, I don’t,” is all
Kaelyn is able to get out. I was already reaching for the bowl and
have it in front of her just as she vomits. She starts crying when
she’s done.

I rub her back. “Ssh, you’re
okay. You’ll feel better soon, sweet pea. Go to sleep.”

“I want to sleep in your
bed.”

I slip my phone into my
pocket, grab her pillow, and we walk to my room. She lies down and
then insists I don’t leave her, so I crawl in next to her. She
pulls the covers all the way up to her nose and cuddles against my
side. I rub her back.

When she falls asleep, I
carefully get out of bed to change my clothes into pajamas and then
grab my phone to text Scarlett back. It’s only seven o’clock and
I’m ready for bed.

Me: Working on it. Hate
seeing her miserable.

Scarlett: I bet. :(

Me: I didn’t realize you
were enough of a fan to follow the news of the team.

A few minutes pass before she
replies.

Scarlett: I don’t
normally.

Just then, what she said the
other night runs through my head. Is she following the team because
she likes me? For the most part, I haven’t focused on that bit of
knowledge. I just don’t know what to do with it, so I’ve been
ignoring it. I like Scarlett, but I’m unsure if it includes
anything more than us being friends.

Me: I see. Did you have a
good day?

Scarlett: Not fantastic, but
could have been worse. Yours?

Me: Aside from Kaelyn being
sick, not bad. Then again, the only thing that has happened is that
I told Granny I wanted a nanny for Kaelyn. She has apparently
already been looking for someone for me haha

Scarlett: Ha! Was management
mad that you weren’t coming on the road trip?

Me: Not mad, but not
thrilled. They understood though. What would they expect me to do
anyway? I’m all she has. It’s not like I can leave her with someone
else. I don’t want to risk Granny getting sick, so I’m the only
option.

Scarlett: I’m sorry. That
you’re the only one she has.

Shit. I didn’t mean to make
her feel bad, which I’m sure I did.

Me: It’s not your fault.
Sorry if I made you feel bad.

Scarlett doesn’t reply. Maybe
asking to be friends is too much, considering the circumstances.
Will her brother and his actions always loom over our heads?

***