I shouldn’t be doing this, I thought as I swung my arms in wide circles and stared at the field, the familiar feeling of excitement welling up in my body. It was crazy to think I would be this excited over a charity game, but hell, I was ecstatic. While the Little League team had been great and all, it did not even come close to the way I was feeling about this game. I was going to pitch once more, even if for just a little while.

“I really appreciate you joining at the last minute,” Jacob said as he came to stand beside me. “I had hoped this wouldn’t turn into a media circus, but it looks like I was wrong on all accounts.”

Several news stations were setting up around the field and the bleachers were packed with fans of all the different sports personalities Jacob had managed to wrangle into playing. The whole event was bigger than I’d expected and the thought of being filmed on TV, even if it was just a short news segment, was a bit nerve-wracking. There was always the chance that someone could recognize me, but after all these years the odds couldn’t be that high.

“It’ll be good publicity for the charity though, right?”

Jacob nodded. The charity was his football foundation, giving back to the community in the form of uniforms and equipment for the schools. I was honored that he had asked me to join, knowing that my kids were going to benefit from this as well, but hadn’t anticipated the publicity surrounding it. But a part of me was under the impression he only asked to keep me close, under his watch for Cara’s sake. Or perhaps I was merely overthinking it, looking for a problem where none existed.

“C’mon, let’s join the team,” Jacob said and I followed him to where the rest where gathered.

The teams were a mixture of local celebrities and athletes, some with experience, but most without. Jacob was a captain of one side and the captain of the other was the point guard from the local basketball team. There had been some ribbing already, some bets thrown out there, too, but it was all to benefit the kids. I was enjoying the camaraderie; it was nice to be a part of a team again.

I trailed behind Jacob and looked through the crowd. I was excited to see Cara there. Lucia was next to her in the stands, too, with her little girl, Nora, on Cara’s lap. After our dinner the other night, I had thought of nothing but her, feeling more like I knew her on another level after her spill about her son. She was a strong woman, but it seemed like she’d held this in for far too long and needed someone to help support her. And I couldn’t help but want to be that crutch for her, help her get through it. She gave me a little wave and I sighed. If anyone had asked me a mere couple of weeks ago if I was contemplating monogamy, I would’ve told them they were crazy, and for them to go back to their home planet. And yet when I looked at her, with Nora in her arms, I found myself longing for that life.

The only problem was my past. And while I felt like I could trust her, I couldn’t tell her my secret. It wasn’t safe. The less people who knew, the better for everyone involved. Still, there was hope. She hadn’t pulled back when I leaned in for a kiss after our meal and maybe we could slowly build upon what we had started.

The horn blew and I jogged over to the rest of the team, a grin on my face. It was game time and I couldn’t wait.

An hour later I eyed the batter, trying to remember what his weakness was. I needed to concentrate. I was sweating from head to toe, my arm hurting from the repetitive motion of the pitches that I wasn’t entirely used to after all these years. Still, I felt jacked up, even if it was only a charity match.

We were in the last inning, with two on base and two out. I was two up on this guy, had him swinging at my decoy fastball. He didn’t know what was gonna hit him. Grinding my teeth, I gave the catcher a nod, understanding the call he was giving me… but ignored it anyway. This wasn’t the time to play it safe. Taking the ball, I adjusted my knuckles and started on my stance, looking back at the runner at second base before letting the ball fly. It sailed through the air then zipped low at the last second and I waited with bated breath to see if the bat was going to connect. When there was no satisfying crack, I realized I had struck him out. Our team had won the game.

The crowd erupted as the rest of the team ran toward the mound, lifting me high in the air. I felt fucking fantastic, it was a charity match, but it was an awesome feeling to have. With a laugh, I got them to lower me to the ground, finding myself wrapped up in a hug by the star player himself.

“Damn, man, I knew you could play ball, but I didn’t know you were an awesome pitcher,” Jacob said as he released me. “Why the hell aren’t you playing professionally?”

I shrugged, wishing I could tell him the real reason. “Guess it didn’t work out.”

“Well I’m glad you were on our team today,” he said, clapping me on the back. “Party at my place in an hour? You have to come.”

“Sure,” I grinned, feeling like I was on top of the world. He clapped me on the back once more and then walked off, the media crews trying to catch up with him. I watched for a moment, knowing that it could have been me giving the interviews, receiving the accolades instead of just showing off at a charity event. No one was going to remember me after today. There would be no endorsements, no more games to get ready for. I would go back to destroying concrete and leave baseball behind once more. I hated the thought.

“Marcus? Mark Harris?”

Without thinking, I turned around to find a man standing behind me, a grin on his face as he held out his hand. “It is you, isn’t it? I thought you had dropped off the face of the earth,” he said.

“Nah, you have the wrong guy,” I muttered, tugging on the brim of my cap to hide my eyes.

He shook his head, stepping closer. “Oh no, you can’t fool me. I would know that curveball anywhere; one of a kind. Don’t you remember me? I scouted your last game. You were awesome, destined for the pros and then suddenly we couldn’t find a single trace of you. What happened? Why did you quit baseball?”

I sighed inwardly, the feeling of being unable to get out of this situation started to boil inside of my chest. I couldn’t be identified. I wasn’t that person anymore, no matter how much I wanted to be. “Sorry to disappoint you but I’m not that guy.”

“What guy?”

I turned to see Cara standing not far from me, her head cocked to the side. How long had she been standing there listening in to the conversation?

But damn she took my breath away. Even in casual attire she was stunning, her T-shirt for the charity event tightly stretched across her great rack. Her long legs were encased in a pair of jean shorts and I wanted nothing more than to strip them off of her and drive into her again and again. Our evening had been cut way too short the other night and I still felt the need to have her, to claim her once and for all.

“Hi, I’m Dan,” the former scout said, a grin on his lips as he shook her hand. “I was just getting reacquainted with my friend, Marcus, here.”

“Oh really? Marcus is it?” she asked, a gleam in her eye as she looked at me. “How do you know him?”

“Cara, no. We’ve got to go,” I interrupted, grabbing Cara’s hand and attempted to steer her away from the guy. If I let them talk, he was going to reveal all of my secrets and I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Wait,” Dan said as I forced Cara to walk away. “You didn’t tell me where you’ve been. I could still get you a deal, I swear it. You haven’t lost your touch.”

“What deal, Marcus?” she asked, her tone ice-cold. The questions were starting to grate on my nerves. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to think I could just step back into a part of my old world without being recognized like this.

“Hey, Luke, over here!”

I felt a hand on my shoulder as I was steered away from Cara and toward the rest of the team, momentarily confused as a multitude of flashes went off in my face. Oh shit. Pictures.

“Our star player!” Jacob said excitedly as he clapped my shoulder with his hand pinning me in place, a wide smile on his face. “We couldn’t have done it without you. A couple more pictures for the magazines?”

“Yeah, whatever,” I swallowed, resigned to the fact that the shit had hit the fan and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it. The photographers got their pictures and then moved on. Where the hell were those photos going to be published? Some small, obscure publication I could only hope.

“Come on,” he was saying. “Grab Cara and let’s party!” I watched him walk away and tried to shake off the cold feeling of dread that had come over me. I hoped that all of this wouldn’t put me in a bigger hot mess that I was already in, but hell, trouble loved to find me. And I had a sinking feeling it was only going to get worse.