Chapter Twelve
Rob
I love the scent of my mom’s cooking. The minute I stepped inside, I smelled meatloaf buried in ketchup and macaroni and cheese. Sounds gross, but it was my favorite. I think Mom kept a pan on hand just so it would be there when I visited. I took a deep breath and grinned, but even that glorious scent couldn’t stop the knot of anxiety in my gut from bringing the first woman home to meet my parents.
I wasn’t introducing her to them as my girlfriend or anything. That would have been easier. Heidi was a contract violation, a kidnapping mistake of epic proportions, and the woman I’d been longing for since spring break. So how, exactly, was I going to introduce her to my parents?
It was Saturday evening, but I’d called ahead so they were awake. Dad clicked off the news while Mom headed straight for me and enveloped me in a big hug. Flour. Mom always smelled like flour, though I never fully understood that. She rarely baked, but it didn’t matter. She was my mother and I inhaled deeply. And then she pulled back, arched her eyebrows at Heidi, and looked back at me.
“Glad you made it safely,” she said. “Who’s this?”
“This is Heidi, Mom—” I said, as my dad made his way to the front hallway.
“Good game, son. How’s the ankle?”
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. It was still a worry, but with tape and ankle supports, there was every expectation that it would heal back to normal.
“Doesn’t matter,” my dad continued as he bumped me on the shoulder. “Just hit a homer every time, then you don’t have to run the bases.”
“That’s my plan,” I answered with a grin. But then they were looking at Heidi and it was time to explain. “Mom, Dad, this is Heidi Wong. She’s an old friend from college.”
Heidi extended her hand to greet them but kept her expression wary. “Pleased to meet you,” she said.
“And old friend?” Mom said. “Oh! I thought you were that reporter girl who’s been asking questions—”
“I am a reporter, Mrs. Lee. And I’m doing a story on your son.”
Trust Heidi to say the hard truth immediately. The woman did not know how to be sneaky, and it was one of the things I adored about her.
“Really?” my dad said, his voice rumbling low. “I’m surprised the Bobcats didn’t send someone more veteran to—”
“It’s not approved,” I interrupted. “And she’s not writing a story. She’s just an old friend.”
The silence all but roared through the hallway. All three of them looked at me like my hair was on fire. They all knew the details of my contract. Or at least the relevant ones. But I folded my arms and glared at each one in turn.
“She’s not here to write a story,” I repeated. “And we’re just here to talk.”
My mom’s fingers twisted together. “Oh. Well. Are you sure that’s wise?”
My dad cleared his throat. “Son, that’s not a good idea.”
I held up my hands to stop them, but the moment they quieted, Heidi spoke up. “You should listen to them, Rob. I’m going to write an article. I have to.” Her gaze canted away. “My rent depends on it.”
That wasn’t the real truth, and we both knew it. Yeah, maybe she did need rent money, but I wasn’t surprised that she was pursuing an article. The moment Nico threatened her, I knew she’d still find a way to publish something. She was a journalist. She asked hard questions and pushed for good answers. It’s who she was, and I liked it. Unfortunately, it put me in an awkward position. How could I talk to her without screwing up both our lives?
I looked hard at Heidi and this time I didn’t focus on the way her sleek black hair framed her golden skin. I didn’t look at her mouth or the way she moved in a way that immediately drew my eyes to the sway of her hips. I looked into her brown eyes and saw the worry there. And the apology.
She’d been trying to apologize to me when I’d pulled down her panties in the press box and fucked her until my head had exploded. This was all my fault, and she was the one trying to apologize to me.
“Well,” I said, “let’s make sure you give them something that’s true, okay?”
She nodded, her expression determined. “I always write the truth.”
I could see the determination in her. She was so gloriously fierce that I wanted her again just like in the press box—with a fever that burned through my blood and whited out my brain. But I wasn’t going to give into that with my parents standing beside us. That was half the reason we were here, because if anything was going to make me keep my dick in my pants, it was them. Nobody wanted to have sex when their parents were around. Well…almost nobody because apparently, my penis didn’t care. It had gotten hard the second I’d seen her walking down the street toward the motel.
But first things first. I had to deal with this non-interview. “Mom, could you heat up some meatloaf for us? I’ve been talking up your food for years. I’m going to change out of my press clothes.”
My mom tsked even as she headed for the kitchen. “You look very nice in those clothes. Heidi, I just made some fresh lemonade. It’s not as sweet as the men like, but I say if they’re going to poison their bodies with sugar, then they can add it themselves.”
Mom could make lemonade and meatloaf like nobody’s business, all while distracting Heidi with her knowledge of the latest health crazes. The lecture on the evils of sugar had my dad gnashing his teeth, but it was the perfect way to fill the time while I remembered who I was outside of the Bobcats. So I rushed upstairs to my bedroom. Mom kept it neater than I ever did, and right on the dresser sat a stack of my newest press clippings. I didn’t even look at those. I’d learned early that press was the fastest way to screw with a man’s head. I never played better than when I was completely ignorant of what people were saying about me. So I quickly dumped them into the wastebasket and set it by the door so I’d remember them on the way out.
I was just pulling on my jeans when my father knocked on the door. I could tell it was him by the slow, steady bam. Two knocks followed by a single word.
“Son.”
I leaned forward and spun the knob. He didn’t enter but stood framed in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face. I didn’t speak. I knew he’d get to it eventually and besides, I was pulling on my boots.
“Are you sure about this?” he finally asked.
“Yep,” I lied.
“Talking to the press without approval is against your contract.”
“I’m not talking to the press. I’m hanging out with Heidi.”
“Son, her livelihood depends on this article. I don’t think you know the kind of pressure that puts on a person. You’ve always had a home and good food. You’ve got enough for that Corvette and with an investment plan, you’re set for life.”
“I know, Dad.”
“But it’s not so easy for other people.”
I looked at him straight in the eye. I heard the underlying message and I tried to project confidence that I knew what I was doing. Which was a total lie, but he didn’t need to know that. “I know how lucky I am, and I’m not going to blow it.”
“Seems to me, her just being here is a violation of your contract—”
“Of my contract,” I said right with him. God, I was so sick of the business of sports. Hard to believe that I’d be nostalgic about playing Little League on a crappy field with parents who hated it when I outshone their kids. “Dad, trust me. I’ve got it handled.”
He frowned and shuffled his feet. His expression was awkward, and that made alarm bells go off in my head. Then he spoke, and it was ten times worse.
“Look, I understand the lure of the exotic. Hell, I had buddies back from the army told me plenty about Asian girls. That’s fine for a bit, but we’re meatloaf and macaroni people. Don’t risk everything just for a taste of the wild.”
I stared at him, my mind stumbling to a halt. Did he seriously think I was with Heidi because she was Chinese? “She’s not exotic, Dad. She’s a girl.” And yeah, I got off on her long black hair and her smooth yellow-gold skin, not to mention that mischievous way she could look at me through her almond eyes. But that was because it was all her, not because of her heritage.
I could tell he didn’t believe me. And I guess for him, Chinese was exotic. There weren’t many Asians in Broken Bow, Nebraska. But I lived in a major city and had friends of all ethnicities. He’d see she was perfect once he got to know her better. Meanwhile, I pulled on my T-shirt and grabbed the wastebasket, then waited while my dad watched me with worried eyes. In the end, he just shook his head.
“You’re playing at a level where I can’t help you, son. I don’t know jack about reporters or multimillion-dollar contracts.”
He knew plenty. Running a farm required big-dollar contracts and navigating a world of unpredictable forces. But I didn’t argue with him. I was too anxious to get back to Heidi.
“But I do know something about women,” he said gently. “You got the liars and the straight shooters.”
“Heidi isn’t a liar.”
“Nope. She’s a straight shooter. And she just told you this was a dumb idea. Seems to me, a smart man would listen.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. My dad had just told me he liked Heidi. Sure it was in a backhanded way, but that was the message I cared about. The rest was just a repeat of an old song.
“I’ve got it under control, Dad.”
“Yeah,” he drawled as he stepped back from the door. “That’s what I thought when I took your mom’s sister out to a movie.”
I snorted. That was a famous story in our house. Dad had been interested in the prettier, more dynamic sister and had asked her out for a date. According to Mom, she’d let them go, just to watch the disaster. Dad would never tolerate Aunt Donna’s antics. She had an irrational need for attention—something I saw in Brittany, too. Aunt Donna led my father on a merry dance until Mom stepped in and told him to get his head out of his ass. They were married a year later, and Dad still wondered why Mom hadn’t set him straight months earlier.
I chuckled as I slugged him lightly on the arm. Then together, we headed out to the main living area. I could smell the meatloaf heating in the microwave and grinned as I saw what Mom was doing. She was walking Heidi through the Wall of Accomplishments—photographs of everyone in the family, excelling at anything they’d done. Mom was up there with her blue ribbon–winning pie, as well as Dad getting an award from the Nebraska Agricultural Society. My sister’s graduation and CPA certification, plus wedding photos occupied one corner. Currently, Mom was discussing my army brother’s deployment in the Middle East. A few key baseball photos hung for me, but the largest was my framed college diploma. I’d finished through an online school since I’d already been playing in the minors, but Mom was big on me finding something to do after baseball. Dad, however, loved to stroke the picture of me in my Bobcats uniform.
I set down the wastebasket and smiled when Heidi looked my way. “Mom talking your ear off?” I asked.
“She’s been lovely,” Heidi said, her voice a little hoarse. I wondered what that was about, but the microwave dinged and distracted me.
“Come, come eat,” Mom said as she bustled into the kitchen. We did, including my dad who grabbed a piece of blueberry pie, his favorite.
Heidi hesitated, but I silently pressured her into staying. I saw her shrug and settle in to eat. The food was just like I remembered, and I could feel the pressures of the national spotlight flowing off me like water. I was home. Even if I destroyed my career tomorrow, I would still have this waiting for me in Nebraska. Family, good food, and a place to regroup.
Then I looked at Heidi and had a thought that sizzled straight through my brain, like a lightning bolt that blew everything up with a big, electrical boom.
I wanted Heidi in my life.
It made no sense. Despite what I’d said to my parents, we’d spent less than twenty-four hours together. They’d been great hours. The best in my life, outside of baseball. But it was still only a few hours. No way could I make any kind of logical decision about her and my life. Together.
But it felt right. In the way a baseball connected with the bat. It wasn’t a World Series kind of feeling. It was something else, something a lot quieter.
It was right in the way of enjoying a piece of blueberry pie after a long day, or coming home to a woman who loves you. As if my body and my life were straining to align. I’d never felt that way about anything but baseball, and truth be told, this scared the shit out of me. And yet, I never questioned things when the stars aligned. Just like I never second-guessed a swing, I sure as hell wasn’t going to double think this.
Heidi was mine. As of that moment, I was all about finding a way to keep her. So I finished my meatloaf and pie. I even drank the tangy lemonade without adding sugar. And then I grabbed Heidi by the hand and led her out of the house.
I had a plan. It was time I got to it.