“Yeah. When we were getting close to winning the World Series a few years ago, it became almost impossible for me to go out or even just take a walk without people following me or coming up to ask to take pictures or talk about the game. At first, it was flattering, but it quickly became too much, and I finally stopped leaving my apartment so I could avoid it.” He fell silent for a minute, then gave Kara a half smile. “So just now, I was thinking how nice it was to sit and have a normal conversation with a beautiful woman and be left totally alone. It’s something many people take for granted, but I never will again.”
Kara nodded, but her mouth dropped momentarily as she focused on the word he had used to describe her—beautiful. Scott had just referred to her as beautiful! On good days in the past, others might have casually described Kara as cute or perhaps—on really good days—pretty. But no one that Kara could ever recall had ever called her beautiful. Her heart raced for a moment while she decided how to reply to Scott’s compliment.
“Well, that’s nice to hear. I was just sitting here thinking that after all the excitement of playing professional baseball, you must find our small town rather boring.”
“Not at all. I grew up in a small town playing local ball. The glitter and attention of playing in the major leagues is exciting, but you’re always on the move, and the glamor wears off quickly, especially if you’re losing. People are tough on a team when things aren’t going well. Fans can be cruel.”
Scott’s smile dropped from his face and he looked so sad for a moment that Kara couldn’t help but sigh softly. She made a mental note to herself to search for past news stories about him online after she got home to see exactly what had been written about him to make his memories so unhappy.
“Well,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “You’re here now, and I can pretty much guarantee you that no one is going to chase you down to ask about the local baseball games, at least not in this restaurant. If you go over to Mark’s place, however, it might be a different story.”
Scott’s answering grin lit up his face and Kara smiled in return. She cleared her throat. “So I suggest we just enjoy our wine,” she continued, “and you can tell me more about what it’s like to be famous and have people clamoring all over you for attention, and I’ll tell you what it’s like to, uh, not have any of that.”
As Scott chuckled, Kara touched the rim of her wineglass to his. “Let’s drink to small-town boredom,” she said.
“No,” Scott corrected her. “Let’s drink to peace.”
Kara looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded in agreement before taking a long sip of the delicious wine and settling back into her seat to enjoy the rest of the evening.
As they finished their desserts, Kara found herself thinking that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much with a man. She knew it hadn’t been for a long while, if ever. The wine relaxed her, and she’d chuckled often as Scott entertained her with funny stories from his baseball days. After the server cleared their dessert plates, he returned a few minutes later to place a digestif in front of them, announcing it was compliments of the house.
Scott smiled and thanked him. He seemed very comfortable dealing with these situations, thought Kara. She herself wasn’t used to being treated so well and thanked the man profusely.
Shaking her head at his amusement to her reaction, she took another long sip of her wine and started to ask him more about where he had grown up, but she was interrupted as a formally dressed musician holding a violin appeared beside their table. The man gave her and Scott a small, silent bow before starting to play a beautiful, haunting melody.
“Shall we?” asked Scott, reaching for her hand across the table.
“You want to dance?” Kara asked, sputtering in surprise. She let him pull her from her chair and into his arms. “Here? But there’s no dance floor!”
“Why not?” Scott murmured into her hair while drawing her closer. “There’s always room for dancing when there’s music.”
“Okay, why not?” agreed Kara. “I love to dance.” She forced herself to relax as Scott held her close, and together, they moved in small circles in the space between their table and the one next to them.
As Scott’s arms surrounded her, Kara hid her face in his chest and breathed deeply. The music was muted by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat in her ears, and the rest of her senses were filled with the smell of his soap and his spicy aftershave. She liked the scent of both and felt herself melting further into his embrace.
“In case I forget to say it later,” Scott whispered, “I’m having a very nice time tonight. I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to be able to just unwind and enjoy a nice dinner with a beautiful woman.”
Beautiful? Was Scott calling her beautiful again? Kara leaned back slightly so she could search his face for any signs of sarcasm, but his eyes were closed, and he was swaying softly in time to the music. He looked relaxed and utterly content.
It’s hard to believe that this man was once a famous major league pitcher.
As the violinist played the last note of his aria, Kara pulled gently away from Scott and reluctantly retook her seat.
Scott handed the musician a few bills and slid back into the chair across from her. Picking up his glass of wine, he reached over and looked into Kara’s eyes. Clinking his glass against hers, he smiled. “To us,” he said.
“Yes,” replied Kara softly as she tried to think clearly above the pounding of her heart. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next evening, Scott settled deep into a recliner at Sullivan’s Place. Sipping a beer, he watched the baseball game playing on the big screen in front of him. This small section of Sullivan’s had been set up to resemble a relaxed family room setting. The leather chairs were comfortable and tilted back just enough so that a patron could watch the game but not feel like they were about to fall out of their seat.
Tonight, he was enjoying his draft in total solitude. No other customers had ventured over to talk about his past and, as an added bonus, Mark came by regularly to offer him a fresh beer or more to eat. It was the perfect place to relax after working on legal reports all day.
It was also an excellent place to be because it reminded him of Kara.
Scott smiled as he remembered the dinner they had shared. He hadn’t intended to dance with Kara, but when the violinist had come by playing hauntingly beautiful and romantic music, he couldn’t help himself. His need to hold her had overpowered any other thoughts he might have had.
Scott straightened up slightly in his recliner when Mark came over and placed a red plastic wicker basket containing a hamburger, french fries, and a small container of coleslaw on the wooden side table holding Scott’s beer.
“Well,” Mark said, plunking himself down in an empty recliner beside Scott and motioning to the game. “They’re supposed to be a hard-hitting team, but I think we’ve only seen their best in the first two games. Why have they stopped producing all of a sudden?” he asked.
“Pitching has heated up,” Scott replied, realizing Mark was referring to the home team. “It sometimes does early in the season, and some batters adjust quicker than others.”
Mark nodded. “Makes sense.”
The two men watched the rest of the inning in silence. Once the home team was retired, Mark swung around in his chair and faced Scott.
“Did you hear Jamie is coming back to live in Larkin Bay?” he asked.
“Jamie?” Scott was puzzled. “No, I didn’t. Have I met him yet? Is he on the team?” Scott furrowed his brow and tried to place the name. He prided himself on having an excellent memory, but this name was eluding him.
“No, Jamie is Kara’s ex. He’s Maeve’s biological father.”
“Oh,” Scott replied, “that Jamie. Is that a good thing?” he asked, studying Mark’s serious expression. “I haven’t asked Kara a lot about him, and she hasn’t volunteered much, so I don’t really know much about their relationship.”
“Well, Kara won’t say anything negative about him—he’s Maeve’s father and his folks are pretty great. But I can’t say much for a guy who has a baby with a good woman and then just leaves them with no support. He’s a good-looking dude, or so the women here tell me, but he’s selfish. He’ll do whatever is good for himself and damn the consequences or how it affects anyone else.”
Scott took a long sip of his beer.
“He’s still got a few friends here in Larkin Bay, so I guess he can’t be all that bad,” Mark continued, his fists clenching at his side. “But I’ve never liked him, and he’s never been very good to Kara or Maeve, so that makes me like him even less.”
Scott took a bite out of his hamburger as he nodded for Mark to continue.
“I’ve just heard through the town’s grapevine that you and Kara are getting to be, uh, better friends. I know you were out together last night, so I wanted to warn you about Jamie and what’s going on. I don’t want to see Kara get hurt again by him—or anyone else. She doesn’t deserve it. She’s a good kid.”
Scott heard the love and warning in Mark’s voice and looked over at him. “She is a good woman, and it’s nice that she’s got a caring brother looking out for her,” he replied. “I’ll keep what you’re saying in mind and keep an eye out for her too.”
“I hoped that was what you’d say,” said Mark, getting out of his chair and clapping Scott on the shoulder. “And thank you.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Also, don’t worry about paying for the beer and the hamburger—tonight, they’re on me.”
Scott nodded his thanks.
Of course I’ll keep an eye out for any trouble.
It was, after all, the right thing to do. And he and Kara were friends now. He had enjoyed getting to know her the previous evening and he admired how hard she must work raising a child and running a business alone.
But as much as he enjoyed the meal Mark had brought him, it soured slightly as Scott considered what he’d just heard. If Maeve’s father really was returning to town, perhaps the chivalrous thing for him to do was step back from any fledgling relationship with Kara. She might not need a new relationship complicating things for her right now.
