Hello everybody. I am sorry for the late update. I didn’t have
internet access this morning like I thought I would, so this is the first chance
I had to get online. For the first several days of the Playing Ball blog tour,
Shae, Kate, Kerry and I are posting excerpts to introduce our respective
stories. My story, Wild Pitch, is
about two best friends who played together for years and now that they are
retired, they are finding themselves dealing with emotions they thought they
left behind them.
Ruben Martell fell in love with Alan Hartner during their
years playing baseball. They stepped over the foul line once, but the encounter
left them struggling with heartache and guilt, turning away from each other to
focus on their families. Now retired from the majors, they run a batting cage
together and coach rival Little League teams as they juggle fatherhood and
being single again. Though Ruben has never given up hope that Alan might look
at him as more than a friend, Alan seems determined to keep things the way
they’ve always been. But long-buried feelings and desires have a way of
resurfacing, and Ruben can't wait forever.
In this excerpt Ruben heads to Alan’s house against his better
judgment and finds himself in a situation that immediately eases his mood. I hope
you enjoy.
* * * * *
FROM the backyard, Ruben heard the roar of a major battle
taking place, the high-pitched gleeful shrieks of young boys mixed with Alan’s
shouts of defiance. He grabbed the six-pack from the passenger seat and went
around the side of Alan’s house to investigate. It might be safer to take
refuge on the deck and watch the chaos until they noticed he’d arrived.
Ruben slipped through the gate and stopped with a laugh at the
sight of the full blown water war taking place. Alan had barricaded himself
behind the picnic table turned on its side, and his three older sons were
attempting to swarm him with water guns. None of them saw Ruben come in. The
boys were too intent on getting to their victim and Alan in holding them off.
Alan jumped up with a roar, water balloons in both hands, and Brett,
Mikey, and Seth scattered with another round of shrieks. Alan tossed his first
round of ammunition, catching both Mikey and Seth, though Brett danced out of
reach with a taunt before reaching down to grab more ammunition.
Ruben grinned and set the beers on the deck with a wicked
sense of bubbling anticipation. It pulled him out of the downward spiral of
nagging regrets and the sense of hopelessness that had dogged him for the past
couple of weeks. It was impossible to remain depressed around Alan and his
sons.
The youngest boy, Matt, was with Alan, attempting to carry the
water balloons off one by one. He was soaked to the skin, breaking most of the
balloons as he hugged them to him while trying to toddle away. The only one not
wet was Alan, and that couldn’t be allowed.
Humming to himself, Ruben unwound the garden hose from its
neat coil under the back faucet. Matt grabbed another water balloon, caught
sight of Ruben, and let out a crow of delight. Ruben held a finger to his lips
and beckoned to him as he turned on the water. Oh this was going to be so good.
“Unca,
Unca!” Matt yelled, dropping the water balloon and waving his chubby hands as
he toddled toward Ruben as fast as his short, fat legs would take him.
Alan twisted around, looking for Matt, and his gaze fell on
Ruben as he pointed the hose at him. He had just enough time for his eyes to
widen before Ruben turned the nozzle on full blast with a wicked laugh. The
stream of water caught Alan square in the chest, and he shouted as the boys
whooped in delight.
“You double crossing—” Alan cut himself off before he let
loose the slew of curses that would’ve once dominated his tirade. Ruben
snickered and kept the hose on him as Alan’s boys came in with their water guns
to finish him off.
Alan grabbed a water balloon and threw it at Ruben, who
sidestepped it with a chuckle. “Your pitching sucks, Hartner,” Ruben taunted.
“Yeah? Dodge this.” Alan grabbed more ammunition and barreled
forward with the burst of speed he’d once used to steal bases.
“Whoo-hoo!” Brett shouted, turning his water gun on Ruben.
“Get Uncle Ruben too!”
Ruben cursed under his breath and took a step back even as he
knew it was too late. Alan pelted him with the water balloons and then tackled him
to the ground. Of all the fantasies he’d had over the years of Alan taking him
down like this, none of them had involved water balloons or four shrieking boys
in the background.
He stamped on his libido and pulled the trigger of the nozzle
as Alan tried to wrest the hose away from Ruben. Water, just above freezing,
went everywhere, soaking them both and Ruben let out a startled shout from the
shock. He relinquished the hose and shoved Alan off him with a laugh.
“You do realize I’m the only one at this madhouse without a
change of clothes, right?”
“You’ll dry out in the sun. There’s a nice breeze coming off
the lake.” Alan sat up and gave him a friendly shove back. “You should’ve
stayed out of it if you didn’t want the consequences.”
“Please. You all would’ve involved me the moment you saw me,
unless I took refuge in the house.”
Alan grinned, his entire expression engaging, and for a moment
the familiar camaraderie was there, the kind they’d had before things had
gotten to be so complicated. Ruben missed that, the friendship without old
guilt, the enjoyment of being in Alan’s presence without his feelings being
muddled by sexual tension and longing for more.
He
only had himself to blame for any awkwardness between them. He never should’ve
kissed Alan that night, no matter how much the memory of that kiss had been
seared into his brain.
“Hey, you okay?” Alan nudged Ruben’s elbow with his own.
Ruben pulled himself out of his depressing thoughts and met
Alan’s concerned gaze. “Yeah.”
“It’s not your shoulder, is it?”
Ruben forced a smile and got to his feet. “Despite last year’s
surgery, my shoulder is faring better than my knees. I’m good.” The memory of
being forced out by younger, stronger m
en had ceased to sting awhile ago. The
rehab hadn’t helped him get his fastball back up to speed, and neither had the
surgery. Alan’s offer of a partnership had given him something to work toward
instead of pining for a career that had slipped away.
Besides, he couldn’t complain. He wasn’t the only one who’d
had to quit playing professionally. At least his kids still had both their
parents, even if one was in Florida and the other in Vermont. Alan had been
forced to do it all on his own, and Ruben hadn’t heard him bitch once about how
his life had been turned around inside out.
“Then what is it?” Alan asked in a low voice as he stood up as
well. He shrugged out of his wet T-shirt and tossed the thin cotton over his
shoulder. Ruben looked away from his broad shoulders and trim waist, squashing
the familiar tug of longing. “You used to tell me everything, Ruben.”
There used to be a time when Ruben could tell him everything,
but he wasn’t about to pressure Alan with the stupid, unrequited love whine. He
knew where Alan stood when it came to the two of them and that was okay.
Ruben’s “what ifs” were all his own. But if anybody would understand how much
Ruben missed his kids, it would be his best friend.
“I will,” Ruben assured him. “Just not now. Later, when the
boys are in bed. Right now I just want to chill and break out the grill.”
“I’ll
hold you to that.” Alan turned his gaze on Matt, who was attempting to run and
hold onto his falling diaper at the same time. “First, I have a renegade to
take care of before he decides to strip naked.”
* * * * *
Next up on the tour, the lovely Shae Connor! Now for everyone who comments on our blogs or follows us on Twitter or Facebook, they get entered into our Raffle with two fabulous prizes at the end!
Whoohoo, I'm so excited. Putting this anthology together has been one fun ride. I had so much fun with Shae Connor, Kate McMurray and Kerry Freeman. Without further ado, here are the links:
