30. Brooks
CHAPTER 30
brOOKS
H arlowe and I had been in a great place, which was why I couldn’t figure out the reason she wouldn’t come to what was hopefully going to be the last game of the ALCS. The last game before the World Series. If we won it on the first game at home, that would give us an extra day before we had to play again. We only needed one more win to go.
Yet I was staring at a text from Harlowe saying that she wouldn’t be at the game tonight and said she probably wouldn’t be at the World Series. To find out why not, I decided to go to her apartment. She’d already told me she wasn’t at work today.
At least when she opened the door, she gave me a smile, like she was happy to see me. We’d been so busy—plus, we’d been working on what this new relationship was going to look like—well, I was working on convincing her that there wasn’t a reason we couldn’t be together. I hadn’t laid eyes on her for too long.
“Whoa,” I said when she turned to the side.
“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes. “I told you I was ballooning up.”
No, she wasn’t. What she did have was the smallest baby bump pushing out. It was so minor that most people probably didn’t notice it, but I knew every inch of her body and she was wearing leggings with a tight-fitting long-sleeved T-shirt that kind of made it obvious.
“You have not,” I told her. “It’s only because I know your body so well.” What? I wasn’t trying to hide that I wanted her. There was no way I’d go back to that.
“Yeah. I have more of an I-ate-a-burrito look right now, but we all know it’s coming.”
I moved farther into her apartment while she sat down on her couch. “Any kicking yet?”
“No.” She shook her head and for some reason, she looked youthful. I didn’t want to say young because that would make me a creep. It wasn’t that. More like peaceful. Full of energy. A big difference from her first trimester when she’d looked a little gray a lot of the time. “I keep waiting for it and I think I felt a flutter yesterday, so hopefully any day.”
“‘A flutter’?” I sat on the other side of the couch.
She nodded. “Could’ve been a baby thing or gas. Who knows?”
I snickered then got myself more serious. “Why won’t you come to the game today? And what’s all this about only maybe going to the World Series?”
“I can’t go to the game today because I have to go to Cleats & Kegs. We still haven’t heard anything from the new owner, so I have no idea what’s going on there. My parents told me they sold it and I hung up so quickly, I didn’t ask any questions. I know that stuff takes time.”
It did take time and right now, I just didn’t have it. “It usually does. Why can’t someone cover for you?”
She shook her head again. “I’ve been gone for every home game recently—I can’t do that to them. It’s going to be insane in there tonight, given that if you win, you’re going to the World Series. Do you have any idea how insane sports people get?”
I chuckled and ran a hand over the back of my head. “Yeah. I have some idea.”
“Then you understand.”
I didn’t like it, but I said, “Fine. I get it.”
“Oh, my god!” Her hands flew to her stomach.
I slid closer to her as my stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”
She looked up at me with the gold sparkling in her eyes and a great, big smile. “Nothing’s wrong, but I think that baby just kicked. I mean… not kicked as much as made a bubble feeling, but yeah. I definitely felt that.”
I placed my hand on top of hers, but she took hers away and covered mine, pressing down with just a little bit of pressure.
“You just have to be patient,” she said quietly.
I’d wait right here on this couch forever if I had to. Turned out I didn’t have to. The smallest bump against my hand made my heart thump against my chest like a hammer.
That was my kid in there.
Fuck. That was so surreal.
“I felt it,” I told her quietly as I looked up into her eyes.
“I’m so glad.”
I couldn’t help myself. I wasn’t supposed to do it, but I pushed my hand into her hair and kissed her softly on the lips. It wasn’t the kind where I was trying to start something, just a small thing to show my love and appreciation for the fact that she was in fact carrying my kid.
“Please come to the World Series.” I didn’t want to beg, but fuck, I wanted her there.
She sighed and nodded her head. “I’ll see what I can work out, but I can’t go to the away games. We’re almost busier those days because no one’s in the park.”
“A perfect compromise.” I kissed her on the forehead quickly then stood up because I did have to get to the ballpark.
After the game, which we’d won, sending us the World Series, I wished more than ever that Harlowe had been there, though it was probably better that she hadn’t been. I wanted her in my arms and wasn’t sure she’d appreciate that.
Four intense days later, we were dressing for game one of the World Fucking Series and Harlowe was going to be sitting with my family. Anxious energy ran through me, as it did through every single one of us. This was what we’d played hard for all year.
Though I really wished I’d had time to settle this shit with Harlowe so that I could go into this series knowing that she’d be in my bed tonight. But there hadn’t been time for that. Now, four to seven games needed to be played and then, I’d deal with my personal life.
The first two games here at home were split. We won the first game handily with Cobb pitching but lost the second game. It hadn’t been the pitcher’s fault. The game was a pitcher’s duel, actually, and mistakes had happened.
We just couldn’t keep letting them happen.
Then we had to play three away, which thankfully we won two of. Which meant we only needed one more game to finish this. Game six, Cobb was starting again, so I liked our chances.
That kid was on fucking fire all night. He was throwing fast and hard. It was like the entire world fell away and he was just in his own world with his only focus on me. Cobb was winning the Cy Young Award this year, no question, and that made me so damned proud. Almost more than the fact that I was likely going to get another Golden Glove.
And Harlowe was here. There were only two things that could make this life better right now. If we finished the series tonight and Harlowe agreed to be mine. I just wanted to take care of the woman any way that she’d let me.
As good as Cobb was pitching and as good as the rest of us were playing, it wasn’t a sure thing until Silas crossed home plate in the bottom of the ninth.
We won and the entire park went fucking crazy. Us included.
We ran out for an entire team celebration at the pitcher’s mound as the entire crowd made so much noise, we almost couldn’t hear each other speak. When we’d finally calmed down, I went over to the net and caught Harlowe’s attention.
“Go with Camden,” I mouthed to her.
She shook her head, so I said it again. Finally, she held her hands up in defeat and mouthed, “OK.”
It took forever before we cleared out and the crowd wouldn’t go anywhere until we’d left the field. Boy, was I grateful Harlowe wasn’t working tonight. It was going to be crazy busy and people were likely to be drunk as fuck. I didn’t want her in the middle of that.
We were still celebrating as we went through the halls toward the clubhouse, but I caught a glimpse of Harlowe and Camden along with the other girlfriends, so I hurried over there, wrapped my arms around a surprised Harlowe, and held her to me.
“Congratulations,” she said against my neck. “That was an exciting game.”
It was, but when I put her down on her feet, I cupped her face and crashed my mouth into hers. A surprised squeak fell into my mouth and I didn’t give a single fuck who was watching. When I ended the kiss, I said, “I want to talk to you.”
“No,” she said, slightly breathless. “There’s plenty of time. Go celebrate with your team. We can talk tomorrow.”
I agreed, though kind of didn’t want to but also knew this wasn’t an every day thing, then gave her another quick kiss, and headed into the clubhouse, where I was likely going to be covered in champagne before heading to the shower.
It had been worth it. All that fucking hard work had been worth it and I didn’t get home until the early morning hours, but I still couldn’t fall asleep. It was fucking hard to come down off all that adrenaline.
None of that stopped me from getting to her apartment at ten the next morning when I probably should’ve been sleeping in. This was my first real off day since the season had started and I’d take the rest of the month off, like I did every November, only this time, we’d be having the ultrasound soon. Which I couldn’t fucking wait for.
“Hi,” she answered with a smile as she stepped back so that I could get in. “I wasn’t really expecting you until later. Thought you’d be sleeping in.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I told her. “I bought you something. Get your shoes on. Grab a jacket.” It was the very end of October and had finally started to cool off.
“Wait.” She grabbed my arm. “I have something to tell you first.”
My stomach tightened at that and I didn’t love the sound of it. “Go ahead.”
“Don’t freak out,” she started, which didn’t do anything for the worry creeping up. “When you were in D.C., I had some spotting.”
“What?” I snapped, wanting to panic but I’d just felt the kid kick for the first time so everything had to be all right. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Calm down. I told you everything is fine.” She took a breath and stepped closer, perhaps knowing that her presence would calm me. Then she took my hand and placed it on her lower stomach, which did do a lot to sooth the nerves that had spike when she told me. “I went to the ER. Everything was fine. I just had to take it easy for a while, which was why I initially didn’t come to the rest of the series and wasn’t going to go to the World Series.”
“Fuck.” Had I put her and the baby at risk by coercing her to come to the game?
“No,” she said, as if she’d heard my thoughts. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was fine by then. It’s just something that happens sometimes and before you get mad, I didn’t tell you because there wasn’t anything to tell and I wanted you to focus on the games.”
“Harlowe,” I said with a groan.
“I know. I know. But it was the decision I made and you weren’t even in town, anyway. Plus, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can,” I said loudly, dropping my hand from her stomach. “I fucking know you can. You know you can, but you don’t have to. That’s the point. Especially when it comes to the baby. I’m right here.”
“You weren’t right here,” she snapped, which reminded me to lower my voice. “And again, everything is fine.”
This was one I was going to have to give her. She wasn’t hiding it from me, just trying to protect my job and that was something you did when you cared about the other person. I shouldn’t be mad about that.
“All right. I’m glad everything is OK.”
She nodded as she went over to get her shoes. “Everything is perfect. I promise you, I would’ve called you in the middle of the game if it hadn’t been.”
“All right.” I blew out a breath, trying to do what I knew was right and not be angry about this. “Let’s go, then. We can get breakfast after.”
She furrowed her brows as she stood up. “You didn’t eat first?”
I shook my head and handed her the jacket I thought she was going to want. “Nope. Too excited. Let’s go.”
We got into my car and I didn’t bother hiding where I was taking her. She wouldn’t guess why we were there, so it didn’t matter.
Once I’d pulled up in front of Cleats & Kegs, I hopped out of the car and ran over to get her door before she could get all the way out.
“What’re we doing here?” she asked. “I really don’t want to eat here. We don’t serve breakfast and aren’t open.”
“Just come on.” I grabbed her hand and brought her to the door, which I unlocked, and nudged her through it.
“How did you do that? Why do you have a key?”
“I bought it.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “What? You bought what?”
“Cleats & Kegs.”
Her eyes widened, but there was a hardness to her jaw that said she was pissed as well. “ You’re the new boss we haven’t met yet?”
“No.” I stepped closer and put the key in her hand. “You are. I bought it for you.”
“ What ?” she yelled as she moved away from me. “Are you insane? I wanted to buy it. What part of me saying that I don’t want my mother’s life do you not get?”
“No. Hang on.” I held my hands up. “Hear me out. I bought it for you. I put it in your name. Or well, it will be once you sign the paperwork. This is yours to do with how you want. It’s yours so that you have the security that you can take care of yourself. There’s no one who can take it away from you. You will always have a way to make your own money. No one can take that away. I’m not even part of it.”
Harlowe’s eyes were filling with tears as she looked around the front of the restaurant like she was seeing it for the first time, then she swallowed hard. “No, Brooks. It’s too much. I can’t let you do this.”
I shrugged. “I already did and I was going to have to get you a push present in a few months anyway.” Though I’d still be getting her one and was hoping it’d fit in a small box and be a diamond, but we’d have to see where she was at then.
She snorted as she swiped her hand under each eye. “This is too much for a push present.”
“Please.” I scoffed. “You’re going to push a watermelon-sized baby out of your vagina. I’m worried it’s not enough.”
“It’s enough,” she said quietly, wrapping her hand around the key I’d given her. In reality, she already had a key, but this one was symbolic.
“I want to take care of you,” I said as I moved closer. Then when I got my arms around her, I said, “I want you to take care of me. It’s not that you need it, it’s that I want to do it. I want you. I want our baby. I just want to make a life with you, Harlowe. Please, let me.”
A rush of tears fell from her eyes as she covered her mouth, then she moved her hand and looked up at me. “I want that too. I decided it a while ago but wanted to wait until after the World Series to not distract you.”
I grinned down at her. “You’re distracting, anyway. I love you, Harlowe Chandler.”
“I love you, Brooks Briggs.” Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. “You should probably take me home.”
I furrowed my brows as my chest tightened. “What?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’d be really inappropriate for you to make love to me here. Others are about to show up.”
I grabbed her hand and turned to start moving us toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Fuck. I was hard already.
While I wasn’t sure if she’d meant for me to get back to her apartment or my house, I went to my house, even though it’d take a couple of minutes extra. I wasn’t exactly following the speed limit as I weaved through the city with her holding my right hand between both of hers. The choice of destination was on purpose. When she thought of home, I wanted her to think of my house so that it could become our house. Or if she hated it, we’d get rid of it and buy a new house, but I knew my woman. She wouldn’t want that.
And I still had a few months of having her to myself.
We weren’t going to waste a second of it.