Chapter 11
Schmidt
“Daddy doesn’t want to go to work,” I groan as I glance at the clock while I feed Tali another bite of food.
She scrunches up her nose as she gives me a big toothy smile. I love how happy she is whenever she’s with me. It makes me want to say screw it and retire from baseball altogether. I have enough money saved up, I could survive for a long time before I’d need to find another job.
“We’ll be ok.” Winnie places her hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know you didn’t. I'm sure this is hard on you and the closer you get to the season starting the harder it will get.” She smiles at me like she completely understands where I'm coming from.
It’s crazy how quickly we’ve clicked. Sometimes it feels like we’ve known each other forever and not just a few days. It’s nice. Easy. Exactly what I need.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I could bring her to the stadium for lunch if you’d like. It’s whatever you’re comfortable with. I'm not sure if you’re ready for the entire team to meet her.”
“I was thinking… Saturday is the team picnic at Owen Powell’s house. I skipped it last year, but I'm thinking of going this time.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” She smiles, lighting up the entire room.
“Would you come with us?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t need to take care of Tali or anything, I just think it would be fun for us to go.”
“First off, I'm honored to be invited. Second, I don’t mind helping with this princess, so don’t even worry about that. Just let me know what time we’re leaving and what I should wear.”
“I will. Thank you, Winnie.” I stand to my full height as I realize I need to leave if I don’t want to be late for work.
“For what?” She tilts her head to the side, watching me carefully.
“For being so easygoing and willing to help. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I tug her into my arms and hug her for longer than is probably acceptable.
I release her and run a hand through my hair. I don’t know why I just hugged her, it just felt like the right thing to do, but now I'm not sure.
“I love you, Tali girl. I’ll see you when I get home.” I kiss Tali’s forehead before grabbing my duffle bag off the floor and heading towards the door to put on my shoes. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. I can come home at any time.”
“We’ll be ok, but I will call if we need you for anything.”
I love the way she doesn’t brush off my worries. That she promises to call if she needs me, while also assuring me she won't. She knows exactly how to deal with my anxieties and I'm grateful for that.
“I'm assuming we’re keeping Tali’s existence quiet?” Smithy asks as he slides up next to me in the dugout.
We’re playing a mock game today. Something to get us ready for the first game of the season. I'm pretty happy they split up the starting lineup and Wheeler isn't on my team today. I need some distance from him.
I know he didn’t do anything wrong, but if he talks to me, I'm bound to yell at him for the way he behaved in front of my daughter and how he talked to Winnie. He shouldn’t be raising his voice to her.
“I’d like to keep her to myself until Saturday,” I say softly.
“Are you bringing her to the picnic?” Smithy’s eyebrows raise as well as his voice.
“Yeah, Winnie’s coming too.”
“Ugh, that might cause some problems.” He scrubs a hand down his face and glances at Wheeler.
The two of them have been close since college, but I know he’ll always consider Liliana his best friend over Wheeler.
I can only imagine what was said between Wheeler and Smithy since Saturday night. I'm sure Wheeler was talking his ear off.
“He feels like Winnie’s slipping through his fingers and he doesn’t know how to stop it,” Smithy says quietly enough that no one else can hear us.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I know you didn’t,” Smithy sighs. “Wheeler does too, deep down. He doesn’t know how to handle Winnie, Tali, and you looking like a family.”
“What do you mean? We don’t look like a family.” I frown out at the field, trying to figure out what he’s talking about.
“You do though. Tali looks so much like Winnie. If I didn’t know any of you, I’d assume they were mother and daughter. Plus, the way Winnie made you a plate and jumped up to get drinks so you didn’t have to… You guys are comfortable around each other and it shows.”
“I'm not trying to date her, Smithy. But we are living together, we have to be comfortable or this will be awkward.”
“I get it and you’re not doing anything wrong. Wheeler’s just having a hard time accepting this. A hard time knowing she’ll spend more time at your house than his. You’re going to be more important to her, her top priority, and he can't stop it.”
“How do I fix it?”
“I don’t think you can.”
“Should I un-invite Winnie to the picnic?” My stomach sinks with the idea of telling Winnie she can't come. She seemed really happy to be invited.
“Nah, Wheeler needs to move on. I’ve been telling him that for years. They’ve never been on the same page.”
My mind drifts to Winnie again. Everyone keeps making comments about the two of them and I'm not sure what to make of it. Even she said they were great together, yet they’re not good for each other. I don’t really understand it, but I want to.
I want to know everything there is to know about the woman sleeping on the other side of my house.
It took everything in me Saturday night to let her walk back to her room. All I wanted to do was beg her to come lay in bed with me and watch TV. Anything to keep her close.
After practice is over, I catch Wheeler glancing my way a few times. I know he probably wants to talk to me, but I don’t have anything to say. I just want to get home to my girl.
Instead of taking a shower at the stadium, when Wheeler disappears into the showers, I duck out and climb behind the wheel of my SUV. I’d rather shower at home and get to play with Tali.
Whatever is going on between Winnie and Wheeler, needs to stay between them. I'm not getting involved and I'm not discussing Winnie with him. It doesn’t matter how much our relationship sets him off.
As soon as I walk through the door, a peace settles over me. We made it through the first day of Winnie watching Tali. I glance around the living room and when I don’t find them, I frown. Where could they be?
I stop in the kitchen when a delicious scent whirls through the air, making my stomach rumble. I glance in the crockpot I don’t remember owning and see some sort of roast. Did she make dinner for us? Even though she knows I have a chef prepare my meals?
Don’t get me wrong, if Winnie made me dinner, I'm eating it. I don’t care what it is or if it goes along with my diet or not. I’d love home cooked meals every night, but I’d never expect her to do that too.
Movement in the backyard catches my attention. I smile when I find Winnie running around the yard with Tali laughing in her arms. She carefully falls to the ground, making sure Tali won't get hurt in the process and they both laugh.
I tug the door open and walk out onto the patio.
Tali’s laugh swirls through the air and makes my chest swell with happiness.
I take in the way both of their dark hair is spread out around them.
The way their smiles turn up the corners of their lips and how they both have an olive complexion.
They belong together. They really do look like a mother and daughter.
Tali spies me first. She wiggles out of Winnie’s arms and shrieks, “Da-Da!”
She races towards me as fast as her little legs can go and squeals when I lift her into my arms and spin her in a circle.
The pure joy and happiness in her expression makes my heart swell. I swore to Ellie I would always take care of Tali and make sure she was happy. Every time she smiles at me like this, I remember my promise and hope I'm doing a good job.
“Hey, princess. How are you?” I pepper her cheek with kisses.
“She’s quite the handful when she’s tired.” Winnie chuckles as she sweeps her hair into a pony on the top of her head. The ends brush her shoulders, drawing my attention to her thin neck.
“Oh, yeah. She gets giddy and runs away when she refuses to sleep.” I turn my attention to Tali and my tone softens. “Do you want Daddy to rock you?”
She nods her head as she rubs her eyes, a clear sign she’s exhausted. I cuddle her a little closer, ignoring how much I need a shower. She needs me right now and that’s all that matters. In a few years, I’ll be wishing I had this time back with her.
“I can rock her if you want to get cleaned up. I'm assuming you didn’t shower.” She scrunches up her nose, just like Tali does.
“Do I smell that bad?” I chuckle.
“Nah, you actually smell pretty good, but your hair is a sweaty damp, not shower damp.”
“I don’t mind rocking her. I can shower once she goes down.” I stay in step with Winnie as we move through the house and towards the living room.
After grabbing Tali’s blanket off the couch, I cover her up and settle into the rocking chair. She cuddles against me with her head on my shoulder and her arms wrapped around my neck. She’s always loved sleeping like this and I swear I’ll hold her like this for as long as she’ll let me.
“How was your day?” I ask Winnie as she settles onto the edge of the sofa and watches us.
“It was great. She’s such a happy kid. She helped me organize my closet.”
“I'm sure she was a real help.” I chuckle.
“Well, she was good at pulling everything out of boxes for me. It motivated me to work more quickly than I normally would’ve. She has a lot of energy.” Winnie tugs the sleeves of her sweater over her hands. I wonder if she’s doing it because she’s cold or if she doesn’t know what else to do.
She’s gorgeous today. She doesn’t have on any makeup and I think I like her better this way. Her natural beauty is more than enough.
“Are you not wearing makeup today?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. Her brows tug together and she seems slightly upset.
“Do I look that bad? I didn’t have time to do it before you left this morning and I was chasing Tali all day.” She drops her gaze to the floor, refusing to look my way.
“Winnie,” I say softly, waiting for her to glance up at me. I'm not continuing until she does. I want her to know what I'm about to say is true. “You’re beautiful without makeup. You don’t need it.”
“Yeah, I'm sure.” She rolls her eyes.
“I'm serious. You’re breathtaking. I think I actually like you without makeup more.”
Her gaze snaps to mine and her brows furrow once again. “Why?” She whispers.
“Because I like seeing the real you. Not the version you like to create. Don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful with makeup too, I just like you without it.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip as she stares out the window. I'm not sure what she’s thinking about, but Tali’s snoring softly on my shoulder. I slowly stand, careful to keep from waking her up. Then I disappear down the hallway to put her in the crib so I can take a shower.