Chapter 21
Walker
That fucking kiss.
It was all I could think about. I could still taste her on my tongue, feel her soft skin beneath my fingertips. It was like coming home.
And fuck, I wanted to do it again.
Luckily, her brothers interrupted—because if they hadn’t, I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t have taken it further. When my hands were on Farrah, I tended to lose control.
I told myself the kiss was a lapse in judgment. Nostalgia. One night spent together messing with my head. She was still dating that Ryan guy. Hell, she’d been with him the night before.
One thing I didn’t need, and couldn’t survive, was Jake round two.
I set my row machine to a lower resistance to help slowly build back my arm strength. I’d begun going through the motions when Weston and Grayson walked into my home gym. Weston was home for a few days, so I invited them over to work out.
"You're looking stronger, brother." Weston stood next to me with his hands on his hips as he watched the push and pull.
"I feel stronger. Dr. Howard said I could likely start throwing again in a few weeks." I glanced over at Grayson. "Good to see you, Gray."
Grayson smiled as he lifted his hat off his head and ran his hand through his hair before placing it on backward.
"Thanks for letting me crash your workout.
I needed a break from the ranch." He walked over to where all my weights were set up.
"Heard you and my sister were caught in a compromising position by the twins the other night.
" He smirked, and I heard Weston chuckle over by the treadmill.
Motherfuckers.
Grayson liked to fuck with me as much as Weston when we were growing up; it was like having two big brothers you didn't want.
"Compromising is a strong word. I'd call it poorly timed." I pushed off my rowing machine and grabbed my towel, running it across my forehead.
Grayson just laughed.
"Doesn't really matter anyway. She's dating that Ryan dude." I took a swig of water and moved next to Grayson to grab some weights, needing something to do with my hands.
"I don't know much about that situation. Farrah doesn't exactly share her love life with me. But from what I do know, yeah, they’ve gone on some dates, but I wouldn't say it’s serious."
Weston rolled his eyes. "Can we just work out? You two sound like a couple of schoolgirls gossiping." He was running on the treadmill, still able to carry on a conversation as if he weren't moving at all. "Walk, stop being a pussy, and just ask Farrah about Ryan. End of story."
Well… that was direct.
Ava: What is with this family and explicit public displays of affection???
Addison: No comment
Weston: If we get permanently banned from Hops this was Farrah.
I could hear little footsteps rapidly approaching the front door, followed by Farrah telling an excited Hadley to slow down.
The door swung open, and before I could take a moment to take in Farrah and appreciate how incredibly beautiful she looked, her mini blonde twin grabbed my hand, yanked me inside, down the hallway, and out the back door to their backyard.
Hadley climbed up onto one of the swings and looked up at me with big green eyes. "Walka, push."
Well, all right then.
Farrah stood propped up against the doorframe, arms across her chest, shaking her head and chuckling. "Sometimes I wish I could be as direct as my daughter."
I tried not to read too much into that comment.
"She definitely knows what she wants," I laughed as I pushed her on the swing.
"Well, if you two are good out here, I'm going to go finish up making dinner. It'll be ready in ten."
I nodded, and she turned around, disappearing into the kitchen.
Hadley and I spent the next five minutes on the swings, and then she had me chasing her down the slide.
She decided I was the big bad wolf, and she was a little pig.
I briefly saw my life flash before my eyes when I got stuck in the enclosed slide.
I was a tad claustrophobic. Luckily, I managed to bend my leg in an unnatural way to dislodge myself, and now I was pretty sure I'd be feeling the effects of that in the morning.
I should probably stretch more.
Farrah popped her head out to call us in for dinner. I scooped a giggling Hadley up and threw her on my shoulders as we made our way to the table. "Mommy, Walk fun," Hadley said around a mouthful of lasagna.
Farrah's jade eyes flicked toward me, and she smirked. "Yeah, it looked like it, especially when he got stuck in the slide."
Hadley broke out in a fit of giggles. "Ya, that funny."
I reached over and tickled her some more. "You think that's funny, Hads?"
She nodded with the biggest grin on her sweet little face.
"Give a guy a break, I'm six-foot-four! Those slides were not made for someone my size. I did my best!" I threw my hands in the air dramatically, making Hadley giggle some more.
Farrah pointed her fork at me and then at Hadley. “All right, you two. Enough giggles. Time to eat.”
We spent the next twenty minutes eating and making small talk. I watched Farrah move through dinner with easy patience, nudging Hadley to take another bite, wiping her mouth with the edge of her napkin. She was gentle, steady. A natural.
When she looked at Hadley, the love was unmistakable. Deep and absolute.
What if I hadn’t chosen baseball?
The thought hit hard, uninvited. Would this have been my life? Us, here at our kitchen table, passing plates and trading smiles, our daughter between us.
Fuck.
I could see it so clearly, it hurt, the ache settling heavy in my chest. I wanted this. I always had. But I wanted baseball too. And there had never been a version of my life where I could have this—Farrah, a family, and the game at the same time.
The scrape of a chair against the floor pulled my focus back to the table.
"I'm going to put Hadley down for bed; she didn't nap today, so we’re on borrowed time," Farrah said as she reached out for Hadley's little hand. "Hady girl, say goodnight to Walker."
Taking me by surprise, Hadley released Farrah's hand and barreled her little body into mine and squeezed me tightly. "Night, night, Walk."