Chapter 5 #2
And Oz definitely wanted to take Riley on a date.
Wanted to pamper her, show her his appreciation for all her help.
He’d already learned that when she stood and stretched after dinner, she was about to say her goodbyes.
While he appreciated her trying not to wear out her welcome and giving him time alone with Logan, he hated to see her go.
When Oz entered his apartment, he immediately knew it was empty. He didn’t hear Riley’s laughter or Logan’s higher-pitched voice. There was no tantalizing smell of anything cooking coming from the kitchen.
Just before he began to panic, Oz saw a note propped up in the middle of the table.
He picked it up and read Riley’s feminine handwriting.
We’re going stir crazy inside. We went down to that little park across from the apartment complex.
Logan’s going to show me how to throw a baseball.
Pray for me! Lol I didn’t want you to worry if you got back before we did.
I thought you guys could have a junk food/frozen food night—chicken nuggets, French fries, pizza rolls.
I brought over my air fryer for you to borrow. See you soon.
~Riley
Oz realized he was grinning. Then he sobered. It sounded like she wasn’t planning on joining them for dinner, and that thought was depressing. She probably had other stuff to do.
Shit…maybe she had a date?
He dismissed that thought. He didn’t think she’d take Logan to the park if she had to get ready to go out later, but then again, he didn’t know how long it took Riley to get ready for a date.
The possibility was there that she did have a date.
She was pretty damn amazing, and any guy would be lucky as hell to call her his girlfriend.
With that thought fresh in his mind, Oz didn’t hesitate to turn and head for the door once more. He stunk from being out in the hot sun all day while training, but he didn’t want to wait a minute longer than necessary to see Riley and his nephew.
He crossed the parking lot and headed for the small park across the street.
It was nothing more than an open stretch of grass with a swing set and slide.
But the large open area next to the playground was perfect for throwing a ball back and forth.
Making a mental note to take Logan out here more often, he headed for the only two people in the park.
As he approached, he saw Logan pull his arm back and let loose a pitch toward Riley.
She held up the baseball glove in her hand—and closed her eyes as the ball approached.
Oz could see what was about to happen seconds before it did, but he couldn’t move fast enough to stop it.
The ball swerved a little, and because Riley had her eyes closed, she didn’t move the glove to catch it.
Instead, it hit her cheek, bouncing off and landing in the grass nearby. She let out a small noise of distress and immediately fell to her knees, cradling her cheek with her hand.
Oz was by her side within moments of her being struck. “Let me see,” he ordered, putting his hand over hers on her cheek.
Riley shook her head. “Give me a second.”
“I need to see how bad it is,” Oz told her.
She looked at him, and he saw tears in the one eye she had open. His stomach clenched.
“I’m okay,” she said, and Oz could literally see her trying to pull herself together. His admiration of her increased.
“I’m sure you are. But please, let me just look at it for a second?” He needed to see if her cheekbone was broken or if the ball had busted any blood vessels in her eye.
Slowly, Riley lowered her hand, and Oz’s gaze ran over her cheek. It was red, and she’d probably have a black eye, but nothing seemed out of place or swollen yet. He very gently probed the skin of her cheek, noting how soft it was in the process. “Can you open your eye?”
She nodded and slowly opened the eye on the side of her face that had been hit. Besides the tears, it looked okay. Letting out his breath, Oz gave her a small smile. “You’re okay. You’re probably gonna have a shiner, but it doesn’t look or feel as if anything’s broken.”
“Are you a medic?” she asked.
“Well, no. Doc’s the go-to guy as far as medical issues on the team, but we’ve all had training.”
She nodded, then her gaze flicked behind him. “Logan,” she whispered.
Turning, Oz looked for his nephew. He was still standing where he’d been when he’d thrown the ball—and he looked frozen in place. His eyes were wide and his face was as white as a sheet.
Immediately concerned, Oz stood.
The second he did, Logan took a quick step backward.
Instinctively, Oz stilled. Not wanting the boy to turn around and run—which it was obvious he was ready to do—Oz put his hands out to his sides, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. “She’s okay, Slugger.”
Logan didn’t respond. He kept his eyes on Oz’s hands.
And that killed Oz. Not because of his nephew’s fear, but because of what it meant. “I’m not mad. Neither is Riley. Accidents happen. She’s okay.”
Then Riley was at his side, doing what she could to reassure the boy. “I obviously suck at this baseball thing. Your favorite outfielder would be mortified with me,” she said, trying to lighten the situation.
But Logan didn’t relax. He stayed right where he was, every muscle taut and ready to bolt.
“Look at me, Logan,” Oz ordered gently. He waited until Logan had raised his eyes to meet his gaze. “It was an accident. Riley’s okay. You’re okay. I’m not mad. Everything’s fine.”
Logan blinked, and Oz was glad to see his words were finally sinking in.
“I didn’t mean it,” Logan said softly.
“I know you didn’t.”
“I didn’t mean to throw it so hard.”
“I shouldn’t have closed my eyes,” Riley said. “You told me to keep my eye on the ball, and I didn’t. This is all my fault, not yours.”
Logan’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, but it was obvious his guard was still up. “Are you going to spank me?”
There was so much Oz wanted to say. His mind was whirling with all the reasons why Logan was so completely terrified, but all he said was, “No.”
“I’ll go to bed without dinner,” he offered.
“Not necessary,” Oz told him. “There are plenty of times I’ve made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean I needed to be punished for them. I’m going to come closer. Don’t run, please,” he told his nephew. Then he turned to Riley for a second. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” she said immediately. She’d put her hand back up to her cheek, and it was obvious it still hurt, but she was doing what she could to downplay it.
For Logan’s sake. His admiration for her rose tenfold, and he was immensely grateful.
“I’ll get you some ice as soon as we get back to my apartment.
Just hang in there another few minutes.”
“I’m okay,” she told him. “Take care of Logan. He needs to know you aren’t going to hurt him.”
Oz knew that, and the thought of his nephew being scared of him was extremely upsetting. The thought of anyone putting their hands on this boy made his fists clench. But he immediately relaxed and opened his hands, not wanting to scare Logan any more than he already was.
He took a step toward his nephew, then another, relieved when the boy didn’t bolt. He got within six feet of Logan, then got down on his knees and sat on his heels, hoping the position would help the boy feel safer. “It was an accident, Slugger,” he repeated. “It happens.”
“I hurt Riley,” Logan said, his lower lip quivering.
“You did,” Oz said. Then added, “But she’s okay.”
“I deserve to be beaten,” Logan whimpered.
“No, you don’t,” Oz said, memories welling up inside him.
“What would that do? You already apologized and said you didn’t mean to do it.
Riley’s already admitted that she should’ve kept her eyes open and at the very least dodged the ball.
What would me or Riley hitting you accomplish? Would it take back what happened?”
Oz waited until Logan shook his head.
“Would it make you feel less guilty?”
“No.”
“Would it make Riley feel better?”
“Maybe,” was the answer that time.
“It most certainly would not,” Riley said from behind him. Oz could hear that she’d moved closer, but she wasn’t crowding him or Logan.
“My dad used to hit me and your mom when we were young. It didn’t happen all the time, he usually just yelled at us.
But every now and then he’d surprise us by being violent.
He’d smack me when I didn’t want to eat something he’d made for dinner.
He’d punch me in the back when I didn’t move fast enough for him.
He’d backhand me in the car if I said something he didn’t like.
All that hitting didn’t do anything but scare me.
And make me sad. Did your mom hit you when you messed up?
” Oz wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
But he was deeply relieved when Logan shook his head. “No. Sometimes her boyfriends did.”
“Right. I need you to listen to me, Slugger. Are you listening?”
Logan nodded.
“I will never hit you. Ever. No matter what you do. I might speak to you in a very stern voice that might be a little scary. I might ask you to take a time-out so we can have some space away from each other, so we can both calm down. I might even make you do extra chores around the house. But I will never raise my hand to you. It’s never okay to strike someone smaller or weaker than you.
Ever. Women, children, or even men. I’m not going to go so far as to tell you that you should never hit anyone in your entire life, because sometimes you have to stick up for and protect yourself, and others around you.
But you should never raise your fists or kick anyone who can’t defend themselves. ”
Oz prayed his words were sinking in. The last thing he wanted was Logan to always be tiptoeing around him, afraid he was going to be beaten or screamed at if he did the slightest thing wrong. Oz had grown up that way, and it had sucked.
Several moments went by, until Logan finally asked, “Promise?”