Chapter 4
Tenny
Iroll my aching shoulders as I stride toward my rental.
Everyone else left an hour ago, but I had energy to burn after that terrible interview.
I’ve never had a reporter come after my personal life like that before.
Rhett said his interview was pretty typical, so apparently, Alex only has it out for me.
“Just my luck,” I mumble.
In the corner of the vacant parking lot, a woman in a black ballcap kicks at her flat rear tire. I change course to help before realizing that the woman in shorts and a fitted tank is also wearing Alex’s sparkly shoes.
A groan escapes me as I stomp over. My goal after that horrible interview was to avoid Alex as much as possible, but I’m not going to abandon her in an empty parking lot. I’m mentally preparing myself to complete this task while keeping our interactions to a minimum when I hear something strange.
There’s a high-pitched buzzing sound over Alex’s muttering.
No. Buzzing isn’t the right word. It’s more like a frantic rattling.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I survey the natural area beside her car.
It’s an artful desertscape with agave, prickly pear, and brittlebush interspaced between large boulders.
The perfect place for a rattlesnake to hide.
“All I want is to go”—her shoe slams into the deflated tire—“home.”
When Alex winds up for another kick, I lunge, picking her up and spinning us away from the curled rattlesnake.
“What—” She wriggles against my firm grip. “What are you doing?”
“Saving your life,” I bark.
Alex rolls her eyes as she pulls out the earbuds that were hidden beneath her hair. “Please. Having a flat tire is not a life-or-death situation.”
“Maybe not,” I say through gritted teeth. “But I saved you from a hospital visit for antivenom.”
Alex continues to struggle against my hold. Even though she’s tall and toned, I’m much stronger. “What are you talking—”
I take a lurching step toward the snake, not close enough that he could strike us, but enough to put him back on guard. His eerie, ticking rattle makes Alex’s eyes widen.
“Is that…”
“Yup.”
Her head snaps to see the rattlesnake coiled at the base of a boulder. “And he was going to…”
“Most likely, especially with you acting like a threat by kicking the tire right next to him.”
I should probably relish in the high-pitched squeak that comes out of Alex, or at least laugh, but every fiber in my body is too tight.
Even with pushing my muscles to the limit, I’m still frustrated from earlier.
Her eucalyptus scent suddenly feels like it’s clogging my nostrils, the soft skin of her legs burning my fingers.
“You’re welcome,” I say, quickly setting her down but keeping my body between her and the snake. “I’m going to help with your tire, but I’ll need to back the car up a few slots to work on it. Fortunately”—I gesture with wide arms to all the open spaces—“there’s lots of room. Give me your keys.”
“Absolutely not.” She sets a hand on her hip. “You’ll get hurt.”
I don’t interpret her stubborn defiance as concern.
She doesn’t care about me. That much was evident with her line of questioning earlier.
“I won’t get hurt. I’m going to climb into the driver’s seat through the passenger door.”
Alex stares at my outstretched palm, mouth set in a firm line.
I wish my stupid heart wouldn’t beat harder as she licks her lips, but it keeps confusing this Alex with the one I shared an incredible kiss with years ago. Whatever potential chance I had with that Alex, it’s clear this one hates my guts.
Which is fine, because after that horrendous interview, I don’t like her much either. Regardless, I’m still not going to abandon her with a flat tire and a cranky snake.
“You’re still going to help me?”
I nod, twitching my fingers in a gimme motion.
“Why?”
My head drops back with a nasally exhale. “Keys, please.”
“No.” She crosses her arms. “I should move the car. First off, it’s my rental, my responsibility. Secondly, I’m smaller than you—”
“Barely,” I interrupt.
Alex tilts her chin as she crowds closer, her crossed arms nearly brushing my chest. “I may only be a few inches shorter than you, but I’m still smaller.”
“Fair.” I try to ignore the rushing blood in my ears, how it feels like my skin is on fire.
Alex’s eyes dart over my face as she takes a deep breath. “I deleted the footage from earlier. Or rather, I asked Daphne to delete it, and I trust her. Our interview won’t run.”
The emotional whiplash from this conversation is making my neck hurt. “Why?”
“That question seems to be going around a lot. How about you answer my Why, and I’ll answer yours.”
I eye her. “You go first.”
Alex sighs but says, “Because it was inappropriate. I want to make my mark as a journalist, but digging into your personal life isn’t the way to do it. You might be a player—”
“The only thing I’m playing is baseball.”
She levels me with a flat look. “You might have frequent, short-term relationships, but as you mentioned, it hasn’t affected your game. If it does, that might warrant a question…or several.”
I nod, letting silence sit between us for several beats as we survey each other.
The desert breeze pulls a strand of hair over Alex’s chin, and I’m annoyed when my disobedient fingers itch to brush it away.
She’s the one to break our intense eye contact, digging her fingers into her crossbody purse and pulling out keys.
“Now answer my why,” she demands, clenching the keychain in her palm.
“It’s the right thing to do.”
Alex waits, her brows slipping upward.
I remember this from that first night, her pausing with this exact expression, waiting for me to fill the space between us.
Just like then, I don’t. It’s the only time in my life I’ve never felt the need to.
Something about Alex just…settles that endless whirring in the back of my head.
I could stand in this silent standoff for the rest of the night and be content.
Which honestly…
Is nothing short of revelatory.
“Fine,” she huffs, turning to march toward the passenger door.
It’s childish, but a rush of victory sings through my veins.
Once she’s backed the car up a few rows, I ask her to put on the parking brake and pop the trunk.
Alex leans her hip against the car. “How do you feel about the new right fielder, Shane Seaver? I hear he’s a bit difficult to work with.”
“Oh no. Just because I’m helping you doesn’t mean I’m volunteering for an interview.”
After picking up the jack, I move to crouch in front of the chassis.
“I’m just asking.”
I level her with a Yeah, right look before getting to work.
Alex remains silent, the lulling sounds of the desert interrupted only by the ping of lug nuts hitting the pavement.
“The woman I was photographed with last night is a friend from high school,” I tell her, not looking up. “I’d been out with several friends, actually, including her husband of four years. But it seems that Dylan was conveniently cropped out of the photo.”
Alex hums, noncommittal.
“I can direct you to several social media accounts for corroborating pictures if you don’t believe me.”
A pause hangs in the air before Alex says, “I believe you.”
“If you really want to play the question game, I have a few of my own,” I say, sliding on the spare.
“Too bad it’s my job to ask the questions.”
It’s my turn to hum, fully aware that I could Google search Alex Stevens as soon as she drives off and discover a good amount of information. But somehow, after all this time, that feels like cheating.
Still…there’s one thing I can’t let go of.
“Did you ever live in California?”
Alex sucks a breath through her teeth. “Strike one for Tenny Jackson—not listening.”
An unexpected laugh bursts from me as I shake my head.
“Because I went to UCSD before I was drafted,” I tell her, undeterred. “I spent two years on a Triple-A team before signing my current four-year contract with the Waves.”
“I’m aware. It was in your player bio.”
When Alex feigns a yawn, I laugh again. Something about bantering with her feels like sparklers ignited in my chest.
“Oh, it’s that dull, huh?”
Her eyes flash. “Twenty-six years old. Rudimentary skills. Meh stats. Just a basic first baseman.”
“Keeping me humble I see.”
Even though I’m still under contract, my agent is already in extension talks. The Waves wouldn’t want to keep me around if I was just a basic first baseman.
“Someone’s got to.”
When Alex shrugs, the waning sunlight seems to bend around her cheekbones in an affectionate caress.
I’d been too frustrated earlier to notice how incredible she looks in casual clothes with her hair spilling from beneath her hat.
I have the sudden, overwhelming urge to replace her basic black ballcap with my Waves hat.
Focusing on tightening the lug nuts, I say, “My youngest sister likes to say that’s her job. Brother humbler. College student. In that order.”
The sound of Alex’s laughter washes over me like a salve.
My eyes fall closed before I can stop myself.
I’ve never heard it before, but it’s exactly how I’d imagined it—bright with an almost smoky undertone.
She’d chuckled in our interview, but I hadn’t been sure if her breathy mirth had been staged.
This—her laughing at my sister’s antics in an empty parking lot—doesn’t feel forced.
It feels real.
I finish with the spare before putting away all the tools and loading her flat tire. When my hands settle on the closed trunk, I pause. There’s a reputable auto shop nearby that she should know about, but the only thing that comes out of my mouth is…
“Do you remember a house party in San Diego?”
Alex blinks, stunned for a split second before recovering smoothly. “I already told you we were done with the questions.”
So she does remember. She just doesn’t want to talk about it.
Interesting.
I nod, stepping aside so she can slide into the driver’s seat. Once the engine is running and the windows are down, I pat the roof twice.
“See you tomorrow.”
Her face pulls into a grimace. “Unfortunately.”
Another surprised laugh escapes me before Alex pauses. “Thank you for fixing my tire.”
“And saving your life,” I say with a teasing smile.
I catch the exact second her lips quirk before she pushes them into a flat line.
“And keeping me from a costly hospital bill.”
“Don’t forget the weeks of excruciating, debilitating pain.”
Her brows tweak in mock exasperation. “Are you always like this?”
“No.” My smile is gargantuan. “Usually, I’m worse.”
Alex rolls her eyes before driving away, leaving one single thought zipping through my mind like a loose electron.
I can’t wait for our next sparring match.