Chapter 64
Chapter Sixty-Four
Callie
Leighton and I have a fun girls’ day once we arrive in Seattle. We do a little shopping with the bodyguards tailing behind. I’m sure most people looking at us are wondering if they’ve seen us before.
Nothing about the bookie and Foster has come out, thank goodness.
By the time we reach the suite at the Seattle ballpark, some people are already there.
A tall man in a sharp custom suit with perfectly gelled hair comes right over to us. “Leighton and Callie.” He kisses Leighton’s cheek, then puts his hand in front of me. “Jagger Kale.”
“The man in charge of most of the guys on that field’s career.” I shake his hand.
His gaze shifts to my stomach briefly before they pop back up to meet my eyes. “That’s me. And your man is taking up too much of my time lately.” He chuckles and shifts his attention to Leighton. “Hayes’s turn was last year.” Then he waves us into the suite. “Come and meet my wife, Quinn.”
He leads us farther in, and I can’t stop eyeing all the food and drinks. The best thing about pregnancy is being able to eat what I want without feeling guilty about it.
Then I see that Angela Davis is here too, talking to who I suspect is Jagger’s wife.
“Angela.” I nod and give her a small smile.
She returns it and nods back.
I know she and Foster have a complicated relationship, but she is the grandmother of my baby, so I break the distance and hug her. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I try to always come to the Seattle games.” Her confession strikes me as odd because she’s from Philadelphia, from what I understand. “How is the pregnancy going?”
“It’s good.” We both look down at my stomach. Never have I ever taken so much time to stare at one part of my body as much as I have these past months. “She’s moving a lot more these days.”
Leighton says hello to Angela, then Jagger introduces us to his wife.
“This is Foster Davis’s girlfriend, Callie Carlisle, and Hayes Carlisle’s fiancée, Leighton.”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard about you both.” Quinn shakes our hands, giving us a big smile.
Jagger kisses her on the temple. “I’ll be back.”
“He’s always got someone to schmooze.” She stirs the straw in her drink. “How was the trip out here?”
We all make polite talk for a bit.
Yes, I’m six months.
Oh, it’s a girl.
Quinn can definitely lead a conversation.
“Just so you know, Foster is going to ask you why there aren’t more baseball hero stories in romance. Just a warning.” I roll my eyes good-naturedly.
She laughs. “They’re always so concerned about being a hero in a book. I guess it’s those egos. But thanks for the heads-up.”
We chat a little longer, then the game starts, so I take my seat between Angela and Leighton.
Everything is going great, we’re winning, and for a moment, I think Foster won’t even have to come in. But late in the ninth with only one out left to get, he’s called in.
“It’s weird to see it with no music and the lights on,” I say.
The minute he steps out of the bullpen, boos ring through the stadium. A strangled sound comes out of Angela, and her body tenses.
Leighton puts her hand on my knee. “He left. You know how it goes.”
True, but I still feel for Foster.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Jagger whispers behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see him walking out of the suite.
My eyes snag on the television screen in the suite, and all the breath whooshes out of my lungs. The headline flashing on the screen reads, Foster Davis bets against himself with big Seattle bookie. More names to come.
My head drops forward, and I excuse myself to go find Jagger. He’s walking in as I’m walking out.
He gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’m heading down to the locker room to meet Foster right after the game. Go back to the hotel and wait for us there.”
“No, I want to see him.”
Jagger blows out a breath. “Please don’t be difficult. This is bad, Callie. Like, career-ending bad.”
“Which is why I’m going to be by his side the entire time.” I grab my purse off the counter. “I’m going with you.”
“He did it, Cal. Struck them out, and we won! Take that, Seattle and your shitty fans.” Leighton sounds really tough right now, even though she’s the sweetest person I know.
I look over my shoulder and see her spot Jagger with me. Then Leighton and Angela look at the television and read the caption, their smiles fading.
We’re going to get through this, and I’m going to prove to Foster that he has an entire army at his side.
Jagger agrees to take me to see Foster, and Leighton and Angela decide to come too. I’m hoping that Angela doesn’t make it worse for Foster, but if anything, she can be there for Decker.
Jagger gets into the locker room because he’s Jagger, and the rest of us are put in some room for the visiting team’s guests.
“Did you know about this?” Leighton asks me once we’re alone.
I nod. “He didn’t do it.”
“I know that.” Leighton gives me a look as if she’s insulted I’d dare to think otherwise.
“He’s behind it, isn’t he?” Angela asks.
“Who?” Leighton looks between the two of us.
I nod to Angela, and she shakes her head, walks away, then comes back with her phone. “Listen, Callie…” She pauses but then seems to convince herself of something and continues. “Has Foster shown you a picture of his dad?”
I shake my head.
She holds her phone out to me. “This is him. I have no doubt he’s in this stadium somewhere. When we were in the suite, I felt okay, but now that this news has come out…and with you being pregnant… he’s going to show his face.”
I stare at the man who looks more like Decker than Foster. Dark hair and eyes, shorter than both of his sons.
“This is why I come to the Seattle games,” Angela says.
“Why?” Leighton moves in to look at the picture. “You couldn’t have known that this news would come out.”
“No, but I knew he reached out to Decker for money and things. And I knew with both boys here… and if he knew you were here too, Callie, he’d try to work some angle to get something from the boys.”
Emotion hits me when she says the boys because that’s how she’ll always see Decker and Foster. As her sons. She still wants to protect them both.
I take out my phone and see that the story is everywhere. I don’t bother scrolling through the shitty comments from people who have no idea what they’re talking about or the man they’re pointing their fingers at.
“I just need to see Foster.”