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Straddling the Line(9)

By:Jaci Burton


"Great."

"Yeah, they were."

She rolled her eyes at him and pushed off the counter, heading toward the living room. "Ready to continue?"

"No. I have to head to the stadium and prep for the game. But you can come along."

She stopped and turned. "All right." Now she could watch him in action.  She was eager to see him work, and getting to see it at field level  excited her.

She gathered up her things and stuffed them into her bag. By then, he'd grabbed his team bag and car keys.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Sure."

He led her to the car. It only took about a half hour to get to the stadium, but she enjoyed the view nonetheless.

Trevor was right. It had been a long time since she'd been to St. Louis,  and she'd had a child's-eye view back then. Now everything looked  different.

The city had grown so much, but she was still in awe of the Arch and the  Mississippi River as they wound their way downtown and toward the  stadium.         

     



 

"So you'll continue to play baseball until the end of the season, then you'll head to Tampa and join the football team there?"

"Yeah. At least this season, since the Rivers have a shot of making the  playoffs. It works easier that way for both teams, rather than me trying  to jump back and forth."

"Easier on you, too, I imagine."

He nodded. "I travel enough with the Rivers. I don't need to go back and  forth with the baseball and football teams. When baseball is done, I'll  join Tampa and play out the football season with them."

She shook her head. "I don't know how you do it, Trevor. Trying to juggle two professional sports seems crazy."

He pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine, then turned to her. "That's me, Haven. Just fucking crazy."

She laughed and got out of the car with him.

"I'll set you up inside the boxes where it's more comfortable," he said as they headed into the stadium.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit as close to the field as possible, unless there are no seats available."

"Are you sure? The club box seats are much more comfortable. Plus, there's liquor and great catering."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"Suit yourself." He led her inside and stopped at security, where she  was given a pass. She picked it up and looked at it. "This isn't a press  pass," she said as she hurried to keep up with his long strides.

"Yeah, I know. A press pass limits you. This one won't. It'll give you access to anywhere in the stadium you want to go."

"Really. Why would you do that?"

He stopped and turned to face her, and as they stood in the sun, she was  struck again by how utterly gorgeous he was. "So you have all access.  But don't go anywhere you shouldn't."

She laughed. "Where am I not supposed to go?"

"The locker room would be a bad idea. You don't know who you might find naked down there."

"Okay. I'll avoid the locker room. Anywhere else?"

"Management offices might be a bad idea. You don't want to get thrown  out on your ass before you get a chance to interview anyone."

She sighed. "Just tell me where I should go."

"You should be safe at field level or in the club boxes."

"Thanks."

"I'll meet up with you at the exit when the game's over. If you get hot,  just head upstairs to the club boxes. They're air-conditioned."

He directed her to the field-and pointed out the boxes.

"Okay."

"Do you need me to walk with you?"

"Thanks, but no. I'll find my way around. You go get your game face on, and kick some ass."

He grinned. "Thanks. I'll see you later."

He disappeared down the tunnel, and Haven made her way out to the field.  There were press on the benches higher up. Since she had the all-access  pass, she walked out to the field entrance where security waved her on.

Awesome.

She stood out on the field, and her first thought was of her dad, of how  much this would have thrilled him, to be standing here at field level  with her, surveying the players as they took the field for warm-ups.

She'd have brought him along, too, just so he could have the chance to meet and greet all the players.

He'd been such a fan of the Rivers. Through the years when the team had  played like shit and ended the season in the basement, he'd always  remained a devoted fan.

So had she, because of her dad.

She turned around, surveying the stadium. The Rivers had built a new one  a few years ago, so this one wasn't the same as the one she'd been to  with her dad all those years ago.

But still, it was Rivers baseball, and she'd give anything to be sharing this with him right now.

God, she missed her dad so much right now it physically hurt. She laid  her hand over her stomach, massaging the ache of loss that seemed to  swell and grow inside her. Part of her wanted to turn tail and run like  hell, to leave the stadium and all the memories that swirled around her  like a thick cloud.

Part of her was still that little girl, eating popcorn and a hot dog and cheering on the Rivers with her dad.

The other part of her was a grown woman, scared to death that she couldn't handle the responsibilities of her new job.

And nowhere in that scenario was the pep talk she so desperately needed from her dad right now.

But her love of baseball-of sports-was because of her father. She owed  it to him to stay and give this a shot. He'd be mad at her if she  didn't, so she blinked back the tears pricking her eyes, forced back the  ache of loss and the fear of failure that welled inside her, then took a  deep breath to center herself. She climbed up to the field-level seats  and one of the staff directed her to an empty chair where she could  watch the game.         

     



 

She took out her laptop and started making some notes. People started  filing in. A lot of women, too. Wives and maybe girlfriends of the  players, no doubt. She wanted to talk to them, as well, but not tonight.  She'd do that some other time.

When Trevor took the field, her heart skipped a beat. She'd seen him  play on TV, of course, but never in person. He was so tall, and God, he  looked mouthwateringly good in uniform as he trotted out to the field to  warm up. She'd thought she was over the crush she'd had on him in  college.

As she watched him run, she realized what she felt was nothing more than  the rush of close proximity, the fact that she had one time with him.  He was paying attention to her, giving her his time. If there was one  thing Trevor had, it was charm, and he knew how to use it. He'd always  had a reputation with women, and for all his talk about focusing on  nothing but sports in college, that hadn't been the case at all. He'd  had plenty of girlfriends-or at least he'd gone through a lot of women.

From the initial research she'd done about his adult life, it appeared  he was still going through them. Approaching thirty, he remained  unattached and hadn't had a serious girlfriend. She wondered why. She  made a note to ask him, then focused on the practice.

They got into positions while the pitcher warmed up. Trevor was in left  field. She knew a lot of these players, though the team had made a few  changes in recent years. Gavin Riley was still at first base, anchored  by Dedrick Coleman at third, the veterans who were still the glue that  held this team together. They'd traded for a hotshot shortstop, Chase  Henderson, who looked to be an up-and-comer.

She had high hopes for the team this year. The Rivers were currently in  second place with two weeks to go until the end of the regular season.  They were three games out of first and in the hunt for at least a wild  card spot.

She loved sports, and always had. Maybe it had been a product of her  growing up around sports players, being around them all the time because  of her parents. The sports dorms had housed players of so many  different sports-football, baseball, lacrosse, tennis-any sport  imaginable. And her parents had treated every boy who'd gone to college  there as one of their own. They'd often gone to the games, and if there  was one thing her father had been good at, it was spotting a boy in  trouble-someone who needed a little extra TLC.

Haven remembered her dad spending a lot of time with Trevor, though she  hadn't known why, by that point not paying so much attention to Trevor  because she'd been in college herself, focusing on her own studies, her  own social life. Whatever pitiful social life she'd had, anyway. One  would think she would have been incredibly popular since she'd known all  the jocks.

Not so much. None of the guys had wanted anything to do with her. She  might as well have had Off-Limits tattooed across her forehead. Being  the daughter of the dorm parents was just as bad as being the daughter  of one of the coaches. No one had touched her. Not that she had wanted  any of them.

Except for Trevor, who continued to wow her with the distance on his throws. He had one hell of an arm.

He was simply too good at this. Which, she supposed, accounted for his  popularity, and the reason the teams made allowances for him playing two  sports.