Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
She shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. It was a long time ago. Cole was just a few months old when he moved away.”
“He just moved away?”
She nods against my chest. “Yeah, he didn’t want to be a dad.”
“Umph, okay, so he didn’t want to be a dad. He just left?”
“Yep, and we haven’t heard from him since.”
I raise up so I can see her face. “He hasn’t reached out to Cole at all? Sent you money? Checked on him? Anything?”
She shakes her head. “It’s his loss.”
I hold her a little tighter. “Fuck yeah, it’s his loss.”
“I was fine with him leaving. He was cheating on me, and it was a bad situation, and even though I know Cole needed a man in his life, I do think he was better off without Mike’s influence. It’s been hard, playing the role of mom and dad, and heck, Cole’s probably going to need therapy someday—”
I lift her chin so she’s looking at me. “You’ve done a great job with him, Cat. He’s a great young man. He’s smart, caring, kind, he works hard, he’s determined. I think he’s going to do great in life.”
She lets out a shuddered breath. “Thank you. It’s nice to hear that because a lot of times I just hear the things in my head, and I feel like I’m screwing up every day… multiple times a day.”
“You’re a good mother… the best.”
I start stroking her hair again. “So that must have been hard, single mom and all that. Were your parents supportive?”
“Yeah, they were.”
“But?” I ask her, hearing the hesitancy in her voice.
“No, they were supportive, but my parents were older when they had me. When Cole was around seven years old, they retired to Florida. We see them around once a year, but it’s fine.”
“So you’re doing this all on your own?”
She shrugs. “Well, me and Cole, but it’s fine.”
I want to tell her that I’m here for her and that I won’t walk away, but she’d either laugh in my face or she’d freak out and leave. She doesn’t believe me when I tell her I want more than a fling, and it’s crazy to think that I would give it all up—the career, the traveling, all of it, if I had her and Cole in my life.
We end up talking through the night, and just before dawn, I take her again because even though I can’t tell her, I try and show her how I feel about her. Somehow I have to break through the walls she’s built around her heart.
26
CATHERINE
It’s been a whirlwind of a day. Heck, it’s been a whirlwind of a month, but we did it. Well, Holden did it. He’s made it back to play in the playoffs. The team doctor did a final examination yesterday, and Holden has been approved to play in the game today.
It’s a big occasion, and we’re all here to celebrate it. Holden tried to get us all in a VIP box, but I wanted to sit in the stands, and then his whole family decided they wanted the same. So here Cole and I sit, surrounded by Holden’s family, and I’ve never felt so happy, excited, and nervous in my life.
Chrissy leans over and nudges me with her shoulder. “He’s going to be fine.”
“I know. He’s going to be great,” I tell her, and I truly believe that too.
“There he is!” Cole stands up and points toward the dugout. He’s in full gear in his shin guards and chest protector, and he’s walking to the mound with his glove in one hand and his face guard in his other. He talks to the pitcher, they slap gloves, and then as he’s walking to home plate to get into position, he raises his head and stares straight at me. He winks, and I can feel my whole body get hot. This last month we’ve spent so much time together, and my heart is already breaking, knowing that it’s all coming to an end.
“Well, well, well,” Chrissy says, turning in her seat and staring at me.
Shit. She saw the wink, but I play dumb. “What is it?”
“You and my brother,” she says loudly.
I guess I’m not good at playing dumb because I “shhhh” her real loud. “Chrissy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She throws her arm around my shoulder. “Well, I’ll just say that Haven and I would be happy to have another sister in the family. We are still outnumbered by all the boys.”
Her nose is scrunched up when she says boys, and I would laugh if I wasn’t having an inner freakout. “It’s not like that.”
She laughs. “Oh, trust me. I know Holden, and I’ve never seen him like this before. It’s like that.”
I let my gaze go back to where Holden stands, and I can’t think too hard on what Chrissy says because the pitcher is finished warming up, and the game is starting.