Worth the Trade. Kristina Mathews

Dempsey answered on the second ring.

      “I wanted to have some of the guys over. Informally, like back in the old days.” The days when she’d been just a girl. Like a kid sister, hanging around, trying not to get too excited when the baseball players paid attention to her. She’d learned a long time ago that charm was just part of their game.

      “That sounds like a fine idea.”

      “There are quite a few new guys.” She hoped it wasn’t obvious that there was one man in particular she wanted to entertain. “And a lot of players who might be missing their families. Who are starting to feel the grind of a long season.”

      “Yes. It can wear a fellow down after a while.”

      “But I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression.” Didn’t want to make any of the men feel uncomfortable being invited to the home of a single woman. A single woman with undeniable attraction to one of them. “I thought it might be nice if you and Helen could be here, as well.”

      “Certainly. Would you like Helen to give our caterer a call?”

      “No. I was thinking of keeping it casual. Burgers and dogs. Chips and dip.”

      “Okay, I’ll pick up some dessert.”

      “You mean, Helen will pick up some dessert.”

      He laughed. “So what about Clayton and Annabelle? Are they included in this party?”

      The last thing she wanted was to spend more time with the man, but she supposed he should be included. He was part of the team, as well.

      “He probably won’t want to come, but, yeah, I’ll invite him.”

      “He’ll drop by, but he won’t stay.”

      “You’re probably right.”

      They finished up the details. A team get-together was a good idea. In theory. But Hunter still had butterflies in her stomach. Even though she wouldn’t be alone with Marco, she was still attracted to him. Very attracted to him. So he’d moved on. She was afraid she couldn’t.

      * * * *

      Marco walked around Johnny’s apartment. Nice place. Just across the street from the ballpark. He could walk to work. No more rides from Hunter.

      “So what do you think?” Johnny had a big grin on his face. He obviously hadn’t spent the night tossing and turning because of some woman. No, he’d spent the night with his wife and his family.

      “I’ll take it.” Marco looked out the big picture window at the ballpark. He could spend as much time there as he needed to get back on track. Extra batting practice, running the bleachers, whatever it took. “I need a place of my own. I’ll have to make my own bed, but it’s a small price to pay for privacy.”

      Stability.

      “I’m glad. It’s nice and quiet here. The parking garage is secure.”

      “I haven’t had a chance to bring my car out yet. Another reason to live close to work. If I keep hitting—or rather, not hitting—like I have been, I wouldn’t want to cause a riot on the bus.”

      “You’ll get it back. We’re all behind you. Just remember that.”

      “Thanks. Having a home base will help me settle in.” He hoped.

      “Anything for a teammate,” Johnny offered.

      “Just keep runs off the board, and maybe I won’t feel like I have to hit a three run homer every night.”

      “You don’t.” Johnny sat on the leather sofa.

      Marco took the recliner opposite. “Yeah, I keep forgetting that. Things had gotten pretty bad in my old clubhouse. Everyone blaming each other for the recent skid.”

      Now that he was out of that locker room, he realized just how high the tensions had mounted. They were a good team, full of all-stars, and plenty of big egos. It was great at the beginning of the year. A lot of people predicted they’d go all the way. Then a few key injuries, a collapse of the bullpen in late June, and the last month had been one bad hop after another.

      “It’s different here. Sure we’ve got a lot of talented players. But every single one of us plays for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.” Johnny didn’t seem like the kind of guy to spout the company line if there wasn’t something to back it up. “I know it sounds a little cliché to say we’re a team with a capital T, but it’s true. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

      “Just one big happy family, huh?” Marco wanted to believe in it. Wanted to be a part of it.

      “We have something special here. And it starts at the top. Losing Henry Collins could have put this team in a tailspin. You’d expect some instability with a change in ownership, even if it’s just one of the partners. But his daughter stepped right up. She’s young, but she’s been in the business her whole life.”

      “She seems to know what she’s doing.” Marco felt his heart rate spike at the mention of Hunter. “And she’s passionate about this team.”

      That should be enough.

      He’d never cared about any of his previous owners. He certainly hadn’t cared about what kind of car they drove or how they dressed or where they sat in the ballpark.

      “So, do you need help bringing your stuff over?” Johnny asked. “I can fit a few things in the back of my Jeep.”

      “I don’t have much. Just a couple of duffle bags.” Marco had long ago learned the art of traveling light, even before his baseball days. “But now that I have an actual address, I can ship some of my things from my apartment in St. Louis.”

      He could hire someone to pack up his stuff, but he didn’t need much. This place had all the essentials: TV, stereo, exercise equipment.

      He’d like to have his Mustang. But there just wasn’t time to drive it cross country. And there was no way he was going to trust his most valued possession to some stranger. So it would remain in storage until the season ended.

      He needed to keep his libido in storage until the end of the season as well.

      Not a problem as long as he stayed away from Hunter.

      * * * *

      Marco checked out of his hotel room and hung up his five shirts, two pairs of dress pants, and his one suit in his new apartment. He packed his jeans and T-shirts away in the dresser and took a walk over to the ballpark. There was plenty of time to suit up and hit the batting cage before the official warm ups.

      After several good cuts in the cage, he felt pretty good by the time he took the field for warm-ups. Getting a place of his own was just what he needed.

      Determined to get to know more of his teammates, he reached out to his shortstop. A free agent who’d signed in the offseason, Bryce had spent much of his career with Pittsburg, and the two men had crossed paths while playing against each other.

      “So, it’s good to be home, huh?” Marco had long ago stopped associating the word with anything other than the need to wear white pants. They wore the gray uniforms on the road.

      “Yeah. It is.” Bryce looked like he’d be more at home on the beaches of southern California than the city streets of San Francisco. A golden boy with thick blond hair that fell almost to his shoulders, he had the laid-back attitude of a surfer on spring break. Until he stepped on the field. Then he was all business. With his Gold-Glove winning defense and power at the plate, he already had people talking about the MVP.

      As an opponent in the same division, he was the kind of player you wanted to hate, yet you couldn’t help but respect him. He was the guy who’d kick your ass on the field and then buy you a beer afterward.

      As a teammate, Marco imagined he’d be the guy to help you celebrate the victories along the way, but he’d