“Why?” AJ felt his insides heating all over again.

“I don’t know,” she said, but AJ got the feeling she did. “Because of who you are? How popular you are and how much Clair obviously loves you? It kills him to hear about it and see the photos of you and her laughing and seeing her so happy around you, when I don’t want anyone to even know about him. He’s made other things clear too. Like that he’d never sign off his parental rights so that you could legally adopt her. It’s ridiculous. No one’s ever even mentioned it, but he’s already thinking that far ahead.”

“Who is this guy, Addison?”

Silence.

“Why can’t you just tell me? You know you can trust me. I’d never tell anyone.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Then tell me.”

“I will,” she whispered again. “Only I can’t yet. But I will. Just let me take care of a few things. You finish your season and then we’ll talk about everything. About us. I promise.”

Us.

It was hard to wrap his mind around how one little word could fill him with such happiness and hope. All these days he’d been gearing himself up for the biggest fight of his life. Yet at the same time a part of him was preparing his heart for the possibility of losing that battle. He knew nothing mattered more to Addison than Clair, and having her go against her better judgment when it came to her daughter’s well-being was what he was up against. So the possibility of losing them was all too real.

Hearing her promise they’d talk about “us” calmed the adrenaline he’d begun to feel coursing through his body. It was pathetic really, but it was all it took and he gave in.

“Okay,” he said, exhaling a bit frustrated. “Addison?”

This was something he’d wanted to ask Clair, but he got the feeling Clair wasn’t taking the break up as well as she was pretending to. So he hadn’t wanted to upset or make her feel like the middle man between him and her mother. Even now he hesitated to ask, but given what she just promised, it couldn’t be helped.

“Yes?”

“Will you be at the playoffs in St. Louis?”

“I will,” she said softly. “All three games.”

That made him exhale even heavier. Despite the relief that he at least could anticipate seeing her in two days, he had to bite his tongue at what he was so tempted to ask her now: if there was any way he could see her today.

“I gotta go,” she said, squashing any temptation he might not be able to fight. “I have a call I need to be on in a few minutes, but I had to apologize about ever blaming you. I feel terrible—”

“Stop,” he said, shaking his head with a frown. “So it was the popcorn, but we both know giving her ice cream that could’ve been contaminated was irresponsible. It was the only good thing that came out of this. I learned my lesson and I’ve been doing my homework. Trust me. If—” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “When things go back to the way they were before all this happened, how excessively diligent I’ll be from now on might even get on your nerves. I had no idea that you can never be too careful when it comes to this stuff.”

She was quiet again. As happy as he was to hear her after not really talking to her or seeing her for too long now, the mood of the call was a strange one. He was glad for the hope it’d given him, but he couldn’t help feeling there was still something very wrong that she wasn’t sharing with him.

“Good luck with the playoffs. You guys have this. I know it. Most importantly”—she laughed suddenly, surprising him—“Clair knows it, and you can’t argue with her stats.”

AJ smiled, pushing the bittersweet emotion he felt over hearing Addison speak of Clair, the little girl who now owned the other half of his heart. He’d begun to daydream about adopting her someday just before the horrific incident, but now he knew her asshole dad would never let that happen.

Chapter 27

AJ

This series was the first time AJ played on the same field as Bigsby since the incident at the ESPYs. AJ had been searching for all the silver linings he could about Clair’s incident. This was another one. Because of her incident, the stories and speculation about his feud with Bigsby had died down until just recently. Some sportscasters had discussed just how professional Rage would be about being on the same field with Bigsby.

First of all there was no feud. The guy had been a rude asshole to AJ’s girl and he snapped. End of story. At least he thought it was until Bigsby forfeited coming over to greet him or any of the other players as he normally did before the first and second games. The guy hadn’t said a single word to him the entire first two games, and AJ certainly wasn’t kissing anyone’s ass, least of all an arrogant asshole that got off easy as far as AJ was concerned. Just as he threatened that day, if Bigsby ever tried anything like that again, AJ would react exactly as he had the first time. Worse because he’d already warned him once.

But the first two games had gone over without a hitch, and the Padres were up by two games now. He even had dinner with Addison, her parents, and Clair both nights. There was nothing romantic about it. AJ got the distinct impression she had a lot more going on in her head. Yet there were times he saw it in her eyes: a strange shine. While he hadn’t had much alone time with her and the odd demeanor made him nervous, it was a start. He’d at least gotten to see her, and just being around her and Clair had been beyond satisfying.

It was during batting practice of the third game that AJ noticed the missed call from Addison then the text.

Has Clair called or texted you by chance?

It was odd and slightly alarming. Why would Addison be asking him this now? He scrolled through his texts, but he had nothing from Clair. Nor did he have any other missed calls. Instead of texting Addison, he called her.

“I was being interviewed when you called,” he said as soon as she answered. “I just read your text. No, she hasn’t. Why? What’s up?”

“I can’t find her.”

It felt as if she attempted to hide the fear in her voice, but AJ hadn’t missed it, and instantly he was anxious. “What do you mean you can’t find her?”

“I can’t find her,” she said, the anxiety clearly spiking now. “It’s a long story, but I’m sure she’s here in the hotel somewhere. I have to go, so I can go search for her. She’s just a little upset, so she’s probably hiding somewhere, trying to scare me.”

“Wait, wait,” he said, glancing around to see if by chance Clair was there already. “How long has she been missing? And what was she so upset about?”

Addison had never mentioned Clair acting out and doing something like this.

“Over an hour,” she said, and AJ could hear the accelerated breathing like she was walking fast. “It’s a long story, AJ. I can’t get into it now.”

“Give me the short version,” he said, his muscles already tightening up because he had a feeling what it might be about.

She exhaled loudly. “Basically, she knows about her dad and all the accusations and threats he’s been making. You know her. She heard about the photos and the tattoo, but kept it to herself, until she overheard me talking to my dad about it earlier today. When she heard me say something about giving into his requests to meet her and spend time with her, she got upset. She hates him already based on the things he’s been saying.”

The fire was instant. Clair was missing and Addison sounded on the verge of another near breakdown like the one she had in the theater. All because of this asshole.

“Addison, who is this guy and what the fuck is he accusing you of or threatening you with?”

He’d already started to pull off his catcher’s gear and was headed to the locker room when he heard her cry out and he froze. “What is it?”