Page 108 of Honey Pot

At the family dinner the first night in the nest, and the night he found Kiefer on top of me. I shrank in size watching him as the memory flickered across my vision.

“You’ll get under their skin and more than I need you to disappear, we need to win this game,” Cael said.

“You sound like your Dad.” Nicholas smirked but gave in with a simple nod as Cael scowled at him. “Fine.”

Dean relaxed as Nicholas shoved his hand into a glove and walked toward the field. I watched him go, his shoulders tense as he took the mound and flexed his fingers around the ball. More interesting was Arlo’s reaction to it. His eyes flickered from his older brother to our dugout and back again before turning to his own team.

MATTHEWS

“Hand,” Cael instructed from beside me with a glove turned toward me. “It should fit, it’s my old one,” he said quietly. So quickly his demeanor changed.

A hundred faces, one for each person in his life.

“How's that?” He asked as his thumb traced a soft line along the inside of my wrist.

”It’s fine,” I snapped.

“Can you close it okay, feels too big…” He mumbled to himself.

“You’re being ridiculous,” I whispered to him as he checked the laces and my finger placements by massaging over the glove. He didn't answer me but his eyes darted over to where Ella talked to Julien with a tense but pleasant smile on her lips.

“Answer the question, I don’t need you breaking your wrist,” he ordered.

I nodded with my lips pressed into a thin line. “Cael.” I turned my eyes up toward him and he met my gaze. “Promise me you’ll behave?” I asked him.

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep, Plum.” He leaned in like he wanted to kiss my forehead but stopped himself when he realized we were being watched. “Keep your eyes up, and ears open.” He grabbed Dean by the shirt as he passed. “Only listen to me or Dean, do you understand? Drown everyone else out.”

“Alright,” I said.

“Everyone,” he repeated.

“I heard you, Loverboy,” I grumbled.

But it was easier said than done with Ryan Cody drilling holes into me with those judgmental green eyes and Julien watching my every move. I felt like I waswandering around Harbor with a scarlet A pinned to my heart; punished for a crime that didn’t feel worthy of scrutiny.

I had just fallen in love.

Again.

I looked up at Cael, painfully aware of my thoughts and feelings. He watched me for a second longer and the urge to curl against him wassoviolent.

But Ryan cleared his throat and Cael took off like an abused dog to the outfield. I was so confused as to why he’d thought it would be a good idea to bring Julien here. What in his right mind made him so brave? After the conversation about the bird, Ryan seemed to pull back from what little progress we had made in our relationship and I couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t a bad person, I’d never once thought that about him. Even after he stole away the one person who saw me, even when no one was looking. I never hated him for that, but now… this felt like an act of hostility. Like we were fighting and I had no clue until the knife was buried deep in my back.

“If they foul out, let me take the flies.” Dean knocked me from my trance. “He’ll get through this today, just let him do it his way.”

“I’m afraid his way will end in bloodshed.” I sighed.

“Most likely but, knowing Cael, it’ll be his blood,” Dean said. He hooked an arm around me and walked us out to the pitch. “When the ball comes to you, throw it straight to me, don't worry about second and third. We’ll cut them off at first base if we work together.”

“Together, hey?” I cracked a smile.

”You heard me, come on.”

The air around the field was instantly tense as Ryan played spare on a team he created. Watching from center as his son gave instructions to everyone in earshot. Arlo was the first to bat and as predicted, he seized up when he finally faced Nicholas on the mound.

“That was Cael’s idea wasn’t it?” He turned a set of dark eyes on me and I nodded. “Little rat,” Arlo huffed and went back to his focus, gripping the bat tightly between his hands.

He crushed it out over Van’s head into the trees with a cocky grin on his face and his shoulders pinned back as he took the base slowly and triumphantly.They went through their order one by one, Nicholas shaking off the cobwebs that encased his pitching arm.

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