Page 35 of Stone Vows

Dangerous for me. Dangerous for my career.

Then I think of my brother, Chad, and what he used to say when we were kids. “I eat danger for breakfast,” he’d say.

Breakfast, dinner, it’s all the same. I pull an egg roll out and hand it to her.

Chapter Sixteen

“He was SO out!” Elizabeth screams at the television. She turns to me, a bit of soy sauce dotted on her chin. “Did you see that? He was out. Blue better have his eyes checked.”

Before I even realize I’ve done it, I’ve reached over and used my thumb to wipe the brown sauce from her face.

She picks up a napkin to finish the job I started. “Is something on my face?” she asks, wiping it.

“It’s gone now,” I tell her. I nod to the TV. “I thought he was out, too.”

“Stupid ump,” she says, pouting.

“You seem to know an awful lot about baseball. Did you grow up around it? You said you played softball, is that what got you interested?”

She looks up at the TV sadly and nods. “I’ve always loved softball, so I guess watching baseball just seems natural.”

“Did you grow up in New York?” I ask, thinking this is a good opportunity to discover more about her.

She shakes her head then conveniently takes a bite of food to keep from answering.

“But you love the Nighthawks,” I say.

“Who doesn’t love the Hawks?” she asks.

I laugh, but on the inside, I’m upset that she keeps deflecting personal questions. “My friend, Griffin, actually. He’s an Indians fan. He got me watching baseball. Even took me to a few games.”

She looks up at me like I said I walked on the moon. “You’ve been to some games? Hawks games?”

“Yeah, last spring. One of their first games of the season I think.”

“Who won?”

“Not the Indians. Boy was Griffin pissed. He doesn’t get to go to many Cleveland games so he really wanted them to win.”

“Was it . . . was it amazing? Seeing it in person?” she asks, longingly.

I furrow my brows. For someone who loves baseball and seems to know the game so well, you’d think she’d have been to at least one game. They practically give away tickets from time to time.

“You’ve never been?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“Well, you have to go,” I say. “There is nothing more American than baseball. The whole experience from the funnel cakes to the hot dogs and beer. The fights over the foul balls and home run hits. The seventh-inning stretch. We should go sometime—”

I shut up when I realize what I said. When I realize she looks downright fearful, and I curse myself.

This is not a date, Kyle. She’s not your girlfriend. She doesn’t want tobeyour girlfriend. She’s here to have a baby and you’re here to make sure she has a healthy one.

“Uh, what I mean is, you should go. You and the baby.”

She nods, rubbing her belly. “Maybe we will one day.”

When we’ve eaten all we can, I pull a handful of fortune cookies out of the bag. Elizabeth eyes them and smiles. I put them on her tray and pick one for myself.

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