Page 42 of Rocking Player
I opened her door and she hopped in the passenger seat as she said, “That’s good.”
I packed our purchases behind me and then joined her. I held the key in my hand but didn’t turn it on yet as I said, “One more thing.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at me. “Yeah?”
I’d never push Jeremy the way I was to the point of exhaustion, though now I had the benefits of those nights in the palm of my hand. “My parents-”
“Your mom and dad are great,” she interrupted.
For now. My father was intense. She had no idea, but I pressed the button for ignition and started our drive home. “They are when they want to make an impression and they want Jeremy to like them.”
She fixed her seat belt. “It’s helping with our son wanting to move.”
“I can have them fly out more often,” I said then, especially if New York was the answer. They’d stay in Florida but visit and help with my son when I couldn’t be there.
She turned on the radio and bobbed her head to the music. “Jeremy likes them, but I can’t promise to ever be like your mom and not voice my opinion.”
I turned off the radio as my gut said this was important. “Like how?”
She pressed her lips together and then finally said, “She was serving while her family discussed.”
“She said what she wanted and talked to the airline. Besides, my contract doesn’t change her life much,” I said as an immediate defense of her running to the kitchen. I’d learned as a boy not to question her and then added, “She’s a retired teacher. If I ever needed help figuring out what to do for almost anything other than baseball, she’d be my go-to call.”
Georgie jerked her head and her eyes went cold as she yelled like I’d said something important. “She was a teacher?”
This wasn’t about my mom. My skin was prickly as I couldn’t make the connection and said, “Yeah, like your sister.”
“I didn’t know that.” She pushed her hands together like in prayer and slumped her head down. “My mom didn’t work. She just stayed home and cooked six or more different meals, always giving us whatever we wanted.”
A tear raced down her cheek. She didn’t wipe at it and stayed absolutely still.
I reached out my hand and said, “It’s okay. We don’t know everything about each other yet.”
She took it and squeezed it as we made our way back to our home. “But I can’t sit by while you make a decision for all three of us.”
I let her go and pressed the button for the garage. “I won’t ask you to. I need you and baseball to make my life complete.”
She smiled and unbuttoned herself. “And you have that.”
I turned off the engine and reached for my door. “Then let’s get back inside.”
She got out, but as we went to unload everything she reached for the bags. “I’ll have white wine with your mom as that’s often my favorite. It’s why I didn’t ask for anything.”
The more I knew her, the better we’d all be. I’d also ensure none of us ever stressed about money again, and the contract secured our future.
I said quickly, “Next time, make your decision faster?”
She didn’t move and lowered her lashes as she said, “I’m still getting used to speaking up. I haven’t had to talk to anyone about my choices since I've grown up. Give me time.”
If that was all this was, we had everything we needed. I swallowed and said, “You have all the time in the world, Georgie. I’m seriously in love with you.”
I hadn’t meant to let that slip. The words had fallen out of my mouth.
She let the bags in her hand fall back in the trunk and stared at me with glassy eyes and a white face as she asked, “You are?”
“I fucking love you,” I said, and grabbed her to hold her. No denying the truth now.
She curled into me and pressed her lips up to me as she whispered, “I love you too, and it scares me.”
