Page 18 of Playing for Keeps
Cody bounced on the balls of his feet, warming up for his workout. “We just got started, so there’s plenty of time.”
“You know Caroline Taylor?” With the way things were going, he needed all the help he could get if he was going to patch things up.
“Yeah. I’ve met the Taylors,” Neenah said. “I think everybody knows them, now that Alicia Carver married into the family.”
“She’s Alicia Taylor now,” Cody corrected.
“I think it’s cool that she changed her name, even though the whole world knew her as Alicia Carver.” Neenah stretched one arm over her head, bending her body to one side.
The pop star had certainly shaken up the town when she gave up her high-profile career to settle down in Redemption Ridge. Justin had read about it in the news right around the time he found out his dad was charged with assault for beating Caroline’s dad to a pulp.
“Wait a minute,” Cody said, narrowing his eyes at Justin. “You said this was a love story, but… Caroline Taylor?”
The pieces were coming together. “Yep. That’s the one.”
Cody put both hands on his head and turned in a slow circle as the news hit home. “But your dad and her parents?—”
“That’s part of the problem.”
“Wait. I’m confused,” Neenah said, glancing back and forth between Cody and Justin.
Cody stopped in front of her to explain. “Justin’s dad is Chuck McKinnon.”
Neenah’s eyes widened. “Oh!” She hadn’t grown up in Redemption Ridge like the rest of them, but she’d been around long enough to hear about the dirty history between the families.
Law enforcement in Redemption Ridge was all too familiar with Chuck McKinnon. He had a rap sheet that could give Al Capone a run for his money.
“So you like Caroline?” Neenah asked.
Justin let the first jab fly, connecting with the canvas of the punching bag. He more than liked her. She was the star of the best years of his life. She was his first and only love, and he’d struck out. His grandparents had died a few years ago, and the decisions he’d made so he could care for them didn’t matter anymore. Sure, he loved baseball, but if the choices were baseball or Caroline, she won by a landslide.
“HelovesCaroline,” Garrett corrected.
Neenah covered her cheeks with her hands. “This is so Romeo and Juliet.”
“Try more like Hatfields and McCoys,” Cody added.
“They had a secret fling when they were young!” Garrett said.
Justin let everything out with his fists. Each timehis knuckles connected with the bag, another memory got shot down. “It wasn’t a fling, and are you telling this story?”
Garrett held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. Your turn.”
“Our parents would have hated it. Caroline was really close with her family,” Justin explained, breathing through the adrenaline and sweat.
“Still is,” Cody added.
Knowing Caroline was still on good terms with her family was all Justin needed to hear to justify the leaving. It wouldn’t have meant anything to Justin if his dad was mad about who he dated. It would have crushed Caroline’s family if they’d found out.
“We kept it a secret, but she kept holding out hope that eventually we’d be able to tell them. Then I got drafted to the Marlins the same week her brother, Dom, was accused of murder.”
Cody hopped onto the treadmill beside Justin’s punching bag and started his warm-up. “Man, I forgot about Dom Taylor.”
Caroline was close with all of her brothers, but Dom was the eldest and the one she’d always worked hardest to form the relationship she wanted. Whatever the circumstances behind the murder, Dom had confessed. It was almost as if he wanted to rush the sentencing. He hadn’t fought back against any of it.
When Caroline heard the news, Justin held her for hours while she screamed through tears. He’d never felt more helpless in his life, either before or since.
Justin hammered the heavy bag, letting the strain in his muscles chase away the doubts. “When the Marlins drafted me, it was all I’d been working toward for years. My grandparents were in assisted living, and they never had much to begin with. Dad didn’t help them, and I needed more money. That meant leaving Redemption Ridge.”
