Chapter 30

Rainey

Not much inlife scared me. I took the punches when something negative happened and faced everything else with enthusiasm and eagerness. It didn't hit me until I was hiding behind the hot dog stand at the town softball game spying on Zeke and waiting for the exact right moment that the only reason I'd never been scared is because I'd never had something to lose.

And I had a lot to lose right now if this didn't work.

Phase two of the plan my new friends and I had worked out was all on me. While my hands were shaking with nervous energy, I'd come armed to the teeth with everything I might need to sway Zeke to give me another chance. I wore the short denim cutoffs he loved so much. I had his old baseball number painted in blue on my cheek and my lips were as red as a juicy cherry. I'd even had Grandma dig out my old hair ribbons so I could play off those old memories when things had been simpler and our love for each other had been pure and uncomplicated.

Yep. I said it. I loved Zeke Burns. Always had and just hadn't known what that feeling was until it was too late.

The Blueballers took to the field for the "top of the ninth" inning. It was my moment. Zeke stepped onto the mound and I thought I might pass out. My heart beat so wildly I almost couldn't hear Callan Hellman giving me a pep talk. Turned out Hell was all about these grand gestures of love. They ate up my idea when I came to their team practice. They even helped me nail down the details of my plan.

"I was in love with Cricket my entire fucking life, so I get where Zeke is coming from. I promise you, if you go out there and make it clear you love him back, he won't say no. Believe me." He clapped me on the back and then gave me a mighty push.

I barely heard the guy. My feet moved, thank God, and suddenly I was right behind the backstop. I could see Boston jogging back to home plate through the chain-link fence, his smile bright as he flashed me a wink.

"Come on, Rainey. Be a bad bitch and show Zeke what he's giving up."

That was how far I'd gone down the rabbit hole of nerves. I was now giving myself a pep talk. Out loud. In front of the whole Hell dugout.

I straightened my spine, swung the bat up to rest on my shoulder, and just as Zeke began to turn in my direction, I strutted onto the infield like my life depended on it. My hips swayed and my mouth curved into a saucy smile seeing the shock on Zeke's face. The blue eyes I always found such safety in went wide. There was no coldness there like when he'd handed me those dreaded papers, and that gave me courage to keep going. I stopped at home plate, taking up the stance of a batter, and stuck my ass out for all it was worth. If I hadn't been so nervous, I would have preened when Zeke's gaze fluttered to my ass and then back to my face, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

The crowd quieted down and I opened my mouth to tell him the game had changed. My voice came out on a wobble, but it was loud enough, floating over to the mound where he could hear me.

"If I hit this ball, you owe me a kiss!" Just like that night at the Summer Crawl. The crowd began to murmur and I heard more than a few female sighs.

Zeke's eyes lit the second he recognized the line. He ran a hand over his jaw, and I could have sworn there was a slight tug on the corners of his mouth.

"Why are you playing for Hell?" he called back.

I shrugged, the metal bat cool against my neck. "I figure I need to earn my way back into Blueball after leaving like I did last time."

"You're always welcome here, Rainey." The sweet voice from the outfield came from Rosemary Roberts, the elementary school principal who came into Crazy Beans every morning for her jolt of caffeine before she started her day. I shot her a relieved smile.

Zeke still stood there, looking at me like I was a mirage.

"Are you scared, Zeke?" I taunted.

His lips definitely tugged that time. He wound up and then the ball was flying toward me. I swung—terribly—and missed. The crowd collectively groaned. My lower lip curled into a pout. Boston threw the ball back to Zeke.

"I watched every single one of your pitches in high school," I said loudly enough everyone could hear.

Zeke's cheeks were decidedly pink. He wound up and threw the ball again, an easy lob that even a first grader could have hit. I swung, missing again, but definitely closer this time. The crowd was starting to shout encouragement at me. People I didn't know from both towns were suddenly very interested in me getting a hit.

"Swing faster!"

"Step into it!"

"Strike two!" the ump called, earning him a boo from the crowd. Boston threw the ball back.

"I only get three, right?" I asked Zeke, wrinkling my nose. I hadn't really paid much attention during those high school games. I'd just been watching my best friend. The boy I'd already fallen in love with.

Zeke palmed the ball, studying me. "If it were up to me, you'd get all the chances, not just three."

My heart ached. "I know. That's one of the things I love about you." The crowd hyped up and I had to raise my voice to be heard. I held Zeke's stare, hoping he knew how much I meant every word. And I was definitely talking about more than just this softball game. "But it's time I held myself to a higher standard. You shouldn't have to give me all the chances in the world. I need to get it right this time."

Boston pulled his face guard off and stood. "Here," he grunted, raising my back elbow and showing me how to hold the bat. "Feet apart, and whatever you do, watch the damn ball all the way in, okay?"

I nodded my thanks, trying to hold the awkward position. My hands were so sweaty it was a miracle I was able to hold the bat. Zeke's mouth tipped up into a full-on grin. It was the best thing I'd ever seen.

"Last chance, Shaw," he called out.

I sucked in a deep breath, knowing everything was on the line. "I got this, Burns. Trust me."

The crowd quieted down and Zeke wound up his pitch. Then the ball was flying and everything slowed. The sounds of the crowd faded, the bright lights highlighted the ball spinning toward me, and I knew I had it in me. I swung with every ounce of my power, the bat coming around in a perfectly flat arc. An audible ping and a reverberation that went up both my arms stunned me. I dropped the bat to the dirt and the ball bounced along the field toward Gannon. He made an overly exaggerated effort to get the ball but missed, much to the delight of the crowd.

"Run, Rainey!"

The crowd noise came rushing back in and I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I knew enough to know to run to first base, but Zeke wasn't at first base. We'd already rounded all the bases anyway, why not take a little detour? So when the entire Hell dugout shouted at me to run, I did.

Right to the pitcher's mound.

Zeke threw his glove down and caught me as I jumped. My legs and arms went around his body and he held me just as tight. I got my hands on his scruffy jaw and knocked the baseball hat right off his head, kissing his cheeks, his chin, his eyes, any skin I could find.

"Please, please, please." I needed his forgiveness, I needed his love. We'd done everything backwards, yet ended up exactly where we needed to be: together. Let him still love me. Please.

The crowd noise drowned out everything except the words spoken in our little bubble. Zeke finally caught my mouth with his, sealing our lips together for a hot, hard, intense kiss that I felt in my toes.

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. "What are you doing, baby girl?"

I beamed, feeling how right all of this was. "What I should have done twelve years ago if I hadn't been such a dumbass. I'm telling you and everyone here that I love you."

The corners of his lips tipped up degree by degree until his face was transformed into a thing of beauty. "Say it again."

"I love you." I threw my head back and shouted it in case he had any doubt. "I love you, Zeke Burns!"

His booming laugh shook my whole body right before he spun us around in a circle. He finally stopped and looked me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rain. I never wanted to divorce you."

I put my finger over his lips. "Shh. I know why you did it. But I choose you, Zeke. I will always choose you."

Something whacked me on the shoulder and we both looked over to see Gannon standing there with the ball in his leather glove. "You're out, lady."

I grinned, tipping my head toward Zeke. "Your pitcher isn't feeling so good. He's gotta go home."

Gannon rolled his eyes. "Get out of here, would you? You're making my wife all swoony and now I'll have to do something nice like rub her feet or buy her flowers to compete with you two."

Zeke carried us off the fields to a commotion I'd never heard during a softball game before. Both teams were cheering us on, and for a brief moment in time, both towns came together for the same thing.

"Congrats, you two!" Callan clapped us both on the back as we walked by, but we were too busy murmuring and kissing each other to notice anyone else.

Zeke didn't let me go until we got to his truck, and even then, he set me down on the passenger seat and kissed me long and hard, his erection nestled between us. He didn't make a move to take things further and it was everything we both needed after being apart all week.

"Take me home, husband," I finally whispered, needing my hands on his bare skin more than I needed to breathe.

"Always, wife." He kissed me one last time and then drove us home, our fingers entwined.

We didn't talk again until Daisy barked her head off and Zeke had to feed her a dozen treats to get her to settle down. Then he stripped my clothes off of me and carried me into our bedroom. I got my wish, my hands skimming over every inch of his skin, my mouth and tongue not far behind. This man loved me unconditionally. Just that thought made my eyes burn with something so pure and good I wasn't sure one person could hold it all. By the time he slid inside me, connecting us physically in a way we'd always been emotionally, there were tears squeezing out of my eyes.

Zeke paused above me, his fingers catching my tears. "You're my first and only love, Rain."

I smiled up at him, happier than I knew a person could be. "And you're my first love too. I didn't even know what love was until you showed me. Now it's my mission to love you just as thoroughly as you've always loved me."

He pulled back and reached over to the nightstand. He came back, grabbed my hand, and slid two familiar rings on my finger. Then he thrust back inside, shivering at the feel of us together at long last. "This is it. You and me, Rain. We're forever."

I slid my hands down to his glorious ass and pulled him into me harder, feeling that metal around my finger and knowing I'd never take it off. Never leave this man's side. Never want for anything beyond his love. "Make me yours, Zeke," I moaned.

And he did.

Three times that night and every night thereafter.