Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance (29 page)

SEPTEMBER

Chapter 1

Junior

“Cary Pierce?!”

Ty nods, his eyes never leaving the road in front of us. “That’s what I heard.”

I blink, forcing my vision to focus but my head still spins. “No way. That’s impossible.”

“Before he retired, he said he’d like to coach a college team.”

“Most professionals say that on their way out,” I argue. “They usually don’t. There’s no way
Cary Pierce
is our new coach. Why would he even bother with a shitty school like ours?”

Ty grins and tilts his head, taking his eyes off the road for several dangerous seconds to glare at me. “Wanna bet?”

I’ve known Ty for two years now, ever since our freshman year. This is his
gotcha
face; his
I know something you don’t know
face.

“What do you know?” I ask.

“Make a right turn,”
his phone speaks, highlighting an upcoming road on the GPS map.

Ty barely slows down in time and makes a hard right turn. The car lurches and my guts shift as I grip my seatbelt a little tighter.

“I know,” he begins, “that my cousin, the real estate agent, just sold a big house just outside the city —” he points the map, “
this big house —
and had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before he met his client.”

I pause. “Really?”

He nods. “But we went out for drinks last night and he said he’d fucking kill to be
in my cleats
right now because our new coach is a retired,
four-time pro football champion—
”

“You are so full of shit, dude,” I scoff.

“Hey…” He holds up his hands and the wheel curves gently left, sending the car along with it. “Don’t believe me if you want but you’re gonna be sucking my dick later.”

“Just watch the road, man,” I urge, shifting in my seat to get a little more comfortable.

A suit and tie isn’t usually my style but the invitation the team received insisted on us looking our best to meet the new coach in order to pay respect to the last one — Marty Duncan. He’d been the university football coach for the last two decades until he finally keeled over last week — just two weeks before the first game of the season. The gentle, relieved sighs of the school board could be heard throughout campus for days as they celebrated the idea of bringing in some new blood after begging him to retire for years.

But
Cary Pierce
blood? Not a fucking chance.

Still, a bit of doubt seeps in as we round the dirt corner and the house comes into view. Scratch that — it’s not a house, it’s a damn mansion with a large, black gate surrounding it.

“Holy shit,” I say. “I didn’t even know this was out here.”

“Me neither,” Ty mutters.

We come to a stop at the front gate where a security guard emerges out of nowhere. He grins at us as Ty rolls down his window, flashing a pair of old, stained teeth. “Welcome, boys!” he greets. “Come to meet the new coach?”

“Yeah,” Ty says, scavenging into his back pocket for his invitation. He holds it out and the man waves us through.

“Have fun!”

The gate slides open slowly, adding even more annoying anticipation towards finding out who this mysterious new coach is. As Ty drives forward, his smug grin dances a little more on his face. Could he be right? Could we be driving towards professional football royalty right now?

I shake the thoughts away. We’re smack in the middle of a damn fly-over state. Cary Pierce is from New York City and he probably retired there as well, along with his millions.

“Whoa-o-o!” Ty laughs as we swing into the circle drive. His eyes flash around, taking in the perfect lawn and the huge fountain at its center.

Even my jaw sags a little. I grew up about a half a block from the bad part of town in a neighborhood that pretended to be nicer than it really was. My family got by just fine but never in a million years did I think I would ever step foot in a place as nice as this.

A man in a vest charges down the front steps and meets us at the end of the drive, signaling for Ty’s keys as we climb outside.

Ty passes them off, his grin stretching out even longer. “Valet parking,” he remarks, staring at me.

“It’s
not
Cary Pierce’s house, man,” I say, although I’m not even sure what to believe anymore. The valet drives off and I chuckle. “For all you know, that guy just stole your car.”

“Pfft,” Ty laughs. “Joke’s on him. Thing ain’t worth shit. He did me a favor.”

I chuckle and the front door opens before we even reach it.

“It’s about time, guys! The team is waiting on you!”

My jaw drops and I glance over at Ty as his mouth slides into a thin smirk.

Cary Pierce.
The
Cary Pierce. Four-time champion Cary Pierce, a man I’ve looked up to since I was ten years old, is standing in front of me. He looks exactly the way he did when I was a kid with the small exception of his black hair looking a little thin around the edges and the slight wrinkles taking hold of the skin around his eyes.

No fucking way.

He waves us in with a thick hand. “Well, don’t just stand there.”

We step forward and Ty takes the lead, shoving forward to shake hands with a legend. “It’s awesome to meet you, sir,” he says. “I’m Ty Fisher.”

“Fisher?” Pierce asks. “You know a Sal Fisher?”

“Sal’s my cousin.”

“Good man! He gave me a decent deal on this house.”

“And what a beautiful house it is!” Ty winks.

Pierce gestures him inside and his eyes fall on me. “And
you
must be Junior Morgan.”

I blink, taking his hand. “How did you know?”

“Process of elimination,” he shrugs. “You’re the only one I haven’t met yet — and you’re gonna have to work on that grip if you’re going to be my quarterback.”

My cheeks bleed red. I just gave the world’s daintiest handshake to Cary freakin’ Pierce.

“Sorry, sir!” I laugh, giving him a hard squeeze. The steel band of his championship ring presses into my skin.

“That’s much better! Maybe the tales of your legendary arm are true after all.”

He pats my shoulder and I feel like a little kid. He’s so much taller than I thought he was. I’m 6’2” myself, making him nearly 6’6” by my estimation and close to two-hundred and fifty pounds. He’s a damn truck.

“Well, I don’t know about that—”

“Never tone down your strengths, Junior,” he says, leaning in. “Even if you have to fake it.”

“Yes, sir.”

He shakes his head. “None of that
sir
stuff. Coach is fine.”

I beam like a damn jester in the presence of the king. “Thanks, Coach.”

“Come on out back,” he says. “We’ve got a lot to go over tonight.”

Ty and I follow him through the foyer towards the back, passing through a huge kitchen before stepping out onto the lawn. The air is thick with the scent of barbecue and burning charcoal. A perfectly landscaped garden rests in the center, along with a large pool and a pool house on the other side of it.

Our teammates linger around with sodas and plates stacked with burgers and chips. Ty instantly darts over to grab his own plate while I stand back, taking in the moment.

I’m in Cary Pierce’s backyard.

“Hey, Junior.”

A light hand brushes my shoulder and I lock eyes with Bob, our assistant coach. He’s been around the university for nearly as long as Duncan was. “Hey,” I greet him.

He chuckles at my expression. “Bit of a shock, eh?”

“More than a bit!” I laugh. “I thought for sure you’d be our new coach.”

Bob waves his hand. “With this old mug? Nah… I mean, I did, too, but when the school board called me about
this
… I didn’t argue with it. It’s what’s right for you boys.”

I nod. It hasn’t sunk in at all yet. Cary Pierce is our new coach.

“Hey, guys!” Pierce’s voice booms across the lawn, instantly grabbing our attention. He claps his hands together and scans the crowd, making sure to make eye contact with each one of us. “I can tell by the looks on your faces that I don’t have to introduce myself or list off my qualifications. But who I am isn’t important — you are. It’s an honor to meet you all. I look forward to getting some one-on-one time with each of you and, hopefully, being the coach you deserve.”

Ty nudges my ribs, practically giggling to himself with a full plate of fried food. I have no idea how any of them can eat right now. I can hardly even breathe.

“I’m coming in a little late here,” Pierce goes on. “The semester has already started and your first game is this Saturday. It was unfortunate to hear about your old coach. From what I’ve been told, he was a good man but from every tragedy comes opportunity. You know, when I told people I was moving here to be your coach, they looked at me and asked —
Why
? You’re Cary Pierce. You can coach anywhere you want. Why go to
that
school? They’re just a bunch of losers.”

I glance around, feeling the air shift and team’s morale plummets. We won one game last season and even less than that the year before. The term
loser
is more spot-on than we’d care to admit.

“No talent, no wins,” Pierce says. “You know what I said? I said they were right. You
are
a bunch of losers…” He glances around again, letting it all sink in on us. “But so was I. When I played college ball, I was nothing. We were nothing. We had stats not so different than yours right now. Then one day, a new coach came to town and changed everything. He trained us harder than we’d ever thought possible. He motivated us to not only change our minds about how we saw ourselves but to change everyone else’s mind as well. I want you to let me be that coach for you.”

I feel a boost of confidence, one I haven’t felt before in my entire life. The rest of the team stands a little taller, too.

“We went all the way to the top that season and the next one and the next one and
this
season, I’m going to do the same for you. My old coach died two years ago. Before that happened, I made a promise to change a few lives just like he did. I want to start with yours. How does that sound?”

The team erupts with shouts and applause, myself clapping louder than anyone.

Cary Pierce, our new coach. It’s a dream come true, an absolute fairy tale made a reality.

“All right!” he shouts, clapping with us. “I like the enthusiasm!”

I expected this semester to be awful in many ways. My classes aren’t great and I wasn’t planning on the team doing much better than last season, but
now
, with Cary freakin’ Pierce leading the charge…

We might end this year as gods.

Movement draws my eye towards the house, along with a sudden flash of light as the kitchen fluorescents flick on. A shape passes by the windows, short and petite with feminine curves. She rounds the island counter towards the refrigerator and my breath catches in my throat.

I step towards the house, my gaze locked on her body. She wears tight yoga pants and a baggy sweater that hangs off one shoulder. Her bare feet glide along the floor with bright, pink-colored toes. Long, brown hair sits on top of her head in a sloppy bun.

Complete, casual elegance.

I slide the outer door open to walk into the kitchen and she spins around with two bottles of water in her hands. I gulp my saliva down as her stunning, blue eyes flash at me.

“Hey—” I choke.

“Hi,” she says, kicking the fridge door closed.

“Who are you?”

She raises a brow. “Excuse me?”

“I mean…” I step closer to the counter. “I’m Junior.”

“Junior of what?”

“Just Junior,” I answer.

“Your parents named you
second best
?” she asks, giving a short smirk.

“My big sister used to say that,” I chuckle. “I proved them wrong.”

Her eyes jut up and down with skepticism.
“Have you?”

“Junior!” I spin around as Cary Pierce walks inside. “I see you’ve met my daughter, Eliza.”

Eliza.

“You interrupted the introductions, actually,” she quips. Her eyes move from his to mine. “I’m Eliza.”

She holds out her hand but his thick palm slaps my shoulder again.

“How about we head on back outside, Junior?” he says, not really asking. “I’ve got a few more motivational speeches in me and I’d hate for you to miss them.”

I nod. “All right.”

He tilts his head at Eliza. “I thought we agreed that you would stay upstairs tonight…”

She gives a quick smile. “Relax, Dad. I’m just getting us some water.”

“You have a sink upstairs.”

I glance up at him, jarred but the sudden hardness in his tone but it doesn’t seem to faze her at all.

“Whoops.
My bad
,” she says, spinning on her pointed toes. “It was nice to meet you,
just
Junior
.”

“You, too,” I add, feeling another tight squeeze on my shoulder.

As she leaves, the coach guides me away from the counter towards the back door. I crane my neck until it hurts just to watch her leave, aching to see more of that tight body but it disappears into the shadowed hall before I can memorize another detail of her.