Meant For Her (15 page)

Chapter 28

It turned out that Sierra never got the chance to see Evan before he left on his road trip the next day. By the time the game ended and the special holiday fireworks were over, she was exhausted. Since she’d brought Leo with her over to her parents’ house, and her grandma and Lane were staying there overnight, she accepted the invitation to stay with them. By the time she got home the next day, Evan was gone.

He’d had a great game, leaping out of his slump and going three for four with a two-run home run that sealed the win. The team had carried their success on the road. By the time July ninth rolled around, they’d won four of their last five games.

Her schedule was full while he was gone. She shot two portrait sessions, participated in three potential client meetings, and visited a couple of her aunt and uncle’s properties to get updated photos of available rentals to post online.

Her advanced photography class earlier that week had given her another opportunity to talk to Bastian, as well. Although he’d been convinced of her innocence by the e-mail she forwarded, she’d also shown him the text sent from his phone. He’d been seriously pissed off and apologetic, and he’d booked her for another big upcoming shoot even though Camille was still unavailable for questioning.

She’d gotten an A on the last project she’d submitted in her class, too. It now sat on the floor near her door waiting for the right time to hang.

All of her recent sessions meant that she had tons of editing to do, and today was dedicated to that task. She started first thing after her walk with Leo that morning and worked steadily into the afternoon. By three o’clock, she not only had the photos from both portrait sessions edited and sent to her clients for previewing, she’d also updated all of the websites featuring her aunt and uncle’s rental properties.

Once she wrapped up editing for the day, she handled a couple of property management calls. As she’d told Evan, she didn’t generally have to do much in this particular role. A few of the rentals, though, were in buildings without dedicated managers on-site, which meant she had to handle things remotely. That afternoon, she’d coordinated the servicing of an air-conditioner at one property and the renewal of a lawn maintenance contract at another. They were small tasks and she didn’t mind them. She actually enjoyed the variety in her workday.

At four-thirty, she heard the door to Evan’s apartment open. Geoff was there for the boys’ evening walk and play time. He came over at least twice a day, but his schedule was unpredictable. Thus, it had been harder for her to avoid him than she would have liked.

She hated that she felt that way. He was always nice when they saw each other and hadn’t given her any reason to dislike him. She just wasn’t comfortable around him. Maybe that was because she knew he was more interested in her than she was in him. It felt unfair.

Glancing at the clock, she debated what to do. He’d know she was home because she had her music going, so it wasn’t like she could shamefully hide away until he left. He’d knocked on her door a number of times over the past five days to ask if she wanted to walk Leo with them, and she’d felt too guilty to refuse. She supposed she could take Leo out now, before Geoff had time to get Miller and Beck uncaged and ready to go. That way, she could walk in a direction other than normal and hopefully avoid interacting with him.

Feeling like a thief, she clipped on Leo’s leash and grabbed her bag, locking the door on the way out. She hadn’t even taken two steps down the hallway when she heard a loud growl, followed by a vicious snapping of jaws and a loud curse from Geoff.

She broke into a run, reaching for Evan’s door handle without thinking twice. Geoff hadn’t locked it, so the door flew open. She saw Geoff clutching his hand and frowning down at Miller, who was growling up at him with bared teeth.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, hurrying into the apartment.

Geoff’s head whirled in her direction. “
Sierra
. Oh, hey. Well, I seem to have gotten Miller here worked up.”

“I see that,” she said, easing closer to Miller. “What happened?”

“It was my fault. Miller was eating and I reached down to get the water bowl so I could fill it. I must have startled him. He bit me.”

“Oh, no!”

She bent down and held her palm up for Miller to sniff. He wouldn’t take his eyes off of Geoff. The scruff on the back of his neck stood on end. She’d never seen either of the boys this defensive.

“Where’s Beck?” she asked, her gaze focused on Miller.

“He’s still in his cage. I didn’t want to let him out until we were ready to walk because of the injury.”

“Okay.” She looked up and noticed that Geoff was staring at her. “Are you in pain? Maybe you should wash your hand. I’ll work on getting Miller to calm down.”

“Sure.” He gave her an embarrassed smile. “You probably think I’m a real dumbass. You’d think this was my first time dogsitting.”

“I think no such thing,” she said, giving him a smile that she didn’t feel. “Now go on and take care of that.”

He nodded and walked around to the kitchen sink. Sierra turned her attention back to Miller, whose growling eased when Geoff was out of the immediate vicinity. Leo came up and nudged Miller, issuing a small whine.

“What got you so worked up, sweetie?” she whispered to Miller, rubbing his fur. “Are you extra irritable since Evan’s been gone for a while? Well, he’ll be back in a couple of days. You just need to hang in there.”

By the time Geoff returned and loaded Beck in the wagon, Miller had calmed down. He still looked wary when he studied Geoff, but he didn’t growl again when Geoff put his uninjured hand palm up like Sierra had done.

“That’s right, big guy,” Geoff said in cheerful tones, his smile back in place. “I’m sorry I’m a dumbass and reached near you while you were eating. Forgive me?”

Miller sat down and looked between Geoff and Sierra, his tail wagging. Sierra almost sighed with relief.

“Looks like all is forgiven,” she said.

“Looks like.” Geoff grabbed the boys’ leashes and clipped them to their collars. “Since you’ve got Leo ready to go, what do you say to a group walk?”

Unable to get out of it gracefully, she smiled and said, “Sure.”

They headed down the hall and got into the elevator. The silence as the car descended felt oppressive.

“So, how’s the world of outdoor sporting goods these days?” she asked out of desperation.

Geoff had mentioned that in addition to dogsitting, he worked part-time at a large recreational warehouse full of outdoor sporting goods and camping equipment. He appeared to be about the least outdoorsy guy she’d ever met, but figured it wasn’t a requirement to be an outdoorsman just to sell the equipment.

“It’s just as stimulating as always,” he chuckled. “Summertime is pretty busy for us, so at least I get some decent hours.”

“That’s good.”

They reached the lobby. She practically leaped out of the elevator, grateful to be among more people. When Geoff gave her a questioning look, she smiled and shrugged.

“Leo tugged a little extra hard there. Guess he’s ready to be outside.”

“I know how he feels,” Geoff said with another laugh. “It’s nice to be outside after being cooped up inside all day.”

“You didn’t have any other dogs to walk today?” she asked as they crossed the street.

He looked ahead toward the park. “Nope. Not today.”

“Oh.”

Once again, the silence felt uncomfortable. She tried to think of a change in subject, but there wasn’t much else she knew about him.

“Getting to be about dinner time,” he observed as they passed a food truck serving gyros and cheesesteaks.

Uh oh
.

“Yeah. I’ve actually got plans, so I’ll have to get back home soon. No dillydallying.”

Lord, she was a terrible liar. She actually loathed lying. Why was it she felt more comfortable with the idea of blustering through a lie than sitting through a dinner with Geoff?

“Oh,” he said, sounding dejected. “Sure. I’ll bet you’ve got plenty of dates lined up…a nice, pretty girl like you.”

Guilt plagued her. She couldn’t do this to him.

“I don’t, Geoff,” she admitted. “But there is someone in the picture. Someone serious.”

“I see.”

“I should have told you before,” she rushed on. “But the truth is—”

“You didn’t want to hurt my feelings.” His smile this time was self-deprecating. “I’ve heard it before.”

She wasn’t sure what else to say. While part of her wanted to say something that would help assuage his ego, she couldn’t bring herself to tell yet another lie.

“Do you forgive me?” she asked.

It took him a beat to look at her, but when he did, his smile was firmly in place. “Of course, Sierra. Let’s get back so you can get to your dinner date.”

She didn’t bother trying to correct his misunderstanding of her plans for the evening. She was just glad to be heading back home.

Chapter 29

Evan got a row to himself on the evening flight home from Miami on July tenth. Cole was sitting in the back beside the pitching coach, reviewing strategy for the next series. Thank God they weren’t flying out in the morning like Evan had thought. He was ready to spend the night in his own bed. He wanted to see his dogs again.

And, as much as he tried to deny it, he missed Sierra.

He’d been surprised that she hadn’t come home on the fourth after the game. He’d planned on catching her out on her balcony and maybe inviting her over for a beer. It had been harder than he’d thought not getting to see her before leaving for almost a week.

There had been a few times when he’d considered texting or calling her, but he couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t make him sound pathetic. So he didn’t.

His teammates who had seen him interacting with her at the stadium asked about her. He endured some good-natured ribbing from them, especially from Cole. When Matt Jensen had reasoned out who everyone was talking about, his complexion had turned purple.

Thinking of Matt made Evan recall the incident a few nights ago when he’d nearly taken a line-drive to the eye. He’d just started fielding balls at BP before the game. Larry Uhre was at the plate and hit a solid liner right to Evan. At the last second, Evan saw the hole in the webbing of his glove. He barely ducked in time to have the ball go whistling through his glove and over his head.

Someone had messed with the glove’s stitching. His first thought went to Jensen. Just like with the twisted cleat, the damage to his equipment was minimal, but it could have resulted in serious injury if he hadn’t caught it. Since Jensen didn’t have the balls enough to face him directly, the subtle, juvenile sabotage made sense.

The problem with that theory was Jensen hadn’t attacked Sierra before the cleat was damaged, so Evan hadn’t had any beef with him then. He supposed the reason that Matt wanted him gone as third baseman was still valid enough to prompt the sabotage, though.

In any case, he knew to keep a closer eye on his equipment now. He’d had a conversation with the equipment manager about it, too. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any further incidents.

“Can I get you anything, sir? Another beer?”

Glancing over from the dark window, he saw the blonde flight attendant who had introduced herself earlier as Lynn. He’d seen her on a couple of their other chartered flights. Her dimples reminded him a bit of Sierra. She appeared to be in her mid-to-late thirties and had friendly brown eyes. Since he was one of the few guys in the front of the plane who was still awake, he guessed she was bored out of her mind.

“No, thanks,” he said. “We’re getting close to landing. Better cut myself off.”

“I hear you.” Since he was in the first row for the extra legroom, she leaned against the cabin wall. “These late flights leave me itching to do something. I’m used to having two little ones and my husband constantly needing me. Having free time when I’m getting paid for it feels sacrilegious.”

“Maybe you should take a load off,” he said. “Relax while you can.”

She laughed. “That just isn’t in my physical makeup. So, is Atlanta your permanent home, or do you live elsewhere?”

“No, not permanent.”

She tilted her head when he didn’t elaborate. “So, no ties to anywhere, then?”

He thought of Sierra, whom he’d known for only a month. When before he’d been sure he wanted to keep moving, certain that he didn’t want any attachments of any kind, she somehow made him question himself.

“I know that look,” she said. “There’s someone who’s turned your head, isn’t there?”

“Something like that,” he admitted.

Smiling, she patted his shoulder. “Let me give you some advice, honey. If this person’s giving you a reason to consider shaping a future that scares you, either a little or a lot, then hold onto ‘em. Trust me, that’s just what you need.”

The overhead lights flashed and sounds dinged in the cabin, signaling their descent. Lynn glanced up as one of the other players flagged her down.

“Thanks,” he told her.

“You bet. Good luck.”

Her words ran through his mind as he climbed into the chartered car for the ride home. He could admit that the thought of considering a future that involved a commitment to anyone terrified him. Love meant loss, or at least the potential for it. Despite what Lynn had said, he knew that as long as he felt that way, he wouldn’t be good for anyone.

It was just after eleven when he got out of the car at the apartment building. He felt even happier to be home than he’d expected. The closer to the building he got, the quicker he walked. He had to consciously slow himself down as he reached the lobby.

“Hi, Mr. Dorsey,” said the night manager.

“Hi, Everett. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

“Not much. Ginny Moreland had her baby.”

“Did she?” He vaguely remembered the hugely pregnant woman at the barbecue. “What did she cook up?”

“A boy. Nine pounds, eight ounces.”

He whistled. “I’ll have to remember to congratulate the family when I see them. Don’t work too hard up here.”

“No, sir.”

He shook his head at himself as he got into the elevator. When had he gotten into small talk? First with Lynn and now with Everett. It was like he was making an effort to be sociable.

Something was seriously messed up with his head.

The elevator doors opened. Seeing the familiar hallway made one corner of his mouth turn up. As he approached Sierra’s apartment, his heart rate sprung into a gallop. He decided to screw his routine and knock on her door first.

No sooner had he lifted his hand to knock than the door to his apartment opened. Frowning, he wondered if Sierra had snuck into his place again.

He realized right away that it wasn’t Sierra. It was a tall male with long, blond hair and enough silver in his ear to slay a den of werewolves.

“Mr. Dorsey?” the male said, his hand on the door handle. “I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow.”

Evan recognized his voice. The dogsitter, Geoff.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said. “They managed to get us out early.”

“Ah, cool. Well, the dogs are great. They’re in their cages, but I’m sure they’ll be happy you’re home so they don’t have to stay in there.”

“I’m sure.”

Glancing back at Evan’s door, Geoff said, “Um, sorry it’s so late, by the way. My schedule has been a little unpredictable with my other job.”

“As long as the dogs are happy, I’m happy.

“Awesome. So, unless I hear otherwise, I’ll pick back up again on the nineteenth.”

“Sounds good.”

Evan wondered why the guy didn’t step away from his door and head to the elevator. He kept smiling like he was in on some joke that the rest of the world missed.

Eventually, Geoff started forward. His eyes moved from Evan to Sierra’s door and back again.

“If you’re looking for Sierra, she’s not in,” he said. “She had a date.”

“A date?”

“Yeah.” Geoff shrugged. “Apparently there’s some guy. She says it’s pretty serious.”

Evan stepped away from her door and gave Geoff a nod. “Good night,” he said.

“Good night, Mr. Dorsey.”

Heading to his apartment, Evan battled his reaction to Geoff’s revelation. Sierra was involved with someone? When the hell had that happened? What had all of the kissing been about if she was seeing someone else? How had he not heard of this person?

Stepping into his apartment, he locked the door and set his bag down just inside the door. Then he stood there, trying to figure out how he could possibly be so disappointed when he had convinced himself that he wasn’t interested in a future with Sierra anyway.