Veer (Clayton Falls) (33 page)

“Is that a threat?” I couldn’t help laugh
ing
a little.

“Absolutely. It’s not that I really care about Gavin’s love life, but he seemed happy for the first time in years
,
and I don’t think he can take getting his heart broken again—especially over something as stupid as your insecurities.”

“Hey! Who are you to talk to me this way
?
”

“Someone has to, and you don’t have a brother to do it. Okay?”

“Okay.” There was actually something refreshing about
that
phone call
,
as bizarre as
it
sounds.
I guess sometimes it helps when someone points out the obvious.

The more I thought about
it,
the more the idea of writing a letter appealed. It couldn’t hurt
. M
aybe we could salvage something.

After hanging up with Brody
,
I dug out a legal pad
and wrote a letter. I folded
it up and searched around for an envelope. Giving up
,
I ended up asking Mrs. Mathews for one. She didn’t ask what I needed it for
,
and I didn’t tell her.

I
drove over to
Gavin’s
when I knew he was still at work and
made myself get out of the car and sl
ip the envelope under his door mat
. Hopefully
,
he’d at least read it.

Chapter
Thirty
-Two

Gavin

I saw something white sticking out from under the door mat
when I got home from work
. I swiped it before walking inside. It was late
,
but as soon as I realized who it was from
,
I woke up right away. I made Max wait while I read the letter.

Dear Gavin,

I know this probably seems very middle school
,
but I didn’t have the nerve to call you. I’m sorry. I never should have said the things I did. I was scared
,
and I took it out on you. There’s nothing wrong with your life o
r what you do. I’m the one who’s
going nowhere. I hope you’ll forgive me eventually and maybe even look back on what we had fondly.

All the best,

Becca

It wasn’t the most amazing apology letter eve
r
,
but it was what I
needed to hear. I changed, taking Max to do his business out front before rushing him back inside. He could wait for a walk
.
I locked up and got right in the car
.

I knocked on her door, impatient when I didn’t get an answer. I knocked again—still nothing. Damn it
,
where could she be?

“She’s not here.” Mr. Mathews came out
his back door
.

“Oh. Do you know where she is?” I hadn’t bothered to check if her car was out front.

“She went down to the beach.”

“At night?”

“She asked to borrow a flashlight
. T
hat’s all I know.”

“Thanks.” I got back in my car and headed to the beach.

I noticed her car parked about a block away. I smiled
. S
he was making sure to avoid a ticket
this time
. I parked right behind her car.

I got out and jogged the rest of the distance. Now that I got it in my head to talk to her
,
I didn’t want to wait.

She
stood
right at the shoreline looking up at the sky.

“Nice night out, huh?”

She turned around
,
and I got my first look at her face. She’d been crying. “Hi,
I guess you read my letter.
” She looked down.

“Yes. Thank you for it. I probably should have just come
to
talk to you sooner.”

“I’m the one who started it.” She looked up at me like she was afraid of what she’d see.

I could
n’t
stand to watch her so upset
.
I
closed the distance between us, pulling her into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.”

“Do you think you can get out of work a little early tomorrow? I need to go somewhere
,
and I want you to come with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. And I promise it has nothing to do with my family.”

“Gavin
,
I’m—”

“You already apologized
. J
ust say you’ll come.”

“Okay.”

We walked down the beach together
,
and I resisted the urge to invite her home with me. I
wanted to, but I needed to wait.

***

Becca always looked so good dressed up. I picked her up right after work
,
and she was still in a fitted skirt and a blue
button-
down shirt. She definitely seemed to wear blue more now.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
s
he asked as I drove us out of town. “You’re dressed up
,
so I’m getting a bit apprehensive.
”

I guess a dress shirt and slacks were pretty dressed up for me.

“We’re going to a game.”

“A game?”

“A baseball game.”

“Are you being intentionally vague
?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Is everything okay?
”
She put a hand on my leg. “You seem stressed.”

“Yeah, I’m just anxious about something.”

“
Y
ou’re not still mad at me, right?”

I looked over at her
.
I’d missed her more than I wanted to admit. “No. I was never really mad, just upset.”

“That’s not much better.”

“Well, I’ve upset you too. I guess we’re even.” I
put a hand on her leg this time
.

“Is this a special game? I assume by the direction we’re headed
that
we’re going to a Durham Bull’s game
,
but I doubt you’d dress up for just a regular ball game…”

“Yeah
,
you can say that.”

“Okay, keep your secrets.”

I laughe
d. “It’s not a big deal
,
Becca
. I
t’s just a game I said I’d go to
,
and I wanted you to come with me. I thought you might want to see where I played.
”

“I definitely do!” I loved
that
she was actually excited. She wasn’t making it up.

“Okay, good.”

I got off at an exit I hadn’t used in years and headed into
Raleigh
. We had a few hours before the game, just enough time to grab some dinner.
I knew exactly where to take her.

“
T
his used to be my go-to
place for a steak. It wasn’t as good as
my favorite place
back home, but it helped get me through my years here.”

“
S
ounds good.”

I parked
at the Angus Barn
,
and we walked in. I couldn’t help notic
ing
the way eve
ry guy in there checked her out.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to
the
attention
Becca attracted
. She seemed oblivious to it. I loved that about her. We were seated in the corner
,
and Becca barely looked at her menu before setting it down.

“You know what you want already?”

“Just order me what
ever
you get.”

“Seriously?”

“Completely. You talked the steak up so much
.
I’m going to have to try it.”

She squinted a little
. I
t was nice to see her back in challenge mode. “Okay, if you think you can eat it.”

“I can. I skipped lunch so I could leave early
.
I’m starved.”

“You skipped lunch? Why didn’t you pick som
ething up?” She was thin enough;
skipping meals was not cool.

“I was trying to finish up my last project
. T
oday was my last day
.”

“But you don’t leave until next week…”

“The Morgan
s told me to take it off and they’re insisting on paying me anyway. Kind of crazy. I was going to just head home, but now…” She trailed off
,
but I knew what she meant.

“Don’t leave this weekend.”

“Okay.”
She bit her bottom lip
.
I hadn’t noticed her do
ing
that in a
while.

I ordered for us both and waited to see how she’d do.

I laughed to myself when the waiter set down her steak in front of her. It had to be at least thirty-two ounces.

“Here goes nothing,” she mumbled before starting to eat.

She tackled it. She didn’t actually finish
,
but she
got
close.
We barely talked while we ate
. S
he was too determined.

She wiped her face with a napkin. “You were right
. T
hat is good.”

I laughed. “I know. Are you ready?”

“
Yes
, but I’m not sure if I can move.”

“Sure
,
you can.” I paid the bill
,
and we walked out.

We got back on the interstate
,
and I headed toward Durham. Turning off,
I took the long route to the stadium, deciding to drive past my old loft. I always picked lofts.

I turned into the large parking lot, selecting the first empty spot I could find. We made the short trek to the entrance, and I found myself both anxious and surprisingly excited about going inside.
Hold
i
ng
Becca’s hand in mine definitely helped.

I checked in at the ticket sales counter, and the clerk
told
me to go around. I led Becca and went in through the side door
where we were
met by a suit
-clad man
I was sure I’d never met before.

“Gavin Powell, we are so excited you were able to make it tonight!”

“Yeah well, I decided I’d actually make this one.”

Becca looked at me quizzically
. S
he was still trying to figure out what made this game unusual.

“Thanks for getting your husband to come tonight
. I
t’s such a treat to have him here.”

I expected Becca to jump all over that comment considering our earlier fight
,
but she calmly replied
,
“Just boyfriend
. H
e decided to come on his own.”

“Either way, we’re so glad he’s here.” The man, who still hadn’t introduced himself
,
handed us t
w
o passes on lanyards. “Let me show you to your seats.”

We were escorted to two seats behind the dugout, and I loved watching the look of excitement cross Becca’s face. I felt pretty excited myself. There was just something about being in a stadium. Even when baseball was a job
,
the excitement was still there.

“
T
his is really cool.” She grinned.

“You like the seats?”

“Like?”

I laughed. She really did love baseball as much as I did.

“Do you want anything to drink? To eat?”

“Are you kidding? Did you not see me eat that entire cow?”

“Entire cow? Not quite, but I’m going to get some popcorn anyway.”

I ran back out and came back with popcorn and two beers.

The Bulls were playing the Charlotte Knights, and the first few innings were fairly uneventful. Finally, in the fourth inning
,
the Bull’s managed two runs. Becca got really into it, jumping out of her seat
and everything
.