The Curve Ball (Indianapolis Lightning Book 2) Read online

  JJ: They made me just a little bit ago. After Jillian got here, she changed her into a new outfit and then handed her over to me for a little bit. I felt like I was going to break her. Riley also taught me how to change her diaper this morning. That was an event in and of itself.

  Derek: I felt the same way when Addison was born. But you’ll get used to it. Just take one day at a time. And welcome to diaper duty. There will be days you wonder how something so vile can come out of something so cute.

  JJ: I called Coach and told him what was going on. I told him I might need a couple of personal days. He told me to keep him informed.

  Derek: Are you going to go to practice this afternoon? I’m sure, between Riley and Jillian, they’ll be more than happy to keep Evelyn for you.

  JJ: I probably should. It would probably do me good to hit the gym and some balls today.

  Derek: I’ll see you there.

  I place my phone onto the nightstand and head for the shower. After tossing and turning all night, I was up bright and early this morning to get a call in to my lawyer and another to Coach.

  With things in motion on the paternity front, I can’t dwell on the unknown, just move forward and deal with everything as we get more answers.

  With my shower done, I pull on a team T-shirt and some basketball shorts.

  “I was going to head into practice if you don’t mind staying here by yourself?” I ask Riley as I walk into the living room where she’s on the couch. She looks a little tired this morning. I overheard her telling Jillian that Evelyn was up every three hours last night, hungry. That stopped me in my tracks. How often does a baby need to eat? How am I ever going to do this without someone’s help? Fuck, I might need to call my mom to come to stay with me for a while.

  “We’re good here. I think little miss will enjoy some time in the swing while I grab a quick shower,” Riley replies.

  “Do you need help moving anything?” I ask, looking around again at everything Jillian brought over. I wasn’t lying when I told Derek earlier that it looks like the baby department from Target exploded in my living room. Between the giant boxes from the swing, stroller, and pack-n-play, to the piles of clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, and formula, this baby has taken over my house in the span of a few hours.

  “I’m good. Do you have a room that you want me to set up as a nursery? I can move all of this into it and get it out of the living room.” She asks, pointing to the assembled pack-n-play and swing.

  “Umm…” I stammer. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I guess we can make the room next to the one that you slept in last night the nursery. Did Jillian get everything that I’ll need for a nursery?”

  “She didn’t get a crib or changing table, but the pack-n-play will work for both for now. Once you get everything figured out with the paternity and custody, you can go buy furniture.”

  “Okay. If you think of anything else I might need in the meantime, here’s my credit card, you can go pick it up or order it online and have it delivered,” I tell her, pulling one of my cards from my wallet and handing it over. I don’t take Riley for someone that would run out and run a balance up with random shit, so I feel comfortable handing over my card and giving her free rein with it.

  “Thanks,” she says, a small smile pulling at the edges of her lips. My eyes lock on those lips, and I have to shake my head to stop the thoughts from forming of them wrapped around my cock. “Hey, do you think you could give me a ride over to Derek’s before you leave? My car is at his house.”

  “Sure, I’m ready when you are.”

  “Let me just go grab the diaper bag and make sure it is packed, and then we can head out. Do you think you can put Evelyn in the car seat?” she asks.

  “Ummm…” I hesitate, “I guess I can try. You might have to show me how the buckle works.”

  “That I can do. Give it a few days, and you’ll be a pro at it,” she says, flashing me a full-fledged smile.

  I warily pick Evelyn up, making sure to support her neck like both Jillian and Riley showed me. I place her in the car seat and pull the straps over her shoulders. That’s where I stop. The buckle is weird, and I have no fucking clue how to use it. I take the time to look at Evelyn. I take in her little button nose, her wispy, baby-soft dark blond hair. I don’t miss the fact that it’s the same color as my own. I don’t think that she doesn’t look like me, but I also don’t think she does. But what do I know, I’ve never paid that close attention to what babies look like or who they resemble. I’ve only really been around a few teammates’ kids, Derek’s specifically.

  “Did you get it figured out?” Riley asks, pulling my attention back to the present.

  “Nope,” I tell her, shaking my head side to side.

  “It is not that hard,” she says as she pushes me out of the way. She grabs both parts of the buckle and crosses them over each other. “All you have to do is just cross these two over each other, line them up with this and secure them into the bottom part.” We hear the buckle click as she shows me how to do it. “And to unbuckle, you just press this button and pull up on these, and they’ll come out. Give it a try,” she suggests, since she’s now undone the latch.

  I grab both straps and fumble with aligning the two parts correctly.

  “You’ve got it, just straighten them slightly, and you’ll be okay.” I do as she says, and sure enough, they fit together like they should and easily slide into the latch. “Now that you know how to work the latch, you need to learn about the straps. The chest clip should always line up with her armpits, and you should be able to pinch the straps and not have any slack. It isn’t safe for there to be a lot of room between her and the straps. If you don’t have them tight enough and you were in an accident, she could slide out of the seat. She also has to be facing backward for a while. It’s safest for babies, even toddlers.”

  I look at her with a confused look filling my face. “Come again?” I say, dumbfounded.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get you all up to speed.” Riley pulls on a strap hanging from the bottom of the seat. It tightens down the straps holding Evelyn into the seat.

  “That isn’t too tight on her?” I ask.

  “Nope,” Riley says. “You want it tight enough that she isn’t going to slip out in an accident, but not so tight she can’t breathe. As long as when you attempt to pinch the strap at her shoulder and your fingers slip off and don’t pinch extra strap, you know it’s tight enough.”

  “Okay, are you ready?” I ask, not in any position to question what she has to say about anything to do with Evelyn.

  “Yep, let's go.” She tosses the strap of the diaper bag over her shoulder. I lift the car seat and follow Riley out to my car.

  “So, how does this go in here?” I ask, opening the back door of my car.

  “The middle is the safest place, so let’s put it there. I’ll see if I can find you a base for this type of seat. That will make getting it in and out much easier. You won’t have to deal with the seat belt each time.” I watch as she places the seat in and expertly straps it in for now.

  “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d be doing if it wasn’t for you helping me out,” I tell her as I back out of the driveway.

  “I’m happy to help. I love kids, and Evelyn is such a good baby.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” I tell her as I slip on my sunglasses. I roll down the street, keeping my speed on the lower end since so many people are outside playing in the beautiful weather that we’re having lately. Springtime in Indianapolis can be hit-or-miss, depending on the year, and this one has been no different. Warm one day and freezing-ass cold the next.

  We make it the few blocks over to Derek and Jillian’s house. I kill the engine after parking in front of the extra garage bay door.

  I step out of the car and watch as Riley gets the car seat out of the back. She flings the diaper bag over her shoulder and the seat in the crook of her arm. It is evident that Riley has done this many times and looks like a pro
doing so. “Can I help with anything?” I offer before she gets too far ahead of me.

  “I’m good,” she says as she pushes open the door leading us into Derek's garage, and then into their house.

  “Hey! How’s it going?” Jillian asks as we enter the kitchen.

  “Good. I had JJ bring me by on his way to practice so that I could grab my car,” Riley answers her.

  “How’s this sweet little thing doing?” Jillian asks as she takes the car seat from Riley.

  “She’s been an angel,” Riley states. I watch as Jillian sets the seat down and unclips the buckle, loosening the straps so that she can easily remove Evelyn from the seat. I know she’s got two kids of her own, but she makes it look so simple.

  “I’m going to head out, is Derek still here?” I state.

  “You just missed him. He left maybe five minutes ago,” Jillian tells me as she glances at the clock.

  “Okay, I’ll see you guys later. Should I come back here to pick her up, or will you go back to my place?” I ask.

  “I guess that more depends on how long you’re going to be gone,” Riley states.

  “A few hours. I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly.

  “Crap, I can’t go back to your place, I don’t have a way to get in.”

  “If you want to go back before I’m home, you can get in through the garage. The code is 2426.”

  “Okay, thanks,” she says, flashing me a small smile.

  “Bye, ladies,” I say to Jillian and Riley, and I guess Evelyn, too, before I head back out the door.

  Once in my car, I pull out of the driveway and onto the road. I exit the gated community a couple of minutes later and make a mental note, once again, to check in with them when I return to find out how Erica got in last night. I still can’t believe that it was last night. On the one hand, it feels like it just happened, and on the other, it feels like that was so long ago.

  I quickly make it to the clubhouse where I find a few of the guys already in the locker room getting ready to workout. Derek is in talking to one of the pitching coaches, so I stroll over to my locker and drop my keys and phone on the shelf, then sit down on the seat and change into my workout clothes.

  “You ready?” I ask, stepping into the doorway of the office Derek is in.

  “Just a minute,” he says. I leave him to finish up his conversation and make my way down the hall and into the weight room. I find Matt O’Riley and Jose Martinez, a first baseman and outfielder, respectively, already working out.

  “Hey, man,” Matt calls out as he spots Jose as he lifts.

  “Morning,” I call out as I grab a set of dumbbells and find a spot to start my reps.

  “Heard you had quite the night,” Jose calls out once he’s finished his set.

  “Yeah,” I grunt out between sets. “You can say that.”

  “So, what’s the deal?” Matt asks as he switches with Jose.

  “Don’t know yet. We’re going to do the paternity test later today. It takes a few days to get back. Once we have that, then my attorney can petition the courts for custody. At this point, I don’t think Erica will challenge it since she did drop the baby off at my doorstep and take off.”

  “That’s fucked up, man,” Jose says.

  “You’re telling me.”

  “Do you believe her?” Matt asks.

  “I don’t know what I believe. Erica’s timeline works out,” I answer before starting another rep.

  We fall into silence, only our grunts from lifting heavy weights fill the room. Derek finally joins us about fifteen minutes into my thirty-minute workout.

  “How’s Evie doing this morning?” Derek asks once we’ve finished up our workouts and are toweling off. I suck down half a bottle of Gatorade before answering him.

  “Fine, as far as I know. Riley kept her most of the time. She didn’t say that anything was wrong. I did hear her mention to Jillian that she was up every few hours feeding her. Is that normal?” I ask, dumbfounded.

  “Yep. Babies have small stomachs, they have to eat every two, three, sometimes four hours. The older they get, the larger their stomachs get, and the more they can eat in one sitting.”

  “I’m so fucked,” I tell him, wiping the sweat from my forehead and neck. I never planned to have kids. I was perfectly happy with my bachelor's life, so to say this was a curveball, that’d be an understatement.

  “You’ll figure it all out eventually,” Derek assures me.

  Four

  Riley

  “So, how was your night?” Jillian asks as she snuggles Evelyn.

  “It was fine. She was up a few times to eat and to be changed, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “She's just so sweet,” Jillian muses as she sticks her nose into the crook of Evie’s neck and breathes in her fresh baby smell.

  “She sure is. It makes me have baby fever,” I tell my sister-in-law.

  “It’s a good thing I’m already knocked up, otherwise, I’d be jumping Derek when he gets home after snuggling this one today.”

  “Ugh, I didn’t need to hear that,” I teasingly groan.

  “Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t jump JJ if the opportunity presented itself?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow at me.

  I instantly feel the blush heat my cheeks. “Ummm…” I pause, thinking of how to answer her question. I’ve never had a conversation like this with Jillian, and it is not one I want to have right now. “No?” I finally say, but it comes out more like a question.

  “I’ve told Derek a few times that I think the two of you would make the best couple. He’s never been a fan of that idea, got pissed off at me for it once,” she says as we move from the kitchen to the living room where the girls are playing and watching something on Disney+.

  “I don’t think I’m his type,” I tell her honestly.

  “I don’t think that boy knows what his type is,” she says, laughing. “But, I also think that when he finds a woman that has potential, he’ll change his ways to be with her.”

  “Why’s that?” I ask. I don’t know a ton about JJ, but what I’ve figured out from the amount his name and picture gets posted in the media, and what Derek has mentioned over the years, paints him as the classic sports star playboy. The guy that jumps from model to actress to whatever next beautiful woman is waiting to hang off his arm.

  “He’s never been in a relationship since we’ve known him, or at least one that he’s told any of us about. He likes to party and be unattached. So, as I said, I don’t think he even knows what his type is.”

  I scrunch my nose up at her confirmation of my suspicion that he’s nothing more than a playboy. “Yeah, no thanks. I have no desire to be the girlfriend at home while he’s out being flashy and cheating on me.”

  “Has he said anything about you helping him with Evie until he can get things figured out?”

  “We’re supposed to talk about it more today. I told him I hadn’t found a job yet, so if he wanted to hire me as a full-time nanny, I am available.”

  “That would be perfect for you!” she tells me, flashing me a huge smile. “Think of all the time we could spend together with the kids. Penn and Addy would love having you and Evie around all the time.”

  “That would be fun,” I agree with her just as Evie starts to wake up and squirm in her arms. She lets out the cutest baby cries. I reach for the diaper bag and pull out a diaper and the wipes just as Jillian lays her down on the couch. She snags a receiving blanket from the top of the bag to slide under Evie before she unzips her sleeper and starts changing her diaper. While she does this, I grab the bottle I packed in the bag and add the formula to it, shaking it up so that it is ready for her once she's all put back together. “Want me to take her?” I offer once Jillian zips the sleeper back up and coos at Evie.

  “I can.” She picks Evie back up and cradles her against her chest as she reaches out for the bottle. I hand it over and watch as she offers it to Evie, who immediately accepts it and starts sucking it down greedil
y.

  “Mommy, can I hold the baby?” my oldest niece Addison asks as she stands in front of Jillian.

  “Maybe in a little bit. Evie’s eating right now.”

  “Okay, Mommy,” she says, and then climbs onto the couch between us.

  “Come here, munchkin, Auntie needs some snuggles,” I say as I reach for her. She starts to giggle before my fingers even graze her skin as I tickle her side.

  “Auntie,” she belly laughs. “Don’t tickle me if you want snuggles.” She finally gets out, and I stop and pull her into my lap.

  “How’s my favorite five-year-old?” I ask as I push some of her curls from her face.

  “I’m not five yet,” she dramatically tells me.

  “You’re not?” I playfully question her.

  “Not until next month,” she reminds me as if I didn’t know when her birthday is.

  “Ohhh,” I exaggerate. “Are you going to have a party?” I ask, even though I already know all the details.

  “Yes!” she practically yells right in my face due to her excitement. “A big party!”

  “Awesome, think I can come?” I ask her, squeezing her in a hug as I do.

  “Of course, Auntie Ry. You’re my favorite,” she tells me with a smacking kiss to my cheek.

  “You’re my favorite,” I tell her, kissing her on the cheek in return. “What do you want for your birthday?” I ask, keeping this conversation going as Jillian stops to burp Evie.

  “A pink bike and helmet, a sparkly dress, a new baby doll, and clothes, um…” She stops to think, tapping her cheek with a finger as she does so.

  “Wow, those are some pretty cool things,” I tell her.

  “Auntie Ry, is that your baby?” she asks out of the blue as we watch Jillian cuddle with a now very relaxed and full Evie.

  “Nope. That’s JJ’s baby. I’m just helping him watch her while he’s at work.”