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—Isaiah—
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“Shit, Mama, are you okay?” I practically tripped over myself to get to Holly. She looked about ready to pass out. “Did your shopping not go okay? I knew I should have gone with you. Who said what?” I demanded, feeling wrath gather in my gut.
Her reddened eyes reluctantly met mine, and my heart burned to see grief in them.
“It’s not that...” She sniffed. “I saw Elio and his mom at the grocery store.”
My heart dropped. “I see,” I said softly, guiding her to the couch. “It didn’t go well?”
“It was fine, aside from it being obvious that Elio is losing his battle. He looked so frail, Isaiah. I just wanted to pick him up and take it all away, and when he looked up at me with his distant eyes, he still managed to smile.” Her lower lip trembled at the memory.
Scooping her into my arms, I sat with her cradled on my lap.
“Just breaks my heart,” she murmured into my shoulder.
“Life ain’t fair sometimes, Mama.”
That was what it boiled down to: life ain’t m’fuckin’ fair. Especially when it came to sick kids.
Holly sucked in a large inhale, then her chest deflated. “I just wish I could have done—or could do—more.”
“I know, babe. But that ain’t your fight. Was he happy to see you?”
She sat up and her face lit just like it used to when she talked about Elio. “The happiest. We had the biggest hug.”
I smoothed wayward wisps of hair from her face. “Then you did good.”
“He also helped me find the beans.” A little smile came. “No matter what he’s going through, he’s always the sweetest.”
“Hmm, reminds me of someone else.” I searched her face until her eyes finally connected with mine.
She offered another small smile and leaned into my palm. “Thanks.”
With her face in my hand, I wasn’t the slightest bit sorry that my heart turned smitten around her. “Why’d you get beans?”
“I’m going to make us enchiladas. Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas, to be exact.”
My eyes narrowed. “Black Bean?”
Holly climbed off my lap and stretched. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Black beans have a bad rep for no reason.”
I snorted and rose to my feet after her, already feeling lost without her close. “Mama, they have a bad rep because they taste like bad ass.”
She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you mind helping me bring in the groceries?”
“Of course.” Having failed at making her laugh, I followed her to the garage. In fact, I’d follow that lush booty anywhere. Hell, it took me to Gatlin Falls of all places. No other pussy had come close to me contemplating making a plane trip.
I gathered all the bags from the trunk of Holly’s Tesla—because fuck doing two loads—then halted when she emerged from the back seat holding two large pie boxes.
My brows lifted. “You took a trip to Sandy’s without me?”
Guilt pulled her plump lips into a grimace. “Sorry, I was already out. And I know two is overkill, but after seeing Elio I just... I needed comfort food, okay. Then I couldn’t decide which flavor, so—”
“Babe,” I cut her off before she stressed herself out. “I’m not judging, and I’m absolutely down for two. Whatever you want, every time.”
Holly’s shoulders dropped in relief and fuck it made my heart ache to see her so worked up.
“What flavors you got, Mama?”
“Salted caramel pecan and marionberry,” she murmured, finally lifting her downcast eyes.
I grinned and dashed my head to the side. “I’m four seconds from droppin’ these bags and snatching them pies from your hands. Inside, now.”
Genuine amusement finally tugged at the corner of her mouth. “They’re my pies, Isaiah,” she teased, putting extra sway into her hips as she led the way into the kitchen.
“I’mma eat your pie too, babe. But the million-dollar question is, which pie first?”
Snickering, she breezed around the counter as she always did, and set the pie boxes on the kitchen island.
“I’m a why choose kind of girl.” She rummaged through the cutlery drawer while I set the shopping bags on the opposite counter, then brandished two forks.
I couldn’t help but snicker as I took her into my arms. “Hungry, huh?”
“A little.” The angelic giggle that escaped her mouth had me shaking my head. Damn her for making me fall.
After she flipped open both pie lids, her innocent gaze re-met mine. She paused. “What?”
Grinning, I sat up on the counter next to her. “Nothin’, Mama.”
“No, go on. What were you thinking?” she pressed while digging a forkful of marionberry pie.
“Just about how fucking cute you are,” I admitted.
The loaded fork paused at her mouth. “I’ve been crying, there’s nothing cute about that.”
I plucked the second fork from her grasp, then leaned down to kiss her. “You’re still beautiful.”
“Now I know you’re lying,” Holly drawled.
Snickering, I dug myself a chunk of pecan pie. “You ’n I both know I don’t lie, Mama.” The instant the pecan hit my tongue, I closed my eyes and hummed. “This is what I’m talkin’ ’bout. You, babe, are a keeper.”
She smiled to herself. “I know.”
We ate in silence for a minute, letting our thoughts settle, and focused on how damn good the pies were.
“Hmm, I might bring some pie to your game tomorrow,” Holly mused aloud.
“Bring extra to the locker room afterward.” She would anyway, but I felt the need to stipulate that shit.
“As soon as Coach lets me enter, you know I’ll be there—pie ’n all.”
I pointed my fork at her. “No sharing with Scout. That greedy m’fucker will eat it just to spite me.”
“No promises. You know what he’s like.”
I chuckled—I knew exactly what Scout was like—then stilled to watch my girl eat more pie. The little dance she did when the next mouthful hit her tongue had me grinning like a fool.
She’d made my house a home and unlocked my heart without trying. Oh, how my life had changed in the last couple of months. For the better. All because of Holly. It had been turbulent for a while after we got back to Portland, but now that the scandal had died down to give way to other ‘breaking news’, we were able to get on with a semi-normal life. Between baseball and her throwing herself into the family business, we led a busy lifestyle. Moments like these—the simple ones—were ones I now craved most.
Holly glanced up, did a double take, then tilted her head in question. “What’s that goofy look for?”
When I didn’t answer right away, she popped a marionberry forkful into her mouth and chewed sassily.
I shook my head and chuckled. “I love you, Mama.”
Her chewing halted, then crunched down twice more before she forced the swallow.
Bright eyes filled with trepidation searched mine. “You do?”
God, she was beautiful. Sexy. Sweet and caring. Determined and independent.
I dropped my fork blindly onto the counter and pulled her between my open knees. A powerful surge of affection like no other came over me as she slid her arms around my torso.
My throat tightened and my voice came gritty. “Yeah, Hols. Feels weird to say it, but I do.”
An odd expression came over her face. One that had my lungs clamping. “I was afraid you’d say that someday,” she whispered.
The burn in my chest compounded. I wanted to pull back, but my fingers clamped tighter on the nape of her neck. Dare I admit it, I was m’fuckin’ terrified.
“Afraid of me loving you?” I asked, unable to stop feeling butthurt.
Her fingers tickled up my spine. “Yeah.”
“Why?” I released her, only for her to haul me back in with a sharp tug on my shirt.
The gaze that saw directly into my soul made time stand still. “Because it makes this real.”
“Mama, we are real!” I exclaimed.
“What I mean is, there’s no going back now. Not even if you want to.”
“There was never any going back for me.” Not from the instant I saw her at the ballpark. All shapely legs and glossy hair and forbidden stamped all over her thanks to Scout. I knew from the moment I kissed her that one taste would never be enough, and here I was tellin’ her how I felt only to be consumed with insecurity.
“Me neither...” Holly finally added.
Those two shaky words had me torn between hugging her close and holding her at arm’s length.
“Say it,” I ground out. Call me a pussy, but I needed to hear her unspoken words out loud.
She worried her lower lip for a second, then pinned me to the spot with her electric hazel gaze. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.
“So, there was once this guy,” she started, “who was only meant to be a one-night thing. A bit of fun, you know. He could have walked away and ignored my world burning down, but instead he chose to stay and fight. Somehow, he knew when to be firm and when to be soft, and somewhere between one day and the next, the small-town girl fell for the baseball hotshot. Even while standing in his kitchen eating pie, she still has to pinch herself.”
“Really?” The m’fuckin’ grin on my face couldn’t get wider if I tried. “And this is our kitchen, babe.”
Holly nodded, beautiful with her shy smile. “Really really.”
I got a little cocky and thumbed over my shoulder. “I mean, ’cause if you wanna leave, the door is right there.”
Laughing, she tried to pull out of my embrace. “I’ll just collect my stuff.”
“The fuck you will,” I growled, anchoring her to my chest.
Her rich laughter bounced around the kitchen. The best goddamn melody I’d heard. I took her face in my hands and tilted her mouth up to meet mine. She tasted sweet against my tongue. Fruity in contrast to the caramel pecan on mine.
My lips spliced against hers in a slow cadence, leisurely devouring her. I’d kiss her all afternoon if it were humanly possible to survive without breathing.
With plump lips reddened and cheeks tinted a pretty hue of pink, Holly smiled up at me. “I suddenly have a hankering for pecan.”
I pulled her close again and uttered against her mouth, “And I have a never-ending hankering for you.”
