Page 5 of Love's Home Run

“See you later. Are you two going to be at Jake’s tonight?” Taylor asked.

Melissa and Ross exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

“Meet us there,” said Melissa. She wanted to take advantage of her day off. “The more the merrier.”

“I’ll tell Cooper and ask my sisters to try and meet you,” said Taylor.

“Thanks,” said Melissa. “And ask others, too.” She didn’t dare mention Dirk’s name.

“Yeah, maybe Dirk,” said Ross helpfully.

He helped Melissa turn the canoe around, and they took off again. She didn’t intend to discuss it with Ross, but maybe having Dirk see her with Ross might make him think of her as someone he’d like to get to know better. Anything was worth a try.

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By the time they were back at the neighborhood marina, Melissa’s arms were aching, but she didn’t mention it. Ross’s knees might be in bad shape, but there was nothing wrong with the rest of his body. He didn’t seem the least bit tired.

After storing her paddles and life jackets, Melissa walked with Ross to their houses.

At the end of her driveway, she turned to Ross. “Thanks for going out on the lake with me. See you later. Come at six. We’ll have drinks and an early dinner.”

“It was pleasant. I’m glad you’re not a big talker like some women I know.”

“Sometimes it’s pleasant to let the lake do the talking.”

He smiled. “I’ll try to remember to bring that up when I’m with Dirk.”

CHAPTER THREE

When the doorbell rang that evening, Melissa was busy making twice-baked potatoes with a mushroom and cream mixture. She raced to the door, pleased to see Ross was on time. It didn’t matter much in this case, but sometimes she cooked a meal for others, and timing was critical. When she opened the door, she saw he’d put on a golf shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, perfect for a summer night.

He smiled and held up a bottle of red wine. “My favorite. For tonight.”

“Thanks,” Melissa said and checked the Chandler Hill Inn label. “You have good taste. Let me decant the wine right away, so it’ll be perfect with dinner.”

Ross followed her into the kitchen and stopped to look around. “You can tell a chef owns this kitchen. Mine is sparse compared to this.”

“I’m thrilled I was able to save enough money to build this house and design the kitchen. It’s fabulous to be out of the tiny house on my parents’ property and to have a place of my own. I love every day that I live here.”

Ross studied her. “That’s a great way to see things. I like my house too.”

Melissa decanted the wine and handed him a plate of homemade mini-cheese-and-bacon quiches. “Thought we could have these while we wait to cook our dinner.”

“Ah, bacon. A way to a man’s heart.”

Melissa poured the red wine into two glasses and handed him one. “Let’s sit on the porch. If we stay here long enough, we might be able to see a deer. In the evening, a couple of them sometimes like to graze along the edge of the woods.”

“We’re lucky, aren’t we?” said Ross, sitting in a chair and looking out at the landscape.

She sat on the couch. “We certainly are. I know you grew up in New Jersey and have three older brothers. What was that like? Though I desperately wanted some, I never had siblings.”

“Being the youngest of four boys could be tough. No one wanted me to tag along, but when my mother assigned one of them to keep an eye on me, they didn’t dare refuse. Especially after she got sick with cancer. Now, my father is dying from a different cancer, and I try to make it to New Jersey as often as I can to visit him.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents. It’s heartwarming that you try to visit home often,” Melissa commented.

“I was only nine when my mother died. My dad used to help coach my baseball team and spent a lot of time with me, working to hone my skills. I owe a lot to him for helping me become a professional baseball player, among other things. What he didn’t do to keep me in line in other ways, my brothers did.”

“Are you still close to them?” she asked.

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