Page 32 of Third Time Lucky

Chapter Six

Joey

While JD and his friend Fiona banter over the breakfast menu, I can’t help rehashing what I learned on the drive over.

Elliot, aka EJ Ransom, aka Flash.

Flash? Really? No one sees his resemblance to the other guy?

It has something to do with his fastball. He’s spent almost five years in the big leagues, gone to three playoffs and owned a few most valuable player awards. Not a showboat off the field or a household name, but in certain circles, he’s kind of a big deal.

Oh, and he’s a pitcher. A pitcher. Because the universe is taunting me.

The rumor mill was apparently churning as to the reasons why his replacement took over for him halfway into the season. Everyone agreed it had to be something big, because the EJ they knew was “all about the game.”

Either the reporters were respecting his privacy or he’s got a crack team that’s managing to keep it off the radar, because Derek didn’t mention knowing anything about a daughter.

That’s good news, as far as I’m concerned. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be to get to know Rue under a constant spotlight.

Derek doesn’t just know everything about baseball, he also knows this city like the back of his hand. Impulsively hiring him might be the best decision I ever made. All I had to do was pick a topic and he turned into my own personal Wikipedia.

On Bellamy House:

“The police chief caused a stir when he announced it at the same event where he was reinstated and came out on camera. Busy day, but he was smart to do it like that, since all that publicity ended up being good for the project. The whole city came together for those poor kids.”

On the Finns:

“The best people you could know. Period. It doesn’t matter to me what they do in their personal lives or who they love. That family is full of heroes.”

This wasn’t really new information. I already knew that Bellamy Demir—husband to one of those heroic Finns—had funded the build for the youth center extension and started the foundation to keep it running. I knew that children and young mothers had gotten help there that they hadn’t been able to find at the temporary shelters or through an already overburdened social work system.

If Rick and Matilda hadn’t found me, I would have needed a place like Bellamy House to survive.

It’s a good sign that the town is so emotionally invested, and I know it has a lot to do with my brother’s friends. It looks like JD was right. The Finns are a bit like the Kennedys here. Only gayer.

More gay?

I was disappointed when Derek refused to come in for breakfast, mostly because I was hoping to use him to keep JD from noticing I’m not exactly myself. Thankfully, Fiona is more than enough to keep him occupied.

She’s incredibly pregnant. As in, I’m surprised she isn’t on bedrest or already in the hospital. That kind of pregnant. And she definitely has a glow. Whether it’s from impending motherhood, or the fact that she has two adoring men at home who love and care for her, no doubt giving her daily orgasms before they wash all the places she can’t reach in her last trimester, is anybody’s guess.

“I still can’t believe he moved here. Permanently.” JD is talking to Fiona but looking right at me.

I force a brotherly smirk. “Blame yourself. If you don’t want the rest of us descending on your bliss, you need to stop talking this place up every time we call.”

I don’t take the nervous twitch at his temple personally. JD has always been wound a little tight, but he’s been doing better since Carter, the Zen former drill sergeant, started rubbing off on him.

There’s a lot of rubbing, based on what I saw the other morning.

I’m never going to get that out of my head, am I?

“He’s teasing you, JD,” Fiona assures him, giving me the stink eye. “Your parents have the time-share specifically for visits, and the rest of your brothers are busy with their own lives and happy where they are.”

It’s easy to see why Fiona is a therapist, full time now at Bellamy House since her duo banned her from working in the pub at this stage of her pregnancy. And she’s exactly the kind of friend I’ve always wanted for JD. Someone who gets him the way I do, sees beneath the wit and worry he uses to keep people at a distance, and accepts him unconditionally.

Everybody deserves a Tani of their own. Though mine is still the OG.

The waiter sets down our breakfast with a shy smile in my direction before his eyes widen on Fiona.

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