Page 29 of Lucky Baller
“Uh… there’s a bag of croutons in the cabinet there.” I point to the cabinet by the fridge. I quickly avert my gaze back to thesalad in front of me to keep from drooling over him. I am holding a knife, after all. I need to stay alert or I fear I could lose a digit.
“Plates?” he asks, taking the lid off the Crock-Pot and bending closer to inspect the contents or maybe smell it; I’m not really sure.
“Above your head. There’s a spoon in the drawer in front of you.” I can hear him messing around, and with a quick glance, I see he’s plating each of us some of the chicken casserole.
“This smells fantastic. What’s it in?”
“Just chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, milk, salt and pepper, and some boxed stuffing.”
“Easy enough.”
“Do you cook?” I ask him.
“I know my way around the kitchen, but I don’t do it often. Cooking for one isn’t much fun. I always make breakfast. Hitting practice on an empty stomach is not fun. I eat a lot of takeout or at Henry’s. What about you? From the looks of this, you know your way around a kitchen, too.”
“I can cook. I just don’t do it often. Like you said, cooking for one is not so fun. I had planned to eat this all weekend and then take the leftovers to work for Autumn, Jeremy, and JJ on Monday.”
“I’m sure they appreciate that.”
“They do. It happens pretty much every time I cook. I hate the idea of food going to waste.”
“Yeah, me too. Eating out is easier.”
“I eat a lot of frozen meals, which I know isn’t exactly the healthiest option, but it works.”
“Sounds like the two of us should share more meals together.”
Deliberately ignoring his words, I turn to face him, saying, “Here you go.” I hand him his bowl of salad. Grabbing my bowl and the two bottles of dressing, I place them on the table.Landon already has our plates with two forks, so there’s nothing left to do but drinks. “What would you like to drink? I have water and lemonade, and I think I have a bottle of wine….” My voice trails off as I try to remember if I do, in fact, still have a bottle of wine.
“Water is fine. I’ll grab it. Sit.” He points to the seat next to his at the table, where he places my plate. It would be rude to move to the opposite end of the table to get some distance from him. He’s so… big and commanding, and he makes my tiny house feel even smaller.
“So, your folks live in Georgia?” he asks, taking a bite of his salad once he’s seated.
“My mom does. She loves it there.”
“Good for her.”
“What about you? Does your family live nearby?”
“They do, actually, about an hour from here. I still don’t get to see them as much as I’d like. They make it to all of my home games, and we usually have dinner afterward. Sometimes Mom cooks at my place. She thinks that she still needs to take care of me.”
“I can imagine that’s a feeling, or need rather, that never goes away once you have kids.”
“That’s what she tells me.” He takes a bite of his casserole, his salad bowl now empty. “Wow, this is really good.”
“You doubted me?” I feign being shocked.
“Never.” He takes another big bite. “You want kids?” he asks.
Luckily, I’m in between bites or I might have choked. “Yes. Do you?”
He nods. “Yeah, one day. At least two, if not more. It was lonely growing up as an only child.”
“Right?” I say, nodding. “I was always allowed to have friends over, but it isn’t the same. Not only that, but I’ll never be an aunt, not by blood anyway. Well, I guess if my future husband has asibling who has kids, I will. But for now, JJ is the closest thing to a nephew for me.”
“You know, I never really thought about that.”
I shrug. “I begged my mom for a sibling when I was little. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood that she needed a man to make that happen. My dad never knew about me. I guess he was just passing through. They spent a magical week together, and then he was gone. She didn’t know how to reach him, and when she finally found him, he was married. Mom just figured it was easier to let it go. I was eight at the time.”
