Page 51 of Playing for Keeps
“Good news. A scout from the Miami Marlins was at my game this week. He’s already reached out about a meeting.”
Caroline grabbed Justin’s arms. “Are you serious? That’s huge!”
Justin shrugged. “The Marlins would be a good team.”
Blinking, Caroline ran back through the conversation. “Wait. You said Miami?”
He slowly nodded. “Florida.”
Florida. Not just the northern part of Florida. South Florida. As in thousands of miles away from their home in Colorado.
“I hear it’s sunny there,” she said, smiling through the choking fear of the unknown.
Their future was still unwritten, but one thing was for sure. They could tackle whatever came their way together. She’d have to tell her family that not only was she dating Justin McKinnon, but she was pretty sure he would propose soon and they’d move wherever his career took him.
Working at The Cakery was all she’d ever wanted to do, but there were bakeries everywhere. She’d find her place and be happy anywhere as long as she could be by his side.
She gently wiped at the dried blood on his face, wishing she could erase it all. “I’m so proud of you. Your dreams are so much bigger than mine.”
Justin brushed a hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and letting his fingertips trail down her face. “My best dreams are about you.”
19
JUSTIN
Present Day
Staring at the photos was messing with his mind. The bruises, the cuts, and the tear-stained cheeks were still there in living color.
Abuse calls were the worst. Well, not the absolute worst, but sometimes it was easier for Justin to work the vehicle collisions. At least those wounds were usually accidental.
It was the mother that bothered him the most. She’d been beaten black and blue by the time she called for help. The young boy had finger-shaped bruises on his arms and a cigarette burn on his chest.
The entire afternoon was all too familiar. Justinknew how the bruises would turn purple and yellow before slowly disappearing. He knew how the burn would sting as it healed. He knew the boy would remember the smell of seared flesh and the thud of a fist hitting the delicate bones of his mother’s face.
Justin focused on the report he was supposed to be typing, but the blank page only provided a canvas for his unwelcome memories. At least this time, the woman and her kids had a chance to make it out. She was getting medical attention and being transported to a safe house.
“You okay?” Cody walked to the desk with a steaming cup of coffee.
“Yeah. Just trying to process.” Justin clicked away from the photos on the screen and flipped through his notebook to where he’d written his notes about the domestic abuse call.
Cody rested the mug on the end of the desk. “I’m sorry, man.”
Justin tapped the end of his pen on the edge of the mug. The heat rising in his chest was justified in any case like it, but it seemed to burn hotter when the memories added fuel to the fire. “Thanks. I can handle it.”
“The good news is that no one has filed a report on Chuck in months.”
Justin looked up at his friend. Cody grew up in Redemption Ridge, and everyone knew Chuck’s tendency for violence. It wasn’t a secret that Justinused to come to school black and blue. Child services had visited a few times, but his dad had always flown just under their radar.
Justin hadn’t been anything more than a dependent on Chuck’s income taxes, but half the town was afraid to cross the man who had no boundaries. Laws were suggestions in Chuck’s world.
Now, Justin knew how to pick out people like that. He’d met one today—a man who’d looked Justin straight in the eye and told him his wife had deserved the hits she took.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing,” Justin confessed. “He likes to bide his time.”
Justin wouldn’t mistake his dad’s silence for surrender. Chuck had highs and lows like the Rocky Mountains. The fact that Justin hadn’t heard from his dad since moving back to town was disturbing. Chuck didn’t live next door to the Taylors anymore, but he’d be terrorizing someone else soon enough.
Cody scoffed. “Man, he’s a piece of work.” He slapped his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “You can’t save the world, but you’re doing a great job of helping people one call at a time. You know that, right? I’ll keep praying. ”
