Page 92 of No More Secrets
They took in a matinee at a second run theater that served beer and baked goods out of its concession stand. And then they carved out time for an early dinner at a crowded Irish pub around the corner before hailing a cab to their surprise destination.
Yankee Stadium.
Carter kicked back in his legendary blue seat with a prime view of home plate. A seven-dollar beer tucked into the cup holder.
“Very good surprise, Summer.” He riffed the bill of the baseball cap he bought her.
“I had a feeling you’d enjoy this traditional New York pastime.” She cheered with the rest of the crowd at the crack of the bat.
“I used to come here with my father and brothers,” he told her, eyes scanning the field.
“Really?” She settled back in her seat and sampled the wine that came in a little plastic bottle.
“It was Mom’s Father’s Day gift to Dad every year. Pierce Men Day, she’d call it. I realize now that it was actually a gift to herself getting us all out of the house at the same time.”
“Can’t really blame her.”
“We had some good times on those trips,” Carter said. “Once, Jax got lost on his way back from the bathroom. We spent the entire fifth looking for him. Turns out he was entertaining some big wig with a box and we got to watch the rest of the game from up there.” Carter pointed at the glass walled suites.
“Do you miss him? Your father I mean.”
“Every damn day.” Carter sipped his beer. “I barely made it home in time to say good-bye.”
“Were you deployed?” Summer asked.
“Yeah. The Red Cross got Beckett’s message to me.”This is it. Come home.“I was on the next flight home. They got me as far as Albany. Jax picked me up and drove me to the hospital going ninety in the car the whole way. That’s when it started to sink in.”
Summer linked her fingers with his and he squeezed.
“He looked so ... small in that hospital bed.” He sighed. “Nothing like the John Pierce who could take all three of us when we ganged up on him in the pond.”
“He must have been so proud of you, of all of you. The soldier, the lawyer, the writer.”
“I didn’t get to spend much time with him in his last years.” A regret he still carried. “Neither did Jax. But Beckett was there for it all. He kept it all together until I could come home.”
“And now you’ve all come home again,” Summer reminded him.
Jax’s brewery, Carter remembered. It was an idea that he’d put on the back burner. But it warranted careful consideration.
“I keep dumping all of my sad stories on you,” he said, changing the subject.
“I like understanding how you turned into the fascinating, sexy man before me.”
She said it without a hint of irony and he bit back a sigh.
Summer was hiding something. Something big enough to scare her. But he would wait. And when Summer was ready, she would share. For now he would enjoy a warm summer night with the beautiful woman who held his heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The fireworks lit up the East River in a showy shower of color and flash.
Another holiday, another holiday party. Summer had planned to take two days of vacation time and spend them with Carter in Blue Moon. The town’s Fourth Festival was apparently legendary.
However, when Katherine personally requested her attendance at the rooftop party hosted by a major department store, plans had to be changed. Especially when she mentioned that some senior staff members were starting to take notice of Summer’s work. Things were falling into place, and in a few short years she could follow her own dreams.
Carter was understanding.
But understanding didn’t make up for the distance. In fact, it made her miss him more. The summer was high season on the farm, which meant Carter’s free time was nonexistent. And combined with her renewed efforts to get back on top at work, they hadn’t seen each other since his weekend in New York.
