The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,6

tell her honestly.

“Crap, I can’t go back to your place, I don’t have a way to get in.”

“If you want to go back before I’m home, you can get in through the garage. The code is 2426.”

“Okay, thanks,” she says, flashing me a small smile.

“Bye, ladies,” I say to Jillian and Riley, and I guess Evelyn, too, before I head back out the door.

Once in my car, I pull out of the driveway and onto the road. I exit the gated community a couple of minutes later and make a mental note, once again, to check in with them when I return to find out how Erica got in last night. I still can’t believe that it was last night. On the one hand, it feels like it just happened, and on the other, it feels like that was so long ago.

I quickly make it to the clubhouse where I find a few of the guys already in the locker room getting ready to workout. Derek is in talking to one of the pitching coaches, so I stroll over to my locker and drop my keys and phone on the shelf, then sit down on the seat and change into my workout clothes.

“You ready?” I ask, stepping into the doorway of the office Derek is in.

“Just a minute,” he says. I leave him to finish up his conversation and make my way down the hall and into the weight room. I find Matt O’Riley and Jose Martinez, a first baseman and outfielder, respectively, already working out.

“Hey, man,” Matt calls out as he spots Jose as he lifts.

“Morning,” I call out as I grab a set of dumbbells and find a spot to start my reps.

“Heard you had quite the night,” Jose calls out once he’s finished his set.

“Yeah,” I grunt out between sets. “You can say that.”

“So, what’s the deal?” Matt asks as he switches with Jose.

“Don’t know yet. We’re going to do the paternity test later today. It takes a few days to get back. Once we have that, then my attorney can petition the courts for custody. At this point, I don’t think Erica will challenge it since she did drop the baby off at my doorstep and take off.”

“That’s fucked up, man,” Jose says.

“You’re telling me.”

“Do you believe her?” Matt asks.

“I don’t know what I believe. Erica’s timeline works out,” I answer before starting another rep.

We fall into silence, only our grunts from lifting heavy weights fill the room. Derek finally joins us about fifteen minutes into my thirty-minute workout.

“How’s Evie doing this morning?” Derek asks once we’ve finished up our workouts and are toweling off. I suck down half a bottle of Gatorade before answering him.

“Fine, as far as I know. Riley kept her most of the time. She didn’t say that anything was wrong. I did hear her mention to Jillian that she was up every few hours feeding her. Is that normal?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“Yep. Babies have small stomachs, they have to eat every two, three, sometimes four hours. The older they get, the larger their stomachs get, and the more they can eat in one sitting.”

“I’m so fucked,” I tell him, wiping the sweat from my forehead and neck. I never planned to have kids. I was perfectly happy with my bachelor's life, so to say this was a curveball, that’d be an understatement.

“You’ll figure it all out eventually,” Derek assures me.

Four

Riley

“So, how was your night?” Jillian asks as she snuggles Evelyn.

“It was fine. She was up a few times to eat and to be changed, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

“She's just so sweet,” Jillian muses as she sticks her nose into the crook of Evie’s neck and breathes in her fresh baby smell.

“She sure is. It makes me have baby fever,” I tell my sister-in-law.

“It’s a good thing I’m already knocked up, otherwise, I’d be jumping Derek when he gets home after snuggling this one today.”

“Ugh, I didn’t need to hear that,” I teasingly groan.

“Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t jump JJ if the opportunity presented itself?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I instantly feel the blush heat my cheeks. “Ummm…” I pause, thinking of how to answer her question. I’ve never had a conversation like this with Jillian, and it is not one I want to have right now. “No?” I finally say, but it comes out more like a question.

“I’ve told Derek a few times that I think the two of you would make the best couple. He’s never