Page 29 of Stopping Short

“Nah, we love it. Cord and Macy, Cici and Covey, Wheeler, Smithy and Liliana, Schmidt and Winnie, Leo, and a lot of the guys from the Pythons and the Pirates teams. I think the only person who doesn’t live here from the starting lineup is Holden. I’m sure he’ll buy Leo’s house as soon as he moves back to Mulberry Lane. That’s how I got my house. When Cici and Covey moved in together, I jumped at the chance to buy their other place.”

“That’s crazy. Does anyone live here that doesn’t play professional sports?”

“A few, but not many. I think the ones that do are looking to move.” He chuckles. “We’re good neighbors, but they know they don’t fit in here. They also know they can easily sell their homes whenever they want. They just need to tell one player from each team and they’ll have a dozen offers before the end of the day without anyone even looking at the house.”

Jackson pulls into the driveway of a gorgeous rancher. There’s another gate that he drives through and it shuts behind his car. I wonder if he has a sensor or if he pressed a button and I didn’t notice. Either way, the extra level of security definitely helps my nerves.

He parks his car inside the garage and closes the door, watching the entrance to the garage the entire time. He turns towards me when we’re safely locked inside.

“Are you ready to see your new home away from home?”

“Yeah… Do I bring my stuff inside tonight?” I glance in the back of the car and sigh. I filled up the entire SUV and I don’t want to deal with any of this tonight.

“How about I give you a t-shirt and pajama pants to borrow? We can worry about all of this tomorrow. I'm exhausted and you look like you could fall asleep again. I think we both need a good night’s sleep before we try to tackle that.”

“When do you go back to work?”

“I'm supposed to be at practice tomorrow, but I'm going to call Owen and discuss that with him.” He runs a hand through his hair, looking more than a little flustered.

“No, you don’t need to do that.”

“It’s fine. Owen would kill me if I don’t tell him what’s going on. He’ll want to know and then he’ll tell me how to handle everything.” He rolls his eyes with a grin. I know he’s said Owen’s like having another dad. He’s always offering advice and trying to help his players. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s get inside and I can show you around.”

Chapter 20

Jackson

It’s weird seeing her in my space. In my home. I’ve known Harper for so much of my life, yet she’s never been in my home. For the past four years, she’s been away at college. Before that, I was in college and playing in the minor leagues. We always stayed in close contact, but we weren’t living near each other.

It’s almost odd to be around her.

Almost awkward.

“You can pick any of the spare bedrooms to stay in,” I say after I’ve given her a tour of the entire house.

“Ok…” She trails off, glancing down one hallway and then the other.

There are two spare bedrooms on each side of the house, but one of the ones next to my room was turned into an office. I’m not sure if she wants to be closer to me or not. I have no clue how long she’ll be staying here and maybe she wants her space… or maybe she’s scared and wants to be closer to me.

“Hey,” I whisper, closing the space between us. Harper stares up at me with big blue eyes. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and watch her carefully. “If you’re more comfortable staying closer to me, then take that room. Or if you want space, take one of the rooms on the opposite side of the house. I don’t mind either way.”

“I'm scared,” she admits, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Then we know where you’re staying.” I take her hand in mine and lead her towards the room next to mine.

Flicking on the lights, I quickly double check the windows are locked and pull the shades down. I’ve checked every door and window while I gave her the tour, but I can’t seem to stop. I want to know she’s safe with me.

“If you need anything at all, come find me. I don’t mind if you wake me up, so please don’t hesitate to come to me. Got it?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Let me grab you some clothes to change into.”

I leave her room and enter mine, going straight to my dresser. As I'm searching for the smallest clothes I have, I tug my phone out of my pocket and dial Owen’s number.

“You better be back in town,” he mutters as soon as he answers the phone.

“I am…”