playing with his phone, he’d gotten to play with hers too. Would she remember the app he’d asked her if he could download?
The Family Finder was a GPS link to loved ones. She would always know where he was and vice versa. He’d wanted it on her phone so she’d always know he was safe in his hotel for the night and not hanging out at strip clubs when the team travelled.
But right now? The app served a bonus double duty and told Grady exactly where to find his missing wife.
Chapter Two
‡
A lone in the back parking lot of a rest area off the Florida Turnpike, Melanie swiped a tear off her phone.
It had seemed cruel to keep ignoring Grady’s calls, but she was in no position to talk coherently. After leaving the Orange County courthouse she’d jumped in the car and started driving. She’d chosen the Turnpike to put distance between her and what she’d just done. But she had no idea where she was going. She’d pulled over into a rest stop when Grady’s texts had started coming in so she could read them and reply.
Now, she unbuckled her seatbelt so she could pull on a sweater over the clearance sale dress that had nearly sucked the life out of her back at the courthouse. The cinching bodice had eased a little once the hyperventilating stopped, but she’d also cheated and edged the zipper down a few inches to give herself some room.
Outside her car, a man walked with a small dog on a leash. Melanie double-checked that her doors were locked even though there were others at the rest stop. She might be having a breakdown, but she had her wits about her enough to keep an eye on her surroundings. Keep herself safe.
Or at least, she managed to protect her physical safety. She hadn’t been smart enough to protect her heart from a certain charming athlete with a killer smile. Hadn’t her mother told her she’d better be careful of the ballplayers? That had been back when she’d taken her first part time job at another spring training facility when she was just twenty years old. She hadn’t had the time or the finances to go to college with her father’s restaurant teetering on bankruptcy and her mom’s drinking escalating. So Melanie had waitressed for her dad, helped keep an eye on her mom and picked away at an online degree that—God willing—she’d finally receive at the end of this summer.
Her father had been a promising college athlete once, so her mom understood the appeal. They were a baseball family, after all. Die-hard fans. But shoulder surgery had sidelined Melanie’s father and he’d spent years circling through farm teams without ever making a big league roster again. He’d taken it hard, but he’d recovered. Melanie’s mom, on the other hand? Still bitter.
Was it any wonder she hadn’t told her parents about Grady? It would be a drama worthy of a Jerry Springer episode. Her cell phone dinged from a drink holder, the charger connected. She scooped it up.
Our marriage was NOT a mistake. A second message arrived on her phone with a cheerful chime. We need 2 talk.
Talk? She wasn’t sure she could even string together coherent thoughts much less speak.
Hell, she wasn’t even sure where she was. She’d just driven. She looked around the rest stop outside her windshield but didn’t see any tips. Just the standard brick bathrooms. Vending machines. And picnic tables.
Her eyes went to the GPS that Grady had bought for her twenty-sixth birthday. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was telling her about her location, but then she hadn’t read the manual. What made him think she’d ever be able to handle life as a major league player’s wife when she couldn’t even navigate her way around her home state? She’d been too busy crying her eyes out to notice the signs along the highway.
She still couldn’t believe he’d really wanted to marry her. He had married her, for crying out loud. Who did that?
As she felt around the console for her box of tissues, her eyes fell to the floral
The Family Finder was a GPS link to loved ones. She would always know where he was and vice versa. He’d wanted it on her phone so she’d always know he was safe in his hotel for the night and not hanging out at strip clubs when the team travelled.
But right now? The app served a bonus double duty and told Grady exactly where to find his missing wife.
Chapter Two
‡
A lone in the back parking lot of a rest area off the Florida Turnpike, Melanie swiped a tear off her phone.
It had seemed cruel to keep ignoring Grady’s calls, but she was in no position to talk coherently. After leaving the Orange County courthouse she’d jumped in the car and started driving. She’d chosen the Turnpike to put distance between her and what she’d just done. But she had no idea where she was going. She’d pulled over into a rest stop when Grady’s texts had started coming in so she could read them and reply.
Now, she unbuckled her seatbelt so she could pull on a sweater over the clearance sale dress that had nearly sucked the life out of her back at the courthouse. The cinching bodice had eased a little once the hyperventilating stopped, but she’d also cheated and edged the zipper down a few inches to give herself some room.
Outside her car, a man walked with a small dog on a leash. Melanie double-checked that her doors were locked even though there were others at the rest stop. She might be having a breakdown, but she had her wits about her enough to keep an eye on her surroundings. Keep herself safe.
Or at least, she managed to protect her physical safety. She hadn’t been smart enough to protect her heart from a certain charming athlete with a killer smile. Hadn’t her mother told her she’d better be careful of the ballplayers? That had been back when she’d taken her first part time job at another spring training facility when she was just twenty years old. She hadn’t had the time or the finances to go to college with her father’s restaurant teetering on bankruptcy and her mom’s drinking escalating. So Melanie had waitressed for her dad, helped keep an eye on her mom and picked away at an online degree that—God willing—she’d finally receive at the end of this summer.
Her father had been a promising college athlete once, so her mom understood the appeal. They were a baseball family, after all. Die-hard fans. But shoulder surgery had sidelined Melanie’s father and he’d spent years circling through farm teams without ever making a big league roster again. He’d taken it hard, but he’d recovered. Melanie’s mom, on the other hand? Still bitter.
Was it any wonder she hadn’t told her parents about Grady? It would be a drama worthy of a Jerry Springer episode. Her cell phone dinged from a drink holder, the charger connected. She scooped it up.
Our marriage was NOT a mistake. A second message arrived on her phone with a cheerful chime. We need 2 talk.
Talk? She wasn’t sure she could even string together coherent thoughts much less speak.
Hell, she wasn’t even sure where she was. She’d just driven. She looked around the rest stop outside her windshield but didn’t see any tips. Just the standard brick bathrooms. Vending machines. And picnic tables.
Her eyes went to the GPS that Grady had bought for her twenty-sixth birthday. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was telling her about her location, but then she hadn’t read the manual. What made him think she’d ever be able to handle life as a major league player’s wife when she couldn’t even navigate her way around her home state? She’d been too busy crying her eyes out to notice the signs along the highway.
She still couldn’t believe he’d really wanted to marry her. He had married her, for crying out loud. Who did that?
As she felt around the console for her box of tissues, her eyes fell to the floral
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