A Million Miles Apart (Wish 4)

5 - Back in Boston

It was almost dawn when the team arrived back in Boston. After ten days on the road, Ben was happy to be home. For Ben, home meant his hotel suite. In the two years since being traded to Boston, he had not bothered to find his own place. The hotel provided him privacy and security for the half a year he lived in town. He had a small house in Florida where he spent time during the off season and spring training. Even the home he grew up in was different now. For the first time, it had a woman's influence since his father married Betsy.

His mother had left when he and Kenzie were practically babies. She had spent the years since chasing after men. At first they were always ballplayers, but recently she sought rich men, regardless of their athletic ability. She should have been set for life after a handful of divorce settlements, but in her possession, money evaporated like water. Ben knew this because she always arrived in Boston when she needed more.

Ben stayed clear of women trying to hook up with ballplayers. He didn't need a younger version of his mother latching on to him. Jett was such a pushover. He would soon become best friends with the woman they met in the bar. Ben showed his disagreement by refusing to sign the ball Jett had passed around.

Late on their flight to Chicago, Jet complained to him. "Did you have to be rude?"

"She's a diehard fan. Give her an inch, she'll turn into my mother."

"Your mother would need help turning on a computer. Sloane's job must pay well."

Ben shrugged. "It's strange she was eating in a bar alone without her boyfriend."

"Who? The guy she brought to the game?"

"Yeah. I saw them together first thing in the morning." He would be blind if he didn't notice her legs as the well-dressed guy helped her into the car.

"Good for her. I thought she was nice. She put Tex in his place." Jett laughed.

Ben would continue to choose caution. He surrounded himself with people he could trust with Angela on the short list. They had been casually dating for about a year. Her brother had been his teammate in Texas. Like Ben, she didn't want a serious relationship and her career was her priority.

He woke to find he had missed text messages from his sister. Kenzie had invited him for lunch. He spent enough time with Jett, but they were family and he didn't want to piss off his only sister. The players were show and go, so they weren't expected at the park until warm-ups. Normally, they needed to arrive hours before game time with no time for family.

Arriving at Jett's house, Kenzie met him with a smile. He hugged her back and saw his friend in bare feet with a crying kid in his arms.

"What'd'you do to him?"

Kenzie scowled. "He's hungry and tired. He and Daddy have been playing all morning."

"Did you get any sleep?"

Jett caught Kenzie's eye. "A little."

"Really, you two?"

Kenzie turned the table on him. "How's Angela?"

He shrugged. He had let her know he was home. Maybe they would meet up after the game.

"You should ask Jett about his new girl." Ben tried to rile things up between the blissful couple.

"Kenze already knows about her. She wants to meet the girl who told Tex off."

"She's just like our mother."

Kenzie put her hands on her hips. "Angela is just like our mother, but you don't see it."

"What? No way!"