Bitsy was already asleep when I got inside. Jon was on the couch holding tightly to his phone. "Are we keeping them?"

He knew me too well. Hell, maybe he didn't, because it had never occurred to him that I'd commit a felony for money. It was a good thing that he didn't know to what extent I'd go to in order to keep my siblings safe, or my sister's cat from suffering.

"I don't know how long Reed's good intentions will last, but we can keep them until he stops paying for the service."

Jon gave me one of his rare smiles. "We have unlimited everything, including the internet. Reed says the phones can be used as hotspots and we can connect to the internet on a laptop."

"Did you tell him we don't have a laptop?" I already knew the answer.

"I may have."

"This is not good, Jon. Nothing is free."

"You seemed to think stealing those baseballs was free. You could have gone to prison, Jaycee. What would we have done if it was someone other than Reed who caught you? Just because Big Jim said he would pay money doesn't mean he would have."

My heart stopped. I'd left the buyer's name out of my confession to Jon because it was too dangerous. "What the hell do you know about Big Jim?"

Jon's face took on a stubborn look that I'm sure matched my own. "I'm not stupid. He's the local fence. Everyone takes their stolen shit to him. I heard what he was offering for the balls too."

Terror kept my heart from beating. "Did you tell Reed?"

"No, he didn't ask."

I could finally breathe. "Don't say a word to anyone, Jon. Bad things happen to people who cross Big Jim."

I went to bed after that, but had trouble falling asleep. Don Gato usually settled down beside Bitsy and me. I missed that stupid old cat. I rolled so my back was to Bitsy. Reed said he would move the trailer to his property just in case. I sighed. I was a fool to even consider working for him, much less moving in. But Jon knew who Big Jim was. I was a fool not to consider it. An insane, undersexed fool.

I finally realized my fingers were between my legs pressing against my clit. Oh God. I jerked my hand away. I was in bed with my six-year-old sister. There was something seriously wrong with me and that something had gorgeous blue eyes.

***

I'd promised Dwaine I would take the morning shift and work a double on Friday to make up for missing yesterday's shift. I got Jon and Bitsy off to school and a few minutes later, I heard the engine I knew so well.

You've got to be kidding me. This was stalking.

"Don't you have, like, some kind of practice or something?" I said as soon as I threw open the door.

He wore jeans today. Ripped, faded jeans that made my mouth water. They weren't overly tight, but his shirt was. I could see each defined muscle outlined by the blue material. The shirt matched his eyes. What the hell was wrong with me?

"You need a ride to work and I have an appointment with my trainer in thirty minutes, so let's hurry."

"I didn't tell you I was working." My panties were growing uncomfortably wet just looking at him. This was completely unfair because he probably had some blonde bimbo over last night and didn't need to masturbate. Argh, why did thoughts like that cross my mind whenever he was near? He turned me into a lunatic.

He gazed up and down at my orange uniform. "Dwaine gave me your schedule. I called to give him your cell number."

"You did not."

"Yes-I did. You didn't want him having your cell number?"

An insane lunatic. "Oh go ahead and play the sweet and innocent all American boy. You only called him to get my work schedule so you could stalk me."

"I won't deny it." The small upward tilt to his lips grew into a full grin. "I just can't get your great tits off my mind. Can I have a good morning kiss?"

"You are such an egotistical jerk. There is no way I'm giving you a kiss."

"Okay, have it your way, but I think we're both the losers here."

I stormed to his car and got in. He started the engine, but didn't pull out. I turned and looked at him. His eyes ran up my orange clad legs to my waist, moved up further, stopping at the part of my anatomy he liked so well before continuing to my lips and staying there.

"What?"

He just gazed at me and I swear his eyes smoldered. I couldn't clench my thighs any tighter, but somehow I avoided having an orgasm in the seat.

He dropped me off outside of Tasty Burger without a kiss, but sat watching my ass until I entered the front door. How do I know he watched my ass? It's what I would have done.

It was a busy day and I never had time for a break. The sound of the heavy metal music almost had me jumping out of my skin. The damn jerk had programmed his music into my phone as his ringtone. I refused to think of the simple thrill I got just because I had a cell phone to answer, much less him on the end of the line.

"The vet says we can pick up Don Gato. He'll be on meds for a week, but he's mostly out of the woods."

I wanted to cry, but managed to strangle out, "Okay."

"Can you get off thirty minutes early?"

"Yes."

"Do you have school tonight?"

"No."

"Did I do something that made you angry so you can only use monosyllable answers?"

That made me smile. "No."

"Can I take you to dinner?"

Bigger smile. "No."

"Let me rephrase that. May I take you, Jon, and Bitsy to dinner?"

I hesitated and the click in my ear told me the call disconnected. He'd hung up on me and I hadn't given him an answer. It would have been "no," but I knew he took the pause as a "yes."

He arrived at exactly four-thirty wearing the same clothes from earlier, hair neat and tidy. I kind of wanted to see a sweaty post-workout Reed Tyler, but should have known he wouldn't stay that way all day. I wanted him hot, sweaty, and much closer. And this wasn't a good line of thought.

He pulled the car out onto the street and, without looking at me, asked, "How was your day, dear?"

"That's a joke, right?" I refused to smile and give him the satisfaction.

"I'd actually like to know."

That broke my heart because I believed him and deep down we both knew this couldn't continue.

"Why are you doing this, Reed?"

He still wouldn't look at me. "Let's discuss that after dinner tonight."

"You know my answer to dinner was no?"

"You wanted to say yes. Jon and Bitsy deserve a dinner out even if you don't. We'll have fun and afterward you'll say thank you."

I closed my eyes. I wanted him so badly and in all honesty, I wanted his lifemoney, nice car and home, and not a care in the world. I was a horrible person. He was a nice, rich, and talented professional baseball player, a dream come true. A little fling with me would barely be a memory in a few years. Strike that, a few weeks.

I changed the subject. "Don't you have any friends you hang out with?"

"Yes and most are my teammates. In a little less than two weeks we'll be in each other's back pocket for six weeks during spring training. Right now, we're taking a break from each other. After spring training, the season starts. When we travel, we're back to shared rooms and living like we're in college dorms."

I couldn't help my snide reply. "The big baseball man shares a hotel room with other players."

Now he did look at me and his eyes sparkled. "Just one roomy. I'm not that big yet, baby, but I will be."

"You are so full of yourself."

He remained quiet after that, though his music wasn't. I needed to remember to change his ringtone, but I had to figure out how. The only cell phone we ever had was my mom's flip phone that she paid minutes on. The contraption Reed gave me did a thousand different things, maybe a million. I'd worry about it later.

Don Gato looked so much better. He rubbed against me on the examination table, but then went to Reed and proceeded to be almost indecent. Reed chuckled and picked him up. Somehow, that damn cat knew who saved his life. Reed carried him to the car and Don Gato stayed in his lap the entire drive to the trailer.

We walked inside and Reed handed the cat over to Bitsy. She cuddled and kissed him until he finally jumped away and walked to his food cabinet.

Reed looked at Jon, who was in full Goth modeblack makeup, fingernails, and clothes. It didn't faze Reed at all. "Would you guys like to go out to dinner?" he asked Bitsy, completely aware he was playing dirty pool.

Of course Bitsy wanted to go and she jumped up and down. Jon just nodded. I changed clothes in the bedroom while Bitsy chatted Reed's ear off. I could hear every word.

"Your car's really loud. Does it go superfast?"

"Yes, it goes fast."

Her young mind jumped from one thing to another quickly, which Jon and I were accustomed to. "Have you read Harry Potter?"

"No, I haven't."

"You should. We're almost finished with the third book. Do you have a mom and a dad?"

"I have a mom, but my dad died last year."

"My mom died too, but I don't know my dad. Jaycee told me he had a different life and he wanted to live it. Do you have sisters and brothers?"

Oh, she broke my heart. Why I couldn't just say her father was a good-for-nothing jerk was beyond me. Jon's and mine were no better.

"No sisters or brothers. It's just me."

"Do you live in a house or a trailer?"

"I live in a house."

"We're going to live in a house someday. A big one and I'll get my own princess room."

"You want to be a princess?"

"Yes, I'll be Cinderella and have glass slippers. Do you have any pets?"

"Nope, but someday I'd like a dog."

"Don Gato doesn't like dogs. He doesn't like cats either, well-sometimes the lady cats. He likes those sometimes. Do you have any kids?"

Oh God, I needed to save him even though he deserved her six-year-old brain and all its tricky turns.

I walked out, interrupting Reed's answer and received a relieved look for doing it. "So where are we going for dinner?" I asked.

He looked at Bitsy. "Well, Cinderella, where would you like to go?"

Her grin over Reed's Cinderella reference was priceless. "Pizza," she said, jumping up and down.

"Pizza it is. I know just the place. Are you okay with that, Jon?"

Jon shrugged. "Sure."

I sometimes brought home food from Tasty Burger as a treat, but we rarely had anything we didn't cook. I decided to accept this gift and try to enjoy myself.