Playing for Keeps - Audiobook

Twelve years ago, Justin McKinnon fell in love with the girl next door—Caroline Taylor—but their families had hated each other for decades, and no one was interested in putting the bad blood aside. What started as a spur-of-the-moment kiss at a barn dance turned into a forbidden, secret romance that would rival Romeo and Juliet.

Caroline Taylor has everything she ever wanted. She owns the best bakery in town, has a loving family, and she’s friends with everyone. So why did she just break up with the perfect guy because he kept dropping hints about proposing. How could she marry him when she’s still hung up on her first love?

When Justin got the chance to get away from his abusive dad and support his elderly grandparents, he took it, but it meant leaving Redemption Ridge—and Caroline—behind.

Now, Justin is back in town and ready to remind Caroline that they belong together despite the family feud hanging over them. Can she trust the man who once broke her heart?

“I can’t believe we just saw that,” Justin mumbled as he walked beside Garrett to the cruiser. 

“Just wait till I tell Cindy,” Garrett said, rubbing his mouth to hide his grin until they were far enough away from the half-naked woman that she wouldn’t hear them.

Justin went to the passenger side as Garrett moved to the other. “Someone’s going to have a good time watching our body cams later.”

Responding to a domestic violence call was pretty standard for the small-town police department. Having to carry on a civil conversation with a woman wearing only a lacy bra and silk pajama shorts while she explained why her husband called the police wasn’t something they went over at the academy. 

“Filling out the paperwork is going to be awesome,” Garrett said. “I feel like I need to call my wife and remind her that I appreciate her.”

Garrett was one of those happily married men who thought having a wife was the coolest thing ever. Granted, he was probably right, as long as his wife wasn’t anything like the woman they’d just met. 

Redemption Ridge wasn’t as exciting as a bigger city, but the force had plenty to keep them busy, including scantily-clad wives who allegedly hit their husbands. 

As soon as they were back in the cruiser, Justin grabbed his coffee cup from the console and took a big swig. The drink had lost all trace of warmth hours ago, and he fought the urge to spit it back into the cup. 

One big swallow and the killer coffee was gone. Coughing, Justin looked around for something to get the taste out of his mouth. “You got any water in here?”

“No, but we can stop at the donut shop and grab something.”

Justin coughed again, trying to hide his laughter. “You and donuts.”

“Who doesn’t like donuts?” Garrett asked. “As long as I don’t have to rush off to another call, I can have a little snack every now and then.”

Garrett parked the cruiser in front of Donut Haven. The brick building and black awning matched many of the other shops of downtown Redemption Ridge. It had been around for as long as Justin could remember, but he’d never had the chance to visit until recently. Growing up, there hadn’t been money for things like donuts. 

The line at the register was longer than usual, especially given the time of day. Parents wrangled wild kids, and couples of all ages chatted while wearing sugar-fueled smiles. “What’s going on?”

“Christmas tourists,” Garrett explained. “Get ready to wait for everything for the next month.” He jerked his chin toward a two-seater table by the window. “Grab us a seat. This one’s on me.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll take a regular glazed with a double espresso.”

“You got it,” Garrett said as he took his place at the back of the line. 

Justin found a seat and turned so he had a good view of the whole place. The struggle to watch everything while being inconspicuous was a hard line to walk. Thankfully, few people in town knew he was back, and even fewer knew he was the same Justin McKinnon who’d retired from a successful Major League Baseball career a few months ago. 

Retired. He’d planned a quiet exit from his career for next year, but instead he’d been forced to step down early. Injuries were every professional athlete’s worst fear, but no one stays on top forever. A pitcher with a blown rotator cuff and a labrum tear was useless, even after a full recovery. 

Garrett placed a bag on the table and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Bathroom break. Listen for our drinks to be ready.”

“Sure.” 

Garrett had been gone less than a minute before a young barista shouted, “Heartbreaker!” 

Great. Garrett was in a joking mood today.

Except, the nickname wasn’t a joke to Justin. Every time someone called him Heartbreaker, he remembered his first kiss with Caroline and how it short-circuited his synapses.

Justin made his way to the pick-up counter and grabbed the two drinks. The barista who’d shouted his baseball nickname glanced at him with a smile. 

Nope. Not interested. Sure, she was pretty, but she was probably a few years younger and…

Did the other excuses matter? She wasn’t the one. That was the only point that mattered. 

Justin made it back to the table with their drinks just as Garrett took his seat, wearing a goofy grin. 

“Ha-ha. That was hilarious,” Justin deadpanned. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” Garrett reached for his cup and took a big swig. 

“You know, everyone would forget that nickname if you stopped using it.”

“No way. You’ll always be Heartbreaker. What are you doing after our shift?”

“Probably catching up on reports,” Justin said, pulling the warm pastry from the bag. 

“That’s no fun.”

Garrett always put off his reports until the last minute and binged through them. He’d also been on the force longer and knew what he was doing. Garrett always knew he wanted to be a police officer. This line of work was Justin’s Plan B after it was time to say goodbye to Plan A. 

“Fun? What’s that?” Justin took a bite of the squishy donut and fought against the urge to hum at the deliciousness.

“The reports will be waiting for you tomorrow. Come have dinner with Cindy and me.”

“I’d rather finish the reports so they’re not hanging over my head. I hate them.” 

A year ago, he’d despised press conferences and interviews with the fire of a thousand suns, so writing reports was almost an upgrade. 

“Okay, this is a problem. You started talking about reports and now you have those lines.” Garrett pointed to the spot between his eyebrows. “If you don’t stop that, you’re going to get wrinkles and mess up the moneymaker.”

“My face is not a moneymaker. That was my right arm.”

Pitching for the Miami Marlins had been the answer to every prayer. It got him out of Redemption Ridge, paid all the bills and then some, and let him live like a king for nearly ten years. Most athletes would give anything to keep playing well into their forties, but Justin was content to slowly fade from the high-profile scene at thirty-two.

“Hey, we don’t talk about that. You’re living a small-town dream now. Speaking of Christmas—”

“No one said anything about Christmas,” Justin pointed out. 

“I did. Pay attention. Christmas season is upon us, and you need to buckle up because things are about to get interesting.”

Justin’s Christmas was not going to get interesting. In fact, it needed to be the most boring, mundane season of his life if he was going to get through it without turning into the grump with frown lines Garrett was talking about. 

Christmas was about as depressing as it could get. Actually, the season only reminded him that he didn’t have anyone to spend it with. Returning to Redemption Ridge only highlighted that fact. 

Even as a kid, Christmas was the worst. He’d never had a mom, and his dad spent the holiday like every other day—drinking and looking for a fight. 

Fun times. 

“I mean it, man. Get ready to work security at a ton of town events, which will give you plenty of opportunities to find a date. Women love the uniform.”

“A date for what? I don’t need a date.”

Justin had made it all of three months back home without causing a stir, and he wasn’t ready to come out of hiding just yet. Dating was not on the itinerary. Well, dating anyone except her wasn’t on his list of things to do, and he hadn’t worked up the nerve to talk to her again.

Justin had no problem standing in the middle of a stadium filled with people, but the thought of talking to Caroline Taylor made him want to crawl under a rock and lick his wounds. 

Twelve years, and he still wasn’t over her. He wouldn’t ever be. Caroline was the one. Period. No one expects to meet the love of their life at twenty, but he hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter. From the moment she walked up to him, he was a goner. 

Then everything crashed and burned. Now, he was a pathetic wash-up who hadn’t dated anyone since her. Every time someone used the nickname Heartbreaker, he wanted to hurl. The stupid media made a big deal about his lack of love life, almost making it a game to see if any woman out there could get him to commit.

But one could. Caroline was the only woman he wanted and the one woman he couldn’t have.

Now he was back in his hometown, where she still lived, and he spent all of his time hiding from her. Most officers sat with their backs to the wall to keep an eye out for any danger. He did too, but for a different reason. Things hadn’t exactly ended on the best of terms with Caroline, and it was all his fault.

Garrett rolled his eyes. “You are pathetic. Please tell me why you’re not jumping to find a date for all these Christmas events. It’s super romantic, and women love that.”

“I’m sure they do, but I’m not interested. I’m just trying to figure out my new job and keep my head down.”

Garrett shoved the bag toward Justin. “Eat another donut. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I don’t feel bad.”

Garrett tore into the bag and handed Justin another glazed donut before taking one for himself. “Donuts make everything better.”

Donuts did not have the special ability to make him get over Caroline. Nothing did. 

Honestly, Justin had already been thinking way too much about the Christmas activities. After seeing his work schedule, he’d put an unnatural amount of thought into how he was going to hide in plain sight at the events. 

Thankfully, the Redemption Ridge Ranch barn dance wasn’t on his schedule. The Reynolds’ usually hired private security, despite the size of the event. There was no way he could stomach that event. The last barn dance Justin had attended, he’d met Caroline. He wouldn’t ever be ready to revisit that pivotal moment. 

“Are you on the schedule for the Tree Lighting Ceremony?” Justin asked. 

Garrett pocketed his phone and shoved the last bite of donut into his mouth. “Usually. Odds of getting that are fifty-fifty.”

“Well, I’m in the same half as you. I was hoping I could trade for the Christmas parade.”

“Oh, we’ll both be working the parade too. You can write that in stone. You only get off for that one if you have kids. Cindy’s going with some of the girls, so she’s not too upset I’ll be working.”

Great. Justin would probably be running into familiar faces sooner than he’d hoped. 

Garrett’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out. Smiling, he slid it back into his pocket. He wiggled his eyebrows and tucked the phone away again. “You’re welcome.”

Justin grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the sticky glaze off his fingers. “Next time is on me.”

The special ding Justin assigned to his Google alert chimed from his chest pocket. He pulled it out and opened the daily email.

Hello, Honey Buns! It’s Sweet Caroline here with your daily sugar rush.

The familiar ache knotted in his chest. Reading Caroline’s blog every day was his own form of self-punishment, but he couldn’t resist. They were her words, and it was the closest he’d been to her in years. 

“Why don’t you just talk to her?” Garrett asked. 

Justin looked up. “Is it that obvious?”

“Every day at two thirty? Yeah. It’s obvious.”

The radio on Justin’s shoulder chirped to life at the same moment as Garrett’s. The dispatcher rattled off about a multi-vehicle incident on Fifth Avenue—just a few blocks away—with injuries reported.

Garrett crumbled up the empty donut bag and stood at the same time as Justin. “Let’s do this.”

The call was enough to take Justin’s mind off Caroline for a little bit, but later in the evening, he’d be right back to reading her words and trying to figure out how to get her back in his life.