Guarding His Heart. Synithia Williams

      He’d held her briefly. That swift touch and quick kiss had gone through his mind almost as frequently as he’d thought about dropping the ball. Both had been recent major disappointments. He was handling the situation with his deteriorating joints, and he would also figure out why Jasmine had run off when there was obviously a spark between them.

      “It’s a woman, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked in a knowing voice. Her piercing gaze held laughter.

      He should have known she’d guess the problem anyway. “I know a lot of women,” he hedged.

      “I see the reports. I know you do. But this woman must be special.”

      Kevin didn’t want to think about the reports his grandmother had seen. He was considered a wild child in the league. The media liked to document his dating life as evidence of his carefree lifestyle. They assumed he dated different women because he liked the playboy lifestyle, not because he refused to get serious and disappoint another woman.

      “Can we talk about something else besides women?”

      Charlotte leaned back in her seat. The humor didn’t leave her expression. “Fine, just don’t run off and marry her before I get to meet her.”

      The idea was so ludicrous Kevin laughed hard enough to bring a tear to his eye. “I am never getting married again.”

      “That’s what you think. He—” she pointed to the sky “—may think differently.”

      Kevin nodded and looked over the spacious, manicured backyard instead of arguing. He doubted the Big Guy upstairs had a personal interest in his abysmal love life. If that were the case, his marriage would have worked out, or at least his relationship with Hanna.

      His mother had prayed hard enough for both. She’d be giving him a lecture about finding love and happiness right now if she hadn’t gone to the West Coast to visit the twins.

      Kevin preferred to focus on quick flings. No feelings to attach. No expectations of more. He was old enough to admit the marriage to Sabrina hadn’t been wise. They’d been young and in love but hadn’t really gotten out of their small town to see the world. Things with Hanna had been good, but he hadn’t loved her. He didn’t think long-term relationships were in the cards for him and he’d accepted that. He didn’t have to play baseball to recognize that he’d had two strikes in the relationship department. He wasn’t playing to lose.

      “I spoke with Robert Taylor yesterday at the grocery store.” His grandmother changed the subject. “He says work is almost complete on the new community center. That’s going to be great when it opens. Exactly what the town needs. He told me to thank you for the donation.”

      “Mayor Taylor doesn’t have to thank me. This is my hometown. I’m happy to help.” Forgetting where he came from, where his mother and grandmother still lived, wasn’t an option. He’d grown up here, therefore he’d always be invested.

      “I know. Still, I want you to know people around here appreciate what you do.”

      “It’s what anyone would do.”

      “Not everyone. You should go down there and see the work before you leave town.”

      Kevin didn’t go into the small town much when he visited, if at all. He came home to visit family, not to sign autographs and take selfies with fans. But he was curious to see some of the changes that had taken place over the past year or so. “I will.”

      He’d donated a hundred thousand toward the renovations of the old community center. That’s where he’d learned to play basketball and found sanctuary after school until his mother or grandmother got off work. In the years since he’d gone to the league, the town had started to dwindle. He’d given money where he could to support the opening of new businesses and renovate downtown. His donations had paid off. The town was experiencing a surge in regrowth.

      Charlotte nodded, obviously pleased with his decision. “Good. Also, before you go, take a look at the old farm across town. I’ve got a guy interested in buying it. Says he wants to put a drive-in theater over there.”

      Kevin raised a brow. He shifted sideways on the porch step to look at his grandmother. “A drive-in?”

      She nodded. “Yep. Apparently, people like that sort of thing again. The land is just sitting there. Might as well make some money off it.”

      A thought hit him. Kevin sat up straight. “Grandma C, is the old house still on that land?”

      “Not unless it sprouted feet and walked off. Why? That house ain’t nothing but ruins now.”

      Ruins or not, the house might fit a certain sexy photographer’s project standards. “Still, if you’re selling, we might want to find a way to save it for future generations.”

      “Boy, you’re crazy. How we gonna save my granddaddy’s old cabin?”

      With pictures taken by a woman he couldn’t wait to see again. He could slap himself for not thinking of this before. He hadn’t been to the old farm in years. Had forgotten about the place mostly because Grandma C never mentioned it. Now the old forgotten farm was just what he needed to see Jasmine.

      “Don’t worry, Grandma C. I know exactly how we’re going to save it.”