A Trip in the Fall Pt. 06

"Perfect, thanks Morgan."

"You sure knew how to pick them."

"Yeah yeah, young and dumb with a limited dating pool."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Thanks again Morgan."

Brandon set his phone down and leaned back in the chair taking a deep breath and looking out at the ocean, thinking to himself about how big of a pain in the ass this all was. He picked his phone up, texting Sarah and filling her in on everything that has transpired over the past 20 minutes.

After chatting with her for a few, he dove into his book, trying to relax for a little bit before Matt came out to discuss their game plan. Once he did, Brandon shifted into game mode, they worked out a line-up and strategy for dealing with individual players.

As they finished, they yelled at the players on the beach to head up, and they headed inside to get ready. When Brandon reached his room, his phone vibrated, looking down, he saw it was Morgan with a contact and a message, "Her name is Mary Tennant, she will be fair."

He replied, "Thanks again, I'll send it on."

After he changed, he texted Jess, "This is Mary Tennant's number, she is a writer for CMT's website and will be fair and not be negative towards you. She is expecting your call."

"Okay, thank you."

"Please do the right thing Jess."

After waiting for a response, but not getting one, Brandon put his phone into his bag, and followed the players out of the house towards the vans and their first game.

Chapter 4

That afternoon, Josh walked into an office building on 3rd Avenue South. He strolled over to the elevator and presses the button for the 10th floor. Reaching the floor, he strolled into the offices of StageStruck Promotions. He walked up to the secretary and smiled, "I wonder if it would be possible to see Mr. Spencer?"

She looked up from her computer, "Do you have an appointment?"

Maintaining his smile, he replied, "No, but Jake and I go back a long time. Could you check please?"

"He doesn't like to be disturbed, but I will check. Who should I tell him is here?"

"Josh Knicely. Thank you very much."

As she made the call, Josh stepped back admiring the view from the floor as it looked out over the skyline of Nashville, he could see the famous AT&T Batman building and make out just the back of the famous Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. After a few moments, he heard the secretary call out his name and he turned around, "Mr. Spencer can see you in a few moments. Have a seat over there."

"Thank you again, I really appreciate it." He found himself waiting for about 15 minutes, getting more annoyed with each passing minute, knowing that Jake was likely just using the waiting as a power play. When the secretary finally called for him, he stood up, fastened his suit jacket, and thanked the secretary again before following another woman back the hallway, taking note of the people working, especially one guy near the stereotypical corner office where he found Jake leaning on his desk, looking over a stack of papers.

Jake looked up and spoke, "What can I do for you today Josh?"

Josh shook his head at the obvious condescension in Jake's voice, "I'm not going to fool around, what did you hope to gain?"

"What are you talking about?"

Josh scoffed, "Don't play dumb, it is obvious that you are the one that went to TMZ about the incident in Brandon Baker's hometown."

He rolled his eyes, "Why the fuck would I care about that?"

"You did it because you couldn't handle Morgan choosing him over you."

Jake laughed, "Why would I care about her anymore? I can get any woman in this town."

Josh shook his head, "I don't really care about who you can and can't get, I want to know what you thought you would get out of all this?"

"I told you; I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Then why is the talk around people affiliated with your company and the touring companies saying that you're bragging about the story when you're out with your buddies?"

Jake suddenly turned and Josh could see the anger in his eyes, "Who is saying that?"

Josh smirked, "I also passed some pictures that I was given of people who met with Brandon's ex, and they were identified as people who work here. I think I even saw one when I was walking in, wanna see?"

Jake leaned over his desk glaring at Josh, "What do you want?"

"I already told you; what did you hope to gain?"

"He had to fuck everything up. Came in here, caused Morgan to leave me, and..."

Josh scoffed, "Dude, shut up. You have no one to blame for Morgan leaving but yourself. If you weren't so damn insecure, it would be fine."

Jake slammed his fist on the table, causing Josh to shake his head, "She should still be mine! You should really get those girls under control."

Josh approached the desk, his own anger rising, "Listen here you piece of shit, Amanda, Sarah, nor Morgan are pieces of meat or property. They can make their own decisions." Jake went to speak again, but Josh cut him off, "Here is what is going to happen, Sarah has already told her side of the story, Morgan put Brandon in contact with a reporter from CMT that is going to tell all of Jess's story, and you're going to call your buddies at TMZ and get them to print a retraction, or else."

"Or else what, you can't do anything."

Josh laughed in Jake's face before stepping back, "Oh but I can. I can use my dad's connections to get ahold of Frank. Something tells me the CEO of the company wouldn't like to hear that his company's resources are being spent on personal matters to interfere in the personal lives of not only the biggest new country artists, but also in the lives of regular citizens."

"You wouldn't..."

"Oh, but I would, you fucked with my friends, and that is unacceptable. Also, I'm sure the lawyers could come up with something about you only leaking select things to the press. Probably wouldn't go anywhere, but they have a hell of a lot more money than you, so your lawyers would advise you to settle. How does that all sound?"

Jake stood quietly, clearly trying to think of a way out of this, but after a minute of silence he finally relented, "Fine, I'll contact my guy at TMZ and tell him what else happened."

"Good choice. Wait a few days, let the CMT story break first, that'll give TMZ some cover and only make you look like the jackass you are to them."

Josh turned and headed towards the door, but stopped and turned back as Jake sank into his chair, "Jake?"

He looked up and replied, "Yeah?"

"Leave them the fuck alone." Not letting him reply, Josh opened the door and made his way out of the office and back down the hallway.

As he got on the elevator, he texted the group message between he, Amanda, Sarah, and Brandon with a simple message, "Everything is taken care of."

Chapter 5-Friday

Brandon's alarm went off at 7:45, he groaned and rolled over shutting it off before sitting up. They hadn't gotten back to the house until after ten the night before. They had won their seeding game, giving them a first-round game at 5:30 that evening. After their game, they had eaten at the fields and stayed around watching the other games to see the competition, meaning when they got back, it was a free for all getting the boys showered and fed again.

After getting out of bed and using the bathroom, he pulled on a t-shirt, hoody, and gym shorts, before grabbing his flip flops and making his way to the kitchen. Once again, he found Mike sitting at the table drinking coffee and working on his laptop. Brandon grabbed a bagel from the island and poured a cup of coffee, "Morning Mike."

"Morning coach, how are you?"

"Good, don't you ever sleep in?"

Mike laughed, "My nurse sent me some reports on surgeries for early next week."

Brandon nodded and after buttering his bagel joined Mike at the table, picking up the paper Mike had already finished reading. "Any exciting surgeries?"

Mike laughed, "Nope, at my age, it is all routine stuff, gallbladders, colonoscopies, endoscopies, hernias, things like that."

Brandon nodded, taking a bite before saying, "See anything last night that stood out to you?"

Mike had played baseball in high school and even did a stint in the minors and Brandon always was interested in his input. Mike pulled his glasses off and said, "Not with us, kids seemed dialed in, was good to see Landon's curve working and Connor gave you some good work in relief." Brandon nodded as he continued, "That team we have tonight from South Carolina has some good pitching. Looks like the one kid has a change-up and another with a knuckle that could give us problems."

"Yeah, the change up has me concerned. I think we will just need to stress to the kids to stay back and not get ahead of it. First time around may be an issue until they see it and get a feel for it."

Mike nodded, "Yeah, but I'm sure with some BP beforehand they will be okay. So, what is the plan for today?"

Checking his phone, he saw Sarah had texted, saying they were taxiing on schedule with the confirmed ETA of 9:30. "I have to be at the airport to pick up my girlfriend at 9:30, we should be back here around 10:30. The boys have all day free, we are leaving here at 3, that should give us plenty of times to get to the field, take BP, and then get warm for the game."

Mike nodded, "Anything off limits for the guys?"

"Nah, they can have fun. I figure most of them will be lounge around on the beach or by the pool. This is a vacation after all, I just don't want them wandering off."

"Gotcha. Are you taking one of the vans?"

"Nah, I was just going to take an Uber there, and then we'd grab a rental car from the airport."

"Why waste the money?"

Brandon leaned back, "Hadn't really thought about it."

Mike laughed and said, "Hold on." He stood, heading back the hallway towards his and Lisa's room and returning a few moments later, "Here are the keys for the rental Lisa got for us, take it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. You probably should get going soon, we will hold things down here."

"Thanks Mike, I really appreciate it." Mike waved him off as he turned his focus back to his laptop and his notes. Brandon filled two travel mugs with coffee, used the bathroom and headed outside, finding a Mustang convertible sitting beside the vans.

Brandon laughed, climbed in, started the car and was getting ready to pull out when Lisa stepped in front of him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Mike told me to take this to get Sarah."

"Oh did he? I'll have to talk to him about that."

He laughed, "I don't wanna be on the wrong side of you."

She laughed, "Oh don't you worry, it is just him and Brayden on my bad side."

He joined her laughter, "I can make Brayden run more?"

"That would be good, although Mya may get mad at you for that one."

He nodded knowingly, "Yeah. I've noticed. She will be distracted in about an hour and half."

Lisa laughed again, "Oh, I know. You better get going coach." She moved out of the way, but then said, "She may be famous, but no girl dislikes a convertible, put the top down."

He smiled, "Good idea."

***

Brandon arrived in the parking lot for the private air terminal that Sarah had sent the address for and entered the building. He was greeted by a lady at a desk, "Can I help you?"

Looking back at his phone he replied, "Yeah, my girlfriend is supposed to be arriving on a plane registered to Peterson and Smith."

"One second." The woman turned back to her monitor, clicking a couple of times, then made a phone call that was very short. Once she hung up, she looked at him and smiled, "According to the tower, they are on final approach and should be arriving at the terminal in about 10 minutes. You can have a seat over there, and she will enter through that door."

Brandon thanked her and sat down, pulling out his phone and aimlessly scrolling social media; he was pleased to see that for the first time in two days, Sarah wasn't at the top of the media headlines. He switched apps and began work to work his usual USA Today Crossword and after getting through the clues once, the lady at the desk said, "Sir, they are on the ground taxiing now, should only be a few more minutes."

Brandon thanked her and stood up; sure enough he could make out a small business jet taxiing towards the terminal. It came to a stop about 50 yards from the building, once it was completely stopped and the engines wound down slightly, he saw the stairs fold down and saw Sarah appear at the top of them. She said something to the pilots before descending the steps and pulling her small suitcase behind her made her way to the terminal. The door opened and she stepped in, seeing him and smiled, "Hey!"

"Hey yourself!" They closed the gap between each other and hugged, then kissed for a few moments before pulling away, "Let me have your stuff."

"I've got it. Where are you parked?"

"Nope, let me have it." She giggled as she turned her suitcase over to him and they made their way out of the terminal, thanking the lady at the counter before exiting.

When they reached the Mustang, she stopped, laughing at him, "Really? You rented a convertible Mustang?"

Putting her suitcase in the trunk, "No, our booster president and his wife rented it, they just let me borrow it to come get you."

Sarah climbed in, "Well that was nice of them."

Brandon got in the driver's side and started them back towards Cherry Grove, "Yeah, they are really great people, he's a doctor and she is a nurse."

"Oh nice, are they staying at the house?"

"Yeah, they are spearheading the meals and stuff, plus Lisa is in charge of Mya to keep the school happy about a girl on the trip."

"Ooo, yeah, I bet that is a bit of a pain."

"You're not kidding, I had to fight for her to be allowed to come."

Silence fell over them as they cruised down US 17 through the heart of Myrtle Beach. It was a beautiful morning; temperatures were already in the low 70's heading towards a high of 80. When they came to a stop light, Sarah unbuckled her seat belt, stripping her hoody off, leaving in just a t-shirt and a pair of leggings. Brandon couldn't help but stare as her shirt rode up, exposing her bare stomach. He reached over and placed his hand on her knee, drawing a smile from her and then said, "Are we okay?"

She shoved the hoody in the floorboards and said, "Of course, why wouldn't we be?"

With the light turning green, Brandon pulled away, "It's just with everything going on, we kinda snapped at each other."

Sarah grimaced and nodded, "Yeah, about that, I'm sorry for that. I was mad at the situation and took that out on you."

He nodded, "Yeah, that was kind of rough."

She reached down and squeezed his hand, "I'm really sorry. I didn't know what to do because I had no way of confronting her. Let's face it, the last time I did, it didn't end well."

Brandon couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of Sarah laying Jess out on the ground, "I shouldn't have hung up on you."

"Yeah, that sucked too, please don't do that again."

Brandon nodded, "I didn't know how else to react because that, coupled with the stress of the flight and the trip as a whole, I just went into brain overload, and it was easiest to just shut that down because I knew you'd always be there."

They pulled up to another stoplight and he turned to look at her as she said, "You're right, I will always be here. Don't forget that." She leaned across the console, kissing him. They deepened the kiss but were soon interrupted by the honking of horns behind them due to the green light. They both laughed and as Brandon pulled away, she said, "So yes, we are fine, and now we get a weekend to relax. Wanna know the best part?"

"What's that?"

"I get to see my hot boyfriend coach; those pants are going to look so good in person."

He couldn't help but laugh, "You have to keep your hands to yourself. I did get you some new gear at the house."

She winked, "Only in public." He laughed as she continued, "What'd you get me?"

"Well, I got you a couple of shirts, a hat, and a new hoody with this year's design." She smiled and they made the rest of the drive to the house, making small talk and filling each other in on other goings on, both hoping that this weekend was as relaxing and peaceful as they hoped.

Chapter 6

They pulled back into the house shortly after 10:30 and after putting the top up and climbing out, Brandon could hear noise coming from the pool area, smiling knowing that his players were having a good time. They climbed the steps to the front door, then up the stairs to the main living area. When they entered the great room, he found it empty with Lisa standing over the sink, washing up a few dishes, Brandon frowned, "Lisa, the boys know they need to clean up after themselves."

She looked up and smiled, "Oh hush, I told them to go outside, it is just knives and things that can't be put in the dishwasher." Sarah chuckled as Brandon was put in his place; Lisa dried her hands off and looked to Sarah smiling, "You must be Sarah, I'm Lisa Cline."

Sarah reached out shaking her hand, "Nice to meet you." The three of them made small talk about Sarah's flight and Lisa updated Brandon on what had transpired in the hour and a half he was gone. The players were all up by 9:30, had eaten and then made their way to the pool or to the beach. Matt and Mike were down at the beach, making sure they didn't wander too far and a few of the players were in the pool.

With Brandon caught up, Lisa remarked that she would let Sarah get settled and that lunch from a local BBQ joint was going to be delivered at one, so it had plenty of time to settle before they headed out at 2:45 for their game at 5:30. Brandon thanked her again and then asked, "Where did Mya wander off to?"

Lisa smiled, "I think her she headed down to the beach about ten with Brayden, Zach, and Dylan."

Brandon nodded and headed down the hallway, showing Sarah to their room. When they got to the room, Brandon set her bag down, "I saved you a couple of drawers."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately and saying, "Thank you. So, what is the plan for the rest of the day?" He kissed her again until she pushed him away, "Down boy," she giggled then continued, "Answer my question."

He sighed and gave her the rundown of the rest of the day before finishing up with, "I'm gonna go yell for Mya, why don't you get changed and meet me out on the balcony."

Sarah smiled while pulling her shirt off leaving her in just her bra and leggings as Brandon sighed, "Sounds good, now get out of here before you get any other ideas."

He shook his head but did as she told him too, grabbing the picture and the note Sarah had written Mya the month before, shutting the door and making his way to the balcony. He looked down to the beach and could see Mike and Matt sitting side by side as the players played in the surf or were sitting in circles talking. He could see Mike's son Brayden and a few of his close friends sitting off to the right with Mya beside Brayden. They thought they were being subtle, but Brandon could see them holding hands and had to chuckle to himself. He pulled out his phone and texted Matt, "We are back, can you send Mya up here?"

He saw Matt look down at his phone and turned back towards the house, Brandon waved, then he heard Matt yell, "Mya! Coach wants to see you." He laughed again as she quickly let go of Brayden's hand as Matt startled her.

She stood up and after setting a book down in her chair started towards the boardwalk After walking up the walkway, she stepped through the gate and looked up at him, clearly annoyed, "What?"

"Rinse your feet off and come up here, I want to talk to you about something." She sighed and did what he said, making him chuckle at her attitude.

A few minutes later she came out onto the deck with a Celsius energy drink in her hand, "What couldn't wait?"