Out of Left Field Read Online Free Page A

the scowl was any indication. He shifted and moved, looking a bit like a beached whale, but couldn’t get momentum to get out by himself. She took his hand and helped him out of the car.
    When he stumbled, she silently wished for a wheelchair. He flopped his left arm over her shoulders and tucked her against his body. Despite his current state of loopy, she allowed him to guide her toward the front door.
    He nudged a rock with the tip of his flip-flop. “Key’s in there.”
    “ Um, X … that’s a rock.”
    His laugh cracked louder than thunder. “For bein’ a doctor, you’re not very smart.” Before she could get offended, he laughed again. “It’s not a real rock, Doc. Trust me. Can you grab it? I’d get it myself, but I’m afraid I’d face plant.”
    “ Now look who’s talking like a rocket scientist.” She kept a hand on his waist while she fetched the rock in an attempt to humor him. But then she picked it up. It wasn’t very heavy. What the—? She turned it over in her hand and noticed the fake bottom. She slid it away with her thumb and viola! a key.
    “ Told ya.” He laughed again.
    Inside, she stood in the entry and look around. His place was pretty close to what she’d expected. Wood floors were polished. A dark brown leather couch sat against the wall with an enormous flat screen taking up the opposing one with a coffee table in between.
    Beyond the living room, Frankie saw a high, dark wood table with four matching chairs. Hallways branched out in different directions, but with no bedroom in sight, she worried the elaborate staircase meant Xavier would be making the hike.
    He closed the door and wobbled.
    “ Easy there, big guy.” She held him until he steadied. “Let’s get you in bed. X, where’s the bedroom?”
    He jerked his head toward the stairs. “Whoa! The room’s spinning. This is better than the teacups at Disneyland.”
    “ Come on, Cinderella.” She led him up the stairs and he didn’t complain about her assistance. Or claim he didn’t need her. Shouldering his two-hundred plus pounds wasn’t easy, but Frankie managed to get him to the top of the staircase.
    Three open doors greeted them, a bedroom down a short hallway on the left, bathroom almost directly in front of them, and another bedroom on the right with another hallway off to the right. He started toward the bedroom on the right and she followed.
    The enormous four-poster bed dominated the room, warring with the equally impressive dresser. Obviously Xavier liked pillows, since the bed had so many the black comforter barely peaked out from beneath them. A cream-colored rug contrasted beautifully with the dark walnut floors.
    He stumbled to the side of the bed and kicked his flip-flops off. When he reached for his sweatpants, Frankie stopped him. Or tried to. And she’d never been so happy to see a pair of boxer-briefs in her life.
    She yanked the comforter back, sending pillows flying. “That’s it. Slide in.”
    He obeyed, struggling to get settled. He leaned back against the pillows and sighed. Then he sat up, huffed, groaned and plucked at his t-shirt. “This has got to go. I’ll never be able to sleep wearin’ this damn thing.”
    “ Xavier, the only way that’s coming off is to cut it off.”
    “ Then get the scissors.” He pointed toward the doorway. “Downstairs in the kitchen, drawer under the microwave.”
    “ Fine. I’ll be right back.” She headed for the door, but paused. Pointing a finger at him, she ordered, “Do not move. Not an inch, X. I mean it.”
    With sloppy left-handed motions, he made an X over his heart. “I promise, Doc.”
    She returned from the kitchen, scissors in hand, as quickly as she could. Even though he’d promised, she flew down the stairs and came back up by taking three steps at a time. He was out cold when she raced into his room, brandishing the scissors like a sword.
    Her heart softened a bit in that moment. With his hair standing on end, each strand waving