No One Like You by Kate Angell Page A

bald spot. He would’ve smiled had Halo not looked ready to kill someone.
    Rylan finished buttoning his navy jersey and tucked it into his baseball pants. Then threaded his belt and asked unnecessarily, “Who’s your barber?” Somehow he already knew.
    Halo stood two lockers down. He tugged his gray T-shirt over his head. His voice was muffled through the neck hole. “Beth took scissors to me.”
    “You saw her this morning?” When? Ry wondered.
    “I located the wraparound bench she wanted for your picnic and delivered it early.” Halo tossed his shirt on the floor of his locker, then heel-toed his athletic shoes. He stood in his socks. “You and I passed at the corner. Didn’t you see me? I waved.”
    Waved? His ass. Halo’s Hummer was hard to miss. It took up two parking places in the players’ lot. Rylan drove defensively. There hadn’t been another car on his street this morning, and only minimal traffic on the highway to the stadium.
    “I only planned to stay a few minutes,” the right fielder continued, “but once I unloaded the redwood sections, Beth begged me to put the bench together. Right then, right there.”
    “Begged you like she did yesterday with the yard work?”
    Halo shrugged. “More or less.”
    Ry figured less.
    “She’s a hard woman to refuse.”
    “The setup took two hours?”
    “Time got away from me.”
    Two hours was a lot to lose. Rylan didn’t believe for a second that Halo had spent that length of time at his cottage. “The reason for your cut?” He’d yet to figure that out. “Mine was a mistake.”
    Halo winced. “Mine was on purpose. Beth mumbled something about ‘team unity,’ and that haircuts were better than tattoos. I had no idea what she was talking about.” He glanced at Rylan. “But now I do. She got to you, then came after me. The woman can’t be trusted with scissors. She’s not my favorite person at the moment.”
    Team unity. Ry’s chest warmed. He appreciated Beth looking out for him. She’d slipped up with his cowlick, yet deliberately sheared Halo. She’d taken the focus off him on Media Day. Her loyalty meant a lot.
    Ry had received strange looks from his teammates when he’d first entered the locker room. There’d been a few raised eyebrows, but only one smirk. Landon Kane stared the longest, looking confused, but no one had questioned him. They’d waited for him to explain. He’d yet to do so.
    Silence had held until the last uniformed man left for the plaza. The footprint ceremony was about to begin. Rylan had remained in the locker room, waiting for Halo. Where could he be? Ry had wondered.
    Late and unconcerned, Halo had finally made an appearance. In his own good time—which was inconsiderate. And irritating.
    Ry practiced patience.
    Clubhouse manager Walter Atwater made the locker assignments. As a veteran player, Ry had seniority and was given two lockers so he could spread out and be comfortable. Space was important to him. He was adjacent to the lounge and food cart and had easy access to the showers.
    Halo’s locker adjoined Ry’s. Walt had hoped by placing Halo next to him during spring training that Rylan’s stability would rub off on the rule breaker, even a little.
    Ry had his doubts. He pitched his wallet and keys on the top shelf of the empty locker that separated them. Halo already coveted his real estate. Landon Kane’s locker was next to Halo’s. The starting lineup filled the row against the south wall.
    Rylan was still curious about Halo’s whereabouts prior to his stop at the cottage. The truth lay in what had happened beforehand . Stopping by his home was a half-assed excuse. Beth knew the importance of today and wouldn’t have allowed Halo to linger. She would’ve broomed his ass.
    The man’s personal life was his own, unless it affected team events. It had interfered today. Ry wasn’t aware of an all-night poker game. He usually got an invite. Or a dusk-to-dawn party under the city pier. He figured a