HOME RUN BABY

EXTENDED EPILOGUE

TABATHA KISS

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2022 by Tabatha Kiss

All Rights Reserved. eBook Edition.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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BEFORE YOU READ…

This epilogue takes place after the events of Home Run Baby, so it’s strongly recommended that you read that first!

Enjoy!

xo Tabby

EXTENDED EPILOGUE

DAISY

“Unexpected”

Well, this is unexpected.

I stare at the stick in my hand. White. Plastic. The tip covered in my own urine with a tiny plus sign in the results window.

“Uh-oh,” I say.

With a sigh, I set the stick down on the counter beside me and reach for my phone.

“Hey, sister,” Rose answers after only two rings. She sounds busy, most likely ass-deep in the morning ritual of getting her three kids off to school in one piece. “What’s up?”

“Guess who’s pregnant!” I say.

She gasps. “Violet?!”

“What? No.” I frown. “Me.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I said, too.”

“Have you told Hunter?” she asks.

“Not yet. I just found out.”

“What did your doctor say?”

“I haven’t seen her yet,” I say. “I just found out.”

“You took a test? Just now?”

“I’m still on the toilet.”

“You called me from the toilet?” she asks, audibly disgusted. “Did you wash your hands?”

“Rose. Focus, please. I’m gestating here.”

She exhales hard, then her voice lightens. “Oh, my god!” she says.

“Oh, my god,” I repeat.

“You’re having a baby! … At thirty-seven years old. Boy, that’s a scary thought.”

I nod, glaring at the white stick. “Yeah.”

“Congratulations, though!” she adds.

“Thanks.”

“How far along are you, you think?”

“Two months, maybe? Hard to say, though…” I laugh, full of memories. “Yeah, it probably happened in March. That was one wild spring break.”

“You got a spring break? How?” she asks. “Oh, wait. That’s right. You don’t have three kids.”

“Yet,” I murmur pointedly at the stick.

“When are you gonna tell Hunter?” she asks.

“Next time I see him. Tonight, I guess,” I say, reaching for some toilet paper.

“Where’s he now?”

“Denver. But there’s a home game tomorrow, so—“ The front door opens and closes downstairs… in my empty house. “Hunter?” I shout. “That you?”

“Yeah, it’s me!” he shouts back.

“Or I can tell him now because he just walked in unexpectedly,” I tell Rose.

“Tell me how it goes!” she says. “This is so exciting!”

“Bye,” I say, hanging up and finishing my business.

I exit the master bathroom as Hunter enters the bedroom. He’s carrying his usual overnighter, his jacket slung over one arm.

“Hey,” I say, surprised but happy to see him. “What are you doing home? I thought you had a doubleheader today.”

He sets his things down. “Games got postponed, so they flew us back,” he says, coming in for a hug. I kiss his cheek. “What are you doing up so early?” He bites his lip, sinister. “I hoped to sneak in here and get in a little under-the-covers time with you.”

“No reason you still can’t.” I tilt my head, offering my lips, and Hunter kisses me softly. “Welcome home.”

“Glad to be home.”

I tingle all over as his hands curl around me, slowly coming to rest on my rear. He gives me a light squeeze, his lips curling as he kisses me again. My thoughts dissolve as I blissfully sink into his arms. My wonderful, hot-as-fuck husband… who apparently accidentally knocked me up again.

“Violet at school?” he asks, his voice full of lust.

“With rehearsal after. Won’t be home until dinner.”

“Excellent.” He gives my ass a quick slap before releasing me. “You get naked. I gotta use the can.”

I chuckle as he walks into the bathroom, quickly bending over to grab his jacket and hang it up.

A folded page slips out of his inner pocket and tumbles to the floor. I pick it up, my curiosity winning out as I unfold it. It’s a form, one of hundreds I’ve seen him fill out over the years as a pro baseball player.

Notice of… Retirement?

“Hunter,” I say. “What’s this?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” he says from the bathroom doorway. “Daisy, what’s this?”

I look up, freezing in place as I spot the plastic stick in his hand.

“You’re retiring?” I ask.

“You’re pregnant?” he asks.

We stare at each other, neither of us willing to break the silence.

I look at the form again. “It’s your arm, isn’t it?” I ask.

Hunter nods slowly. “The doctors say if I keep going like I am, it’s only a matter of time until something else snaps,” he says. “Rather than risk permanent injury, I’ve decided to step away. They’re announcing it tomorrow. Saturday’s my last game.”

My heart breaks for him. Home Run Hunter hanging up his mitt for good.

“How do you feel about that?” I ask.

“Relieved,” he says, adding a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting to feel that way, but… I feel relief. It’s over. And I’m ending it on my terms, you know?”

I nod. “Fifteen years is a hell of a career,” I say, smiling. “Most players don’t get that.”

“I know.” He smiles, too. “I have no regrets.”

I open my arms, offering him a firm embrace. He holds me close and exhales, the tension in his shoulders relaxing. “You’re okay with this?” he asks.

I chuckle. “Hey, I’m the one who floated the idea of your retirement when you locked in your pension.”

He kisses my forehead. “It’s hard to give up that feeling,” he says. “Sold out stadiums. People chanting your name.”

“I chant your name all the time,” I tease.

He grins. We kiss one more time, then he holds up the pregnancy test between us. “Speaking of…”

“Yeah,” I say, glaring at it.

“Pregnant?” he asks, excitement in his eyes.

“Apparently so.”

“And you’re sure?”

I scoff, annoyed. “Hunter.”

“I mean, it’s not a false positive?” he asks.

“Doubtful. Unfortunately, there are symptoms this time, so…” I exhale hard. “I’m sure.”

Hunter shakes his head once. “Well, ain’t this some timing?”

“My uterus has always had a mind of its own,” I say.

He chortles, knowing that truth. “How do you feel about it?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I say. “I just took that test.”

Hunter drops it on the floor. “Did you wash your hands?”

“Like, do I really want to birth a child again?” I say aloud. “The first one wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.”

“Oh, I remember.”

“Do I really want to do the late night feedings? The diaper changes? School functions? Holidays and… play dates?” I pause, realizing I’m smiling. Realizing how warm my heart feels. “I think I might.”

“You do?” Hunter asks.

“I do.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He bends forward, taking me by surprise as he throws me over his shoulder. “Because I do, too.”

I laugh as he carries me toward the bed. “Do you really?”

He throws me down — gently, of course — then mounts the bed, kicking off his shoes. “I am over the fucking moon right now,” he says, balancing over me. “I know we always said one and done, but I saw that test sitting there and my instincts went nuts.”

“Yeah,” I say, tears pricking my lashes. “Mine, too.”

Hunter kisses me, a smile etched on his mouth. “We’re having a baby,” he whispers.

I kiss him, cupping his handsome face. “We are.”

“How far along?” he asks, then laughs. “It was spring break, wasn’t it?”

“Damn, that week was wild.”

Another kiss, our hearts racing.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“Fine, at the moment. I was sick last night, though, and I tell you, the second that wave hit me, I knew exactly what it was.”

Hunter cringes, memories of him holding my hair back no doubt echoing in his memory, too. “Well, we’re more prepared this time,” he says, shifting onto one arm beside me. “Big house. More savings.”

“Savings, period,” I quip. “And with you retiring, you can try the stay at home dad thing. That might be fun.”

Hunter doesn’t reply, his face going blank with thought.

“Or… not?” I say. “We could do the nanny thing again, I guess?”

He looks at me, his thousand-yard stare broken. “Remember how my parents mentioned over Christmas about possibly selling their house? Getting a smaller place closer to the city?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I answer with a shrug.

His brow arches.

I blink. “You want to buy your parents’ house?”

“Maybe.” His eyes flash with ideas. “Yeah, I think so. It’s perfect!”

“It is?”

“We’ll move back home,” he says. “Buy the house. Take some time off to fix it up, make it ours. We’ll be closer to family. To Rose and John and the kids.”

“Eh. Rose and the kids.”

“And I can vouch for it. It’s a great place to raise a child. I turned out okay.”

I smile at his enthusiasm. “And what about my job, Mr. Retired?”

“SI has regional offices in Chicago,” he says.

“True.”

“The commute might suck, but it’s not impossible. Or you can take that sabbatical you’re always talking about,” he says. “Go independent for a while. Do freelance work.”

“Hunter—“

“We have plenty of savings. More than enough for you to only work when you want to. After a few years, once this kid is in school, I’ll look into some coaching gigs. I’m still close with the athletics department at Chicago North. I’m sure they’d leap to offer Home Run Hunter a job.”

“You’ve always wanted to coach,” I say, picturing it.

He grins. “Daisy, we can do this.”

I feel my smile growing. Honestly, it sounds… perfect.

Is it possible that, for once in our lives together, our timing isn’t horribly wrong?

I take a breath, trying to keep a level head. “As wonderful as this sounds, Hunter, there is one factor you haven’t considered,” I remind him.

“I know,” he says. “Violet.”

“She worked so hard to get into her studio,” I say. “All of her friends are here. Her coach.”

“I know.”

I tilt my head. “I don’t want to uproot everything she has.”

Hunter nods. “You’re right. And we won’t. We’ll make this decision together as a family. If she doesn’t want to go, we’ll stay and revisit the idea when she graduates.”

I brush his hair off his forehead. “And you’ll be happy with that?”

“I’m already happy. I’m gonna be a daddy again,” he says, his smile so deep, his eyes warm with tears. “I love you, Daisy.”

“I love you too, Hunter,” I whisper.

He crushes his mouth on mine. His strong hands draw me against him, slowly traveling down to cup my rear. I succumb to his embrace, parting my knees and bringing us even closer together.

Hunter hums. “There’s my naughty wife,” he murmurs with a low growl.

I push his zipper down and he sighs, his bulge free to grow. His kiss caresses my neck as he pulls my shirt over my head. We undress each other, slowly exposing warm skin to kiss and touch. It’s seconds of agony, of desire, of bodies screaming for pleasure, until Hunter finally pulls my panties off and aligns our bodies together.

I gasp, blissfully filled. Hunter takes me, his thrusts quick but careful. It reminds me of our early days. He’s always fucked me well, but there was something different in the way he touched me when I was pregnant. Now, I remember his gentleness. His passion and admiration. His worship for the amazing things my body can do that his cannot.

A fucking goddess, he once said.

Moans tempt my tongue. Pleasure courses through me, wave after wave of it trembling my core. All this time, all these years, and Hunter still knows exactly what I need. He gives it to me, hard and fast. He—

Stops.

He fucking stops.

“No!” I cry, biting down. “Don’t stop.”

He laughs as he silences me with a deep kiss. “Oh, I’m not stopping,” he says, traveling downward. “I am just… getting… started.”

I gasp with delight, his head between my thighs.

* * *

“Mom, I’m home!”

Hunter and I look at each other. It’s time.

“We’re in here!” I shout from the kitchen.

Violet’s graceful stride barely whispers the floor as she enters from the foyer. She appears in the kitchen doorway, clad in a pair of tights over her leotard and a loose sweater hanging off one shoulder. Her dark caramel hair sits on the top of her head in a tight bun.

Who knew that Hunter’s little baller-ina would turn out to become, well…

A ballerina.

Her blue eyes open wide in surprise as she spots her father by the sink. “Dad!” She rushes forward, excitedly dropping her gym bag and slippers to the floor. “You’re home!”

Hunter quickly pats his hands dry on a dish towel before throwing his arms around her, easily lifting her petite frame off the floor in a father bear hug. “And so are you!” he says, kissing her cheek. “How was rehearsal?”

Violet rolls her eyes as he sets her down. “Still can’t get the moves down in the second verse, but otherwise, okay.”

“Just keep practicing,” he says, forever the coach. “Build that muscle memory. We’ll work on it later tonight.”

“After homework,” I say, giving them both a look as I check on dinner in the oven.

“Yes, Mom,” Violet says with a smile. “How long before dinner? Smells great.”

“A few minutes.”

“Cool.” She grabs her bag off the floor. “I’ll go get in a shower first.”

“Wait a minute, honey,” Hunter says. “Your mom and I have something we need to talk to you about first.”

My heart flutters with nerves, but he’s right. Let’s get this out now so we can talk it out. It’s never been my strongest suit, but after what we’ve been through together, it’s always been Hunter’s style.

Violet pauses, glancing at us both. “Okay,” she says, taking a seat across from us at the island counter. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

Hunter and I look at each other, a strategy already in place.

His news first.

“Everything is fine,” he says, assuring her. “We just have some news.”

She nods, staying quiet.

“First,” he says, “I’m not going to be playing baseball anymore.”

“Oh.” Violet blinks twice as she exhales, not really surprised. “You’re finally retiring, huh?”

“It’s time,” he says. “My arm can’t keep up anymore and I’d rather hit the brakes now before it breaks me.”

She nods with understanding, herself an athlete. “Good idea,” she says. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m playing my last game on Saturday, and then I’m homebound for a while.”

She smiles at that, always thrilled to have him around. “We’re going to the game, right?” she asks me.

“Of course,” I say. “The magazine will demand I do a feature for sure.” I look at Hunter and he gives me a silent push. “Also… honey, we have something else we need to tell you.”

Violet braces herself again. “Okay.”

“It’s a good thing,” Hunter says.

“Yes! A really good thing,” I say. “A surprising thing, but… good.”

She nods, her little blue eyes full of concern now.

I smile at Hunter. “Your dad and I are having a baby.”

Violet’s jaw drops in disbelief. “What?”

“Obviously, this wasn’t part of the plan, but we are excited about it.”

“Mom, you’re pregnant?” she asks.

“Yes, Vi. I am.”

“Oh, my god!” She covers her mouth, then lowers her hand. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“I’m gonna be a big sister?”

“You are,” Hunter says.

“We just found out this morning,” I say. “So, please keep the news to yourself for now.”

She gasps, full of shock. “Holy shit, okay. Um…” She covers her mouth again. “Sorry. I just… this is huge.”

“Really huge.”

“How?” She cringes. “I mean, I know how, and no, I don’t want to talk about that part. When? When are you due?”

I pause to think. “December? Maybe. We’ll know for sure next week. I’ve already made an appointment.”

“Wow,” she whispers, the news still sinking in. “Congratulations. That’s amazing!”

Violet hops off her seat and rounds the counter to hug me. I exhale, relieved by her reaction, thankful for her maturity. If my parents had dropped this news on me at fifteen, I can’t say I would have reacted the same way. Yet another reason to love Hunter, because she didn’t get it from me. That’s for sure.

Violet releases me and hugs Hunter, too. “Okay, so…” She steps back and looks between us. “Is there anything else?” she jokes.

I glance at Hunter, and her face falls.

“What?” she asks, reading our expressions. “Oh, god, what else is there?”

“Nothing,” I say. “Well, there is something that we want to run by you.”

“It’s a big change,” Hunter says.

“Bigger than you retiring from pro baseball and Mom having a baby?” she asks.

I squint. “A little?”

Violet eases a step back, concerned. “Oh.”

“Now, honey,” Hunter begins, “we want you to know that this is just an idea. We won’t force you to go. You have full veto power on this. Just say no, and it’s off the table.”

Violet says nothing, her posture stiff as she listens.

“We’re thinking about moving back home to Illinois,” he says.

“Illinois?” she repeats.

“Your grandparents are selling their house. It’s the house I grew up in, and it’s really special to me. With my new employment status and the new baby on the way, we thought—“

“We’re moving to Illinois?!”

“No,” he says, a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not set in stone.”

My chest clenches. I knew this was too wonderful to be true. “If you don’t want to go, then we won’t go,” I say.

“No, I want to go!” she says, her excited eyes even wider than before.

Hunter and I exchange a glance, confused.

“You do?” I ask.

“I could go to The Vaughn Academy!”

“The what?” Hunter asks.

“What’s that, Vi?” I ask.

“The Vaughn Academy!” She hops on her toes. “It’s this really amazing dance school in Chicago that Coach told me about. It’s really hard to get into and it’s really, really expensive, but I really wanna go!” She holds her hands in prayer. “Can I go? Please?”

I hesitate. Hunter holds his breath, too.

This was… unexpected.

“We’d have to take a look at it first, but yeah,” I say, passing it to Hunter. “I guess?”

“We can definitely talk about it,” Hunter says. “Sure, kid.”

Violet squeals and throws her arms around him again, almost instantly letting go to hug me, too. “Thank you! Thank you! Oh, my god! I’m going to The Vaughn Academy!”

“I said we’d talk about it, Vi—”

“I have to go tell Courtney!”

She runs off, scooping her bag off the floor as she bolts toward the stairs.

“Hey! Dinner’s ready!” I shout after her.

But she’s already gone. “I’m not hungry!”

I deflate, this day almost too much. “Huh,” I mutter. “That went well.”

“That went well,” Hunter agrees.

“So, I guess…” I look at my husband, our life, our house… for now. “I guess we’re going to Illinois,” I say, the idea suddenly more concrete.

“I guess we are.”

“This feels quick,” I say. “Doesn’t it?”

Hunter simply shrugs as he takes my hand and draws it to his lips. “When have we ever done things slowly?” he says, kissing my fingertips.

I can’t disagree with that.

Goodbye, Los Angeles. It’s been great.

But there’s no place like home.

And thus, a new chapter of our story begins.

* * *

Hunter and Daisy’s daughter is all grown up…

Meet Violet in Halftime Heartbreaker!

Available January 17, 2023

Buy now!

MORE FROM THE TABIVERSE…

Love John and Rose? Read their story in First Down Darling! Available now. (And don’t forget Touchdown Baby, Junior and Alyssa’s book!)

Who is Hayden Botsford, Hunter’s new teammate? Meet him in my Heartthrob Hotel series. His book is Just a Kiss and it features a hilarious cameo from everyone’s favorite nosy reporter, Trisha Wells!

Meet more Chicago North students in my Bad Boys of Delta Xi series. Start reading with the hilarious On His Face.

For the complete character map, visit https://www.tabathakiss.com/charactermap.

Happy reading!

xo Tabby

ALSO BY TABATHA

For a complete list of titles,

visit tabathakiss.com.

Princes of Chicago North

Halftime Heartbreaker

Kings of Chicago North

Touchdown Baby

First Down Darling

Home Run Baby

Bad Boys of Delta Xi

On His Face

On His Knees

The Heartthrobs

Ego Trip

Heartthrob Hotel

Just a Touch

Just a Kiss

Just a Fling

Just a Crush

Just a King

Chicago Nights

Pretty Little Thing

Pretty Dirty Trick

Pretty Ever After

Sweet Cravings

Muffin Top

Hot Sauce

Old Habits

The Mechanic

The Milkman

The Pink Series

2 in the Pink

Pink Christmas

Pink Valentine

Stand-alones

Lumberjack Boss

I Hate You, Kai Casablancas

Paranormal & Fantasy Romance

Death

Killer Love

Writing as Tabatha Drake

Killer Love

Secret Love

Tainted Love

Broken Love

Mad Love

Cruel Love

Endless Love

The Midwest Diaries

Writing as Tabatha Drake

Untouched

Unbroken

Undying

For more, go to TabathaKiss.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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