Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(25)

“Hmmm.”

“Thennnn there were the adoption agencies. You’d think living in California, it wouldn’t be a big deal to be gay and adopt. But add in being single and forget about it.”

“You don’t have a sister or friend who would be a surrogate?” Travis asked.

Geo threw back his head and gave a phony laugh. “Ha ha. ‘Hey, would you mind carrying my baby for nine months, pushing a bowling ball out of your vagina, and then letting me have sole custody? Random female teacher from work?’ No.”

“Guess that would be a hard sell.”

“I have some good female friends, but they’ve got their own lives.”

“Right. So you really wanted to be a dad, huh?” The question sounded intrusive after it left Travis’s mouth. But Travis really wanted to know.

Geo sucked on his upper lip thoughtfully. “Always have. And I wanted to start in my thirties. I wanted to be young enough to really enjoy it. Be active with them. You know? Anyway. It worked out for the best. Because if those other things had gone through, I might never have met Jayden and Lucy.”

Geo’s face lit up when he said their names. His obvious devotion made Travis feel even stupider for what he’d thought before.

“How did you find them?”

Geo’s smile faded and he blinked. “Um. After I decided to foster, I reviewed around a dozen files. Lucy… Once I saw her history, saw her, there’s no way I could walk away. But then Jayden…he’s so gifted. You know? I could see that the system was holding him down, that he’d never get to blossom without someone believing in him, supporting him. I really struggled trying to decide. And then my mom…. She just said, ‘Take them both,’ like it was that simple. And…yeah. I knew that was how it was supposed to be.”

Geo tried to sound matter-of-fact, but Travis could hear the real emotion behind the words. His story made Travis wonder for the first time about what James and Ida thought when they’d seen his file all those years ago. If they’d seen in him what Geo saw in Jayden.

Damn, those were some heavy feels. Travis decided to change the subject. “So how old are you, Geo? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Thirty-two. How old are you?”

“Thirty-two.”

“Oooh, twins!” Geo teased. He elbowed Travis’s arm.

Travis smirked, his mood lightening. “Yeah, but it’s probably still young in your world. In baseball it’s ancient. Trust me.”

“So do you still hike a lot? Or do you not have time being in the pros and everything? That must be all-consuming, huh?”

“It is. But, like you, I have a few months off each year. In my case it’s November through mid-February though. I go off on my own and hike then.”

“Interesting. So maybe you were sitting on the same rock near Yosemite Falls where I sat, only six months later.”

“Probably.”

“Sounds like the plot for a sitcom.” Geo went into a phony movie-trailer voice. “‘Opposite men! They do the same thing only on exactly opposite days of the year!’”

Travis laughed. “Well, besides the hiking thing, I doubt we do much of anything alike. Baseball is pretty regimented.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s it like?”

Travis went into an explanation of baseball season. He usually got to the clubhouse by noon. Worked out in the weight room, ran drills followed by hydrotherapy and a massage. A lot of time was spent pampering his right shoulder. Pitchers had the worst injury rate of any position, and Travis’s arm had been quirky for the past two seasons. Sometimes it was fine, but sometimes he got a catch in it. Which made him worry and baby it even when it was okay. There were seven pitchers on the team, so Travis didn’t pitch every game, but he played a lot. The team travelled constantly to away games, spending lots of hours in planes and luxury buses. After the games there was the press, autographs, and post-game locker room admonishments or praise from the coaches. Travis usually didn’t get to bed until nearly midnight.

“Sounds intense. Do you get any time off during the season?” Geo asked.

“Not usually. But I worked it out in my contract to get a week off in the summer so I could come to camp. It’s important to me to support my dad and get to see my brothers and sisters. And I’d miss it if I never got to come. I grew up at this camp. It’s a big part of my life.”

Geo gave Travis a warm smile. “I bet you’re a real draw. Not that I had a clue who you were, but I bet it helps the camp’s reputation. You guys always sell out, right?”

Travis didn’t want to sound boastful, so he just shrugged. “Family’s important.” Especially when you grew up not having it. “So what’s teaching like?”

“Teaching? Oh, it’s hell on earth. With yogurt,” Geo quipped. “But I love it. Well, parts of it. The student parts. Some parts piss me off, like all the budget issues and standardized testing and…” Geo sighed. “I could go on, but I’ll spare you the gory details.”

“I bet you’re great at it.”

Geo gave him a funny look. “I’m pretty good, yeah. When I’m not, you know, dumping my kids and trying to get into a hot guy’s pants.”

Travis felt his face heat. “Shut up. I already apologized for that.”