Chapter 37

Only a couple of good things came from the week, aside from the obvious.

Chastity managed to secure four tickets for Cynthia Lu and her staff. Cynthia had promised Brock that the people she had in mind would blend in seamlessly with the group. Randi was taking two people for security already – and Chris would attend with Jen. After a phone call from the Dodgers, an undersheriff pulled Zoe aside and tasked her with a special assignment while in Arizona. She was to be the department's liaison to the private security forces in place – and she was authorized to carry her sidearm at the stadium. That relieved a lot of worry from many minds as the game approached.

The other positive note came during a call to J.C. to let him know what had happened in L.A. The last thing Brock wanted was to have someone wander into a dangerous situation. After discussing the precautions in place, Brock asked J.C. if he was interested in ridding himself of his Los Angeles property.

"A little more than interested," J.C. admitted. "I was going to bring this up after the game but now is as good a time as any. It's not costing me anything right now. The rent I'm charging you covers the taxes and the upkeep. But I'm in negotiations with the Indians about a long-term deal. I think they want to soothe my ego after they bumped me back in the playoffs. If they want to do it with cold cash, I'm cool with it."

Brock laughed. He knew J.C. had found a comfortable spot with the Indians and the team would be competitive for five or six more years unless a rash of injuries hit.

"They're talking seven years, $180 million," J.C. confided.

"Jesus Christ," Brock exploded. "The Indians don't do contracts like that."

"That's what Stan said," J.C. said with a laugh. "Actually, I think it was word for word. He about shit when I told him to make a counteroffer – seven years, $120 million as long as the money I left on the table was used to sign other players to long-term deals."

"You're kidding me," Brock said.

"Man, I got plenty of money," J.C. said. "I'd like nothing more than to put this team in a position to win every year. The fans finally came back to the ballpark in the past couple of years. I want them to stay here long after I'm retired and fishing every day."

"Well, it's unique," Brock told him. "And I wouldn't count on it starting a trend."

"Nah, I didn't figure it would," J.C. replied. "It feels right for me, though. The thing is, well, I'm not sure how to say this. It made my Dad prouder of me than when I signed in the first place. The look on his face when I told him what I planned to was worth more to me than $60 million. I know he worried about me out in L.A., wondered if it would change me. It did a little. I became wary of meeting people, of having them get close enough to use me for something."

"The real kicker was the time I spent out there with you guys. It made me realize that money was nice but it was better to build something with a legacy. That's what you've done. As the people around you meet more people, they come to understand that how you treat people is important. I saw it with Tia. She was scared to death out there when she first showed up. She was so isolated from reality. She totally misunderstood the dynamics out there. I'm not really sure she understood them until she was back in Miami and got a full recounting of everything that happened."

"We made a difference there, Brock. Sure, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't anything important. But it was important to our friends that we did it. We didn't consider how much money it might cost. We did it because it was right. This contract thing? This is right for me; it's right for the team; it's right for the community. I don't see the downside."

"I don't either," Brock said, a little in awe of his friend. He wasn't sure he wouldn't have taken the money and ran. It was what he'd done in Lewis County. He forced a city and a county into near bankruptcy. He felt a little ashamed of himself for a moment, until it dawned on him that the situations were entirely different. The money he exacted had been a penalty for malfeasance. It was compensation - not for what was expected but for what they had already taken. The feeling of guilt passed quickly.

"You know, the things we did for the soccer team just sort of happened," Brock said. "It was nice to be in a position to help but I think it was more luck than any grand design."

"The design took place well before July," J.C. told him. "It took place in the last eight or nine years. The only thing lucky about it was when those people met you."

"When I met them," Brock corrected. "I was arguing with Jen about this after Thanksgiving. Do you remember her? Blonde, cute as hell."

"Cute as a junebug," J.C. said with a laugh. "Yeah, I remember all of them. I even got to meet your sister last time and Al's niece. They're sweethearts."

"They are," Brock confirmed. "But back to Jen. When I was first released, I didn't want anything to do with anyone. You think you were bad out here. You should have seen me. I was a very bitter, very unhappy person. The day I moved in I saw a little blonde girl poke her head over the fence. We started to talk and everything you see spawned from that. If she hadn't taken the initiative to speak to me – if she and her family hadn't dragged me out of my self-imposed prison – I'm not sure where I would be right now. It sure wouldn't be here and it wouldn't be nice. That's the only things I'm sure about."

The two men paused to reflect on what Brock had said.

"Uh, so, about the house," Brock said.

"I bought it for $5.5 million three years ago," J.C. said. "I thought I needed a Los Angeles mansion because I signed that big contract. I liked it, don't get me wrong. But I think I should have settled for something smaller. Have you thought about that?"

"Yeah," Brock said. "And if it was going to be just me, I'd go for one of the houses behind us. But I'm not going to be alone."

"No kidding!" J.C. said. "That's great. Uh, I hate to ask but which one? I could never be sure which ones were just friends which ones were more than friends."

Brock laughed.

"Meredith," Brock said. "And Randi."

"And Randi?" J.C. wondered. "I did not see that one coming."

"Yeah, me either," Brock admitted. "Darla is getting married in summer. I guess she's been seeing an orthodontist from Malibu for a couple of years. She's been living with him for most of the year. She wanted to make sure Randi was going to be OK before she took on a new family. There are two boys in this one, teenagers. I've only been around them a couple of times but they really look up to Darla and Darla is really good for them."

"Darla?" J.C. asked. "Darla Darby? The woman who lived next door to me? Man, I have to tell you, I always thought that woman was an idiot. I like Randi, don't get me wrong. But if I treated my Mom the way she treated hers, well, I would still be rubbing welts off my behind."

"There's a story to that," Brock said. "One I can't share with anyone. But Darla has become more assertive in the past few months. You saw how she was when you were here in July."

"That surprised me, but I thought maybe she had hit her head or something," J.C. confessed. "I guess we should get back to the house before we forget."

"Oh, yeah," Brock said. He had already forgotten why he called.

"I don't mind letting it go for what I have in it," J.C. said. "I've been thinking of listing it but I wanted you to have first shot."

"What would you list it for?" Brock wondered.

"Probably a little higher, not much since I want rid of it but enough I could pay the commission and still break even," J.C. told him. "Maybe $6 million. I haven't really gotten to the point of thinking about it or having it appraised."

"Meredith has taken it upon herself to do that," Brock said. "So if we offer you the appraised price, you'd be good with it?"

"Well, I don't want to really lose money," J.C. said. "But if that's all you're willing to go then I suppose it would work. I know property out there is hard to sell right now. Still, I don't need it and I want rid of it."

"You won't lose money," Brock said. "I would never do that to you. It was appraised at $7.3 million. That's what I'm supposed to offer you for it."

J.C. laughed.

"You and me, we got it all backward," J.C. said. "Stan told me that I was never to try to negotiate anything ever again. I went the wrong way. Wait until I tell him you're just as bad as I am."

"It works well for everyone," Brock told him. "You get to recoup some of the taxes you paid when you lived here, I get domestic harmony."

"I want visitation rights when I'm out there," J.C. added.

"Every other weekend and Wednesday nights," Brock offered with a laugh. "That's the best the court is going to give you."

"We'll hash out the deal after Phoenix," J.C. replied. "I'll see you there."

Jen's arrival in Los Angeles was reason enough for a party but coupled with Meredith's graduation from college, it was easy to decide to give everyone an opportunity to cut loose for a night.

It took some doing, but Randi and Brock rented a small nightclub on the first Sunday after Jen returned and the day after Meredith earned her degree in psychology. They invited almost everyone they knew and hired cars to transport people home. Sunday nights were a slow time for the club. It usually closed by 10 p.m. anyway on Sundays so the owner was glad to have a little money in the cash register even if it meant pushing people out the door at 7 p.m.

The guest list spanned from members of the legal community to members of the law-enforcement community to college students to entertainers to athletes. Brock was gratified when Al and Esmi and Josh and Mandy decided to fly out to L.A. for a few days that corresponded with the event. J.C. wanted to come but he was locked into some promotional stops for the Indians.

Zoe invited a few friends from the sheriff's department, which meant Randi and her friends would have to be careful if they chose to try to sneak a drink, and Mel invited two coworkers from the D.A.'s office, a pair of young paralegals who seemed to fit in well with everyone. Even Sam showed up to enjoy an evening out of the house.

Tara and Zack were there, arm in arm, and Chris showed up as Jen's escort. Emmy had brought along a handful of graduate students who were still in L.A. because their classes had just ended. One the largest shocks came when Susan brought a date. Perhaps more surprising was the guy seemed like a decent sort, not the typical tool Susan usually brought around. A group of Randi's friends from television, including Rachel Evans and, amazingly, Lorelei Callum, showed up together.