Page 104 of Trip Through Your Wires

“Hurt her knee. Freak accident on the mound.”

“Fuck,” he shakes his head.

“Can you imagine being told you would never play ball again?” I shake my head, the idea unfathomable.

“No,” Marcus admits. “It would be like losing a part of myself.”

“Well, for Jenica it was a double blow. She lost the sport she loved and her dream of going to college. Without an athletic scholarship, going to a four year school was out.”

“Shit,” Cruz sits back. “What about the folks at school? Didn’t anyone help her apply for scholarships?”

“Apparently, they were useless.” I curl and uncurl my fist, the fact those she trusted had abandoned her, making me as angry now, as it did when she told me.

“So that’s why she’s going to community college,” he says with confirmation.

“Yup,” I nod. “But she shouldn’t have to do that. She should be in college, playing ball. Her accuracy is crazy good for being off the mound for two years. And the power in her snap…” I shake my head. “It’s unreal.”

“You caught her?” Cruz’s brows push to his hairline.

“I did,” I smile, remembering the way she stood there with the same focus in her eyes that he has on the mound. “I’m telling you, she’s really, really good. Accuracy and heat. Just like you.”

“Well shit,” he shakes his head. “Then she needs to get back out there.”

I nod in total agreement. “I know.”

“So what are you going to do?” Marcus asks.

When Cruz asked me that question earlier, I didn’t have an answer. Now, I do. My dad said I would know what to do about Jenica and me when the moment came and that moment is here. I know what my grand gesture is going to be.

Pushing up from the couch, I stride out of the game room, and head to my bedroom. Marcus and Cruz follow and when I dial Coach and he picks up, yelling it better be good, I tell him Cruz and I are going to accept the deal from the Rockies, and his grovel turns to enthusiasm.

“Well,” Cruz dips his shoulder toward the stairs. “That’s my cue to tell Ellery we’re headed to Colorado next year, then call our parents. Gentlemen…” He holds out his fist and Marcus bumps his to it, and I do the same. “Tonight has been a pleasure.”

He heads up the stairs and Marcus stretches and lets out a yawn. “Me too. Brother,” he claps my back, “it was a good night. Let’s do it again soon.”

I grip his shoulder and watch as he turns and heads down the hall to his room. After closing my bedroom door, I grab the phone and call Coach back.

I didn’t want to tell the guys what I was thinking when I first called Coach because I haven’t told Jenica yet, and there’s something about telling them, before I do her, that seems wrong. But when he picks up again and I tell him all about Jenica and softball and he says he will do everything that he can to help me out.

As the idea of her and I being together permanently next year becomes more of a possibility with each second that passes, my excitement grows. I don’t want to wait until Friday to tell her. I want to fly down there right now and do so.

After calling the airlines and waiting on hold forever, I change my flight from Friday to tomorrow afternoon and headed to Savannah, not Charleston. It was the best they could do, but deciding it’s better than nothing, I book the flight and confirm I will pick up my new ticket at the airport tomorrow.

When I am done with that, I call the hotel, and bump up the check in date, which is not a problem, then pack my bags. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.

***

By the time I land in Georgia the next day it’s late afternoon. After getting the keys to my rent-a-car—a Pontiac Sunfire, not nearly as cool as a Camaro—and a coffee to go, I’m off.

I barely slept last night, but thanks to a little caffeine and finding the same classic rock station I listened to when I came down here before, I make my way to Davenport, using Ellery’s directions, which are still in my memory.

Just after passing Cherry Cove, a detour on I-95 routes me away from the highway onto a smaller country road, adding an hour to my time. Thumping the wheel anxiously, I crank up the music, take a deep breath, and follow the orange signs.

When the signs disappear and the road grows windier, I look for a place to pull over to consult the map that came with the rental, when a driveway flanked by gas lanterns comes into view. Deciding directions from a local is better than mapping the rest of the way on my own, I pull into the drive and head toward the bright lights in the distance.

Chapter 23

Jenica

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