Page 161 of Stolen Bases

My dad starts breathing again, and it feels damn good to know he still has faith in me to turn shit around. This is the perfect opportunity to get some things off my chest.

“I know you guys think I’m a jokester. A playboy who doesn’t take life seriously and can’t be trusted to watch your kids alone or work with you. But there’s more to me.”

“Hold up,” Jace cuts me off, looking appalled. He places a hand on his chest. “None of us think that, Cameron. If I ever made you feel like I didn’t trust you with Rhys, I’m sorry, little brother. I know you would die for that kid. When I look at you with him, it makes me so fucking proud of the man you’ve become. I’m proud to call you my brother. Sure, you fuck around, but when it comes down to it, you have always been there for us. You’ve proven, time and again, what an amazing man you are. On and off the diamond.”

I’m stunned silent, and my stomach squelches. I’ve never heard him say anything like this before.

Mason interjects next. “Cam, you amaze me every day with your dedication and willpower. Your strength to achieve something so many dream about and so few accomplish in their lifetime. No offense, Dad.”

“None taken. I completely agree with you, Mase.” Dad looks me in the eye. “Cam, you wanted to pitch in the majors, and you made that happen. Sure, I helped along the way, but you were the one who showed up and put in the work. You graduated from college with two degrees and went into the MLB draft right after. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Eli continues, “Cam, we know you’re more than just a professional baseball player. We just weren’t sure you saw it. You majored in communications and sports management. You think I didn’t know why? Hell, I’ve been waiting for you to bring up working with me someday. Why do you think I’ve made friends with other agents who rep athletes?”

I point at him. “Because you like being the spider of Hollywood with all your secrets and favors?”

Eli preens like a peacock and shoots us all a smug grin. “New nickname alert.”

“Great, look what you did, Cam.” Dad knocks me upside the head.

“Hey, quit it with all the hitting.” The joy of being the youngest? I get beaten up the most.

“Anyway,” Eli steers us back on track. “I made all those connections for you. For when you’re ready to step into the new phase of your life.”

My throat clogs with emotion, my nose tingles, and my eyes cloud over. I knew my family loved me, but I guess I underestimated how much. My girl was right. My brothers have always seen me. The real me.

“You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you all say that. I love you guys.” I look away and wipe my eyes on my shirt. The distinct sounds of throats clearing have me glancing up to seeall the men in my life overwhelmed with emotion. “We better get off this mountain. I think I’m allergic to trees or something.”

Everyone chuckles as Jace pulls me into a hug. “Love you, kid.”

“I thought we came to fix his love life, not kiss his ring and tell him how fantastic he is,” Eli jokes.

“That’s Mr. Fantastic to you.” I point at him and wink. “Besides, there’s no fixing my love life. I pushed Talia to go home and fix stuff with her brother. Being here with you made me realize I did the right thing by giving her space. Sure, it’s killing me, but I did what I had to do to save her family. There isn’t a single person on the planet I’d let come between us. She deserves the same choice.”

“Wait.” Mason scratches his head. “I get what you’re saying, but how does that relate to her brother punching your pretty face?”

Jace taps his nose. “Good question. You’re leaving something out.”

“Spill. It’s the only way we can help you fix this shit.” Eli rubs his hands together, ready for the dirty details. My brothers are too fucking smart; it figures they would catch on.

I rub the back of my neck. If there was a way to take this to the grave, I would do it in a heartbeat. “You know how Romero hates me, right?”

“Yes,” they all say in unison.

“Well, umm, he hates me because … I slept with his girlfriend.” I spit the words out as fast as I can, the burn like acid on my tongue.

“When?” Eli asks.

“That’s the thing. He didn’t say when. I didn’t know he even had a girlfriend to begin with. And you can be sure as fuck I would never knowingly sleep with her. I don’t do that shit.” I look at Jace, begging him to believe me.

He went through a lot with his ex-wife. She cheated on him, got pregnant, and then trapped him into marrying her. It took him years before he admitted this to us.

“I believe you,” Jace says.

My shoulders sag in relief. After hearing my brothers tell me they are proud of me, the last thing I wanted was to tell them this and possibly lose their respect.

Eli laughs. “You’re telling me this guy hates you because you slept with his chick an undetermined amount of time ago? No. He’s a fucking liar. That’s just the cherry on the sundae. He hated you before that.”

“Agree,” Mason says, scratching his five o’clock shadow. “He was a prick from the start.”

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