Page 95 of Endgame

And why has he not been snatched up by now?

“And with the right woman.” His eyes sparkle with devotion and warmth, leaning into me. It’s a warmth I want to claim in him and hold onto forever.

“Yes, with the right woman for you.”

My head finds his chest again, our breathing in unison with each other.

I can’t shake the thought of being the right woman for Callaway.

The woman who can fit into his life perfectly. Is that woman me?

I can only hope.

39

CALLAWAY

“Got a sec, Hayes?”

The team just finished a four-hour practice before the weekend, and my body is spent. Most of the practice was spent on fielding drills, which means nonstop pitching sequences and balance drills for the pitchers.

AKA, hell.

I haven’t had a chance to catch up with Leggins in a while, so him calling me over is the perfect chance to follow up with my friend.

“What’s up, Coach?”

Today is the first day I’ve seen him since our away game in Cleveland. Once we returned, Coach Myer told us Leggins would be out for the next week of practices and games due to a family emergency.

He encouraged us to hold off on reaching out and give him some time to communicate when he’s ready.

So that’s what I’ve done.

But the more significant part of me, who cares about my friend and coach, wants to see if there is anything I can do to help him.

I’m the last one in the locker room, sitting on the wooden bench, lacing up my sneakers. Coach Leggins sits beside me with his hands locked out before him and exhales heavily. “Tay’s got cancer. Stage four breast cancer.”

Holy shit. That was unexpected.

What can you even say to someone with this kind of news?

Nothing. Nothing will make it better.

“Jack. I’m sorry, man. How is she?”

He doesn’t seem angry, just exhausted. I can imagine this is a weight he’s been battling alone for some time now. I don’t know much about his marriage to Taylor, but it’s evident he cares about her.

I’m not convinced it's love, but she is hiswife,which requires some amount of care.

“About as good as she can be. We knew something was going on, but not this. The past week only validated it.”

I hate that I had no idea.

“What happened, Coach? How does one wake up andhavebreast cancer? Make it make sense.”

He rubs his scruffy beard between his fingers, a mannerism I’ve learned he does when he’s stressed.

“Hell, if I know. She had been complaining of pain in her left breast, and her lymph nodes on the same side were swollen. It's not the kind of inflammation where it comes and goes—it only stays and gets worse over time. It started with that. Then the rash showed up, and then the pain. It happened so fucking fast, Hayes. I don’t know how to help her. The doctor confirmed Monday that she needs chemo, which thankfully she agreed to, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work. This bitch of a disease has spread like a wildfire in her body. It’s in her stomach and everywhere, man.”

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