Page 68 of Nailed at Home Plate

“Hey, Tom? Yeah, I heard. Coach called me already. But before I head over, there’s a few things I need you to do.”

I Found

AMBER RUN

Jamie didn’t show up last night.

He didn’t call either.

Instead, he only texted.

He let me know that…he gotthe call.

I tried to tell myself that the majors were different. They had different communication rules. Maybe he didn’t have a chance to call me. Maybe all he could do was shoot off a quick text. Either way, it was difficult to hide my disappointment at practice.

I’d grown so accustomed to seeing Jamie’s handsome face on the Silly’s field. The way his eyes lit up every time our gazes met across the sea of players. Despite his gruff demeanor when he first arrived, he became one of the Sillys in the end.

He poked fun with the guys, laughed at his own mess-ups, and was the one asking me to do another run-through of the dance so he was sure he had all the moves. While he kept his usual seriousness when it came to game time, he rediscovered that spark of fun that he had so long ago that came with playing baseball.

Within the last few weeks, he’d been playing some of the best baseball of his career. The guys inrecruiting and management would have had to be blind to miss it. No wonder they wanted him back.

Now that Jamie suddenly wasn’t here, it felt as if I’d imagined everything. Were the last two months just a fever dream? Did any of it actually happen?

It's your vagina’s fault. It wanted to get into his pants.

Thanks, brain. But not at all helpful.

Whatever. It was a group effort anyway.

I mean yes, sure, I wanted to see what he looked like underneath the uniform. Everything else after that had been a bonus. Anincrediblebonus. A bonus that had me believing that maybe we were something. Or…could be.

“Cadence, did you want to go to the bar with us to watch Jamie’s first game back?”

Martin’s question jarred me from my thoughts. I hesitated. As much as I would’ve loved to go with them, I was sure that I’d be an emotional mess. Of course I was thrilled for Jamie, but his sudden departure made me feel as if my life was incomplete again.

I didn’t want to damper the guys’ mood when they wanted to go out and have fun. All I wanted to do was go home, put on my favorite oversized tee, and bury myself in serotonin-boosting foods. There was entirely too much for me to figure out in the middle of a noisy bar.

“No thanks.” The looks I got from the guys made me pause. I never turned down watching a game with them whenever it had been offered. “I mean, I’ll just watch it at home. I’m tired after all the prep for the performance the other day. My PJs are calling my name.”

When Jamie initially texted, he told me we would talk later. However, my anxiety was not a patient person. Waiting was eating away at me.

“Oh, well…we’ll be sure to drink a beer for you.” Arlow offered up a lopsided smile to reassure me. He joined the rest of the crew as they slowly filtered out of the locker room. Practice had been less than productive with the guys talking secretively behind my back. It only made me more paranoid.

“You do that.” My voice unexpectedly cracked, and I quickly turned away. What the hell? Why was I getting emotional over this?

“Andrews!” I nearly jumped out of my skin as Topper’s booming voice invaded my thoughts. He poked his head out of his office. “I hope you’re not busy tonight. Corporate car just arrived for you.” His face looked as impassive as always. Ownership coming to you for anything was probably bad news. Nobody ever got a visit from their boss when it was good news.

Shit.

Did they know about me and Jamie? Who squealed?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I had to be in deep shit for ownership to send a car specifically for me. This evening just went from bad to worse.

“Uh…thanks, Coach.” I tipped my cap to him as he grabbed the last few things in his office to head home. Swallowing back my anxiety, I grabbed my stuff from my office and made my way out of the little stadium that had become my second home. Maybe this was goodbye.

Sure enough, at the entrance was a shiny black SUV. A looming beacon to my downfall. A hearse to my doom.

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