Page 145 of Home Field Advantage
When I wake up at my usual five a.m., he’s gone.
There’s no text on my phone.
The Tahoe isn’t in the driveway.
And that’s when I know…he didn’t stay.
CHAPTER 38
I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS GOING FORWARD.
Dallas
“Is now a good time to tell you that I’ve never been to a city before?” Tucker asks, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse that’s been vacant for months.
“Never?”
He shakes his head, turning around to face me, and shrugs. “Small town boy.”
His tone is flat, and for the first time since knowing Tucker, there isn’t a joke behind his words. There’s no punchline coming, and it’s an uncomfortable feeling, but I choose not to push it. If he wanted to tell me, he would.
“What time is your meeting?” he asks.
“Noon. You’re coming with me, right?”
His eyes widen and quickly shift to the Tucker I’ve known since the day I met him. “I can go?” I nod, and he begins pacing. “Oh my god. Like, I get to see the Staghorns stadium? Are other players going to be there?”
There’s the Tucker I know.
“That was my plan all along.” I laugh, grabbing my keys from the entryway table and holding the door open for him. “Let’s get going, and I’ll give you an official tour before my meeting.”
He skips toward me with a smile on his face.
I close the door behind us, locking up, and I find myself pausing with my key in the lock. As I stare down at it, it feels foreign. It’s been months since I’ve been here, since deciding to go to Bluestone Lakes when April was presented with an incredible opportunity.
It was for myself, too.
I needed to get out of here and away from the decisions that weighed on my chest.
I just didn’t know being back here would make me want to go back to Wyoming and…stay.
I don’t want to lock this over the top penthouse suite anymore. I don’t want a view that overlooks the city with horns blasting in the streets below me. I never thought I’d feel this way because being here was for one thing, and one thing only.
Baseball.
Pulling the key from the lock, I stuff it in my pocket. “Ready?”
Tucker nods. “I was born ready for this moment.”
We both laugh as we make our way to my Tahoe parked in the garage. Even driving through the city right now is bringing back all those same feelings. It’s congested and busy. It smells like shit.
How have I never noticed any of this before?
The drive to the stadium is quick, and when we pull into my designated parking spot, I turn to face Tucker, who’s looking at the stadium through the front window as if it’s lit up for game night. There’s a wonder in his eyes that reminds me of kids going to their first major league game.
“This is the greatest day of my life,” he whispers to himself.
I wish I could say the same since I’m about to have a meeting that could possibly change my entire future—a meeting where Istillhave yet to come to a decision.
