Page 50 of Double Play

“I don’t know. I’m just telling you what she said. Oh—” Another key moment came back to him. “She said something about your killer smile. How you might have used your charm on her at the wine bar…or something like that.” He quailed under Dwight’s outraged glare. “I told her you didn’t. I think. I don’t know whatIsaid.”

Dwight’s teeth ground together so loudly that Jim could hear it from the passenger seat. “Destroying the enamel on your molars won’t help the situation,” he pointed out. Sure, he’d ruined the guy’s relationship, but he could do something to help histeeth.

“Shut up,” Dwight growled. “I’mthinking.”

“Aboutwhat?”

“About how to fix this pig wallow ofamess.”

“I’msorry.”

“Eh.” Dwight waved a hand at him. “It’s not you. Don’t get me wrong, you’re the worst fucking wingman in baseball. It’s a good thing you’re with Nina now, because we ain’t ever going on a double date again. But I created this situation. I let my ego take the wheel, just like my mama used to warn me about. I have to fix this. I have to go back toKilby.”

“Now? You can’t. You have a game. And a team meeting. You can’t.” Well off the freeway by now, they hung a right onto the street that led to thestadium.

“That charter plane you flew on. What’s thecompanyname?”

“Dwight. You can’t do this.” But Dwight was already pulling over tothecurb.

“I’m doing it. You can cover for me. You owe me that at least,right?”

“Coverfor you? You’re a Major League ballplayer. How am I going to coverforyou?”

“Any way you can think up. You’re the neuro-genius. You’ll think of something.” A cab flew by, and Dwight jumped out of the rental and flagged it down. “Car’s all yours. Be good to Nina. And remind me never to take either of you to or from the airport again. Too much damnstress.”

19

As it turned out,the chartered jet wasn’t available. It was probably a good thing, since it would have cost him about two months’ salary and his signing bonus. Instead, Dwight caught a plane to Houston and rented a car to get him to Kilby. He arrived in the evening and went straight to Nina and Maggie’sapartment.

Noanswer.

He’d tried to call Maggie from the road, but she never answered. He remembered her last words to Lieberman—“Goodbye, Jim Lieberman”—with terror. Was she really leaving Kilby for good? He remembered the position her parents had mentioned on thatFaceTimecall.

Was she going back toBoston?

He interlaced his hands on top of his head, tilting back to gaze up at the sky streaked with puffy sunset clouds the color of bubble gum. What had he done? If he just had a chance toexplain…

“Dwight? Dwight Conner?” A young female voice made him whirl around. For a moment, he didn’t recognize the girl standing there next to her mother. Molly, who he’d last seen in a wheelchair at the Kilby Hospital. A soft fuzz of hair covered her scalp and her cheeks held almost as much pink as thesunsetsky.

She grinned at him. “I thought that was you. It’s harder to recognize you when you aren’t dressedlikeElsa.”

He struck a pose right out ofFrozenand batted his eyes at her. “Is thatbetter?”

She laughed, a delighted gurgle of a sound that acted as a balm onhissoul.

“You’re looking great, Molly.” He glanced at her mother, taking in her broad smile. It must be a solid recovery to inspire a smilelikethat.

“I’m doing a lot better. I can even go back to school now.” Molly shot a narrow-eyed look at her mother. “I kind of wish I could wait until my hair grows back,though.”

“Don’t even worry about that, girl. Hair is so last century.” He ran his hand across his own nearly bald scalp. “And if you’re really worried about it, I got a wig you can use.” Dwight winked at her. “In case you want a blond princessbraid.”

Molly giggled and leaned closer against hermother.

“Do you live around here?” Dwightaskedthem.

“No, we came to say goodbye to Maggie Blythe. She was really sweet to Molly and we heard she’s leaving Kilby. But it looks like we missed heralready.”

Dwight’s stomach dropped to the level of the sidewalk. “Do you know where she’s going? I was looking for hermyself.”

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