Kyle and his wife laugh.
“Well, who didn’t,” Kyle adds.
“We’ve got an ice cream party to get to, and then homework,” Kyle’s wife says. Her husband follows along with her itinerary, his expression morphing from elation to dread in a way I’m sure his kids will the moment they get home.
“How long have you all been married?” my dad asks. I’m glad it was him and not me. I don’t like being invasive. Chandler Reddick, top software salesman for QLM Solutions six years running, has zero boundaries. It’s part of the job, or at least what makes him so good at it.
“We’re about to celebrate eight years in August,” his wife says. “It was easier when it was just the two of us, but when we started having kids, I couldn’t really travel with him anymore. I’m so busy with the rugrats, though, it makes the road trips fly for me.”
“Not so much for me, though,” Kyle says, pulling his wife in close and kissing the top of her head. “I miss them when I’m gone. But that’s the game, isn’t it? Not quite ready to give it up yet.”
I think of Roddy as he speaks, and I wonder where their paths diverged. How Kyle and his wife ended up making it while Roddy and Daisy didn’t. One day, I’ll need to get the scoop on his story. Maybe Renleigh can fill me in during our trip to Dallas, which she’s still thinking about.
A wave of adrenaline sweeps over me at the thought, and I shiver from it. My mom twists her neck and scans my face.
“You all right?” she asks.
I smile and nod.
“Still cold from the ice I guess,” I lie.
She clearly doesn’t buy it, but she lets me off with a, “Mmm hmm.”
The five of us walk out to the garage together, and my parents manage to work their way into a dinner invite before they head back to California late tomorrow night. I’ll be on the road by then, heading to Oklahoma for the fastest overnight and turnaround of my life. All worth it, though, if there’s even a chance I won’t be driving back alone. And if that isn’t what happens, I’ll just have to leave something else behind so I can keep coming back.
I snuggle into the gray sheets and comforter on my queen-sized bed. I spent the end of my conversation with Renleigh giving her the rundown of everything gray and beige in this apartment. It’s quite a list, with the only outliers being some tumblers in the cabinet—they’re bright green—and the overabundance of throw pillows. None of them match.
I ordered in tonight, a massive grilled vegetable platter with chicken that one man shouldn’t be able to eat alone, yet I did. With my belly full and my heart hopeful, I dial Renleigh andhold my breath as I pray she’ll pick up. She answers almost immediately.
“Seven innings,” she states.
She watched.
I grin.
“What did you think?” I care about her review more than anyone’s, even the ownership.
“I don’t know, that was more of a second-round draft pick kind of outing,” she teases.
I push a laugh through my tight lips.
“You jerk,” I say.
“Kidding. You were really great, Hunter. Really,reallygreat.” The pause and silence after her compliments feels hopeful, and I bite my bottom lip in anticipation.
“Roddy called,” she says, and I let my lip slip from my hold. Not where I saw this conversation going, but okay. “He wanted to talk to Dad after they pulled you, and he said he could tell you listened to Durbin. He knows him. Dad says he and Roddy are a lot alike.”
I laugh, and utter, “They are.”
The silence slips in again, and that same trembling in my chest crawls up my throat.Please say you’re coming back with me. Please.
“Oh, I have more gossip for you. Or, I guess it’s gossip. I don’t really know the Mavericks guys that well, but I know you and Brooks are close.”
My pulse picks up at the mention of my friend, so I sit up.
“Is he okay?” He’s been so quiet, and he seemed off the other day.
“Well . . .” She exhales, and my head gets light in that small pause. “Turns out Brooks is a dad.”
