“You didn’t get to meet him, though.”
“I didn’t, because he doesn’t exist. Or, I’m sure he does somewhere, but I didn’t find him. My sister kept warning me not to go looking because I might get hurt or I might hurt our dad.” I pushed the parmesan shaker away. “But I’d rather talk about anything else right now. You didn’t finish telling me how you and your cousin started working together.” When I lifted my gaze to his, I found Chase staring at me so intently that I had to run back through what I’d just said to make sure I hadn’t inadvertently mentioned my connection to Brandon.
The pepper shaker rolled in Chase’s hands before he set it back in the middle of the table. “I started there in high school, became manager after I graduated last year and hired Brandon. He’s a good guy, not to mention he’s in love with Ariel—she’s the girl with the blue hair—and she detests him less than anyone around here, so it works.”
“Do you still live near each other?”
Chase nodded. “I told you his mom died right after he was born, so Brandon lived with me and my mom for a few months while my uncle… I guess it was hard for him, losing his wife. I know he really loved her. He didn’t blame Brandon or anything, but, yeah, it was hard for him.”
My brain froze, imagining a much different scenario than the one Chase believed. One where a husband found out the child his wife had borne wasn’t his, only to lose her and be faced with raising another man’s child or walking away altogether.
“When he got himself together, Brandon was still a baby and he needed help, and with my mom raising me on her own, she did too. We all lived together until I was seven and Brandon turned six. Uncle Bran got his own house then, a couple blocks away. Growing up, I spent half my life at his house and Brandon spent half his at mine. We’re cousins, but we’re brothers too.”
Our pizza arrived before I was forced to try to respond to him.
Chase wolfed down three slices in the time it took me to finish one. I slid another onto my plate, and he added two to his.
“So you’re a senior?” he asked.
“Junior. And you’re a freshman? Where at?”
“Mesa Community College. I’m planning on transferring to Arizona State next year. And you’re…seventeen?”
I nodded. “You?”
“Nineteen. Last month.”
“Happy birthday. I’d buy you a pizza, but…” I gestured to the empty pan in front of us.
His mouth lifted on one side. “I could go for more.”
“Really?” I was uncomfortably full and still had crust left on my plate. Then again, I was basically half his size. I started to push back my chair, intending to make good on my offer, when his hand shot out and covered mine.
“Dana, I’m messing with you. I’m good.”
My hand grew warm under his. I slid it free, then took another bite of pizza and chewed it slowly. What the hell was I doing? I hadn’t stopped to think about that question since I’d sent my supposed grandfather that first message. I’d reacted with little to no thought, first with Brandon and then with Chase. I was still just reacting. The longer I sat there with Chase, the more I realized that just seeing Brandon wasn’t enough. I wanted to know him, to figure out if he was allergic to cinnamon like I was, or if he loved french fries dipped in ice cream. I wanted to know if he was a Diamondbacks fan or rooted for another team, or if he even liked baseball. I wanted to know which movies had scared him as a kid and which ones had made him laugh until he cried. I wanted to know if he’d ever imagined having a sister, and if she was anything like me. I wanted to knowhim, and Chase might be the only way I ever could.
* * *
“So,” Chase said, walking me back to my car. “Still think AJ and Mesa are too far away from each other?”
I had to blink at the directness of his question. “I have softball practice every day till four or four thirty, games three nights a week and tournaments most Saturdays. I’m betting you work a lot too, besides the classes you take.”
He nodded, still looking at me in that unnervingly direct way. “When’s your next game?”
“I have tournaments all day tomorrow.”
“I work on Sunday. What about the day after?”
I would have laughed at his persistence if the question hadn’t made me feel so warm. “Just practice.”
“And I get off at five. I’ll even come to you and save you the drive.”
That time I did laugh. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“You want me to?”
I should, but I didn’t. “How do you feel about batting cages?”
