“No, no. I have a machine in the other room. As the team’s physician, I’m responsible for Jack’s condition and his recovery. It’s my job.”
“Wow. So we don’t have to go anywhere else?” Since I’d never thought this through, I didn’t know how it worked when a major league player was injured. Wrongly, I’d assumed Jack would have to get checked out at regular hospital, like normal people. But then again, the team chartered their own commercial planes to fly them places, so nothing about this lifestyle was normal.
“If I’m on the road with the team, one of my trainers will be here to help you, so no. You should never have to take Jack anywhere other than here.”
The Mets organization cared about Jack’s recovery, so I allowed myself to be comforted by the thought that he would be taken care of by the people who were invested in him the most. It was in their best interest, as well as his, to get him healed.
“If you’ll excuse us, Mrs. Carter, we’ll only be a minute.” The doctor motioned for Jack to follow him into another room. “Let’s go see what we’re dealing with, Jack.”
I paced the floor, one hand tugging at my lips from nervous habit. I wanted to call Dean, but knew he’d ask me questions I didn’t have the answers to. So I waited to call anyone until I had more to tell them. A broken hand was one thing, but having a hand that required surgery was another.
A few minutes later, Jack exited the medical room alone and scooped me into a careful hug. I felt his heart racing as our chests pressed together. “I love you, Kitten.” He gave me a quick kiss, then released me and hopped back onto the exam table. His hand looked painful, his fingers had taken on a purplish tint and were swollen to a ridiculous size. The sight of it made my stomach tighten painfully and I had to turn my gaze away.
“I love you too.” I wanted to say more, but words failed me. Bringing my hand toward my heart, my fingers grazed across the ball chain necklace that lay there. I glanced down at the key attached and moved my fingers to it, rubbing them across the etched letters for comfort.
Between the lies from Chrystle and the brutality from the press and fans, it wasn’t that long ago when I felt like my insides were unraveling. Melissa had given me this necklace when I needed it the most. Imagining that Jack was experiencing the same sort of feelings right about now, I realized this was the right time to pass the necklace on, as was intended.
I reached around the back of my neck, my fingers gripping at the chain before pulling it over my head. When I lowered the necklace around Jack’s neck, he looked up at me, his face pale and strained with pain, and raised his eyebrows at me. The bronze key fell against his sweaty white T-shirt before he glanced down at it. With his uninjured hand, he lifted the key and flipped it to the stamped side, then read its message out loud. “Strength.”
“You need this more than I do,” I said before leaning in and planting a kiss on his scruffy cheek. “We’ll get through this. No matter what the doctor says when he walks through that door, we’ll get through this.”
I tried to sound positive and strong, but my insides were rattled and fraying. If Jack lost baseball because of this, I wasn’t sure he’d ever get over it. His self-image, his hopes and dreams—hell, his whole identity—were wrapped up in the game. If the worst happened, if he could never play again, I had no idea how he’d process that loss.
The sound of the door creaking open caused me to pull my gaze from Jack’s and glance behind me. Footsteps slapped against the floor as Dr. Evans walked in our direction, a smile on his face. “Good news. You don’t need surgery and it’s not shattered.” I exhaled a huge sigh of relief and watched Jack do the same as the doctor continued. “You do have multiple fractures, however, here and here.” He pointed at areas on the x-rays as Jack tensed beside me. “And we need to get you in a cast immediately.”
“How long will I be out?” Jack asked, his face turning even whiter.
“Minimum, six weeks. It could have been a lot worse. Frankly, I’m surprised it isn’t.”
I watched as Jack flexed his jaw and worked to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t like that answer, but there was no answer that Jack would have liked. One day not playing baseball was one day too many for him. Six weeks probably sounded like a death sentence.
“I can’t leave my team for that long.” Jack shook his head as he mumbled, “I can’t let them down like that.”
“Jack, look at me,” I begged. “You’re not letting them down. They’ll understand, and they’ll want you to get better. Six weeks is better than six months, right? Let’s take it one day at a time.”
The pained look in his eyes informed me that these next six weeks were going to be anything but easy.
I’m a Baseball Player
Hearing Dr. Evans tell me I’d be out for six weeks made me want to fucking scream. But I didn’t scream when I was frustrated; I hit shit. And right now, with a broken fucking hand, I couldn’t hit anything.
A million thoughts raced through my head at once.
Why the fuck did I stick my hand out like that? No one in their right mind could catch a fast-ball being hit straight back at them. I must be mental. What if my hand doesn’t heal right? What if they find someone new to replace me? Six weeks is a long time to have your job up for grabs. What if I can’t throw again after this? I didn’t want to get hurt. I just want to play baseball. What if I can’t play anymore? I busted my ass to get where I am, I don’t want to lose it. I’m a ball player, that’s what I am. That’s who I am. What the hell will I do if I’m not playing baseball?
It was one thing when it was your choice to leave the only job in this world you could see yourself doing, but being forced to quit was another. The truth was that it was rarely ever your choice to leave.
I sucked in a breath, took one look at my beautiful wife, and hopped off the table. Grabbing her by the hand, I pulled her forcefully out of the locker room.
“Jesus, Jack, stop. That hurts.” She jerked her hand from my grip and I winced.
“Sorry, Kitten. I just want to get out of here.”
She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes and I almost fucking exploded. The last thing I needed right now was my wife looking at me with pity. “Don’t look at me like that,” I ordered.
“Like what?” She stopped walking and tilted her head at me questioningly.
“Like my life just ended and you want to make sure I’m going to be okay.”
She huffed out a breath before rolling her green eyes at me. “You’re an idiot.”
“Excuse me?” I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the concrete tunnels.
“Of course I want to make sure you’re okay, Jack! Jesus. Excuse me for giving a shit about your mental state. But I never once thought that your life just ended.”
“You don’t get it,” I breathed out, my tone agitated. I was acting like a complete asshole in this moment and I fucking knew it. But I was pissed off. I was angry about putting my hand out like that … for letting it get hit … for letting it get broken.
“Oh, so now I don’t get it? You’re joking, right?” she snapped in response, her tone matching my own, before she turned around and walked away from me.
Fuck.
I needed to stop doing this to her; it wasn’t fair. Irritated with myself, I smacked the palm of my hand against my head before rushing to catch up to her. I reached for her arm with my good hand, desperately pulling for her to stop. “Kitten. I’m sorry. I’m mad at myself, not you.”
She nodded, her long blonde hair swinging with the motion, then let out a little sigh. “I know.” Then she locked her fingers with mine and pulled me toward the parking lot.
Once in the car with Matteo behind the wheel, I watched Cassie as she scrolled through her contacts, searching for my brother’s phone number. She must have already warned Matteo, because he hadn’t said two words to me and was avoiding all eye contact. My girl was good at this. I wished I hadn’t been such a dick earlier.
I reached my free hand across the seat and squeezed her thigh. She glanced at me, still a little wary of me, it seemed. “Thank you,” I whispered as she scrunched up her face in confusion.
“For what?” She scooted her body closer to mine to keep our conversation private.
“You know what.” I nodded my head in Matteo’s direction and she shrugged. I chose wisely when it came to picking a wife. She was the best thing I’d ever done. I needed to not fuck us up. Again.
She refocused her attention to her phone and I watched as Dean’s name popped up on her screen and she pressed SEND. The phone rang twice before my brother’s voice came from the speaker. “What’s up, Sis?”
Cassie turned off the speaker and sucked in a breath as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey, Dean. I just wanted to let you know before you saw it on SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight or something.” She paused briefly before continuing. “Jack broke his hand tonight.”
I could only imagine the questions my brother was shooting at her from the other end of the line. His voice was muffled since she’d taken him off speaker, so I couldn’t make out any of his words.
“He was pitching and the ball got hit straight back at him. He threw his hand up to stop it, or catch it, or something. But the ball crashed into it and he has multiple fractures.”
Cassie grew silent and I knew Dean was talking her ear off. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed Matteo paying attention to Cassie’s side of the conversation as well.
“Don’t think you’re getting a vacation or anything, buddy,” I called out in his direction.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he responded without missing a beat.
“I still have to go to the field every day to work out and I’ll need a ride there and back,” I informed him with a smirk.
“I’ll have to check with my other clients.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at Cassie. “But tell me, do you still have to go to the games and stuff?”
I nodded. “Yep. I have to suit up for the home games and hang out in the dugout.”
“What about when they’re on the road?”
“I meet with a trainer at the field when the team’s gone.”
“So you won’t travel with them then?”
“Nope. Not for six weeks.” I sighed, suddenly feeling agitated.
Cassie sounded like she was wrapping things up. “Yeah. I’ll call you tomorrow. Will you let Gran and Gramps know for us?” She paused. “Thank you so much. Yep, I’ll tell him. ‘Bye.”
She pressed END and turned toward me. “Dean says to take it easy and to not do anything stupid.”
“What the hell would I possibly do?”
“I have no idea. He’s your brother,” she teased and I grabbed at her.
“Oh yeah? Well, he’s your brother too,” I reminded her and a smile appeared across her face as she turned away from me. I leaned over and grazed my teeth against her earlobe, touching it with the tip of my tongue before whispering, “I love your smile. It’s sexy. Really fucking sexy. Don’t be mad at me. I really am sorry.”
