Page 27

27

CREW

Four Years Ago

I didn’t think my palms could get any sweatier, but there I was, wiping them on my shorts for the hundredth time while I was losing my damn mind. The living room of the apartment I shared with Mallory was packed with people. My mom, my brother Finn, Mallory (of course), my Florida State coach, and a few teammates who had become family were all with me to see how draft day panned out.

ESPN2 was on the flat screen, muted for now, cycling through pre-draft coverage and analysis. The main event wasn’t set to start until later that evening, but the anticipation was already thick in the air, reminding me that tonight might finally be the night everything changed. No guarantees. No certainty. Just hope, nerves, and the biggest what-if of my life hanging in the air.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned just in time to see Mallory slipping out the sliding door onto the back patio. She’d been quiet all day, barely touching her bagel at brunch and now nursing a glass of orange juice. Not a mimosa. Just juice, and not like her at all.

Huh.

A weird little wrinkle formed in my brow as I watched her step into the Florida heat. She wasn’t staying at the apartment for a few days since there wasn’t enough room with my mom and Finn crashing at our place. Mallory had offered to stay at her friend’s apartment nearby. The night before, she sent me a text:

Can we talk tomorrow? It’s important

I’d responded:

Of course. After the draft

She replied with a simple:

Love you

I hadn’t thought much of her message in the moment. I figured she just wanted to talk about logistics, about what would happen if I got picked by a team on the other side of the country. Maybe she was nervous. I was.

But what really caught my eye about Mallory’s behavior was the not drinking. The weird vibe I was getting from her. And the something in her eyes when she looked at me, like she wanted to say more but couldn’t.

My gut twisted.

Finn nudged me with his elbow and passed me a bottle of water. “You okay?”

“Just nerves.”

“You? Nervous? Thought you were Mr. Cool?”

“Not today.”

My phone rang on the coffee table, and everyone in the room jumped. I grabbed it off the table. The caller ID showed a Denver number. I swiped to answer, my hands shaking as I put it on speaker phone. “Hello?”

“Crew Stratton?”

“Yeah.”

“This is Brent Waters with the Colorado Rockies. We’re taking you at pick five. Welcome to the organization.”

My heart stopped.

Everything after that moved in a blur. People started shouting. My mom cried. Finn grabbed me in a hug that nearly cracked my ribs.

I stared at the patio, toward where Mallory stood in the doorway. She plastered on a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and came to hug me.

She leaned in. “I’m proud of you.”

I hugged her back, so full of adrenaline and disbelief I didn’t think to ask her what was wrong. Two days later, she broke up with me.

Present Day

Knox stepped up beside me. I cleared my throat. “This is Knox. He’s my teammate.”

The word tasted wrong. Not because it wasn’t true, but because it wasn’t the whole truth. We shared a dugout, sure. But we also shared a bed. Shared secrets. Shared things I wasn’t ready to explain in the middle of the Dixie Mart with a ghost from my past staring at me.

Mallory gave him a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Knox stuck out his hand and they shook. “You too.”

I should’ve introduced her too, but everything in my head short-circuited the second I saw the boy. Knox didn’t know who Mallory was. He didn’t know she used to live with me. That we used to date.

I gestured to the boy. “And this? ”

She glanced down, brushing a hand gently over the boy’s back. “This is my son. Grady.”

Grady.

I managed a faint smile. “Nice to meet you, Grady.”

He didn’t say anything, just blinked at me before hugging his crackers tighter.

Mallory straightened. “We should get going. It was good seeing you.”

“You too, Mal.” I couldn’t stop watching the boy as they walked away.

Those eyes.

Too damn familiar to ignore.

He couldn’t have been more than three or four.

I did the math.

Was it possible? Had Mallory been pregnant and never told me? Or did she get pregnant right after she broke up with me?

I dragged my hands down my face and let out a slow breath. My heart was still galloping like I’d just caught a foul tip off the wrist. I didn’t know what to think.

But I knew what I had to find out.

Mallory had a son.

And I was starting to think he might be mine.

“Who was that?” Knox wondered.

I took a deep breath and then forced out the words, “My ex.”

“Ah that makes sense now. It seemed a little awkward.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

We paid for our stuff and walked back to the rental car. My head was still a mess as I turned the car on and drove the short distance back to the motel. Once we got inside, I dropped my food on the small table and then sat on the bed and stared at the wall.

“What’s wrong?” Knox probed.

“I keep thinking about the kid. Didn’t he … Didn’t he look like me?”

“Kinda, yeah. You think he’s yours?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I haven’t seen Mallory in four years. She never said anything. Never asked for help. Nothing.”

“You’d think she would’ve wanted at least financial help.”

“When she broke up with me, she said it was so I could focus on my future. Maybe she thought she was doing me a favor and telling me about the boy, even for financial help, would stop me from playing.”

Knox leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “You going to talk to her?”

“I have to. I have to know.”

He nodded slowly. “Want me to come with you?”

I met his eyes. “Would you?”

“In a heartbeat.”

I wasn’t even sure where to start looking for Mallory. But this was Harvest Ridge—small town, no secrets. I figured her parents still lived in the same place and they’d know where to find her.

It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

And I needed one.

The next morning, I woke before my alarm, already wired with nerves. I hadn’t slept much—not with Grady’s face stuck in my head all night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him staring back at me. I’d wanted the trip to Harvest Ridge to be me coming out to my family and now it had turned into the possibility I was a father. This wasn’t a maybe-he’s-mine situation like that woman in San Diego. This was different. This kid was already here and if he was mine, it hurt to think about everything I’d already missed.

Knox and I checked out of the motel and stopped at the diner where my mother used to work for coffee and breakfast sandwiches to-go before heading to Mallory’s parents’. I didn’t need GPS to find the place. I could’ve made the turns in my sleep. They lived in a little one-story ranch house off a gravel road, same as they had back when Mallory and I were teenagers sneaking around after curfews.

When I pulled up to the house, the driveway was empty except for a tan SUV and a red tricycle tipped over on the grass. My throat went dry.

Knox glanced over at me. “You want me to wait here?”

I didn’t hesitate. “No. Come with me. Please.”

“Okay.”

We walked up the front steps, and I knocked. Footsteps approached, and then the door opened. Mallory didn’t seem surprised to see me.

“I was just dropping Grady off,” she explained. “I have to get to work, but I can call in and say I’ll be late.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah. I had a feeling you’d come find me.” Her eyes landed on Knox. “You want to talk alone or …?”

“I’d like for Knox to stay, if that’s okay.”

She pulled the door open the rest of the way. “Yes, of course. Come in.”

We stepped inside, and I braced myself for whatever came next. Knox and I had a flight to catch, and I had yet to visit my parents. Everything was a whirlwind in my head, but I needed the truth from Mallory before I talked to my folks.

After Mal called her work and I said my hellos to her parents, they left the three of us in their living room while they fed Grady breakfast. Mallory sat on the edge of the recliner, her arms wrapped loosely around herself while Knox and I took a seat on the couch.

“You probably have questions,” she said, breaking the awkward silence.

“A lot,” I admitted. “But mainly, he’s mine, isn’t he?”

She took a pause before she answered, “Yeah. He is.”

For a moment, I couldn’t do anything but stare at her as I tried to process what I already knew deep in my gut. I was a father.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looked away. “Because you were about to have the life you’d always dreamed of. You were going pro, Crew. Everything was lining up, and I couldn’t be the reason you gave that up.”

“You should have told me.” My throat felt tight. “I deserved to know.”

“I wanted to. So many times.” Her voice trembled as she looked down at her lap. “But every time I picked up the phone, I stopped. I knew you’d come back, and I couldn’t let you do that. Not after everything you’d worked so hard for had paid off.”

I took a shaky breath. “It wasn’t only your decision, Mal.”

She finally met my gaze, eyes filled with regret. “I know. And I’m sorry.”

The room fell quiet. I struggled to find my next words. I had questions—a thousand of them—but none of them felt right.

“How do we even do this?” I finally managed.

Mallory let out a breath. “I don’t know. I never really thought this far ahead.”

“Does he … know anything?”

She shook her head gently. “No. He’s too little to ask, and I haven’t told him anything.” She paused. “But someday, he’ll need to know.”

I glanced toward Knox, who sat quietly, his presence grounding me. He gave me a subtle nod, just enough encouragement to keep going.

“I want to know him,” I told Mallory. “I want him to know me.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m glad. I never wanted to keep him from you, but you have to understand why I did.”

“I kinda do,” I replied, but it still hurt to think about missing all those years with him. “Come to Raleigh,” I suggested suddenly, surprising myself. “We have a three-game series there. I’ll take care of everything: the flight, hotel, whatever you need. It would give me a chance to spend some time with Grady, start getting to know him.”

Mallory hesitated. “Are you sure? That’s a lot to take on so suddenly.”

“I’m sure,” I answered firmly. “I want to do this. I want to be a father who spends as much time with his son as he can. You know, the opposite of how my dad was with me.”

Her expression softened. “I think you’ll be great at it.”

I glanced at Knox. “There’s something else you should know.” I laced my fingers with his. “Knox isn’t just my teammate. He’s my boyfriend. I came home for the night so I could tell my parents, but I want you to know too, especially now.”

Mallory blinked, clearly caught off guard. For a moment, she said nothing. “Wow. Okay.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a lot.” I blew out a breath but didn’t let go of Knox’s hand. “But what we had back then was real. This is just me not hiding anymore.”

She shook her head quickly, raising a hand to reassure me. “No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised. But thank you for telling me.” Her gaze drifted briefly to Knox, then back to me. “I’m glad you’re happy, Crew. And of course, we’ll come. Grady deserves to know his dad.”

“Thank you.” I stood. “We better get going because we’ve got a flight to catch, and I’ve got more bombs to drop before we leave town. Thank you for being honest with me.” I wrapped her in a hug. “Let’s book your flights, and I’ll get you a room at the hotel the team’s staying at, and have a car pick you up at the airport. Text me whatever you need, my number’s still the same.”

After their flights were booked, Mallory walked us to the front door. Grady trailed behind her.

“Can you tell Crew bye?” she asked softly.

He looked up at me and chirped, “Bye.”

“Bye, Grady.” I crouched to his level. “It was really good to see you again.”

He blinked at me, then turned back toward the living room without another word.

Mallory offered a faint smile. “We’ll see you in Raleigh.”

“Yeah. Looking forward to it.”

She gave a small nod, then gently closed the door behind her.

Knox and I stepped off the porch and headed for the car. I didn’t look back until we reached the end of the drive.

Grady was watching from the window, and I just stood there, starting back at my son.