Page 7 of Knox (Comeback Duet #2)

Knox

While Crew followed Grady to his room, I took the chance to clean up the kitchen a bit from breakfast. The morning at the park had provided a great distraction for Grady, and on the surface, everything appeared normal.

Crew had cheered him on when he climbed the play structure and laughed when they raced each other to the swings.

From the outside, they probably looked like any other happy father and son duo.

But I knew my boyfriend too well.

He was there going through the motions, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. I’d never been in a situation like the one he was in now, so I couldn’t truly understand how he was feeling. But I wanted to be there for him. Even if I couldn’t take away all of his worry, I could help in some way.

That’s what I had tried to do earlier in the morning.

Crew may have thought I was oblivious to him not sleeping, but I’d been restless and couldn’t sleep either.

Every time I opened my eyes, I could tell he was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Kissing his shoulder had only meant to be a nonverbal reminder that I was there for him.

I hadn’t expected it to lead to more, but the moment I felt his body relax from my lips on his skin, I decided to let him work out his stress in other ways.

I hoped it had helped him, but now my own thoughts were spiraling.

Earlier Crew had said he was ready to give up baseball to care for his son if Mallory didn’t make it.

Even if she did survive, she was going to have a long recovery ahead of her.

Maybe he’d give up the game to focus on Grady with everything Mallory would face.

I knew he’d do anything he could because of his love for Grady and loyalty to Mallory, but it still rattled me.

He’d worked his ass off for years to get to where he was in his career, and now he was acting as though letting it go was the right thing to do.

But I wasn’t going to let him throw away one of his dreams without at least seeing what other options were available to him.

A few minutes later, Crew rounded the corner and leaned against the counter beside me.

“Debra just texted me. She and Hank want to take Grady out to dinner later and asked me to sit with Mallory while they aren’t there.”

I dried my hands on the dish towel. “He’d probably love to see his grandparents.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I think it might help them get their mind off of things for a tiny bit too.”

And Debra wouldn’t have to worry about me watching him.

I hated that her questioning whether I should have been the one to watch Grady still bothered me. He was my boyfriend’s son, and we’d bonded over the last couple of months, so in my mind, it would have been weirder if I hadn’t stayed with him.

“If Grady’s not going to be here, and you’re going to the hospital, then that might be the perfect time to run some errands and go to my place to pick up a few things.”

“You’ll come back tonight, right?” He trailed a finger down my arm.

I flashed him a grin. “Of course I am. Your bed is comfier than mine.”

After shopping at a couple of stores, I finally made my way to my apartment.

As I collected the things I needed, my brain wouldn’t stop spinning.

I couldn’t get the way Crew said at breakfast, ‘If she doesn’t make it, I’m done,’ out of my mind.

He needed to know if he had any alternatives to leaving the sport he loved before he made any decisions.

Maybe there was a way he didn’t have to choose between Grady and playing baseball.

Once inside, I tossed my keys on the entry table and headed for my closet to pick out a few clean clothes.

While standing in the middle of my bedroom, I was still struggling with how to find ways to help Crew, so I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Parker, hoping our skipper could give me some advice:

Got some time to chat? Nothing urgent. Just have a few questions

His reply came faster than I expected:

Sure. Matthewson and his husband are over for dinner. You want to drop by?

I hesitated a second because I wasn’t sure about explaining everything to Matthewson and his husband, Gage. Crew hadn’t been upset when I’d spoken with Parker, but maybe he didn’t want anyone else to know what was going on. Still, I was desperate for answers, so I typed back:

Be there soon

Aron Parker and Drew Rockland’s place was located in the most exclusive gated community in the city.

Their large modern home had sweeping views of the city, river, and mountains.

I parked in the circular driveway and made my way up to the front door.

I rang the doorbell and waited a few seconds before Parker opened the door.

“Hey! Come in. You got here just in time. Dinner is just about ready.”

I followed Parker through the house, where pictures of him with Rockland and their twin daughters, who were regulars around the stadium, lined the walls.

Seeing their various memories frozen in time had me imagining a future where Crew and I had pictures with Grady filling our own home.

As someone who hadn’t given much thought to having a family of my own, I was a little surprised by how much I liked the idea.

Other than the low voices of the guys coming from the back of the house, it was quieter than I expected. “Reese and Jolene aren’t here?”

Parker smiled. “They’re out with their grandparents. Anytime they come to visit, we barely see the girls. It’s almost like Drew and I don’t exist anymore.”

I laughed. “It’s got to be nice to have that sort of support.”

When we stepped into the kitchen, I saw Rockland setting some side dishes out on the counter while Matthewson and his husband, Gage, were sitting at the island, beers in their hands.

Everyone seemed relaxed, and I felt a little guilty that I was there to drop a bomb about one of their star players thinking about leaving the game.

“Singleton!” Matthewson held up his bottle in greeting.

After we said our hellos and made some small talk about me crashing their dinner, we filled our plates with tacos, rice, and beans, and I took a seat at their dining table.

Once everyone was settled and had taken a few bites, Parker looked my way and nodded.

“You said you had a few questions. What’s up? ”

I wiped my face with a napkin. “I wanted to find out more about leave policies for players. Hypothetically speaking.”

Matthewson crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s not something most players worry about, but I’m guessing this has something to do with Stratton’s ex and his son.”

“Matthewson called me after seeing the same photo online that I did,” Parker explained. “I told him what happened to Mallory.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for all of you, and I get why you’d have some questions,” Matthewson said.

“How’s Stratton holding up?” Gage asked.

I shrugged. “He’s doing the best he can for Grady, but it’s been a lot. He said if Mallory doesn’t pull through, he’s done with baseball.”

Everyone sat up a little straighter.

“He said it like it was his only choice,” I added.

“And you want to figure out what else he can do?” Rockland guessed.

“Yeah. I mean, I understand why he’d think that’s his only option. His son means everything to him, but I know it would wreck him to leave baseball behind. I’m actually starting to worry he might give it up even if Mallory survives. He’ll probably want to stay and help with her recovery.”

He hadn’t said as much, but if her injuries were severe enough to warrant her being in a medically induced coma, then it was likely she’d need a lot of assistance once she got out of the hospital. Knowing my boyfriend, he’d want to do everything he could to help the mother of his child.

“So, you want to find out if there’s anything else he can do?” Matthewson clarified.

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t want him to make a permanent decision when there might be some temporary solutions.”

“Well, I’m glad you came to us,” Parker said. “There’s some precedent for players taking a leave of absence. It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of either. There are several reasons someone might miss some time. Family emergencies, mental health, stuff like that.”

“And the front office would be okay with that?” I asked.

“We’d back his request, and I think, given the circumstances, they’d be understanding. The league did a lot to support my dad when we lost my mom,” Parker replied.

Anyone who grew up watching Aron Parker play knew the story of his mother passing away when he was a young kid. His father played for the San Francisco Giants and was their top player at the time.

I nodded. “If Mallory has a long recovery and Crew decides he needs to be with Grady during that time, would that be okay?”

“I’m sure we could work something out. Extended leave, roster exemption, maybe even a reassignment to the minors if that worked out,” Parker advised. “No matter what, we can find a way that he doesn’t have to quit playing all together.”

“You could also hire a nanny and bring in people to help with Mallory’s care once she’s home,” Gage chimed in. “You guys will be on the road, but you also have homestands too, so you won’t be gone all of the time.”

A nanny wouldn’t be a bad idea. Maybe we could find someone to help take care of Mallory if she needed it, and then another person to watch over Grady.

“Thank you.” I let out a breath. “I probably shouldn’t be making plans behind Crew’s back?—”

“You’re not making plans,” Rockland cut me off. “You’re doing what any of us would do in your situation. You’re thinking ahead and making sure he doesn’t burn everything down when things feel hopeless.”

He was right. I wasn’t trying to take control of the situation. I just didn’t want Crew giving up something he loved if he didn’t have to.

“Now, let’s finish eating. Drew made some killer brownies I can’t wait to dig into.” Parker chuckled.

We hung out around the table for a while after that, talking about baseball and what we’d been up to since the season ended. Eventually, I thanked everyone again and left to go home to Crew, where I looked forward to sharing the information I’d gotten.

By the time I got back to Crew’s condo, it was already dark and past Grady’s bedtime. I let myself in quietly and locked the door behind me.

Crew looked up from the couch where he was watching the Bruins play the Kraken. “Hey.” His voice sounded tired.

“Hi. Is your friend playing?” I nodded toward the television.

Crew had grown up with Levi Sexton, a right winger for the Boston Bruins, and they’d reconnected last year at the ESPYs.

“He is, and already scored a goal.” He turned down the volume of the game. “You were gone a while.”

“Yeah.” I set my keys on the coffee table. “I went to Parker’s and ended up talking to him and Matthewson and their husbands.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “What’d you guys talk about?”

I took a deep breath. “I wanted to know what your options are. To see if you could take time off without giving up baseball.”

He balked. “You went to our manager behind my back?”

“It wasn’t like that,” I rushed out. “Ever since this morning, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you quitting. And I get it. I really do. But what if there are other things you can do instead?”

He turned off the TV and tossed the remote down beside him. “I can’t believe you’d do something like that without even talking to me about it first.”

“You’ve got so much on your plate. I didn’t want?—”

“This isn’t about what you want or don’t want.” He stood. “It’s about my son. You don’t get to decide what I do when it comes to him.”

“I wasn’t trying to make choices for you,” I explained. “I was trying to help and find out what else you could do.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know you meant well, but the last two days have been a lot. I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy to go back and forth with you right now. I’m going to bed.”

He turned toward the hallway, not waiting for me to respond.

I spent a few minutes debating whether I should stay or go back to my place. We’d never really argued before, so I wasn’t sure if he wanted space or not. Deciding I didn’t want to leave when he was upset, I walked to his bedroom, quietly stripping down to my boxers, and climbed into bed behind him.

I lay there for a few seconds before finally saying, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone behind your back. It’s just that I’m worried too, and I wanted to help. I love you.”

He rolled on his back. “I know. We can talk more about it in the morning, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you too,” he added.

I reached for his hand beneath the sheets and laced our fingers together.

His fingers tightened around mine, and I had to believe we’d figure things out together.