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FORTY-THREE

“Nothing yet.”

The words from my agent should have given me some relief, but it only added to the anxiety brewing in my chest. I’d asked him to look into the trade conversation after my meeting in Benny’s office yesterday.

There wasn’t anything Theo could do to stop it, but I couldn’t live with this hanging over my head for another month.

With the trade deadline not until the end of July, it would be weeks until I’d be able to fully exhale, knowing my future was secure until the end of the season.

I ran my hand over my brow. “And you haven’t heard which teams are asking about me?”

“No,” Theo answered. “I’ve tried asking informally, but teams are protective about agents poking around mid-season.

” He paused, and from experience, I knew this next statement was going to hurt.

Theo was one of the best sports agents out there, having moved from representing actors to athletes in the past couple of years.

I was below his usual radar, but Gray reached out to him on my behalf.

Theo was a shark and would go to battle for his clients.

He’d been instrumental in getting me to the Hawks’ farm team, all because he knew this was where I wanted to be.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Cam. If there is a trade option on the table, the Hawks might take it, and there’s not much we can do about it.”

“I’m aware of that,” I ground out.

“All you can do is keep your head down and play the best game possible. Make yourself invaluable as a player. They won’t trade you if they think you’ll take them all the way.”

I exhaled slowly, staring out at the vast valley below me, highlighting the lake anchoring the town.

Was I that player anymore? The last few games, my mind hadn’t been in the game, to say the least. Between Emilia and Hadley, baseball was becoming less of a dream and more of a barrier to the life I wanted.

If I could have it all, I wanted to grab the opportunity with both hands, but if I had to choose, my direction was clear.

“If the trade happens, would you be able to get me out of my contract?”

Theo sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you serious right now?” My silence answered him. “Fuck, Cam. Maybe, but it’s going to come with some serious fines. We can ask them to release you, but you’ve got a lot of years left on paper.”

“I know.”

Theo muttered something under his breath.

“I’ll read through your contract again and see what options we have.

But if you make this choice, there’s no going back.

You’re too new to change your mind in a year or two.

So, if you want to go down this path, make sure you’re fucking sure.

Don’t throw your future away because you’re pissed. ”

That was the thing—I wasn’t throwing my future away.

Sure, my life would look different when it no longer revolved around baseball, but every day I spent with Emilia and Hadley, the more I was sure they were my future.

I wanted to spend my days with them, not video chatting from the other side of the country.

It was one thing if I got to come home to them during the season and spend my nights in Hadley’s arms. But leaving them behind for long stretches, unsure when our paths would cross again, wasn’t an option anymore.

Theo interrupted my thoughts. “No decisions have to be made today, Cam. Play tonight and push this out of your mind. Pretend that the trade conversation never happened. If these are going to be your last games, you want to enjoy them.”

I stepped back into the house and found Victoria waiting for me in the foyer.

Nerves prickled my spine when I didn’t see Hadley at her side.

My throat dried up. What happened when I stepped outside?

As much as I wanted Victoria to accept my relationship with Hadley, my loyalties had shifted over the past few weeks.

I still cared about Victoria as the mother of my child, but Hadley was my future, the woman I wanted to build my world around.

“Where is she?” I bit out, unable to keep my tone light.

“She’s upstairs,” Victoria said. Before I asked what happened, she held up her hand. “Nothing to do with us. Hadley and I are good. She got a call, and when she came back in, she was white as a ghost and rushed upstairs.”

“Fuck.” My legs moved before my brain caught up, taking the stairs two at a time. As soon as I got to my room, my heart stuttered in my chest, watching as Hadley rushed between the closet and the open bag on our bed.

Her shoulders caved in around her, as if standing took too much energy. Red rimmed her sharp blue eyes, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. I took a step closer, and her eyes darted up to meet mine. My chest cracked in half. “Hadley, what’s going on?”

She squeezed her eyes together, and I rushed toward her, pulling her into my chest. The moment my arms wrapped around her, she collapsed against me, needing my strength to keep from falling to the floor. I ran my hand over her hair. “What happened?”

“My…mom…” she said through shaky breaths. “She’s in the hospital.”

“Shit, Hadley. I’m so sorry.” I kissed the top of her head as I held her a little tighter.

Her breaths shuddered against my skin and my shirt dampened from her tears, but I didn’t care.

I’d hold her forever if that was what she needed.

Her fingers clung to my shirt, clutching me closer.

“Tell me what you need, baby. I’m here.”

She shook her head against my chest. “You have a game tonight.”

“Fuck that,” I bit out. I shifted us so she faced me. “You are more important than any game, Hadley. Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

She swallowed and slowly nodded. “Can you get me a car? I need to get to Boston, and I can’t drive like this. Shit, I can’t take Laila with me. She’s going to need someone to watch her.”

“Don’t worry about Laila, I’m sure Emilia and Vic will be happy to keep an eye on her. As for the car, I’ll drive you out there.”

“No.” Hadley stepped out of my hold and resumed packing. When I tried to hold her again, she moved out of my reach. Her eyes narrowed at me. “Cam, you need to go to tonight’s game. Your team needs you.”

What the fuck? The caving in my chest suddenly intensified, hating the cold way Hadley stared at me now. I shook my head. “I’ll talk to Benny. He’ll understand?—”

“I said no.” Hadley’s voice rose, shaking with anger.

“I don’t want you to come with me, Cam. This is about me.

About my mother. The one I’ve been ignoring because I’ve been living in this fantasy with you.

And now, she’s lying in a hospital room, alone, and it’s my fault.

” She let out a saccharine laugh. “Please, Cam. Just go. I can’t think about you, about anything but getting to my mom right now. ”

I stared at the woman I loved, wishing I had told her the truth earlier.

Because, right now, when her world was falling apart, she had no idea how much I wanted to be there with her.

She was more important than any game, more important than my career.

I’d worked for twenty-five years to play at the professional level, yet I’d walked away without a single glance back if it meant spending the rest of my life with her.

Reaching out, I brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

Hadley inhaled sharply, and I hoped it meant she was regretting her words.

I knew her, and when the devastation faded from her mind, she’d wish to take them back.

“I’m going to go, Hadley. Not because I want to, but because I’m going to respect your wishes.

If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away. ”

It took a herculean effort to let her go. The moment the door shut behind me, it felt like I had left my heart in Hadley’s hands.