Page 5

CHAPTER 5

brOOKS

W ith Harlowe gone, I used my crutches to get up the stairs and to the master bathroom, where I turned the water on. Couldn’t smell like sex when she was right. My brothers were going to be here very soon. Camden probably first and though I knew Harlowe actively tried to avoid my dad, I wasn’t so sure the parents would be with her or not.

After hopping in and cleaning up, I put on a pair of shorts and another T-shirt, got the knee immobilizer back on, and carefully went back downstairs. Then I set the crutches nearby and made sure everything was cleaned up in the living room. My trainer said I could start doing things without the crutches today, just leaving the immobilizer, but he wanted me to try it out before doing things like stairs.

Honestly, it felt fine and when my doorbell rang, I didn’t have to look at the camera to know that it was my sister. When I opened the door, she was standing there.

“Your brothers are probably not far behind me,” she said as she stepped through the door.

“‘My’ brothers?” I echoed. She usually only said that when they, as a group, were irritating her. “Why are they my brothers today?”

She turned and rolled her eyes. “They’ve been insufferable since the game yesterday.”

I snorted as I shuffled past her. “You knew that was going to happen.”

“I did.” Her voice wasn’t far off, which meant she was following me. “But when you win an All-Star Game, you don’t act like you just cured cancer or made a lip gloss that your hair doesn’t stick to.”

If I had a nickel for every time Camden had complained about her hair getting stuck in her lip gloss, I’d probably be able to buy my own team. OK. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration.

“My hair never gets stuck in lip gloss. Mine or someone else’s.”

She made a disgusted noise in her throat. “Where are your crutches?” She glanced around quickly. “Where’s Harlowe? Did she not do her job?”

Clenching my teeth and swallowing hard was the best way to show no reaction at the mention of her best friend. “She did her job fine.” That was a severe understatement. “My trainer said I could ditch the crutches today as long as it didn’t hurt when I take a step.” I took several right then. “Doesn’t hurt.”

“OK, but where’s Harlowe?” she asked again.

“She left a little while ago. She’s been here every day. Don’t worry. I would’ve been fine without her.” Nope. Wouldn’t have been because I wouldn’t have experienced what I had on the couch not long ago and that, I definitely wouldn’t have been OK with.

Camden pulled her phone out of her pocket and poked away at it, presumably sending Harlowe a text. Then her phone vibrated and she snorted.

“What?” I asked, like I was desperate to know what Harlowe had said. Actually, I kind of was. If I’d had it my way, the woman would still be here.

“Nothing.”

“Camden.”

She sighed dramatically. “Nothing. It’s best friend stuff. I asked her if she was coming here to celebrate and she said no . She just showered some rando off of herself and that’s funny.” She furrowed her brows. “Though weird. Harlowe doesn’t do random… or at least that I know of.” Then she cocked her head to the side like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. “Didn’t you say she just left.”

“No.” Because I hadn’t. “I said she left a while ago.” OK. Maybe I’d said a little while ago but Camden didn’t know if that meant five minutes or three hours.

And my sister being her best friend meant she would’ve known what Harlowe normally did or didn’t do. Though I wasn’t so sure how much I loved the idea of being referred to as a “rando,” I supposed it wasn’t like Harlowe would tell her it had been me.

Luckily, I was saved from having to discuss or listen any further by our brothers all showing up at one. They were loud and a little rowdy, but I would’ve been too. Home-field advantage was a huge thing when it came to the playoffs. Especially when we were set to be in them.

Once they settled down, Urban said, “I’m hungry.”

“I already ordered pizza,” Camden told us, then she held a hand up before anyone could complain. “Every one of your girlfriends wanted pizza or tacos. Pizza is easier.” Which meant she wouldn’t get any complaining.

My brothers would do anything for the women they were with, which meant if the women wanted pizza, we were having pizza.

Luckily, my house was big enough for all of us. There were the four of us guys, who weren’t small, and then the four women. Amity, Everly, Monroe, and Camden. Then our sister informed us that our parents were coming in a little while.

Well, that was perfect.

Now I wished I’d bought a smaller house.

My brothers were just starting to get settled in Kalamazoo. Or Urban and Cobb were, since they’d both been here the shortest amount of time since growing up. Silas had his place, but he’d still been hoping to be traded away from the Knights until that dream changed once he got with Amity. I didn’t think there’d be much that would drag my brothers away from Kalamazoo now unless their women would go with them.

Though in baseball, we didn’t always have a choice, the fact that our mother ran the team probably meant we had a good chance of staying.

“Did you watch the game?” Amity asked me while we waited for dinner to arrive.

“Of course I did. Harlowe was still here. We watched. Couldn’t miss yelling at my little brothers fucking up.” I dropped into a chair at the dining table that Urban and Cobb had just made bigger. This right here was the reason I’d even gotten a table that could expand. Sure, it meant there wasn’t much room when it was at its full size, but that didn’t matter.

“Uh, we weren’t fucking up,” Cobb countered. “They never let starting pitchers stay in the All-Star Game very long.”

While that was true, it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to give him shit for it.

Mom and Dad ended up not coming over. Mom had to deal with something that came up with the team tonight, but she didn’t say what. Or at least she didn’t tell Camden what it was when she sent the text. Maybe if one of us brothers had been there in person, she might’ve said something.

It was a good, relaxing night with my siblings and their significant others. Thank the universe none of my brothers had decided to settle down with a fucking asshole. I liked all of their women, though it wouldn’t have mattered if I didn’t. Their choice either way. This made things infinitely easier, especially for Camden.

Once they’d all left, I headed up to bed. Tomorrow, I was losing the immobilizer, assuming everything went well with the trainer. I thought it would. We had a game the day after that and I didn’t want to miss it. Though he kept warning me that I might be out a game or two, but if I had a say in it—which I didn’t—I’d be playing in that game.

When I woke the next morning, I was more content than I had been in a while and there was no need to guess why that was. Harlowe, but fuck, she’d run out of my house so quickly that I couldn’t get a read on her.

Regret. Yeah, I saw that, but hopefully, that was more because Camden was her best friend. Not regret over me. I’d been attracted to her for a long fucking time, but she was right. She was my sister’s best friend and that meant we ought not to have fucked around.

This was going to throw the whole dynamic off because it wasn’t like I could convince myself that we hadn’t slept together. In the end, I’d have to wait to see her response.

Fuck. I hadn’t been this uncertain about a woman in a long, god-damned time. It was throwing me off as I took a shower then got dressed to head to the field.

I hadn’t meant for it to happen, but she’d been right there, so close to me, that I’d kissed her without thinking and when she didn’t pull back… let’s fucking go , but this uncertainty… That could be dangerous.

For me, it hadn’t been just a random hookup. There were feelings in our history—at least on my end. I didn’t want this to end in a casual encounter, so I sent her a text and waited. She didn’t answer for hours, so I guess I had mine.

After grabbing my wallet and keys, I hobbled my way to the door. Right when I opened it, I stepped back. Camden was on the other side and she’d startled me.

“Ever thought about ringing the doorbell?” I asked her.

“I assumed that your camera lets you know when someone is here.”

Yeah. It did, but I hadn’t been paying any attention to it.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked her. She had her brown hair braided into two tails that hung over her shoulders. When she did that, she looked like such a damn kid that it was hard not to let memories flood in.

I didn’t have time for that this morning.

“Taking you to the field,” she told me. “You’re not supposed to drive yet, right? You can’t bend your knee.”

She was right, but I would’ve made it work.

“Well, let’s go, then,” I told her as I stepped out the door.

Once we were in her car and she was pulling out of my driveway, she said, “You seem grumpy. Are you mad that I had Harlowe here to babysit you?”

“Nope,” I told her, but I looked out the window. Camden knew us all too fucking well and I wasn’t about to chance her seeing something flash across my face when she mentioned her best friend. “Why did you, though? I’m grown. I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I know you can, but you’re always taking care of yourself and the rest of us. I didn’t want you watching the game all sad in front of the TV.”

I chuckled. “That wouldn’t have been the case.”

She snickered and it had to be because she knew damn well I wouldn’t have been sad. “Right. How did it go, though? Do I have anything to apologize to my best friend for? Were you an asshole?”

“Nope,” I said again. I didn’t think that was the case, but if Camden knew what had happened, she’d definitely think I’d been.

“Good. I asked her because she’s been part of the family for so long and knows all of you so well, but also, I know you two don’t really like each other, so it was perfect.”

I swung my gaze toward her, but she kept hers on the road. “What?”

“You two don’t like each other.” She glanced at me then went back to the road. “So I didn’t have to worry about you taking my best friend from me.”

I furrowed my brows. What the fuck was she talking about? “OK, first, I don’t dislike Harlowe. She doesn’t like me?” That could not be true after yesterday. She had to like me at least a little.

“She’s never said that.” Camden spoke like it was a confession. “But you two are always on opposite sides of the room and only speak to each other when you have to. I assumed it was on purpose.” She shrugged. “That neither of you liked the other.”

I blew out a quick breath. “No. That was coincidence.” Though part of it was true. I had made sure to steer clear of my sister’s best friend once I’d started finding her attractive. Once she’d been old enough for me to look at her in any other way than as her best friend’s brother.

I supposed I shouldn’t have been so fucking obvious about it.

“Well, good.” She pulled to a stop in the parking garage, which meant she was coming in with me. “We’re meeting the brothers at Cleats & Kegs after your checkup and workout. Grab some lunch.”

There was no game today, so I didn’t have a good excuse, but also, this would give me a chance to test the waters. At first, I was going to protest anyway but thought better of it and instead looked at it as an opportunity.

Camden walked with me to the exam room but stopped at the door. She wasn’t coming in. This was my body and my career. I didn’t need my little sister hovering over me. She said fine and that she’d go see if Mom was in her office but to text her when I was done.

Inside the room, we went through all of the normal steps that we’d done when I’d been here earlier in the week. Though this time, the doctor had me doing some squats and I was honest with him. There was still a slight tenderness around the knee, which could be a problem since I spent most of the game squatted behind the plate.

“All right,” he said. Doc was in his early forties, but in probably the best shape of his life. Helped that he had a full gym right here. “You can do a workout today if you want to. Avoid squatting too much, but I’m going to give you some things to do to work on the stability of the knee. Overall, you’re looking good and will be back in the game soon probably will a little brace.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked. I’d wear whatever he wanted me to if it meant playing.

He shook his head. “I think that’d be pushing it. Saturday, maybe.”

That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear, but I’d take it. Missing one game wouldn’t be the end of the world, even if it felt like it.

At least I got to ditch that immobilizer. That thing was annoying.

Off I went to the gym. There were a few guys in there doing their workouts. It was an off day. We didn’t even have a team meeting because we’d have one tomorrow morning, but there was nothing to go over right now. This was a weird little lull in the middle of the season. Welcomed, but weird.

When I was done, I showered off then sent Camden a text before I got dressed again. That way, she’d be waiting right in the hallway when I was done.

Sure enough, as soon as I stepped out of the clubhouse, she was there.

“No knee brace?” she asked as we made our way to the door.

“No. He said it looks good, but I might not play in the game tomorrow. It’s still a little tender. Might be better in the morning. Though he did mention using one of those neoprene braces when I go back to playing.”

She grunted, like she wasn’t sure I was telling her the truth, but that was what the man had said. My only current problem was that I couldn’t stop thinking about Harlowe the entire workout. She was fucking with my head and wasn’t even trying.

Cleats & Kegs was just around the corner from the park, which was probably why they got such steady business. Even on non-game days, they’d stay busy.

My brothers were at the big table in the middle. Everly was beside Urban and Monroe was next to Cobb, but Amity wasn’t there. I assumed she had work. Since she worked for the team, sometimes she had work when we didn’t have a game. Planning all the travel didn’t end just because we weren’t leaving today.

In fact, when the schedule got made for the next year, they were already looking at places and contacting them about it.

I dropped into a seat and filled them in on my knee. I’d be back, but maybe not tomorrow.

“One game isn’t bad,” Silas said.

“Not the worst.” But I hated missing a single game. I was the catcher who didn’t get hurt bad enough to be out of the game. It already smarted that I’d had to leave the game I’d gotten hurt in.

Silas’s words dropped out when I saw Harlowe come out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. She dropped it at a table close to the door she’d just gone through. I pulled out my phone and typed out a text to her. Nothing major. Just a good morning.

As she was wiping down a different table, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. When she looked at it, she sighed and shoved it back in.

I supposed that was my final answer. Message received.

A moment later, Harlowe was standing at our table with an order pad in her hand and an uncomfortable smile on her face. You didn’t have to be Camden to know that she was uncomfortable standing at our table right now.

“What can I get you?” she asked me after taking literally everyone else’s order.

I’d skipped breakfast, so I said, “Burger and fries.”

“Got it.” Then she walked away. Didn’t even ask me what I wanted on it the way she had my brothers.

Message definitely received.

I’d never been this unsure about a woman in my life and that was going to end now. If Harlowe wanted to pretend like yesterday hadn’t happened, I told myself that was fine with me.

It wasn’t, but there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.