Page 85 of The One for Me
“I’m thinking about my future and what that looks like, you understand, right?”
She smiles. “Of course I do. It’s time you find your own path. Jasper and I have always wanted you to have your future. I know what has kept you here, and I love you so much for it, but . . . I want you to liveyourlife.”
I have no freaking clue what they’re talking about, but I feel awkward standing here. “I’m going to check on the team.”
They both nod.
All right, then. I sneak off and go down to the dugout. “Hey,” Jasper says, clapping my hand.
“Hey, sorry we missed you this morning. It was a late start.”
“My sister has always been lazy in the mornings. I’m used to it. Glad you guys made it, though, the weather is no joke.”
I shudder a little. “We had a few close calls.”
“I’m sure.”
“We should probably get a hotel close to here,” I suggest.
There’s no way in hell we’re driving back if the roads are going to be like that.
Jasper shrugs. “The snow should stop in the next hour or so, and if they salt the roads, it should be fine. We’re trapped in here for at least the next seven hours.”
That’s true. “We’ll play it by ear.”
“Sean!” Austin spots me and barrels my way. “You’re here!”
“We are. Sorry that we’re late, but we had to get my brother’s truck.”
“It’s cool. I knew Aunt Devney wouldn’t miss it.”
I smile at his ultimate trust in her. “No, she would have walked if she had to.”
“She’s always at my games.”
“Is she your lucky charm?”
He purses his lips. “I don’t think so.”
“All ballplayers have something that brings them luck. You have to figure out what it is and always have it near you.”
His eyes widen. “What’s yours?”
I reach into my back pocket and pull out a picture. “This has been with me at every game, practice, tournament, and tryout.”
Austin takes the very worn photo and looks at it. “Who is this?”
“That,” I say as I point to the first person in the photo, “is my mother. She died when I was about your age. This person”—I point to the kid to the left of my mom—“is my brother Declan, and I’m next to him.” I move to the other people. “That’s Jacob, who is an actor.”
“Your brother is the new superhero, isn’t he?”
“He is.”
Jacob was cast in a role last year that has changed his life. He went from starring in some low-budget films to being a new box-office phenomenon, and his producer, Noah Frazier, says it’s going to be the role of a lifetime. He is the lead in the newest superhero action movies that will span at least fifteen films. All the heroes will intertwine, and the first movie, which was released four months ago, is looking to be the highest-grossing film of the year.
“That’s so cool. Your whole family is! You have a brother who was a SEAL and apparently a huge hero because Hadley never shuts up about him. You’re a famous baseball player. Your other brother owns all of New York, and then one is a superhero!”
I laugh because, to a nine-year-old boy, it would seem that way. “Well, they are pretty cool, but you see that person right there?”
