Page 24 of Dare to Live
“Horse shit,” I’d replied. “Look on the bright side. The Sea Dogs will work with you if you get pregnant.”
“Maybe,” she’d said. “But they won’t re-sign me after that one-year contract is up. They’re probably too afraid that I’ll get pregnant again.”
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I think it’s something I ate. Maybe the crab cakes at dinner. They tasted a little funny, but I thought that was—” She whipped her head over the toilet and puked.
I grabbed a washcloth, doused it with cold water, and waited until she was finished. Then I patted her face, hoping the coolness of the cloth would help her.
She puffed out her cheeks and settled with her back against the tub. “I hope I can play today.”
She was a relief pitcher. So it wasn’t like she was starting. Her manager could always put in another relief pitcher. However, knowing Lacey, she wouldn’t tell her manager she wasn’t feeling well. She would just play. She was that stubborn when it came to baseball. She’d said on more than one occasion that she had to work harder than her male counterparts. I wouldn’t disagree, but if she was sick, her performance would suffer, and so would the team.
I propped my hip against the counter. “Maybe you should call in sick.”
She hugged her knees to her chest. “I don’t have to be at the field for a few hours. I’ll see how I feel later. Right now, I just want to crawl back into bed and rest.”
That sounded good to me. I held out my hand. “Come on. We can snuggle.” I wasn’t working as hard as her, so I shouldn’t have been tired, but I was.
She pushed to her feet on shaky legs. When she did, I lifted her in my arms and carried her to bed.
Then I kissed her on the forehead before cuddling up to her from behind.
Within minutes, her breathing became steady and even as she dozed off.
I lay there, trying to sleep, but my mind was in overdrive. Baseball season drained the energy out of her. Even when the season ended, it took her a month or more to finally relax, and just as she did, the season started up again. It was an endless cycle.
Lacey rolled over and slipped her leg in between mine, a position she loved when we snuggled. Just as she nuzzled her nose into my chest, she darted out of bed and ran for the bathroom. The sound of her puking again echoed in the quiet room.
I got up and dressed quickly. “I’ll go find something for your nausea.” I didn’t wait for her to say anything as I grabbed the room key, my wallet, and my phone and hurried out.
Twenty minutes later when I returned, Lacey was curled up on the small loveseat in the sitting area, reading on her phone, while an ESPN announcer on the TV went through the highlights of the Red Sox game the night before.
I dropped down next to her, setting the bag of Pepto Bismol and bagels on the table along with the coffee I’d gotten at the hotel restaurant. “Feeling better?”
She looked somewhat pale but not as white as she had earlier. “I will be. By the way, my manager called. He wants the team in early for a meeting before we warm up.”
“Are you sure you’ll be fine?”
She shrugged. “I’ve played many times when I wasn’t feeling well. I’m good.”
In that moment, a memory flashed through my mind, and I was transported back to that day in high school when Lacey had been trying out for the boys’ baseball team.
I sat in the stands at Kensington High, watching Lacey as she warmed up to face a batter. I fidgeted in my seat, breathing in and out, praying she would do okay. She’d been nervous as hell.
She threw her first pitch to the batter. The ball was wild, and the catcher fumbled to catch the ball.
Come on. You can do it,I muttered to myself as the crowd watching held their breath too.
The batter stepped out of the box, taking some practice swings, but my focus was on Lacey, who was puffing out her cheeks, blowing out breath after breath. Then when the batter was ready, Lacey wound up and let the ball fly. That time the pitch soared over the umpire, hitting the backstop with a thud as my heart followed suit.
My brother, Kelton, who was playing shortstop, ran up to Lacey.
My pulse thudded in my ears. I could feel her anxiety from where I sat.
Kelton and the catcher talked her down. She bobbed her head as everyone readied their positions.
I covered my mouth with my hands, holding all the air in my lungs as she set her stance. When she looked down at home plate, she froze as if she saw a ghost. Then in slow motion, her body fell forward as she blacked out.
“Kade, honey.” Lacey’s voice was distant as I slowly shed the memory of that day. She nibbled on my ear. “Where did you go?”
