Page 16 of Knox
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 shoppingat 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’twant anyone else to know what was going on. Still, I was desperate for answers, so I typed back:
Be there soon
Aron Parkerand 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.
