The Other Game: A Dean Carter Novel (The Perfect Game #4) (12 page)

Gran called us all back into the kitchen, the spot in the house where she felt the most comfortable and in control. “This whole thing is nerve-racking,” she declared. “Why aren’t you nervous?” she asked Jack, but he only smiled.

“Because there’s nothing more I can do. I’ve worked my ass off and left it all out on that field every day for years.” He shrugged. “It’s out of my hands at this point.”

“How’d you get so smart?” She cupped his face with both hands and planted a kiss on each cheek.

“I learned it from you. Now come sit with us and relax.” He led her by the hand toward the table when the chime of the doorbell stopped them. “You sit, Gran. I’ll let them in.” Jack handed her off to me, and I urged Gran to sit.

Jack walked back in followed by two cameramen, a reporter, and a producer. They discussed how things would work—that we would basically be filmed waiting for the phone to ring and for Jack to get his offer. They would film his reaction and ours when the call came, and then interview Jack afterward. The producer kept reminding us not to look at the cameras and to act natural, as if it was completely normal to have two cameramen shoving lights and equipment in your face while you sat at your dinner table.

The draft had already technically begun, and when the sound of a reporter talking on the television in the other room filtered into the kitchen, I had to fight the urge to go watch the TV instead of sitting at the table.

I watched as Marc and Ryan kept busy texting on their phones, and realized in that instant that what they did for a living not only intrigued me, but excited me. I loved baseball, and if I couldn’t play it like Jack did, maybe I could still pursue it as a career in a different way.

Our landline phone rang and Jack walked toward it, suddenly looking a little unsure. It was literally his moment of truth, and I held my breath as he answered. We all knew that Jack didn’t care who drafted him. He simply wanted to play ball, and which team he played for was a minor detail at this point.

“Hello?” His gaze was drawn to the table, connecting with us as he talked. “Speaking.” He paused only for a second before smiling. “Thank you so much. Yes, sir. I’ll be in touch. Thank you.”

He slammed down the phone before shouting, “Arizona!” and the room broke out into cheers and congratulations. “I’m a Diamondback!”

Jack gave me a hug, and I was surprised to find my eyes burning with tears. Not like a baby or anything, but tears of pride and joy blurred my vision, and I had to blink rapidly to force them back. I was overwhelmed, filled with genuine happiness for my big brother and everything he’d worked so hard to achieve. It almost felt like my win as much as his.

“Carter, come on,” Ryan said. “Do we have to call these guys back and negotiate or what?”

The business of the draft was just getting started. These guys had a job to do, and getting an offer was only the first step.

“They said five,” Jack said, and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. I must have missed something as I was lost in my thoughts.

“Yeah? Did they say five?” Ryan’s eyes widened.

“That’s what they said.”

“Well, all right! How do you feel? Should we push?” Marc scribbled notes furiously onto his pad, and I realized they must be referring to his signing bonus.

“I think five is more than fair. I’m happy with it,” Jack said, and I wasn’t sure if he meant five hundred thousand or five million.

“I know it sounds like a lot of money right now, Jack, but you’ll lose half in taxes and we take our cut. You won’t be making much for the next few years in the minor leagues. We could probably get them to budge some,” Marc suggested, still scribbling like a madman.

“I’m happy with it,” Jack said with confidence. “I just want to play ball.”

Marc stopped writing. “All right then. We’ll accept the deal as is. Congrats!”

“Five million isn’t a bad signing bonus, right?” Jack asked Cassie, and she choked on her surprise.

“That’s what it is? Five
million
dollars?”

“What did you think?” He laughed as he pulled her in for a hug.

The reporter tossed Jack a Diamondback hat and a jersey with his name already on the back, and he immediately put them on.

“How do I look?” he asked with a grin, modeling the dark red jersey with
D*Backs
emblazoned on it.

Gramps lifted his hand for a high-five. “Like a million bucks.”

I grinned. “More like five.”

“Can I get my camera?” Cassie asked. “Are we allowed to take pictures?”

The producer turned to her. “As soon as we stop rolling. Otherwise your camera’s shutter clicking will filter into the sound bites.”

They pulled Jack into the living room, where there was more natural light, and interviewed him as we all waited for him in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones amongst ourselves about the team and the bonus.

Before we knew it, the camera crew and agents had cleared out, gone as quick as they’d come, and it was just the Carter family again. And Cassie, of course, but she felt like family to more than just me at this point. I could tell that Gran and Gramps really cared about her.

“I’d really love to take some family pictures of you all, if you don’t mind,” Cassie asked, and Gran’s face lit up. We’d never had them done before, and even I admitted that it was a great idea.

Cassie posed us out back under one of our big trees, smiling as she clicked away on her new camera. She organized us so she could take pictures of us alone, all together, and then separated us into groups like just me and Jack, and just Gran and Jack. I would have hated all the posing if it were anyone else asking us to do it, but Cassie made it bearable.

Gramps asked if he could take a photo of Jack and Cassie. I laughed, assuming it would come out blurry, or only Cassie’s head would be in it. But apparently, after some instruction from Cassie, he did pretty well.

“Can we get one more with Dean?” Cassie asked before waving me over. “I don’t have any pictures of the three of us. I really want one. Or twelve,” she called out to Gramps.

My heart warmed inside my chest. The way Cassie always tried to include me was exactly why I couldn’t help but think of her as family already. I was so thankful Jack had found her, and that she tolerated him.

“Thanks for including me, sis,” I said as we ended the shoot, dying to get out of these pants and into some shorts.

“You know I love you,” she said with a smile, and Jack glared at me.

“Back off, little brother. I might be gone in a few weeks, but I can still kick your ass,” he said with a playful snarl.

“Yeah? You and what army?” I said before he broke away from Cassie and chased me into the house.

Jack spent his last few days split between Cassie’s apartment and our house. As excited as he was to begin this chapter of his life, I sensed that a part of him hated leaving. Not only Cassie, but Gran and Gramps too. This house was all we’d known, and we’d never left. Neither of us even considered moving out when we got accepted at Fullton State, so for Jack, this would be his first time living away from home.

I sat on his bed while he packed a duffel bag full of clothes. “You all right?”

“It’s weird to be leaving.”

“I was just thinking that,” I admitted.

He stopped folding a shirt to glance up at me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, we’ve never lived away from home before.”

He sighed. “I know. You’ve gotta look out for Gran and Gramps, okay? They’re getting older, and I worry about them.”

I waved my hand. “Stop it. They’re not ninety. They’re fine, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“Except up north with me.”

“What?”

“I want you to drive up with me. I mean, if you want. The house looks awesome, and I want you with me when I move in and meet the guys.”

“You don’t want Cassie to take you?” I asked, assuming that he and Cassie had already planned to go up together. Even though Jack got drafted for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was heading to their Single-A baseball team up in Northern California first. Before you got to the major leagues, you had to work your way through the farm system.

“No. I mean, of course I’d like her to take me, but she has her internship. Besides, I really think we need a brothers’ road trip before I leave.”

“You taking the Bronco?” Internally I shuddered at the thought of what a nightmare that vehicle would be for long distances.

“Yep.” When I groaned, he said, “Oh, come on. I want a car while I’m there. And how else am I going to take all my shit with me?”

Shaking my head with a chuckle, I said, “When do we leave?” and Jack grinned back. He knew I’d never turn down the opportunity to spend more time with him.

“Tomorrow morning. Go pack.” He waved a hand to shoo me off, but I hesitated.

“How am I getting back home?”

“I’ll buy you a plane ticket. Hell, I’ll buy you a plane. Just go pack.”

I practically ran into my room, excited at the prospect of spending some one-on-one time with my brother. I had no idea when I’d see him again after he left, so I would take any time he wanted to give me.

No matter how big of a jerk Jack could be to girls, to me he was a really great brother. Which was why I hated hearing people talk shit about him. They didn’t know the real him, the great guy underneath the cocky attitude and big-shot bravado.

I tore my room apart, searching for my own duffel bag in my closet and under my bed, but it was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, I walked back into Jack’s room.

“I can’t find my—” I stopped short at the sight of my duffel bag on his bed, already halfway filled with shoes. “Bro, you have my bag.”

Jack gave me a grin and a shrug. “Sorry. I’m bringing most of my shit. Ask Gramps to borrow his. I’m sure he has one.”

Without another word, I found Gramps in the living room and asked him for a bag. Gran told him to stay in his chair and she’d bring it to me.

Gran was the best, always taking care of her three guys. What would she do when there were only two left?

• • •

Jack woke me up at seven, insisting we both shower, eat, and get on the road by eight at the latest. I heard him on the phone and assumed he was talking to Cassie.

Gran and Gramps were both in the kitchen, wearing matching robes. Gramps sipped at his first cup of coffee of the day and read the newspaper while Gran fussed over the stove.

“New robes?” I looked at them, unsure what to think.

Gramps grinned at me. “Ma bought ’em. Said they were cute.”

“They are cute.” Gran twirled, and the blue-and-white checked pattern spun with her, nearly making me dizzy.

“Can’t argue. Plus it’s better to just do what she asks.” Gramps smiled as he went back to his newspaper.

Jack entered the kitchen and put his cell phone in his pocket before looking at me. “You ready to hit the road?”

“I haven’t even eaten yet. You said I had to eat.”

“Well, now you can eat on the road,” he started to say, but Gran clucked her tongue at him.

“I’m making eggs and toast. You can spend ten minutes with us before you go.”

Jack looked at me, his eyes begging for help, but I sat down at the table instead. I knew who was boss here.

He scowled before looking curiously at Gramps, and then to Gran, and then back at Gramps. “What the—”

Gran held her spatula in the air. “Don’t even say it, Jack!”

“I was just going to say what great robes you two are wearing. Did you buy some for me and Dean?”

I shot him a warning look and wished I had something to toss at his head.

“No. But there’s always Christmas,” she teased.

Five minutes later, Gran had breakfast ready. The four of us sat around the table in the kitchen, eating in silence. The mood was somber, as if this was our last meal together, and no one seemed to want to address the simple fact that nothing would ever be the same.

I refused to be sad about it because I was too damn happy for Jack. But still, it sucked to know he’d be gone until September.

Jack rushed through his food, shoveling it into his mouth like he was desperate to escape. I had only finished half my plate when he rose to his feet and told me that we needed to beat the morning commute.

Gran’s eyes started to tear a little as she hugged him. “I’m so proud of you. Go show ’em what you’re made of, honey.”

“Thanks, Gran.”

Jack’s eyes got misty, and I realized that if my big brother cried right now, I was going to lose it too.

When it was Gramps’s turn, he reached out like he was only going to shake Jack’s hand rather than hug him. Jack’s eyebrows shot up.

“It’s been an honor,” Gramps said before laughing. “Just kidding. Get over here, son.” He grabbed Jack and hugged him hard. “We couldn’t be more proud of everything you’ve accomplished. You deserve it. Now, go pitch your heart out, and we’ll take care of your girl.”

“Drive safe,” Gran said before giving me a quick hug and a shove.

“Jeez. You don’t have to push me out of the house, Gran,” I grumbled as I grabbed my borrowed duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Once outside, Jack loaded up his truck, which thankfully had the hard top on. It must have killed him to put it on, but I didn’t even want to imagine what a long road trip would have been like without it.

“Why were you in such a rush to leave?” I asked as he took my bag from me.

“I just—” He shook his head. “I didn’t want to cry, okay?” When I just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say, he growled, “Get in the damn truck,” and then hopped in.

“Thanks for putting the top on,” I said as I pulled the door closed.

Jack turned the key in the ignition and the radio almost blasted me out of my seat. He reached for the volume and turned it down.

“Shit, sorry,” he said with a sheepish glance my way.

We both looked toward the house where Gran and Gramps stood on the front porch in their matching robes, waving at us. Gramps held on to Gran as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Jack and I leaned out the windows to wave back at them.

Jack shot me a glance before he put the truck in gear. “Besides, I figured that seven hours was too long of a drive to attempt without the shell. We’d both be sunburnt and blown to hell by the time we got there.”

“Not to mention the fact that our throats would have been sore,” I said, and we both laughed at the memory.

We’d driven to San Diego once in high school for a concert, and Jack had left the top off. For the whole drive, we couldn’t hear each other speak, and we had to shout over the sound of the wind ripping through the car. By the time we got back home, we barely had voices and our throats were killing us.

Jack pulled onto the freeway and I settled back in my seat, intent on getting comfortable for the long ride. “You already have a place, right?”

“Yeah. Marc and Ryan helped hook me up with a player who was already renting a house and had two extra rooms. I guess the other guys living there got moved up.”

“Nice. How’s Cassie?”

He inhaled a quick breath. “Good. She cried on the phone this morning, but that’s only because she didn’t know when we were going to see each other again. But fuck if it didn’t kill me to hear her crying like that.”

“I bet. So what’d you tell her?”

“I told her I’d fly her up as soon as I got settled. Hell, I’d ask the girl to move in with me and live with me forever, but she never would.”

I smiled. “You mean that, don’t you?”

He looked at me for only a second before looking back at the road. “When I think about the future, all I see is her and baseball. And when there’s no more baseball, I still see her. You know? I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Never knew I could.”

“That’s huge coming from you.” Actually, his revelation blew my mind. Jack had never given his heart to anyone before he’d met Cassie, not even a small piece of it.

“Well, we can’t all be like you, Dean.”

Frowning at him, I asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He glanced at me and reached out to punch my arm. “You know. Perfect.” Refocusing on the road, he said, “Nah, I just mean that you’re willing to take a chance on love. You find a girl and you get attached.” He coughed and said under his breath, “Funsize.”

“I’m not attached. There’s nothing to be attached to.”

I looked out the window as the city flashed by, but was lost in my thoughts, not really seeing anything.

“You like her,” Jack said. “She likes you too. I see the way she looks at you.”

Frustrated, I waved my hand and said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

When it came to girls, he and I couldn’t have been more different. Everything about the opposite sex came so easily to Jack, but I always had to make sure any girl I was interested in genuinely liked me for myself, and wasn’t just using me.

Back in high school, I had my heart handed to me when I fell for a girl who was only using me to get close to my brother. When the truth came out, I felt like such an idiot for thinking that someone like her could be interested in me, but I didn’t know any better.

Despite all that, I was still far too trusting, especially considering how fucked up both Jack and I were over our mom abandoning us. I tended to believe the things girls said to me, and for that, Jack would call me a sucker. I probably was.

“Fine,” Jack said. “But you’re hung up on her is my point. You refuse to date anyone else because there’s a possibility that Melissa might like you back, and you don’t want to miss out on that.”

I stared at my brother in shock, wondering when he’d gotten so damn good at reading people.

“Am I wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head reluctantly. “You’re not wrong.”

“Then I think you should date someone else. See if it pisses her off. Try to get a rise out of the girl.”

“Seriously? Make her jealous? That’s your big plan?”

“Maybe it’ll knock some sense into her for once,” he said with a laugh.

I stared out the window and couldn’t believe I was actually considering it. Maybe it would work. If Melissa had expressed even an iota of jealousy, then I would know for sure that she was interested, no matter what she tried to say.

“It might backfire,” I said, my attention focused on the mountain range in the distance.

“Backfire how?”

“Maybe she’d date someone else then too. And I’d be pissed.”

“Well, maybe that’s what you both need.”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear any more.

“I have a question that actually matters,” I said, changing the subject and trying to pretend that I couldn’t care less about Melissa. We both knew that wasn’t true, but Jack humored me.

“Shoot.”

“I was thinking about asking Marc and Ryan if I could intern for them, but only if you’re okay with it. What do you think?”

I really hoped Jack wouldn’t think me being around his agents was weird, but I wasn’t sure. We were family, but sometimes people didn’t want to mix family with business, and this was definitely Jack’s business. If he told me no, I’d have to respect that.

Jack glanced at me, his eyebrows raised underneath his cap. “You think you want to be a sports agent?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I’d like to find out.”

Hell, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I finally grew up, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try new things. Maybe it would be nothing like I thought and I’d end up hating it, but I’d never know if I didn’t try.

After thinking it over for a few seconds, Jack nodded. “I think it’s a good idea. You care about people, and that’s important. I wouldn’t have signed with Marc and Ryan if I didn’t think they cared about me and my future, you know? If I was just another paycheck to them. I didn’t want people like that in my corner. I could find assholes like that on the street.”