Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
We watch a little of the game, and when we get to the middle of the eighth and it’s tied four to four, I drop the bombshell that I can’t stop thinking about. “So the main question I’ve been asked is if I’m going to retire at the end of this season.”
I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Every one of them stares back at me, and none of them seem surprised by my statement. It’s almost as if they’ve thought about it themselves. I jam my hand through my hair and stare at the television. “I mean, I’m thirty-eight years old. I guess it’s a given that people would wonder, and it seems my body is giving out on me.”
“Bullshit,” King practically bellows, and Haven jerks in his lap.
He apologizes to her and then turns back to me. “Seriously, Holden. That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’re not going to retire until you’re ready. You’re not going to let some lame asshole make you think now’s the time. You’re going to get your arm better, win the playoffs, and then you decide what you’re going to do. It’s your life, you live it the way you want.”
My whole body heats as emotion rolls through me. My heart is racing, and there’s a tremble in my hands, but I nod at my big brother. He’s the man that worked his ass off to get me to the big leagues. He’s the reason I was able to get trained by some of the country’s best athletes. He made it possible for me to get where I am now, and I know he’s right. I’ll retire when I think I’m ready.
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. The time for self-pity is over. A new determination has come over me, and I’m going to prove to everyone that I still have plenty of game left in me. “Thanks, King.”
He nods at the same time Dom jumps from his seat with a loud holler. “Yes, go ball! Go ball!”
All eyes turn to the screen in front of us, and everyone in the living room starts punching their fists in the air. The Bears did it. They won a game against a team that was favored to win. There are plenty of more games to play, but if my team can get us there, I’ll be back for the playoffs.
2
CATHERINE
The sound of chairs scraping across the floor and people talking fills the room as I try to eat my lunch. My friend Bethany, a nurse here at the hospital, is telling me some gory story from her morning working in the emergency room, and suddenly I’m not that hungry anymore. I point with my fork at my plate. “Really? I’m eating here.”
She just laughs and waves me off. “You’re so sensitive, Catherine. I didn’t even go into detail.”
I lean forward. “You said—and I quote—'he was cut wide open, and his intestines were hanging out. I had to shove them back in and just hold them there until the doctor got there.’ That’s quite a bit of detail… and I’m eating spaghetti, no less.”
Bethany just laughs again. “Fine. I’m done. What about you? How was your morning?”
Since I can no longer stomach the noodles, I move them around on my plate. “Well, let’s see, Cole had workouts this morning and had to be at the school gym at six, so I dropped him off.”
Bethany holds her hands up. “Wait. He has workouts before school? He’s thirteen.”
I snort because I think I said the same thing when Cole told me he was going to start having two practices a day. “Yeah, they’re called two-a-days. They do weights in the morning before school and then after school, they have baseball practice…. Anyway, so I dropped him off and met Jeremy for breakfast—”
Bethany starts hopping up and down in her seat and wiggling her eyebrows at me. “Ooooh, yeah, get to the good part. Did he jelly your toast? Put syrup on your—”
“Shhhh!” I whisper to her. “Geez, Bethany, really?”
She sits up a little straighter and doesn’t even try to hide the disappointment on her face. “You’re right. I’ve met Jeremy. I don’t even need to ask because I know he didn’t do anything to your lady bits.”
I push my plate away and pick up my water instead. “We’ve only been dating two months.”
“Two months, seven dates, and you’ve kissed. You have to be the most boring couple—”
Thankfully, Bethany stops talking when our friend Chrissy sets her tray down next to us. She sits down with a look at Bethany. “I hear you had your hands in guts this morning.”
“Geez, you two should come with a warning label. Can’t we just have a normal lunch without talking about internal organs and all that?”
Chrissy and Bethany both laugh, and I know they do it because they think it’s hilarious that I can’t stomach their job. Yeah, even though I once wanted to be a nurse, it was smart of me to go the physical therapy direction instead. I may have to deal with some gross feet sometimes, but at least I don’t have to worry about organs falling out of bodies.