never since my two aunts, my dad’s sisters, had moved there to help them oversee operations. I wasn’t sure if they ever planned on coming back to the States or not.
I’d basically grown up being the only Italian girl from the city with no siblings and only her mom and dad. Everyone else seemed to have generations of family living within a three-block radius, who got together every Sunday for barbeques and homemade dinners. I used to feel sort of left out, like I was missing something, until my friends started including me in their family rituals.
“I’ve never seen Chance play so bad before,” Cassie whispered before eyeing me. “Did you two have a fight?”
“What? No. I mean, not that I know of.” I laughed uncomfortably.
“They don’t fight, Mrs. Carter,” Sunny interjected, and I gave her a look before she snapped her lips shut and pressed them together dramatically.
“I’m just teasing, but he’s definitely not himself. Something has him unfocused.”
“You can tell that just by watching him?” I asked, fascinated.
“Oh, absolutely. You will, too, eventually.” She smiled, and I hoped she was right. I wanted to know that Chance was off just by looking at him.
“Any idea what’s gotten into him?” his uncle leaned forward and asked.
Both Cassie and I shook our heads.
“Weird,” he said before typing out furiously on his phone.
I hated how concerned everyone sounded. I started wondering if I was the reason Chance was so unlike himself.
Did I do something and not realize it? I had no idea what was wrong, but something clearly was.
“What was it like, dating the Jack Carter when you guys were here?” Sunny asked with a giant grin, and I practically groaned, a little embarrassed.
Cassie looked over her shoulder at Melissa. “How do I even answer that question?” she asked before Melissa shook her head.
“I’ll answer it,” Melissa said before Cassie shushed her.
“Jack was a piece of work. He was a mess,” she said before looking at Gran and Gramps and apologizing.
“Oh, honey, you know that I’m well aware of what a mess he was,” Gran said.
Cassie continued, “I was a mess too. We were two immature and hurt people. We took our pain out on each other. But we also saved each other.”
“They mostly saved each other,” Melissa said before adding, “Of course, that was after putting each other and everyone who ever cared about them through hell.”
“She’s one to talk.” Cassie thumbed toward her. “Remind me to tell you the nightmare story of how those two finally got together.”
“Hey, it’s not a nightmare story.” Melissa mocked offense, and we all laughed. “Fine. I was a little bit of a nightmare.”
“But you’re my nightmare.” Dean wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed the side of her head. “I honestly wouldn’t change a moment of our story.”
“You wouldn’t?” Melissa asked, like this was the first time he’d ever said something like that to her before.
“Nope. I think it worked out all right in the end. Don’t you?” He grinned, clearly still head over heels for his wife, and she leaned over to kiss him.
If this was how all the Carter men loved their women, I wanted to keep mine. I used to think that finding a love like my parents had was a fantasy, but now, looking around at this family, I knew it could be real. It was rare but still possible.
“Chance just got pulled.” Cassie’s green eyes tugged together as she watched her son walk into the dugout.
I’d never seen him look so angry before.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“That he’s not playing for the rest of the game.”
“Do they do that sometimes? Considering it’s really hot out, and he’s got all that gear on.” I hoped that I sounded reasonable, but I ended up just sounding stupid and uninformed instead.
“Not usually. Unless they’re ahead by a lot,” Cassie said.
I glanced at the scoreboard even though I already knew the score. We were still down by one run.
“So, this isn’t normal then?”
“This is definitely anything but normal.”
The mood instantly shifted once the family realized that Chance was out for the rest of the game. Uncle Dean suggested that Gran and Gramps go home and get out of the heat, and they agreed.
“Tell my grandson I was here,” Gramps said, his voice gruff and husky.
“I will. I’m sure he already knows,” Cassie reassured him before giving him a giant hug.
“Make sure my grandson brings you over for dinner,” Gran said to me before leaving.
“Aw, I will. Thank you.” I smiled,