Behind the Plate (The Boys of Baseball #2) - J. Sterling Page 0,39

Carters and the Marchettis were connected, in more ways than one.

Dinner flew by too fast, and when I offered to help clean up, Cassie insisted that she had it handled and that we’d better get back to school. She wanted Chance to get a good night’s sleep before his big test. She was a good mom.

“Thank you so much for coming and bringing my boy to see me. He wouldn’t have come without you, so I’m grateful,” Cassie said as she hugged me good-bye at the front door.

“I’m grateful. I can never thank you enough for what you’ve given me and my dad tonight. And for being so gracious and welcoming.”

“Please come over anytime. With or without him.” She nodded toward Chance, who stood there, watching us with a joyful expression.

“Please come without him. You’re so much cooler than he is,” Jacey added from where she stood next to her dad.

“I know I am. Don’t tell him though. We might hurt his precious ego,” I said, and Jacey gave me a high five.

“Okay, okay. We’re leaving, and when we don’t come back, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves,” Chance teased, and Jacey stuck out her tongue.

We headed outside with Chance leading the way, and I knew his family was still watching from the front door. I hadn’t heard it close yet. When we got to his car, he unlocked the doors and opened mine for me … again. Damn Chance Carter and his chivalrous ways.

He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine with one last wave toward his family. I watched as they closed the door, blocking all the light that had been spilling out from behind it. It was only then that I reached for my phone in my bag and checked it. I’d put it on silent before we walked in the house, afraid that Jared might text or call and start drama like Chance had mentioned. I was thankful I had as I looked at the string of texts from my boyfriend, each one more annoyed than the last.

“Jared?” Chance asked, his voice breaking the silence.

“Yeah. I didn’t look at my phone once while we were there,” I said, not sure why I’d offered up that extra bit of information.

“I noticed,” Chance said, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had been so observant. “Is he pissed?” he asked.

“A little, but I think it’s because he’s more worried than anything else. I just need to text him back really quick.” I started typing on my phone, letting Jared know that I was sorry but that I’d been tutoring and I’d call him as soon as I got home.

My phone vibrated in my hand, and I hesitated before Chance suggested, “You should probably answer it.”

I knew he was right, but answering it would lead to questions I wasn’t in the right state of mind to get into. Plus, I wasn’t comfortable with Chance hearing me on the phone with Jared, especially if he was upset.

“I’ll wait until I’m home.”

I could tell that Chance didn’t agree and wanted to say something else, but he kept quiet instead.

“I’m really sorry about your mom. I can’t imagine losing mine.” Chance sounded choked up, just thinking about it.

“It was awful. I mean, one day, she was full of life, and the next, she was fighting for it. I know it wasn’t that sudden in reality, but looking back, that’s what it seemed like. Like everything changed in an instant.”

“Was it cancer?”

“Yeah. Out of nowhere. She had this pain in her stomach, so they took an ultrasound, looking for a possible rupture, and they found tumors instead.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“When I first found out, I was so positive, you know? Telling her that she could fight this and we’d beat it. That kind of thing,” I said, remembering exactly the level of denial I’d felt back then. “But when reality started to sink in and I saw how fighting it only killed her differently, I stopped being so positive and optimistic.”

“I’m really sorry.”

My eyes started to water. “She stayed as long as she could. Held on for way too long because she knew I didn’t want her to go.”

“How old were you?”

“I was sixteen when she died. Thirteen when she was first diagnosed.”

His hand moved from the steering wheel to the top of my leg, like it had at dinner. He squeezed, his thumb rubbing across my thigh almost absentmindedly. I looked down, and he jerked