by L. Wilder
It had been a long week, and even though it was Saturday night, I just wanted to throw on my pajamas and curl into bed. The last thing I wanted to do was going to a stupid bar and sing karaoke, especially when I was the only one going without an official date. It was bad enough that Jess would be wrapped up in Zach all night, but Allison and Tara were also bringing their boyfriends along. While I always hated being a third wheel, it was even worse when Tara and Allison were around. They gave a whole new meaning to PDA, and I wasn’t looking forward to watching them paw all over their boy-toys for the night. Since I’d promised Jess that I would go, I decided to suck it up for a couple of hours; when they started to get tipsy I’d head home, thinking I could be back before eleven.
After I got dressed, I went into the hall and called out to her, “Are you almost ready?”
“Almost.” She opened her door, and as soon as she saw me, she asked, “Is that what you’re wearing?”
I looked down at my jeans and t-shirt. “Yeah. What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“Uh … you can’t wear that, Kaci. You’ve gotta go change into something a little … sexier.”
“We’re going to Mulligans, right? The hole-in-the-wall that has peanut shells on the floor.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the point. Tonight, you need to look good … like really, really good.”
Knowing there was something she wasn’t telling me, I asked, “What are you up to, Jess?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me now, or I’m not going.” I warned her.
“Fine. I might’ve mentioned to Tucker that we were going there tonight.”
“You did what?”
“It’s not a big deal, Kaci. I just told him that if he didn’t have anything else going on, he should come join us.”
“Is that what he meant about seeing me Saturday night?”
Smiling excitedly, she replied, “Yep.”
“Well, there’s no way in hell I’m going now.”
“Why not? He's obviously interested in you.”
“What are you not getting here, Jess? I’ve already told you … I am not interested in him!”
“Oh, come on, Kaci. Don’t be like that. The guy is hot, and he’s—”
“And he’s a player who has women chasing after him all the time. That’s the last thing I need.”
She walked over to me with one of those looks on her face, and I knew I was about to get an earful. “When was the last time you went on a date?”
“I don’t know. A few weeks ago.”
“More like a few months ago. You went out with some guy from the computer lab at school, and that was just one date. Before that, there was one or two dates with that guy Zach fixed you up with.”
“Okay, Jess. I get it. I haven’t been on many dates lately, but I’ve been busy. I don’t have time—”
Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, she said, “I’m not asking you to get into something serious with this guy, Kaci. I’m just asking you to forget about all your responsibilities for one damn second and enjoy the fact that you’ve got some fine-assed, baseball player who has the hots for you. It’s time for you to get out there and live a little, or one day all you’re going to have to look back on is regret.”
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done anything that was just for fun—I was too busy studying, working, or taking care of my kid brother. I’d forgotten what it felt like to be excited about anything, especially a guy. While Tucker Michaels wasn’t exactly my type, he was good looking—extremely good looking. Even though he was an arrogant jerk, he could have his pick of any woman in town, and it was hard not to feel a little flattered that he might be interested in me. I wasn’t so sure that he was the best way for me to get out there and ‘live a little’, but Jess was right. Over the past few months, I'd become a total bore. I wasn’t sure I even remembered how to have a good time—but there was one way to find out.
“Fine. I’ll go!”
“That’s more like it. Now, get your ass in there and change into something sexy.”
“I’m not sure I have anything you would consider sexy.”
“Then, it’s time for us to raid my closet.” She motioned me towards her bedroom and said, “Now, move it.”
An hour later, I came out of her room wearing a tight, black dress with high heels and perfectly curled hair. On the slut scale, my outfit would rank somewhere between an eight and a nine, but Jess was right. It looked good with my tan and my figure, so I decided to go for it. I toned down my makeup and hair just a little, and once Jess was finished getting ready, we headed to Mulligans to meet the others. I was feeling pretty good about things until we pulled into the parking lot. As soon as I saw that the place was packed, my nerves started to kick in. I found myself wondering if Tucker was already inside, and as I looked down at my outfit, I was suddenly bombarded with second thoughts. “I don’t know about this, Jess.”
“It’s going to be great. You’ll see,” she assured me as she got out of the car. I followed her inside, and through the crowd of people we found Zach, along with the rest of the crew, sitting at one of the tables down front. Jess walked over and sat down next to him. “Hey there, handsome.”
“Hey, beautiful.” He warmly smiled and then asked, “Would you ladies like a drink?”
“I do. What about you, Kaci?”
“Oh, yeah, and make it something strong.”
“You got it.” Zach got up and headed over to the bar. A few minutes later, he returned and placed two mixed drinks on the table.
Jess picked up hers and took a small mouthful. “Wow. That is strong. What are these?”
“Long Island Iced Teas with a little extra kick.”
I picked mine up and took a nice, long sip, then I took a quick glance around the bar. Jess must’ve noticed me looking because she leaned over to me and whispered, “Do you see him?”
“Nope.”
“Well, it’s still early. He’ll be here,” she assured me.
I tried to convince myself that it really didn’t matter if he came or not, but the longer I sat there waiting for him to show up, the more disappointed I became. I started on my second drink, and as the minutes rolled into hours, the disappointment I’d felt had turned into anger—at myself and at him. I was mad at letting myself believe that this night would turn out differently than it had, and I was mad at Tucker for just being him. Adding fuel to the flame, I’d spent the last two hours watching my friends cuddled up with their boyfriends. I’d had enough and was ready to get the hell out of there. I gave Jess a quick nudge, pulling her attention away from Zach long enough for me to tell her, “I’m heading home.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s after midnight, Jess. I’m beat.”
“Okay. Zach and I will run you home,” she offered.
I shook my head. “No. You stay and have a good time. I’ll call a cab.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I grabbed my purse and stood up, then I looked over at Zach. “Take care of her and be safe getting home.”
He promised he would, then I said my goodbyes and headed for the front door. Luckily, I didn’t have any trouble hailing a cab, and in a matter of minutes I was back at our apartment. After I washed off my makeup and changed into my pajamas, I collected a few snacks from the kitchen and sat down on my bed. Once I was settled, I grabbed the remote and started scrolling through the channels. Even though the night hadn’t turned out like I planned, I refused to let myself get bummed out, especially over Tucker Michaels. While I stuffed myself with chips and ice cream, I watched my favorite romantic comedy and eventually fell asleep.
It seemed like I’d just dozed off when my cell phone rang the next morning. With my eyes still closed, I answered, “Hello?”
“Kaci, will you please come over here and do something about your brother?”
“Mom … I’m still in the bed,” I g
roaned.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I’m desperate here.”
“Why? What’s wrong.”
“It’s this baseball thing. It’s driving me crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain. Can you please come give me a hand and see what you can do?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I told her as I pulled myself out of bed. Once I was somewhat put together, I walked over to the house to see what I could do about Kaden. I was exhausted but figured I could work off some of the extra calories I’d consumed the night before. When I walked into the house, I found Mom sitting at the kitchen table alone. As soon as I saw her expression, I knew something was wrong. “Is everything okay?”
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked up at me and said, “It looks like your dad isn’t going to make it home after all.”
“Why not?” I asked as I sat down next to her.
“I don’t know. Something about a delay with processing. I know it’s not his fault, but it’s hard to be here without him.” As I sat there listening to her, I heard a light thud banging against the side of the house. There was a slight pause, and then I heard another similar thud. “He was just as disappointed as I am, but this gets really old, you know?”
“I do, and I’m really sorry, Mom.” Thud. Pause. Thud. “Hopefully, he’ll get to come home soon.”
“I really hope so. This tour has been the longest one yet. I don’t know how much longer I can wait to see him.”
My parents had been married for almost thirty years, and they were both still madly in love with one another. Being apart had always been difficult for them, but for some reason, this time Mom seemed to be having a harder time with it than usual. Worried that something else might be going on, I asked, “I know you’re upset about Dad and all, but is everything else okay?”
The thudding sound continued as she asked, “What do you mean?”
“Are you okay? I’m worried about you,” I pushed her for answers.
“Kaci, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.” Thud. Pause. Thud. “You know how that can be.”
“Yeah. I definitely do. I wish you would cut back on your hours at work.”
“I can’t right now. We have a big merger going on, but once that’s done, I’ll take a few days off,” she assured me.
“You promise?”
“Promise.” Thud. “It’s driving me insane.”
“What is it?”
“Kaden. He’s been at it all morning. I’ve tried to get him to practice with me, but apparently, I’m too slow for him. He likes using a tennis ball instead.”
“A tennis ball?” Thud.
“Yes. He throws it against the house, and then he chases after it. He does it over and over! Please see if you can make him stop, even if it’s just for a little while.”
“I’ll handle Kaden.” I stood up and headed for the back door. “Why don’t you go take a nice, hot bath and maybe a nap or something?”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Kaci.”
I was relieved to see her heading upstairs and hoped that she would take my advice and get some rest. When I found Kaden in the backyard, his hair was damp with sweat and his clothes were covered with grass stains and dirt. He was just about to throw the ball again, so I shouted, “Kaden!”
He twirled around with surprise. “What?”
“Dude, you’re driving Mom nuts with that crazy tennis ball.”
“I know.” He threw the ball against the house again. “But I’ve gotta practice, Kaci. Coach said it was important.”
I rushed over and grabbed the ball before he could catch it. “There has to be a better way than this.”
“Tucker said—”
I cringed at the sound of his name. “This was his idea?”
“Yeah. He said it would help with my hand-eye coordination and speed,” he explained.
“Um-hmm.” Trying to remain calm, I started walking towards the garage. Once inside, I began rummaging through my dad’s old junk until I found a large piece of plywood. “I think this might work.”
“What are you going to do with that?”
“You’ll see.”
I dragged it out onto the grass, and once I got to the very back of the yard, I leaned it against the fence. Once I got it straight, I took the tennis ball and threw it at the board. When it bounced back and flew in Kaden’s direction, he caught it and smiled. “Awesome!”
We spent the next couple of hours practicing different drills; by the time we were done, Kaden was getting better at catching the ball. I hated to admit it, but Tucker was right. Damn.
Tucker
After spending half the night in the ER and the other half in the hospital waiting room, Colton and I were relieved to see the nurse heading in our direction. We both hoped that she’d have some good news about our father. We’d brought him in worried that he might’ve had an issue with his heart. Of course, my father tried to blow it off as nothing. We’d just eaten supper, and since it was getting late and he didn’t want to be a bother, he insisted it was nothing. We both knew not to listen. Hell, the man would be halfway in the grave before he’d admit that anything was wrong, so when I saw him rubbing his chest and arm, I knew it was time to get him to the hospital. Immediately, they rushed him back and hooked him up to all kinds of monitors, and the doctor ordered a long list of tests that needed to be run. Eventually he was put in his own room, and we were sent out to the waiting room, where we’d been waiting for the past six hours.
“Is he okay?”
“Yes. He’s going to be fine. The doctor will be out shortly to speak with you.”
“Did he have a heart attack?”
“The doctor will explain everything.” She gave me one of those half-smiles, which really meant: Eat shit. I’m not going to tell you a goddamn thing. “He shouldn’t be long.”
Colton nodded and said, “Thank you.”
I rolled my eyes as I watched her walk away. “What are you thanking her for? It wasn’t like she actually told us anything.”
“She’s just doing her job, Tucker.”
We were about to sit back down when Seth, our other brother, came rushing through the front door. He’d been in Chicago at some conference when we’d called him about Dad. As much as he wanted to be here, he couldn’t make it to the hospital until this morning. With anguished look on his face, he asked, “Is he okay?”
“We don’t know yet. Nurse Ratchet just said the doctor will be out in a minute to tell us what’s going on,” I explained.
“What happened?”
“We’re not sure,” Colton told him. “We’d just finished dinner when Tucker noticed that he was rubbing his chest. You know Dad. Since Mom died, he hasn’t been taking care of himself like he should. It was only a matter of time before something like this was bound to happen.”
We all knew he was right. Our mother passed away a few years ago, and Dad had a difficult time dealing with her death. Even with Colton and Seth close by, he didn’t like being alone. He missed the feeling of being needed, and we all had to find a way to make him realize how important he was to us. Seth followed Colton and me over to the seating area and as we sat down, he asked, “Do you really think it was a heart attack?”
“Hell if I know, but either way, this should be a wakeup call for him.”
“Let’s hope so.”
I was worried about Dad, and our conversation wasn’t making me feel any better. Hoping to change the subject, I looked over to Seth and asked, “So, how was the conference? Did you learn any new tricks for dealing with your nut-jobs?” I teased. Seth was a psychiatrist, and while I loved giving him a hard time about his patients, I knew he was great at his job.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Do you ever get tired of being an ass?”
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.” He sighed.
Remembering how upset he’d been about not being here
when we brought Dad in, I said, “I thought you weren’t going to be able to get here until later today.”
“I did too, but Grace made a few calls and was able to book me an earlier flight.”
“Grace? Who’s Grace?” Colton asked like he’d never heard her name before.
Since we’d just had a long conversation about her the other night, and Colton was sitting with us as we talked, I wasn’t surprised to see a look of irritation cross Seth’s face. “I bet if she had something to do with one of your cases you’d know who she was.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what that means. You’ve become so obsessed with work and that baseball team of yours, you don’t pay attention to anything else. I get why you do it. I really do. I know losing Hannah and Morgan was tough on you, but Hannah wouldn’t want you living like this.”
“Where the hell is all this coming from?” he growled.
Colton had lost his wife, Hannah, and two-year-old daughter, Morgan, in a terrible car crash a few years back. Ever since, he’d closed himself off, using work and anything else he could focus on to distract himself from the pain of losing them. I knew that spending all this time back in a hospital today wasn’t making things any easier on him, so I leaned towards Seth and said, “Hey. Ease up on him. He’s been trying. He’s been over at Dad’s more, and he’s been working with the team.”
“The team isn’t his family, Tucker.”
“Things are getting better. He’ll get there.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not in the same fucking room, and tell me who the hell Grace is,” Colton snapped.
Seth shook his head and replied, “Just forget it.”
We sat there in an awkward silence for several minutes before we were finally called back into Dad’s room. When we walked in, he was propped up on the bed talking to the doctor, and we were all relieved to see that he was looking much better. Once we’d all gathered around, the doctor turned to us and said, “I’ve gone over all your father’s test results, and his heart is functioning in the normal range for his age. I believe that the angina he experienced last night were esophageal spasms.”
