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  “A good habit,” Kari said, surprising herself.

  “Yes. A very good habit.”

  Chapter 13

  Ryan reminded himself to play it cool when he entered the visitors’ clubhouse on Thursday. Enough of his teammates had seen him with Kari that he didn’t want to deal with their speculation of how things had gone on their date, especially with Ben in the same room.

  He still wasn’t sure what had come over him when he had kissed Kari in the restaurant, but it was a moment he was sure he would never forget. He hoped she wouldn’t forget it either.

  Fighting the smile that wanted to break free, he took a deep breath and walked through the door a few steps behind Gavin. Ryan was nearly to his locker when he heard Gavin’s voice laden with irritation.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gavin stared at his locker for a long moment before turning to glare at Ben and then Ryan. “I know one of you is behind this.”

  “What?” Ryan asked innocently.

  “Where’s the key?” Gavin demanded.

  “What key?” Ryan approached the open locker and looked at where Gavin’s jersey hung on a hanger. A bicycle lock ran through one sleeve of his jersey and out the other and locked in front. “That’s creative. I wonder who came up with that.”

  “Oh, come on. I know you and Ben did this. Just give me the key already.”

  “I don’t have the key.” Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, Gavin, but it really wasn’t me this time.”

  Gavin shifted his focus. “Ben, hand it over.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Ben said, holding his hands out to his side. “I’m innocent.”

  “If you guys didn’t do this, who did?” Gavin demanded.

  “I’m telling you, someone is setting us up,” Ben said. “Right, Ryan?”

  “For sure.”

  “How am I supposed to put on my uniform when it’s got a chain running through it?”

  “Anyone have any bolt cutters?” Ryan suggested, stripping off his shirt.

  “Someone is going to pay for this.”

  “Seems to me, Ben paid yesterday,” Ryan reminded him. He shifted his gaze to several teammates who were standing across the room snickering.

  “That wasn’t me,” Gavin insisted in the same tone Ben and Ryan had used moments before. “

  Don’t you think it’s about time we stop letting these guys pit us against each other?”

  Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “You think some of the guys are pranking us so we’ll go after each other?”

  “You have to admit, it’s working,” Ben said.

  Leaving Gavin to stew over the possibilities, Ryan and Ben returned to their own lockers and proceeded to change into their uniforms.

  “How did everything go with my sister last night?” Ben asked.

  Ryan noticed the protective vibe and decided it would be best to face it head on. “Is this going to be one of those ‘don’t mess with my sister’ talks?”

  “I didn’t realize you were thinking of her that way.” Ben leaned over to lace up his shoe.

  “I talked to you about this before our road trip, and you knew I took her out.” His eyes narrowed when he thought of that first date. “You were standing out in your hall on purpose when I brought her home that night, weren’t you?”

  “I figured things were still casual between you two,” Ben said, irritated. “But things were sure looking serious last night.”

  “Oh, come on, Ben. So I kissed her. It’s not like your sister has never gone out with anyone before.”

  “She’s never gone out with one of my best friends,” Ben countered. He straightened and squared off to face him. “I’d hate to have to break you into little pieces, but if you hurt her, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

  Ryan absorbed the words and their sentiment. His admiration for Ben hiked up another notch. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. I think I would have liked that absolute loyalty you and Kari have.”

  “Did you hear what I said?” Ben asked.

  “Loud and clear.”

  Their manager walked in, his eyes landing on Gavin, who was sitting on the chair by his locker in his pants and a T-shirt. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

  “See for yourself.” Gavin pointed at the locker.

  “That explains this.” Jack reached into his pocket and drew out a ring box. He handed it to Gavin, who flipped it open to reveal a key.

  “Where did you get this?” Gavin demanded.

  “Some girl left it at the front desk.”

  “I knew it.” Gavin whirled around to face Ryan. “I knew it.”

  “What? Why are you looking at me?”

  “I know you have the hots for Ben’s sister. Are you roping her into doing your dirty work?”

  Ryan stepped forward until he was toe to toe with Gavin. “Show some respect. That’s no way to talk about her.”

  Gavin flicked a look at Ben. “Looks like things are getting serious.”

  “Watch yourself, Gavin,” Ryan said evenly.

  “Break it up.” Jack stepped between Gavin and Ryan and nudged Ryan back. “You have a phone call. You can take it in the office.”

  “Me?”

  “It’s about your mom.”

  At first Ryan wondered if he was about to be the butt of another prank. Then he keyed into the word about. A wave of panic and concern swept over him. Turning, he rushed from the room and into the manager’s office where the phone receiver lay in the middle of the desk.

  Ryan snatched it up, worry pulsing through him. “Hello? This is Ryan Strobel.”

  “Mr. Strobel, this is Dr. Michaels from Potomac Hospital. Your mother was in an accident on her way home from work today.”

  “Is she okay?” He had to force himself to ask the question, his grip tightening on the phone.

  “She’s stable,” Dr. Michaels assured him. “Her knee took the worst of the damage. We plan to operate to repair the torn ligament tomorrow.”

  Relief came first, followed by more concern. He did a quick calculation of his schedule for the next twenty-four hours. “What time?”

  “Eleven.”

  “I’ll do everything I can to be there,” Ryan said. “Can I talk to her?”

  “She’s resting now, but I can have the nurses give her a message.”

  “Just have her call my cell phone,” he said, frustrated that he couldn’t speak to her himself.

  “I will.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” Ryan turned to see Jack behind him. “My mom was in an accident. I need a few days to go see her.”

  “Sorry, Ryan, but we can’t spare you right now.”

  “Jack, I’m all she has.”

  “The travel folks already looked into flights tonight. The only commercial option would be a red-eye that doesn’t leave until midnight, and then you’d be stuck in Detroit for three hours. If you stay and play with us, you’ll still get home earlier.”

  “And then? We have a game at home tomorrow night.”

  “I’ll give you the next few mornings off, but that’s the best I can do.”

  Resigned, Ryan nodded. “I do have one more request.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I need my phone with me in the dugout in case my mom calls.”

  “Give your phone to Frank,” Jack said, referring to the bench coach. “He’ll monitor it for you and make sure you don’t miss the chance to talk to her tonight.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now go get ready. We still have a game to play.”

  * * *

  “Does Ryan seem off to you?” Kari asked. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about how he was playing the game didn’t seem quite like him.

  “Not that I’ve noticed.” Maya shifted her attention from Ben at second base to Ryan, who stood near third. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like himself out there.” Kari watched the shortstop relay a routine ground ball to fir
st base for the third out. The Nationals jogged into the dugout, Ryan’s pace a little quicker than his teammates’. It wasn’t until he disappeared from sight that she realized he hadn’t looked up into the stands like he normally did.

  Kari thought of her time with Ryan last night, of the steps they had taken from casual dating to a relationship. A knot of tension formed in her stomach. Did Ryan regret the changes between them? Was her presence here creating a distraction for him?

  Her fears continued to escalate as she watched the lead-off batter walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt. Ben strode to the plate, and Ryan stepped into the on-deck circle. Again, she noticed a tension in him that seemed uncharacteristic.

  Ben hit a single, scoring Shawn from second, and Ryan took his spot at the plate.

  Kari clasped her hands together, and she found herself holding her breath with each pitch. Four pitches was all it took for Ryan to strike out.

  “I think you may be right,” Maya said. “That isn’t like Ryan to strike out so quickly.”

  Kari wanted to voice her fears, but Celeste’s presence in front of them was enough to make her swallow her words.

  Another quick out and the Nationals took the field once more. The next four innings seemed to crawl by, only two batters reaching base and no one managing to score. Ryan racked up another out, this time a grounder on the second pitch.

  “I really hope they can pull off a win tonight,” Maya commented. “It would be nice to go home on a positive note.”

  “I have to imagine tomorrow will be tough since they have to travel home tonight,” Kari said. “I don’t know how they’re expected to get any sleep.”

  “They won’t get much,” Maya admitted. “As soon as the game is over, they’ll be on the plane heading home while we get to sleep in a bed tonight before we catch our flight out tomorrow.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but we aren’t exactly going to get a lot of sleep tonight either.”

  “Yes, but at least we’ll sleep in beds rather than on a plane.”

  “I plan to do both.” Kari looked down at Ryan again and wondered when she would learn what was bothering him. If the team really did go straight to the airport after the game, would she even get to talk to him before he left?

  He bobbled a grounder, rushing to make a throw to first. The ball arrived a fraction of a second before the runner, and even the umpire was slow to signal the out.

  As she watched Ryan struggle through the game, she decided she couldn’t let him leave Arizona before she knew what was bothering him. As much as she looked forward to exploring the connection between them, she wasn’t about to be one of the women chasing him when he wasn’t interested.

  Her stomach churned again, and she wondered how she was going to make it through the next four innings.

  * * *

  Ryan checked in with the bench coach in the middle of every inning, but it wasn’t until the beginning of the seventh inning that he finally got the word that his mother was awake and able to talk.

  “Go make your call,” Frank said. “I’ll come get you when you’re up.”

  “Thanks.” Ryan walked down the tunnel toward the clubhouse and dialed his mom’s cell number. A wave of relief rushed over him when he heard her voice.

  “How are you doing?” Ryan asked. “The doctor said you had an accident, but he didn’t give me a lot of information.”

  “I’ll be fine. Just some bumps and bruises.”

  “And a messed up knee, I heard.”

  “Don’t you worry about me. The nurses are taking good care of me, and they already have me scheduled for surgery tomorrow.”

  “I heard. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Now, Ryan, there isn’t anything you can do here other than fuss and make me worry about you.”

  “Mom, I’ll be there,” Ryan insisted.

  “How did your game go tonight?” she asked, apparently ready to change the subject.

  “We’re up one nothing in the top of the seventh.”

  “Then why are you calling me? If you’re supposed to be working, you get back to it.”

  Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. Leave it to his mom to scold him for worrying about her. “Well, I am working, but my boss said I could take a break to make sure my mother wasn’t dying in some hospital bed on the other side of the country.”

  “Now you’re being melodramatic.”

  “Maybe a little,” Ryan admitted. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

  “You’ll hear plenty of my voice when I see you tomorrow,” she told him. “Now you go get back to your game so I can get some sleep.”

  “Yes, Mama,” Ryan said obediently. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, son. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Ryan hung up the phone just as Frank appeared at the edge of the dugout. “Ryan, you’re up next.”

  “Coming.” Ryan jogged up the ramp. He looked out at the bases to see Ben at the plate and Gavin on first.

  Ryan barely had time to grab a bat before Ben drew a walk. “How many outs?” Ryan asked as he walked by Frank.

  “One.”

  Without breaking stride, Ryan walked to the plate and took a deep breath. The worry and frustration of the last two hours bubbled up inside him as he dug his front foot into the dirt, planting it before completing his stance and raising his bat into the ready position.

  The first pitch was a little inside, but Ryan didn’t care. He was ready to hit something. A quick swing and a lot of pent-up frustration combined to send the ball sailing. The crowd moaned in unison as they watched it land in the Diamondbacks’ bullpen.

  Amid the moans, Ryan could hear a few cheers, and the thought that Kari was among the Nationals fans here popped into his mind. He rounded the bases, accepting his teammates’ congratulations when he crossed home plate.

  As he and Ben made their way to the dugout together, he glanced into the stands, slowing long enough to spot Kari. He lifted his chin up in acknowledgment before letting himself get swept into the dugout, where more high fives followed.

  Chapter 14

  Kari barely let Ryan walk out of the locker room before she closed the distance between them. The way he had looked up at her after his home run had helped ease her nerves, but she found herself driven to understand what had been different during the early part of the game.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He took her hand and continued forward.

  “You seemed distracted during the game,” Kari pressed, the hand holding hers going a long way to easing her worries. The wrinkle on his brow, however, convinced her everything wasn’t what it seemed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  He nudged her to the side of the door and away from the small crowd of teammates gathering there. “I got a call right before start time that my mom was in an accident.”

  Kari squeezed his hand. “Is she okay?”

  “It sounds like it. She has to have knee surgery tomorrow. My manager is going to let me have the morning off so I can go see her.”

  “I’m sure you’ll feel better once you see for yourself how she’s doing.”

  That truth reflected in his expression. “Things are probably going to be crazy for the next week or two until she’s back on her feet. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be,” Kari insisted.

  “I just don’t want you getting mad when I don’t have time to go out.”

  “Ryan, your mom’s health is a little more important than taking me out to dinner or visiting monuments or whatever,” Kari said. “And I’m happy to help if there’s anything I can do.”

  “Thanks.” His gaze shifted to the cluster of teammates behind her. “I’d better get going. The equipment manager is loading the bus now.”

  “Let me know how everything goes with your mom.”

  “I will.” He took a step back and released her hand. She found herself disappointed that he didn’t kiss her good-bye, bu
t when she noticed several pairs of eyes focused on her, Ben’s included, she decided he might have been wise to forgo that gesture.

  Kari watched him go and offered a wave to her brother before he too joined the team and headed for the door.

  “Is everything okay?” Maya asked after she stepped beside her.

  “I hope so,” Kari said, forcing herself to turn away from the men walking down the hall. “Ryan’s mother was in an accident. He found out right before the game.” Kari relayed their conversation to Maya as they headed for the parking lot where a hired car was waiting to take them to their hotel.

  “I don’t know how the guys do this,” Maya said as she slid into her seat.

  “Do what?”

  “Fly all over the country and still manage to play baseball almost every day.”

  “They love it.”

  “I hope so, because it’s exhausting.”

  “I agree,” Kari said, then leaned her head back against the headrest.

  * * *

  Ryan opened his eyes when he felt the car coming to a stop. He had dozed on the plane and on the car ride to Woodbridge, but worry had kept him from ever falling into a deep sleep. That and the concern that Gavin would take his revenge on him for the last practical joke. Normally their prank wars were a fun way to blow off steam. Today, he most definitely wasn’t in the mood.

  The driver his team had sent for him pulled up at the hospital entrance and turned around to hand Ryan a business card. “Here’s my number. Call me when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll pick you up.”

  “Thank you.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m hoping to stay until about three, so feel free to go grab something to eat.”

  “Thanks.” He climbed out and opened the door for Ryan.

  Ryan headed for the hospital entrance and made a beeline for the information desk. “I’m here to see Susan Strobel. Can you tell me what room she’s in?”

  “Yes, just a moment.” The receptionist punched a few keys on her computer and gave him the room number. Five minutes later, he navigated his way through the maze of hallways and entered his mother’s room to find her chatting with Jenny Holladay, her longtime coworker and friend.