I squeezed her hand between mine as I turned toward the door, wondering what had gotten her out of sorts. I scanned the area until I spotted the man who had been on my mind since I’d met him.
Chapter 10
Gunner
The Watering Hole hadn’t been around when I’d lived here, not that I could’ve gone anyway. Sneaking into a bar with a fake ID was a lot harder in a town where everyone knew everyone.
The man at the front tilted his head and ran his hand through his thick beard before pointing at me. “You’re Gunner Gentry.”
I stuffed a hand into my pocket. Around here, knowing me wasn’t always related to baseball. “Yeah, I am.”
“I caught you and that friend of yours on my back property shooting BB guns at beer cans.”
I looked up and eyed him again. I can’t say I’d gotten a good look at the man that day while Declan and I were running away and he was chasing us, yelling.
“Get off my property,” the man yelled as he stood from his barstool. “Recognize me now?”
I laughed. “Yeah, it rings a bell.”
“I was real sorry to hear your friend was one of the ones lost that night. Shook the whole damn town.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and coughed. “Yeah, it did.”
I’d buried as much of my past as I could. I didn’t talk about my burned arm in interviews. I stayed away from the topic and stayed as private as I could. That didn’t mean fans, reporters, and outfield hecklers didn’t find the information on their own, but I didn’t supply it.
It was strange walking back into the town where it had all happened and everyone knew what I’d lost that night. What we’d all lost that night. It wasn’t only Declan who’d died. And it wasn’t only me who’d walked away with life-changing injuries. Even if someone had walked away without a burn on their skin, I didn’t think anyone could ever forget the screams, the smells. Every moment that I could remember, every hazy memory, was seared into my mind. Some I didn’t know if they were real or if I’d fabricated them.
“Have a good night,” I said and strode into the bar. I stood in the front looking around for any face I’d recognize. It only took about a second before I saw Foster, and his face lit up as he saw me.
This was why I’d chosen this place. I knew I needed to quit hiding and get out there, let some people know that I was back. If everything went my way, I’d be spending a lot more time in this town.
A grin started to spread across my face but died when I saw the girl tucked under Foster’s arm. Shit. Were they together? Was that Tuck’s dad? I thought she was single.
I regained the smile and started walking toward them, and the breath died in my throat as I met a pair of tear-filled eyes. Another mistake. Another sucker punch in the gut.
Makenna. Declan’s longtime girlfriend. She was a part of him, a part I hadn’t been able to face. I’d thought she was cool and hadn’t minded when she hung out with Declan and me, but how did you face your best friend’s girlfriend when he was no longer breathing? How did you keep seeing her when the only thing that bound you together was gone?
I searched for the hate, waiting for it to fill her eyes, but it wasn’t there. She should hate me. The only reason Dec was dead was because of me. He’d saved me and left her behind because of it. His death had affected more people than mine ever could have.
That guilt had consumed me for years. And even now, ten years later, it only took seeing the two most important people in Declan’s life to know that it should’ve been me. He would’ve done far more good in this world. He was better in every fucking way.
My boots were glued to the floor beneath my feet. I couldn’t move, only stare into the eyes of Makenna. She hadn’t broken eye contact either, but her tears were leaking down her face. A man came up behind her, looking concerned, and placed his hands on her shoulders. I wasn’t sure she even noticed he was there. He glared at me.
I stepped forward. “Makenna,” I whispered.
Makenna stepped out of the man’s arms and took the last few steps toward me. She stared at me and then tucked her head against my chest as her arms wound around my waist. I hugged her back and bent my head so I could quietly speak to her. “I’m so sorry. I…I’m just sorry for all of it.”
She released me and wiped away the tears that had gathered underneath her eyes. “It’s been a long time, Gun. It’s good to see you.”
I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, tugging on the ends. I was at a loss for words. I didn’t think the first person I’d run into would be Makenna.
I turned to Foster and Delilah. He still had his arm around her shoulders. I gave her a tight smile and a simple nod before focusing on Foster. He released her and wrapped me in a crushing hug complete with a few backslaps.
“It’s been too long, asshole.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, it has been. Way too long.”
Foster released me and turned to stand by my side. “That big guy is Colt, he’s a sheriff’s deputy in town, but he wishes he was a firefighter, so he hangs around.”
“Not even in your dreams would I switch to the other side,” the man grumbled. He’d been the one behind Makenna. He was still glaring at me.
I stuck out my hand. “Gunner Gentry.”
“Yeah, I know.” He eyed my hand for a moment before shaking it.
Foster pointed to the only other person in the group I didn’t know, but he looked strangely familiar. He stood quietly in the background and kept his gaze turned away from mine. Until he finally looked at me. And recognition hit.
The scent of burned flesh filled my nostrils, and flashing lights took over my vision. I could still feel the scratchy sheets of the gurney beneath me and the pain radiating through my entire body. I reached out the fist I could raise and grabbed the first firefighter that passed me. “Where is he?” My voice was raw, and each syllable felt like I was pushing a white-hot branding iron down my throat.
“Who?” he asked.
“Declan. Declan Young. He was with me. He’s dead. I saw it. Please tell me I’m wrong. Fuck. Tell me I’m wrong.” Tears washed through the ash on my cheeks.
“I don’t know where he is. I wasn’t the one that pulled you out.” He looked over his shoulder and had a silent conversation with someone out of my field of vision. His entire body sagged a moment later.
“I’m sorry,” he said when he faced me again. He grabbed my uninjured hand and held on tight as he looked me straight in the eye. I could see how sorry he was and how much this affected him. I felt his pain, with my own, swirling around me. It was too much.
All of it was too much.
I gritted my teeth and spoke through the pain that was consuming every inch of me. I felt inside out. “I have to be there when you tell his mom. I have to. I have to be there. Fuck. Makenna. Where’s Makenna?”
An EMT started to roll my gurney away as I begged to be there when Declan’s mom found out. The firefighter held onto my hand as long as he could.
And now, ten years later, he was standing in front of me. I hadn’t been the type of man to pray in a very long time. I believed in the baseball gods, the ones that took a scrappy underdog team and raised them to glory, defeating everyone in their path against all the odds. The ones that served justice when needed and the ones that could quiet an entire stadium during an impossible and magic moment. But right now, if there was a big man upstairs, he was having the time of his life giving me this night. He was cracking up. Declan was probably next to him, giving him ideas.