“This might be awkward or inappropriate, but I need to ask it, sir,” I said, shifting my weight and wondering how to word this.
“Ralph,” he repeated before giving me a wave.
“It’s about Jared. Is he going to be a problem for us? He keeps alluding—” I started to clarify, but he cut me right off.
“Jared will not be anything to either of you. I’ve talked with the boy. He really did love my daughter, but then something changed for him, and he became more focused on working for me and taking over the company. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but he will not interfere in your lives. And if he does, you make sure to let me know.” His tone was forceful and direct.
“Thank you. I hope you didn’t take that like I couldn’t take care of your daughter. It’s just that Jared seemed a little unhinged.” The last thing I wanted was this man to think he was leaving his daughter in weak hands. “I would never let anything happen to her.”
“I’m not worried, Chance. You’re a great kid. Heck of a ball player, and I only saw the last three innings. You remind me of your dad.”
“Really?” I perked up because that was one hell of a compliment, and maybe he wasn’t going to murder me after all.
“Even though he was a lefty, you guys have some of the same movements and mannerisms,” he said, and I grinned because I’d heard that before, but I hadn’t always believed it.
“I’m really glad you came out. It was nice to get the chance to meet you. I’ve never seen Danika so happy,” I said, hoping he knew that I was being genuine.
“Neither have I,” he said, and I felt the shock rip through me.
I wanted to make Danika happier than anyone else ever had, but I didn’t know if I was.
“Really?”
“Really. You have my approval to steal my daughter away and make her happy for as long as she lets you.” He grinned before wrapping a hefty arm around my shoulders and slapping my back.
I fought back a cough as I thanked him and walked out to get my girl and take her home.
Dreams Come True
Two Months Later
Chance
The regular baseball season had ended, but we’d made it to regionals and were currently up in Northern California for the next game. If we won tonight, we’d advance to Super Regionals, and if we won those games too, we’d be off to the College World Series in Nebraska. I really wanted to go to Omaha and play baseball there.
But right now, I was sitting in my parents’ hotel suite, surrounded by my family.
I’d thought about having some of the guys watch the draft with me, but it felt like it might be in poor taste. What if none of them got drafted and only I did? The last thing I wanted was for any of them to feel like I was throwing my success in their faces. I knew how badly each and every player on my team wanted their shot at playing pro ball, so I talked to my dad about it, and he thought I was right to keep it limited to family only. He’d said there’d be enough celebrating with friends after.
I’d felt bad about leaving Mac out, considering that he was my closest friend, so after asking him a million times if he was sure he wanted to watch it with us, I’d invited him over.
He was currently sitting at one of the tables with the twins, eating something my mom had ordered, I wasn’t sure what. The only people missing were Gran and Gramps. Since they couldn’t travel the way that they used to and hated flying, my mom had them on video chat on her phone. The best part was that I could only see Gran’s eyeballs and Gramps’s mouth. Neither one of their full faces was in frame, and Danika couldn’t stop giggling about it as she sat next to me on the couch, her hand in mine.
Speaking of Danika, she’d graduated from Fullton State two weeks ago, and instead of heading back home to New York after, she stayed with me and came to all of my post-season games. I’d tried to encourage her to go home and get things figured out before draft day—mostly, I meant for her to pack everything she owned and get ready to move with me—but she’d refused to leave while I still had games to play. She was amazing, and I was grateful.
Even more amazing was her dad. He had flown out to watch the regional games in person and to be here for the draft. Ralph and I had grown pretty close in the last couple of months. He followed all of my games online and sent me text messages regularly, and I kept him updated on his daughter and sent him a lot of selfies. He liked that, and I liked keeping him happy.
Everyone was sitting on couches and chairs, pretending not to notice the camera filming us, as we waited for the Major League Baseball Draft to begin. The only thing I couldn’t stand was how my sister was currently dressed. It wasn’t so much her clothes as it was the full face of makeup. She looked like a damn twenty-year-old movie star, and I hated it.
“Remind me to put on my social media later that my sister is only fifteen,” I growled toward Danika, who laughed at me and called me crazy.
But I knew how guys would react to seeing her on TV, and I wanted to stop that shit before it started. My little twin cousins weren’t much better in the makeup department, and I’d almost insisted that the three of them go hide in the bathroom when the filming started, so they wouldn’t be seen.
Uncle Dean walked up and asked to pull me aside. He let me know that I was going to get drafted in the first round, but he wouldn’t tell me which team was interested, no matter how many times I asked. He just got a funny look on his face and shrugged like it didn’t matter. And honestly, it didn’t. We all knew that I’d go play for whoever wanted me. I’d passed up this opportunity after high school, but I wasn’t going to do that now. It was time.
“How certain are you?” I asked my uncle, referring to the first-round part.
Going in the first round was a big deal, and I hated getting my hopes up if they were only going to come crashing down around me. I’d seen it happen before. I’d been with guys who thought they were going early in the draft, only to end up going late or not at all. It was absolutely crushing to watch. There was nothing comparable to watching your dreams explode all around you, knowing that you couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it from happening.
“I’d say, ninety-eight percent,” he said. “Don’t worry. You’re getting drafted today. Even though you can’t accept the offer until you’re done playing all of your college games,” he informed me, as if I needed the reminder. “And I’m not your agent until after then either.”
“I know, Uncle.”
If I got drafted today, I couldn’t officially accept; otherwise, I wouldn’t be eligible to play the rest of Fullton’s season. I would be considered a professional athlete at that point, and professionals couldn’t play in the NCAA. We had to hold off on making a decision until the last college game was over and done. But in the meantime, that would give my uncle time to work on negotiating the signing bonus and other details, like an injury clause, when it came time. And I could focus on winning the College World Series.
“It’s time,” someone announced. Maybe it was the guy behind the camera or the one with the notepad—I couldn’t be sure.
My eyes roamed the room and met Mac’s, and he gave me a supportive nod. I nodded back before heading toward the couch.