Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Izzy brushes her hair off her face. She’s in another Christmas sweater, and I have a matching one that I’m going to put on later. She comes around the counter. “What… what is he talking about, Ryker?”
My phone starts ringing again. It’s my agent, and I’m about to reach for it and turn it off when Izzy crosses her arms over her chest. “Answer it.”
I blow out a breath and answer the phone. “Hey, Mack. It’s Christmas Eve. Can we talk about this later?”
“Ryker. This is fifty million dollars for three years to hit a ball. No sane person would turn this down.”
I shake my head. “I’m tired of everyone saying I’m crazy. I know how much money that is, and it’s more than just hitting a ball. It’s traveling and being away from home for long periods of time… I’m not interested. I retired.”
He starts to plead with me. “Think about it. They really want you, Ryker. There has to be something to convince you—”
Both Brock and Izzy are staring at me. Brock is still excited, thinking I’m going to change my mind, and I can’t make out the expression on Izzy’s face, but it’s obvious she’s not happy with me.
“Mack, it’s Christmas Eve. I’ll talk to you in two days.”
I hang up the phone, turn it off, and then drop it into my pocket. Izzy is quiet and goes back to cooking. Brock senses the shift in the room and holds his hands up. “I’m going back to the living room.”
I walk over to Izzy. “I didn’t tell you about it because I knew I was going to say no.”
She puts one hand on her hip. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t. This is a big deal, Ryker. You love baseball.”
I nod. “I do love baseball… but not as much as I love you.”
Her reaction tells me that I said the wrong thing. I don’t think what I said was bad, but obviously she does.
She shakes her head and looks away from me. “Well, I think you should do it.”
I put a hand to my chest, right over my heart. “What?”
She shrugs as if this isn’t even an important conversation. “I think you should go and do it. As a matter of fact, I want you to.”
I hold my breath. “You want me to go.”
She nods. “Yeah, I do.” She waves her hand around, still avoiding my eyes. “This is happening too fast. I’ve only been divorced a few months, and we should slow things down.”
I walk over to her. “Izzy, you don’t think that. You don’t—”
She pulls from my hold. “Don’t tell me what I think.” She blows out a breath. “Can we do this later? I need to pick up the wine, and you need to pick up your dad. I need to finish cooking and—”
I grab my keys off the hook on the wall. “I’ll go get the wine before I get my dad. I’ll be back.”
I walk out the back door and resist punching the wall in the garage. She can’t do this. I won’t let her do this to us. Not again.
I thought everything was perfect. I thought we were happy, but it seems that history is repeating itself.
I drive to the liquor store and am looking for the wine when I see an older woman trying to pick up a crate of bottles. I rush over to her. “Here, let me help you.”
I pick up the crate and put it in the cart for her. As I am about to walk away, she says, “I see you’re back.”
I stop and force a smile I’m not feeling. “Yep, I’m back.”
She holds her hand out to me. “Will you help me get another crate?”
I nod. “Sure.”
She grabs my hand and puts it on her cart. I start pushing, and she holds on to my arm as we go. This has to be the weirdest interaction I’ve had in a while, but my mom would roll over in her grave if she knew I didn’t help someone that needed it. “So are you staying this time?”
I look at her, surprised. “Yeah, I’m staying.”
She slaps me on the arm. “That’s good. That girl was heartbroken when you left last time.”
I peer down at her, trying to recall how I know the woman. “You know Izzy?”
She laughs. “I was their next-door neighbor.”
I search my memory. “Gladys?”
Her whole face lights up. “You remember me?”
I nod. “How could I forget you? You made the best chocolate chess pie I’ve ever eaten.”
She smiles ear to ear. “Well, son, you just made my day. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome. It’s true.”
She points at the next crate, and I get it down for her. “You planning a party?”
She harumphs. “Family dinner, and since I can’t cook like I used to, they put me on wine duty.” She huffs her breath. “The ungrateful little turds…”