Thwack!

Carter watched as his 31st home run ball went into the stands. Finally. They were at an away game in Tampa Bay so the crowd was slightly less enthusiastic than the hometown crowd for this home run.

Perhaps Jordan was his good luck charm. He smiled as he thought of their one and only date. He could still feel that smooth skin under his hands. The feel of her next to him as they lay there looking up at the sky. Even the dirty jokes.

She had told him that she had to head back to Austin for school, which meant they probably wouldn’t see each other before then. It disappointed him more than he cared to admit. On the other hand, Austin was only about a three-hour drive away….

As he entered the dugout, he high-fived the rest of his team, accepted a few pats on the ass, and sat back on the bench to watch the inning unfold.

The Sluggers beat the Rays 7-2.

* * *

“Congratulations. You have no idea how excited Ben is, even if his ball is pretty much worthless now.”

Carter was in his hotel room on the phone to Jordan as promised. It was good to hear her voice, especially after such a spectacular game.

“Well, we’re still third in the division. Not great, but if this keeps up we can probably eek it out as a wild card.”

“I have no idea what that even means,” she laughed.

“One of these days I’m going to have to teach you about baseball.”

“Is that a threat?” she teased.

The phone buzzed as another call came through on his end. He took a brief look to see who it was. The number was one he—thankfully—hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“Shit,” he mumbled, under his breath.

“Was that another call?” Jordan asked. “I can let you go.”

He wasn’t about to break up this conversation, especially for this particular caller.

“Nonsense. I can call them back.”

“No, no. It’s late, and I have to be at work bright and early. It’s my last week. Gotta make a good last impression.” She sighed. He could hear her yawning. “Take your call.”

“Alright then,” he said with resignation. He enjoyed hearing her voice, especially when it got sleepy like this. It made him feel like she was in bed next to him. One day he would have to get her there. He smiled into the phone. “I’ll call again tomorrow, and we can finish where we left off, maybe with a happy ending this time.”

She gave a small laugh. “Don’t make promises your mouth can’t keep.”

“Mmm, that sounds like an interesting challenge” he teased.

Jordan laughed as she realized what she had just said.

“Seriously,” he continued. “I’ll call you.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she mused. “Okay then. I’ll be ready and waiting. Good night, Carter Fox.”

“Good night, Jordan Douglas.”

He hung up the phone and looked at the call that had tried to come through during their conversation. There was a message left but he didn’t need to click it to know that it wouldn’t have much in the way of information. No, he would have to call back. He always had to call back.

He sat staring at the phone, debating what to do. He should leave it, let it go. He knew from experience—too much experience—that it would only lead to bad news. But if he didn’t take it, it would hang over his head until he dealt with it.

Carter took a deep breath and hit return for the number. He brought the phone up to his ear and waited. It was answered on the second ring.

“Sonny boy!” Bobby Joe Fox’s voice rang out a bit too cheerfully on the other end of the line.

“Don’t call me that.”

“How are things, Carter?” the voice said without so much as a pause. “How’s the lovely Madison Grant treatin’ ya these days? Still ridin’ your ass?” A cackle broke out on the other side.

“Cut the shit, Bobby. What do you want this time?”

“I’m just tryin’ to get to know my son a little—”

“I’m this close to hanging up the phone,” Carter interrupted.

The fact that Bobby Joe Fox had the nerve to refer to him as a son was enough to push him over the edge. The man hadn’t been a “father” since Carter was 10 years old, and he’d walked out of his life forever. Or at least until Carter had signed on with the Sluggers.

Bobby Joe gave a deep sigh on the other end of the line.

“Alright son—”

“Don’t call me son,” Carter growled.

Bobby Joe paused before continuing, knowing when to leave well enough alone.

“Well, s—Carter—your old man got himself into a bit of a pickle. You see, there was this great plan. Solar panels! It’s the wave of the future. And this company in—”

“How much?”

Bobby Joe Fox had a way of spinning tales. If he hadn’t spent his entire life chasing down the next get-rich-quick scheme, he might have actually made a pretty decent living as a salesman or maybe even a writer. But both of those professions required a degree of actual work ethic and responsibility. Two things Bobby Joe Fox seriously lacked.

“$20,000, but it would be an investme—”

“Don’t.”

“Fine, but you just don’t know Carte—”

“Who to?”

“Well if you make the check out to—actually it would have to be a cashier’s check, you see—but you could make it out to me and I’ll make sure that—”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No!” Bobby Joe said in a panic. “No…dammit Carter! Haven’t I paid enough? Every damn time I call, I try to make up for—”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Dammit!” Bobby Joe yelled on the other end. After a moment, he sighed again then continued. “Fine. There are a couple of…associates I had to borrow from to invest in this project. How the fuck was I supposed to know it would take 10 damn years to— Anyway, I’ll give you the names and address. They’re gonna need it pretty quickly son—er—Carter. Your old man’s in a bit of hot water here and it’s reachin’ its boilin’ point. These guys, well they’re getting pretty impatient.” He cackled on the other end again, though there was no humor in it this time.

Carter sighed. There were always guys who were “impatient.” People who were patient didn’t loan money to the likes of Bobby Joe Fox. People who cut off fingers and charged a thousand times the standard interest rates loaned money to the likes of Bobby Joe Fox.

“This is the last time,” Carter said.

“I understand. I promise I’ll pay you ba—”

“Send me the information. This is the last time.”

“I know. Thanks, Carter. You know, I love ya so—”

Carter hung up.

As he tossed the phone on his nightstand he looked at it and knew with absolute certainty: this was the last time.