The Game Changer

“Is it harder?” Dean asked.



“Way harder. They can hit my ninety-four-mile-per-hour fastball. And they can hit it far.”



“That sucks.”



I opened my mouth to respond. “How’s the kitten?” Gramps interrupted with a cheeky grin, and my smile fell.



Gran tapped her foot against the carpet. “Let Jack put his things in his room. We can talk about all of this over dinner.”



I shot Gran a look that screamed “thank you” before walking down the hallway to my old room. I looked around at my things, untouched since I’d been gone. A framed picture of Cass and me sat on my nightstand. I reached for it, running my finger across the curves of her face. Overcome with the desire to call her, I grabbed some loose paper and started writing. I’d only do this sort of bullshit for her. No one else. Ever.



Kitten,



The postseason is officially over. I was going to move out of my apartment in Arizona and fly straight to Alabama to pack my stuff, but I missed Gran and Gramps. So I’m sitting in my bedroom at home, thinking about the last time we were all here together. I miss you almost as much as Gramps does. Ha!



I forgot how much being home makes me feel secure. Maybe it’s just nice to be surrounded by people who genuinely love and care about you, instead of people trying to take advantage of you. Who would have thought I’d be so easy to manipulate?



I talked to Marc the other day about the annulment and he got the paperwork started. Hopefully it will all be over soon, and I’ll be there before you know it, begging for your forgiveness and praying you’ll take me back.



Please don’t give up on us.



I’ll always love you.



Jack



P.S. I saw your photographs online today. They’re really beautiful, Cass. I’m so proud of you.



Heading into the kitchen, Dean and Gramps were already sitting while Gran finished up at the stove.



“Can I help you, Gran?” I asked before reaching my seat.



“No, dear. You sit down and start talking.”



I laughed. “Talking? About what?”



“Oh, you know what! What’s going on with everything? When will your divorce from that awful woman be finalized?” The spoon in Gran’s hand shook with her anger as she mumbled something under her breath.



“Marc filed the paperwork for an annulment. We’re just waiting for her to sign it.” I shrugged, feeling the weight of Dean’s and Gramps’s stares on my shoulders.



“She will sign it, right?” Dean asked, his tone concerned.



The weight of my little brother’s question was something that hadn’t occurred to me until he asked. “I don’t know why she wouldn’t,” I said, looking around the small kitchen I’d spent most of my life in before locking eyes with Gran.



Dean choked back a laugh. “I do. Have you met her? She’s a total bitch.”



“Dean! Language!” Gran’s forehead furrowed as she waved her wooden spoon in his direction.



“Sorry, Gran.” Dean slumped lower into his chair.



I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table before adding, “But it’s so over between us. She signed a prenup before we were married, so she doesn’t gain anything by not signing.”



“Except control,” Dean remarked.



My temper flared. “What the fuck are you talking about?”



“How many times do I need to remind you both to watch your mouths?” Gramps interrupted before giving Gran a nod.



I huffed out a long sigh, willing my temper to calm. “Sorry, Gran.”



“I just meant that she’d have control over you if she didn’t sign the papers. She knows how badly you want out of this marriage, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she pulled a bunch of sh—” Dean paused before continuing, “stuff just to mess with you.”



I considered my brother’s words carefully as Gran appeared, placing dishes filled with steaming food in front of each of us.



“He’s right, Jack. She’s been so evil from the very start. What’s to stop her from being difficult now?” Gran asked, her voice shaky.



I reached out my hand, placing it on Gran’s shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just hoping that she knows this is over and there’s no point in delaying the inevitable.”



“I hope you’re right,” she said with a sympathetic smile.



“How’s the kitten doing? Have you talked to her since she moved to New York?” I watched as Gramps’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas.



“Gramps, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a thing for my girl,” I joked.



“Your girl?” Gramps teased back.



My fork clanged against the side of the plate. “Uh-huh. My girl.”



Dean laughed. “Maybe I’ll make her my girl. Keep her in the family.”



I glared at him, the heat instantly spreading across my cheeks. “And I’ll disown you before I kick your—”



“Boys, that’s enough.”



Dean shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth as he grinned at me. “You’re lucky she’s like a sister to me.”



“Yeah? I’d say you’re the lucky one. ’Cause I’d kill you if you touched her and you know it.”



“I’m your only brother and this is how you treat me?”



I tried to stop the smile from spreading across my face as Gramps interjected, “You’re trying to take the man’s kitten, Dean.”



Gran laughed and my smile widened.



“Worry about your own nonexistent girlfriend, little brother, and leave my girl alone.”



“Do you have a girlfriend?” Gran’s focus shot to Dean as her eyes widened.



Dean shot me a warning look through narrowed eyes. “No. Jack’s just talking about Melissa.”



“She’s Cassie’s best friend, right?” Gran asked.



“Yeah.”



“Did you talk to her yet?” I asked, putting him on the spot for once.



He shrugged one shoulder. “No.”



“I told you to talk to her,” I reminded him.



“I told you she’s not into me,” he snapped back.



“That’s crap and you know it. She is definitely into you.”



“Then what’s the problem?” Gramps dropped his chin into his hand, his gaze shifting back and forth between me and Dean.



“I don’t know. She says she doesn’t want a boyfriend, but I think she just doesn’t want me as a boyfriend. Can we talk about something else now?” Dean fidgeted in his chair as he filled his mouth with more food.



“Who wouldn’t want you as a boyfriend? Rubbish,” our ever-loyal Gran said with a huff.



“Can we please talk about something else? Anything else,” Dean pleaded.



Taking pity on my poor, uncomfortable brother, I changed the subject. “I found some of Cassie’s photographs online today.”



Silence filled the air as everyone stopped chewing their food, directing their stares at me. “What?” I asked nervously.



“How did you find them?” Gramps asked, blotting the corner of his mouth with a napkin.



“I went to her magazine’s website. They had a feature online about moving to New York, and all the photographs in the article were hers.” My chest swelled with pride as I talked about her.



“That’s fantastic news! I want you to show me after dinner.” Gramps’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he slapped his hand against the table.



“Wait.” Dean tilted his head as a smirk appeared. “You follow her magazine online?”



I squared my gaze, meeting his directly. “You’re goddamned right I do. I want to know what she’s doing every second she’s not with me. And if there’s a photograph she takes for that magazine, I want to see it.”



“I think that’s sweet,” Gran said.



“I think it’s psycho,” Dean countered.



I changed the topic of conversation for him and this is how he repays me? “Really, Dean? After everything Cassie and I have been through, you think my following her work online is psycho?”



“It’s a little weird, don’t you think? You won’t even talk to her in real life, but you’ll follow her online?”



The chair scraped against the floor as I shoved back, jumping to my feet. My breathing hitched as my defenses rose. No one talked about me and Cassie like that. Not even my brother.



“Jack, sit down!” Gran said sternly. “And Dean, stop calling your brother names! You two are acting like little boys.”



I inhaled a sharp breath before sliding the chair back toward the table and sitting down. “I can’t talk to her until I’m not married anymore, OK? So until then, yeah, I will follow everything she does online. And if that magazine can give me a glimpse into how she’s seeing the world, I’ll take it. Because until I’m back in her life, that’s the only Cassie I get. And if that makes me psycho, then I don’t give a fuck. Sorry, Gran,” I offered before she swatted my shoulder.



“I’m going to ground you! I don’t care how old you are,” she threatened with a slight chuckle.



“He started it,” I said, nodding my head toward my brother. “Let’s talk about Melissa some more.”



Dean waved his arms in the air in defeat. “I’m sorry. Truce?”



Before I could respond, Gran asked, “How long are you planning to stay home?”



Gramps looked up from his plate and directly into my eyes. “Your whole off-season?”



I swallowed my last bite of food. “I don’t know. I figured I’d wait for Marc to call me about the annulment, and then I’d go to Alabama to sign the papers and pack up the house at the same time.”



“And then what?” Dean asked.



“I’ll have to bring my stuff back here, but I want to get to New York as soon as possible to make things right with Cass,” I admitted. “I only have a few months before I have to be back in Arizona for spring training, and I still need to find a place to rent.”



“That’s not much time.” Gramps sounded worried.



“I know.”



“What are you planning on saying to Cassie?” Gran tilted her head toward me. “How are you going to win her back?”



“I don’t know yet. But it will be something along the lines of how much I suck and how much she doesn’t.”



Gramps laughed at my words, and I smiled.



“Very romantic.” Dean sarcastically popped two thumbs up in the air.



“Shut up, Dean. No one likes you.”



“You know you’ll have to give her more than just some nice words, dear,” Gran said as she eyed me meaningfully.



“Trust me, Gran. I know.”



Cassie’s face relaxed as she leaned up to kiss my cheek. “I like that you followed me online. I followed you too.”



My adrenaline started racing as I adjusted my position on the couch. “You did?”



“Of course I did. I still loved you, Jack. I cared about you. I wanted to see how you were. It was a big deal that you’d made it into the major leagues. I wasn’t going to miss it,” she explained, her shoulders shrugging like she had no choice in the matter.