The Other Game Read online

  I had rolled over and covered my head, tossing and turning, willing my brain to shut off so I could go back to sleep, when Jack walked into my room.

  “Morning, little brother.” The mattress dipped deeply as he sat down on my bed, making me roll toward him.

  “Ugh.” I opened one bleary eye. “Why are you awake already?”

  “Big day,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

  “Are you nervous?”

  He smirked. “Nah. Not really. I’m more excited than anything else.”

  “You gonna give Cassie her present today?”

  The smirk widened into a full-on smile. “Yeah. I can’t wait for that either.”

  “Great,” I grumbled. “Now, go away so I can sleep.”

  • • •

  Later that morning at a more decent hour, Gran walked into my room, looking more dressed up than I’d seen her in a long time. The last time I remembered seeing her in a dress like this one was at my high school graduation.

  “You look really pretty, Gran.”

  She smiled. “Thank you. I wanted to make sure you put on something nice as well.”

  “What’s Gramps wearing?” I asked, assuming that he’d be in his typical ratty blue jeans and bowling shirt, which wasn’t exactly dressy.

  “He’s wearing slacks and a button-down shirt. Dress nice, Dean.”

  “Can’t I wear shorts? I have lots of nice shorts.” I was actually half serious. I wanted to be comfortable, and I hated dressing up for no reason.

  “No shorts,” she said, giving me a pointed look before leaving me alone.

  What the hell was wrong with shorts? I groaned before searching through my closet for something decent to wear.

  Eventually the three of us gathered in the kitchen as we waited for Jack and Cassie to arrive.

  “He’d better get here before everyone else does, or that will be awkward,” I said, and then noticed both Gran and Gramps were both uncharacteristically quiet. “Are you two okay?”

  “I’m just nervous is all,” Gran said, tugging at the waistline of her dress.

  Gramps gave me a wink. “I just want it to be over with so the cameras will leave and we can really celebrate.”

  I gave him the side eye. “The cameras aren’t even here yet.”

  “But they will be. And they’ll make us uncomfortable,” he insisted.

  To be honest, I hadn’t given the cameras a second thought, assuming they’d be solely focused on Jack and not really on us. Was I being naive?

  “I’ll be right back.” I hopped up from my chair and jogged to my room to look myself over one last time.

  If the cameras ended up on me at all today, I wanted to look good. Looking in the mirror, I realized that I looked tired. Damn Jack and his stupid alarm clock. I was splashing water on my face when I heard Jack come home.

  “Gran? Gramps? We’re here!”

  Loud cheers and congratulations filled the house as I entered the kitchen. I walked in just as Gramps said, “That’s great, dear. Oh, that’s just great news.”

  Cassie was beaming, and Jack was smiling at her as if he couldn’t be more proud.

  “You got the internship, sis?” I guessed before glancing at both my brother and his girlfriend.

  She looked beautiful, but my eyes widened a little when I saw she was wearing shorts. I opened my mouth to ask Gran if I could go change, but I stopped myself when I caught her casting a don’t even think about it look my way. I’d swear that woman could read minds.

  “I just found out. I wasn’t going to take it, but now I can.” She looked at Jack before I lifted her off her feet in a giant bear hug.

  “Congratulations. That’s awesome.”

  A quick rap at the front door pulled us out of our mini celebration. The laughter died and I glanced at Jack, anticipation stretching my nerves taut.

  Unfazed, Jack pulled the curtain back and peered toward the porch. “It’s just Marc and Ryan.”

  Jack left to greet his agents, and I followed. The men came in all smiles, loaded down with stacks of paperwork, a bottle of champagne, and a box filled with baseballs.

  “How you feeling, champ?” Marc asked.

  “Good, thanks,” Jack said before relieving him of the box of balls.

  “Hey, Dean. How you doing?”

  I smiled as Marc playfully punched at me, but I ducked and weaved, pretending to be some awesome boxer as I jabbed at him in response. We stopped after he almost dropped the champagne.

  The two men introduced themselves to Cassie, who had followed us into the living room, and she handled herself like a champ, very friendly and not seeming nervous at all.

  “Jack, you held back on how good-looking your girl is.” Ryan winked at my brother with a chuckle and I tensed, knowing how jealous Jack could be when it came to Cass.

  “Settle down. I haven’t signed any agreements with you two yet.” He smirked before wrapping his arm possessively around her waist.

  Gran called us all back into the kitchen, the spot in the house where she felt the most comfortable and in control. “This whole thing is nerve-racking,” she declared. “Why aren’t you nervous?” she asked Jack, but he only smiled.

  “Because there’s nothing more I can do. I’ve worked my ass off and left it all out on that field every day for years.” He shrugged. “It’s out of my hands at this point.”

  “How’d you get so smart?” She cupped his face with both hands and planted a kiss on each cheek.

  “I learned it from you. Now come sit with us and relax.” He led her by the hand toward the table when the chime of the doorbell stopped them. “You sit, Gran. I’ll let them in.” Jack handed her off to me, and I urged Gran to sit.

  Jack walked back in followed by two cameramen, a reporter, and a producer. They discussed how things would work—that we would basically be filmed waiting for the phone to ring and for Jack to get his offer. They would film his reaction and ours when the call came, and then interview Jack afterward. The producer kept reminding us not to look at the cameras and to act natural, as if it was completely normal to have two cameramen shoving lights and equipment in your face while you sat at your dinner table.

  The draft had already technically begun, and when the sound of a reporter talking on the television in the other room filtered into the kitchen, I had to fight the urge to go watch the TV instead of sitting at the table.

  I watched as Marc and Ryan kept busy texting on their phones, and realized in that instant that what they did for a living not only intrigued me, but excited me. I loved baseball, and if I couldn’t play it like Jack did, maybe I could still pursue it as a career in a different way.

  Our landline phone rang and Jack walked toward it, suddenly looking a little unsure. It was literally his moment of truth, and I held my breath as he answered. We all knew that Jack didn’t care who drafted him. He simply wanted to play ball, and which team he played for was a minor detail at this point.

  “Hello?” His gaze was drawn to the table, connecting with us as he talked. “Speaking.” He paused only for a second before smiling. “Thank you so much. Yes, sir. I’ll be in touch. Thank you.”

  He slammed down the phone before shouting, “Arizona!” and the room broke out into cheers and congratulations. “I’m a Diamondback!”

  Jack gave me a hug, and I was surprised to find my eyes burning with tears. Not like a baby or anything, but tears of pride and joy blurred my vision, and I had to blink rapidly to force them back. I was overwhelmed, filled with genuine happiness for my big brother and everything he’d worked so hard to achieve. It almost felt like my win as much as his.

  “Carter, come on,” Ryan said. “Do we have to call these guys back and negotiate or what?”

  The business of the draft was just getting started. These guys had a job to do, and getting an offer was only the first step.

  “They said five,” Jack said, and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. I must have missed something as I was lost
in my thoughts.

  “Yeah? Did they say five?” Ryan’s eyes widened.

  “That’s what they said.”

  “Well, all right! How do you feel? Should we push?” Marc scribbled notes furiously onto his pad, and I realized they must be referring to his signing bonus.

  “I think five is more than fair. I’m happy with it,” Jack said, and I wasn’t sure if he meant five hundred thousand or five million.

  “I know it sounds like a lot of money right now, Jack, but you’ll lose half in taxes and we take our cut. You won’t be making much for the next few years in the minor leagues. We could probably get them to budge some,” Marc suggested, still scribbling like a madman.

  “I’m happy with it,” Jack said with confidence. “I just want to play ball.”

  Marc stopped writing. “All right then. We’ll accept the deal as is. Congrats!”

  “Five million isn’t a bad signing bonus, right?” Jack asked Cassie, and she choked on her surprise.

  “That’s what it is? Five million dollars?”

  “What did you think?” He laughed as he pulled her in for a hug.

  The reporter tossed Jack a Diamondback hat and a jersey with his name already on the back, and he immediately put them on.

  “How do I look?” he asked with a grin, modeling the dark red jersey with D*Backs emblazoned on it.

  Gramps lifted his hand for a high-five. “Like a million bucks.”

  I grinned. “More like five.”

  “Can I get my camera?” Cassie asked. “Are we allowed to take pictures?”

  The producer turned to her. “As soon as we stop rolling. Otherwise your camera’s shutter clicking will filter into the sound bites.”

  They pulled Jack into the living room, where there was more natural light, and interviewed him as we all waited for him in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones amongst ourselves about the team and the bonus.

  Before we knew it, the camera crew and agents had cleared out, gone as quick as they’d come, and it was just the Carter family again. And Cassie, of course, but she felt like family to more than just me at this point. I could tell that Gran and Gramps really cared about her.

  “I’d really love to take some family pictures of you all, if you don’t mind,” Cassie asked, and Gran’s face lit up. We’d never had them done before, and even I admitted that it was a great idea.

  Cassie posed us out back under one of our big trees, smiling as she clicked away on her new camera. She organized us so she could take pictures of us alone, all together, and then separated us into groups like just me and Jack, and just Gran and Jack. I would have hated all the posing if it were anyone else asking us to do it, but Cassie made it bearable.

  Gramps asked if he could take a photo of Jack and Cassie. I laughed, assuming it would come out blurry, or only Cassie’s head would be in it. But apparently, after some instruction from Cassie, he did pretty well.

  “Can we get one more with Dean?” Cassie asked before waving me over. “I don’t have any pictures of the three of us. I really want one. Or twelve,” she called out to Gramps.

  My heart warmed inside my chest. The way Cassie always tried to include me was exactly why I couldn’t help but think of her as family already. I was so thankful Jack had found her, and that she tolerated him.

  “Thanks for including me, sis,” I said as we ended the shoot, dying to get out of these pants and into some shorts.

  “You know I love you,” she said with a smile, and Jack glared at me.

  “Back off, little brother. I might be gone in a few weeks, but I can still kick your ass,” he said with a playful snarl.

  “Yeah? You and what army?” I said before he broke away from Cassie and chased me into the house.

  Carter Brothers on the Road

  Jack spent his last few days split between Cassie’s apartment and our house. As excited as he was to begin this chapter of his life, I sensed that a part of him hated leaving. Not only Cassie, but Gran and Gramps too. This house was all we’d known, and we’d never left. Neither of us even considered moving out when we got accepted at Fullton State, so for Jack, this would be his first time living away from home.

  I sat on his bed while he packed a duffel bag full of clothes. “You all right?”

  “It’s weird to be leaving.”

  “I was just thinking that,” I admitted.

  He stopped folding a shirt to glance up at me. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I mean, we’ve never lived away from home before.”

  He sighed. “I know. You’ve gotta look out for Gran and Gramps, okay? They’re getting older, and I worry about them.”

  I waved my hand. “Stop it. They’re not ninety. They’re fine, but I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Except up north with me.”

  “What?”

  “I want you to drive up with me. I mean, if you want. The house looks awesome, and I want you with me when I move in and meet the guys.”

  “You don’t want Cassie to take you?” I asked, assuming that he and Cassie had already planned to go up together. Even though Jack got drafted for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was heading to their Single-A baseball team up in Northern California first. Before you got to the major leagues, you had to work your way through the farm system.

  “No. I mean, of course I’d like her to take me, but she has her internship. Besides, I really think we need a brothers’ road trip before I leave.”

  “You taking the Bronco?” Internally I shuddered at the thought of what a nightmare that vehicle would be for long distances.

  “Yep.” When I groaned, he said, “Oh, come on. I want a car while I’m there. And how else am I going to take all my shit with me?”

  Shaking my head with a chuckle, I said, “When do we leave?” and Jack grinned back. He knew I’d never turn down the opportunity to spend more time with him.

  “Tomorrow morning. Go pack.” He waved a hand to shoo me off, but I hesitated.

  “How am I getting back home?”

  “I’ll buy you a plane ticket. Hell, I’ll buy you a plane. Just go pack.”

  I practically ran into my room, excited at the prospect of spending some one-on-one time with my brother. I had no idea when I’d see him again after he left, so I would take any time he wanted to give me.

  No matter how big of a jerk Jack could be to girls, to me he was a really great brother. Which was why I hated hearing people talk shit about him. They didn’t know the real him, the great guy underneath the cocky attitude and big-shot bravado.

  I tore my room apart, searching for my own duffel bag in my closet and under my bed, but it was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, I walked back into Jack’s room.

  “I can’t find my—” I stopped short at the sight of my duffel bag on his bed, already halfway filled with shoes. “Bro, you have my bag.”

  Jack gave me a grin and a shrug. “Sorry. I’m bringing most of my shit. Ask Gramps to borrow his. I’m sure he has one.”

  Without another word, I found Gramps in the living room and asked him for a bag. Gran told him to stay in his chair and she’d bring it to me.

  Gran was the best, always taking care of her three guys. What would she do when there were only two left?

  • • •

  Jack woke me up at seven, insisting we both shower, eat, and get on the road by eight at the latest. I heard him on the phone and assumed he was talking to Cassie.

  Gran and Gramps were both in the kitchen, wearing matching robes. Gramps sipped at his first cup of coffee of the day and read the newspaper while Gran fussed over the stove.

  “New robes?” I looked at them, unsure what to think.

  Gramps grinned at me. “Ma bought ’em. Said they were cute.”

  “They are cute.” Gran twirled, and the blue-and-white checked pattern spun with her, nearly making me dizzy.

  “Can’t argue. Plus it’s better to just do what she asks.” Gramps smiled as he went back to his newspaper.

  Jack entere
d the kitchen and put his cell phone in his pocket before looking at me. “You ready to hit the road?”

  “I haven’t even eaten yet. You said I had to eat.”

  “Well, now you can eat on the road,” he started to say, but Gran clucked her tongue at him.

  “I’m making eggs and toast. You can spend ten minutes with us before you go.”

  Jack looked at me, his eyes begging for help, but I sat down at the table instead. I knew who was boss here.

  He scowled before looking curiously at Gramps, and then to Gran, and then back at Gramps. “What the—”

  Gran held her spatula in the air. “Don’t even say it, Jack!”

  “I was just going to say what great robes you two are wearing. Did you buy some for me and Dean?”

  I shot him a warning look and wished I had something to toss at his head.

  “No. But there’s always Christmas,” she teased.

  Five minutes later, Gran had breakfast ready. The four of us sat around the table in the kitchen, eating in silence. The mood was somber, as if this was our last meal together, and no one seemed to want to address the simple fact that nothing would ever be the same.

  I refused to be sad about it because I was too damn happy for Jack. But still, it sucked to know he’d be gone until September.

  Jack rushed through his food, shoveling it into his mouth like he was desperate to escape. I had only finished half my plate when he rose to his feet and told me that we needed to beat the morning commute.

  Gran’s eyes started to tear a little as she hugged him. “I’m so proud of you. Go show ’em what you’re made of, honey.”

  “Thanks, Gran.”

  Jack’s eyes got misty, and I realized that if my big brother cried right now, I was going to lose it too.

  When it was Gramps’s turn, he reached out like he was only going to shake Jack’s hand rather than hug him. Jack’s eyebrows shot up.

  “It’s been an honor,” Gramps said before laughing. “Just kidding. Get over here, son.” He grabbed Jack and hugged him hard. “We couldn’t be more proud of everything you’ve accomplished. You deserve it. Now, go pitch your heart out, and we’ll take care of your girl.”