by Ann, Natalie
He wanted to celebrate with his buddies. They had a game tomorrow and though he wasn’t playing, the rest of the team was.
Matt Greene, the Mets’ babysitter as they called him, walked over between him and Johnny. “Time to pack it up, boys. There’s a game tomorrow.”
“I’m not playing,” Harris said.
Johnny laughed. “Lucky shit. You play once every five games, get all the money, and more than half the chicks.”
Harris slapped Johnny on the back. “You like being my wingman, admit it.” The “half the chicks” was a running joke since many knew Harris barely took a woman up on an offer.
“Some wingman you are. We are both going home to empty beds tonight.”
The two of them laughed and followed Matt out of the bar and to his SUV. Matt was a good guy, just doing his job, making sure the players stayed out of trouble.
“Shotgun,” Harris called. “Since I’m the man of the hour.”
“You’re the man, all right,” Johnny said. “Ride in the front. I’ll just stretch out back here behind Matt anyway. You always push the seat back so far that the rest of us are squished. You aren’t the only one over six foot, you know.”
“Ah, but I’ve still got four inches on you,” Harris said, climbing in and putting his seatbelt on.
They were driving back to the building that he and Johnny both lived in. Not only were they teammates but darn close to best friends as well, always riding back and forth to Citi Field and the airport together.
Just blocks from their place, they were sitting at a red light when Harris caught a flash out the right corner of his eye. Headlights coming fast and nowhere to go, then the pain as it slammed into his door.
Nothing else after that. The rest was just darkness.
Hopes and Dreams
“Are you sure you’re okay, Harris? This is a big house and I can stay with you.”
The last thing he needed was his mother hovering over him. Not even his father, who was standing back and rolling his eyes.
“I’m fine,” he said. “The movers brought everything in and set it up. I’m on the first floor, not that stairs are really a problem anyway.”
The boot was coming off his right ankle this week if he had his say. He knew his broken ankle was healed. That was the least of his injuries anyway.
Nope, the worst was his shattered elbow and forearm. Goddamn driver ran a red light and hit Matt’s SUV right in the passenger door, ending his career.
Maybe if he were twenty he could work his way back, but the plate in his forearm and the reconstruction of nerves in his elbow were making any comeback a long shot.
Ironic that the night he had the best game of his life also ended all his hopes and dreams.
“We’ll bring you to the doctor’s tomorrow,” his father said.
“That’s fine,” Harris said. He was wondering if moving back to his hometown of Colonie in Upstate New York was a mistake. That maybe he should have stayed in Manhattan.
The problem with that was, too many reminders of what he’d just lost.
Back home though, he might get smothered by family. He figured if he left the big city, he could have some peace and quiet here.
He’d been impulsive as he’d been most of his life with anything not related to baseball, and one day over a month ago, he looked online for houses and found this new build in Paradise Place just on the outskirts of Albany.
He’d known of the development growing up—it was hard not to with a name like that. It’d grown over the past twenty years more than he’d realized.
Someone arranged with Paradise Place to build a new home and then couldn’t afford it when it came time for the closing. Harris contacted the realtor Ruby Gentile, asked for a video tour, got a good look at it, and decided it was what he needed, closing through lawyers.
A moving company brought everything over yesterday while he supervised the placement of furniture. The little furniture he had was laughable in a house this big.
He’d gone from a thousand-square-foot apartment to a five-thousand-square-foot home. That didn’t even count the finished basement.
Money would fill the house when he had time. It’s not like he was going to live anywhere other than the first floor for the moment.
He had bedroom and living room furniture. A table and chairs in the little breakfast area and four barstools. That was more than enough for him. If the dining room and formal living room were empty, so be it, he wouldn’t be entertaining any time soon.
“Can I fix you some dinner before we go?” his mother asked.
“Leave Harris alone, Gina,” his father said. “You already put all the groceries away. He’s got enough food for a month.”
He laughed. “Thanks, Mom. I’m fine. I’ve been on my own in my apartment for weeks.”
“And you know we didn’t like that,” his mother argued.
After he’d been released from the hospital, his parents stayed with him for a short period. He’d slept on the big sectional since it was more comfortable anyway, his parents in his bedroom. He loved that they cared enough to drop their lives for him, but was just as happy when they left.
Then why did he come back home?
Because there was nothing left for him in Manhattan.
“But I survived just fine. Johnny was there if I needed anything.”
“How is Johnny doing?” his father asked.
“Fine. Same with Matt. Lucky me got the worst of it.”
Johnny had fallen asleep in the back. A concussion and some stitches, a sore body and he was good to be back on the field in two weeks. Matt broke his nose from the airbag deployment, got a concussion and not much more. The driver that hit them wasn’t going that fast, but Harris had his elbow on the window ledge, his fingertips on the top of the door. He’d always driven or ridden in the car like that. He never would again.
The placement of his arm when the car hit the door was probably what caused all the damage. But that was in the past and he’d never know one way or the other. Nothing could be changed now.
His parents exchanged glances back and forth and he knew that look. They wanted to say something to him but they held their tongues and he was happy about it.
“We’ll get out of your way,” his father said. “Call if you need anything.”
“I won’t,” Harris said.
He’d been managing on his own with his left hand just fine. Getting this boot off his ankle would at least let him start to drive. With any luck he could get rid of the sling and brace soon enough too. Having the cast removed from his arm last week had been a blessing. At least he could take the brace off to shower now, even if it hurt like a bitch to move his arm just the slightest.
The minute his parents were out the door, he went to the kitchen and grabbed an energy drink. The one he had a million-dollar sponsorship with. Guess those commercials were going to be done now too.
He was just propping his feet up when his doorbell rang. He couldn’t even make it to the door before it opened and in walked his sister, Sarah.
“You should really lock your door,” Sarah said. She was two years younger than him and just as bossy as if she were the oldest of ten kids rather than being the baby of the two of them.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Don’t you have a job?”
“I just got out. Can’t you tell by my scrubs?” she asked.
His sister was an OR nurse. She’d been the first one grilling him on questions he couldn’t answer when he was back at his apartment six weeks ago.
“It’s only three thirty,” he said.
“Yeah, and I was at work before seven this morning. I get out at three if I’m not stuck in the OR and I wasn’t today. Don’t you want to see me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. “I get the feeling you wish I weren’t here.”
“You are right with that feeling. Mom and Dad just left. They must have forgotten to lock the door. I’ll have to remind them next time so it keeps the pests out.�
��
Sarah laughed and walked over to sit next to him. “How are you feeling? This place is massive. I’d ask you to give me a tour, but I don’t want you to walk around.”
“I can walk around just fine,” he said. “Follow me.”
He led her from one room to the next on the first floor. “You need furniture and decorations. I can help you with that.”
“I’ll manage when I’m ready.” He didn’t care for his sister’s taste in bright colors.
“You just want to do everything in white, black, and gray. Boring!”
“It gets the job done and everything matches that way,” he said, pulling on a lock of her hair.
He’d missed her something silly. Even though he hadn’t lived that far from her in the past several years, he was always on the road. His family visited often, he even offered to buy a place for them in the city to stay at, but they didn’t want any part of it.
At least he was able to talk his mother into retiring early. His father finally retired from his State job last year and started to collect his pension. They didn’t need it; he’d paid off all their debt. He’d taken care of his family like he’d always said he would.
But his father insisted he was putting his thirty years into the State, getting his pension and health insurance, and then he and his mother were traveling.
They did. They traveled around and watched a lot of his games. They were having the time of their lives.
Now they were back home and thinking they had to care for him. He’d have to remind them he was an adult and not an invalid.
Though his sister didn’t think so. “Whatever. You never had any taste. Do you need me to go with you and Dad to the doctor’s tomorrow? I’m off.”
“Why are you off?” he asked. “I thought you worked Monday through Friday.” His sister had been at the top of her nursing class. She was hired right away by Albany Medical Center as an OR nurse in the outpatient unit and fit right in. She loved not working holidays or weekends, just staying for day surgeries.
“I took it off just in case.”
“You wasted a day off then. I don’t need my hand held.”
Sarah huffed out a breath. “We all do at some point in our lives, Harris. You have to learn to accept help.”
“As you can see, I’m getting around just fine. Once this boot is off, I can drive myself places.”
“They are going to put you in physical therapy, you know that, right? You aren’t going to fight it, are you?”
“No,” he said. It wouldn’t be the same PT he’d gone through for other injuries, but he knew if he wanted to at least regain the use of his arm and get most of his strength back, he’d need the guidance.
“That’s good.” She tilted her head. “Are you hoping to get back on the mound?”
He laughed. Not a funny sound. Not a happy one. He wasn’t sure what it was. Just a noise that came out when he was trying to gather his thoughts. “I’m a pretty realistic person.”
“I’m here if you need to talk,” she said, but let it drop. He was glad for it. He wasn’t ready to talk about it much more than he just did.
“Thanks. Do you want some dinner? We can order pizza?”
“I’d like that,” she said, pulling her phone out and placing the order without even asking him what he wanted. She got what they always had as kids and he was looking forward to it.
What he wasn’t looking forward to was figuring out what his life was going to amount to in the future.
Also by Natalie Ann
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
Lucas and Brooke’s Story- Road to Recovery
Jack and Cori’s Story – Road to Redemption
Mac and Beth’s Story- Road to Reality
Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story- Road to Reason
The All Series
William and Isabel’s Story — All for Love
Ben and Presley’s Story – All or Nothing
Phil and Sophia’s Story – All of Me
Alec and Brynn’s Story – All the Way
Sean and Carly’s Story — All I Want
Drew and Jordyn’s Story— All My Love
Finn and Olivia’s Story—All About You
Landon Barber and Kristen Reid- All Of Us
The Lake Placid Series
Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning – Second Chance
Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker – Give Me A Chance
Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire – Our Chance
Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan – Take A Chance
Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon- Deserve A Chance
Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton – Last Chance
Matt Winters and Dena Hall- Another Chance
Logan Taylor and Kennedy Miles- It’s My Chance
The Fierce Five Series
Gavin Fierce and Jolene O’Malley- How Gavin Stole Christmas
Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed - Brody
Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti- Aiden
Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning- Mason
Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall - Cade
Ella Fierce and Travis McKinley- Ella
Fierce Family
Sam Fierce and Dani Rhodes- Sam
Bryce Fierce and Payton Davies - Bryce
Drake Fierce and Kara Winslow – Drake
Noah Fierce and Paige Parker - Noah
Love Collection
Vin Steele and Piper Fielding – Secret Love
Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald – True Love
Erik McMann and Sheldon Case – Finding Love
Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love
Ian Price and Cam Mason- Intense Love
Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers - Autumn Love
Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan - Holiday Love
Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett - Christmas Love
Zeke Collins and Kendall Hendricks - Winter Love
Troy Walker and Meena Dawson – Chasing Love
Jace Stratton and Lauren Towne - First Love
Gabe Richards and Leah Morrison - Forever Love
Blake Wilson and Gemma Anderson – Simply Love
Brendan St. Nicholas and Holly Lane – Gifts of Love
Paradise Place
Josh Turner and Ruby Gentile – Cupid’s Quest
Where to find Natalie Ann
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