Page 79 of Rain Delay

“Me? Never.” I smile playfully at him. “I think you should be listening to your own words.”

“I’m innocent. I would never cause any funny business at a family outing.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Wy. You just keep telling yourself that.” I say as I walk out of the bathroom.

“Oh, I know exactly what helps me sleep at night,” he replies. “Come back here tonight after dinner and I’ll show you.”

Chapter 28

Wyatt

THE ONE THING ABOUT FAMILY WEEKEND I looked forward to was seeing my family.

The one thing about family weekend I didn’t look forward to? Seeing my family.

Having my sister here was already nerve-wracking enough. I walked around the house with the constant fear she would try to interrogate me like she did in the restaurant in Philly.

I didn’t even want to think about all the what-ifs that could happen. I was doing everything in my fucking power to make sure I didn’t lose her again. I couldn’t lose her again. I don’t know if I would be able to function like a human being again.

That’s the thing about Eliana – She made life easy. Life was becoming easy again. I was able to go on about my days knowing she would be home at the end of the night waiting for me. That was the plan was supposed to be all along. It was supposed to be me and Ellie against the world.

Sure, she was hired to work for me, but it was beyond that. What we were rebuilding, what we were working on patching up, it was more than just work to us.

Five years ago, I tried to keep my worlds separate. Baseball was my life; Eliana was my entire soul. I’d convinced myself if I let those two worlds collide, it would just be a recipe for disaster. I thought I had to protect her from the travel, the trades, the cold reality of being a professional athlete’s plus-one.

I was so busy protecting her, I just ended up abandoning her in the process.

* * *

The ballpark was buzzing already with all of the families hanging out on the field.

I stood by the railing of the home dugout, my spikes crunching on the dirt as I walked down the steps to grab some water. Down the line, I saw my younger brother, Vinny talking to some of the equipment crew about the themed gear we were going to be sporting for the weekend.

“He’s gotten taller,” a voice said behind me.

I didn’t need to turn and see it was Eliana. A smile spread across my lips as she walked up to me, her sunglasses perched on top of her head.

“Vinny. He’s starting to look like you did right before you left for college. Lenky, limbs, and ego.” She replies with a laugh.

“He’s better than I was,” I muttered, but my eyes weren’t on her anymore, they were looking back at my brother.

Vinny’s a junior in high school, and I know he’s looking to declare for the MLB draft eventually. He’s got a full-ride to Coastal Carolina, as well as an offer from UCLA. He hadn’t decided where he was going to go, but he always said he wanted to follow in his big brother’s footsteps.

“You’re tense,” Eliana read my mind with that annoying intuition. “Everything okay?”

I let out a breath. “I’m fine.”

“Okay, liar.” She turned to face me, her expression painted with some worry, but some seriousness as well. “Your entire family’s going to be here, and I happen to be in that same orbit. There’s no way you’re not freaking out. Because I’m freaking out.”

I gripped the railing, shaking my head. “No, I’m fine. It’ll be fine.” I reassured her. I knew what she was getting at, though. She knew exactly what this meant. She knew she would have to hold a conversation with my family, and I could tell she was masking it pretty well.

“If you’re calm, it’ll help me be a little more calm.” She stands next to me, her hand over mine. “I’ve already gotten through the awkwardness of hanging with your sister again.”

I nodded, looking back to the field as I saw my sister approaching us with my mother and father in tow. I felt like a lump was forming in my throat, choking me out as they got closer. I don’t know how she was so calm right now, because internally? I was freaking the fuck out.

“Okay, maybe I’m a little nervous,” Eliana admits, her grip on my hand tightening.

“I don’t want you to be nervous, El.” I lace our fingers together. “We’ll get through this together.”