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Although what if a second flare-up had started? Conditions were dry.
Reaching the door, he pulled it open to find his mother there. Dressed in pajama pants and a tee, she wore her old slippers and clutched her cell phone in her hand.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Nate, but we’ve all been trying to contact you.” She held up the phone to show him, her voice sounding worried as she slid her glasses farther up her nose. “I thought you needed to know from us before reading it in the news. You’ve been traded. You’re now a Chicago Flame.”
Chapter Twelve
Exhausted and heartsick,Keely froze halfway between the bedroom and the front door, gasping at the news that Nate had been traded.
He pivoted at the sound, their eyes locking for a moment before his mother spoke, leaning around her son to see Keely.
“Keely, I didn’t mean to disturb you after all you’ve been through today with the fire.” Hailey worried her lower lip before she bent to scoop up the smallest of her dogs, who’d followed her up the steps to the apartment. “But I thought Nate should know about the trade.”
Nate was already retrieving his phone from the kitchen counter, his jaw flexing as he scrolled through screens.
What would it mean for him? For them?
Worry tied her midsection in a knot. She’d lost so much today. Was she losing him sooner than what she’d planned, too?
“Of course, he needed to hear the news right away,” Keely managed to say despite the fear lodged in her throat. “You should come in.”
“That’s okay.” Hailey backed up a step, her light brown hair reflecting the glow of the outdoor porch lamp. “But please know if there’s anything we can do to help clean up from the fire or if you need space for your business, Everett and I both want to pitch in.”
Touched by the offer even though she couldn’t begin to think about either of those things yet, Keely’s gaze darted to Nate, who held his phone up to his ear and walked deeper into the apartment. Probably calling his agent or someone from his new team.
Could they make him get on a plane tonight? Tomorrow? The possible scenarios spun out in her mind, bringing back all that hurt and frustration of their breakup, when he’d accepted a baseball contract that had turned their plans upside down. It took all of her focus to reply to his mom and not sink to the sofa and curl into a ball.
“Thank you, Hailey. That’s really kind of you.” She reached for a lightweight wool throw on the back of one of the couches and wrapped it around her shoulders, wanting to cocoon herself from the day that kept getting worse. “I’m not ready to think about what I’ll do next.”
Her eyes full of sympathy, Hailey stroked the long white fur of the little dog in her arms. “It’s too soon to think about details, I know. But it’s important that you know that whenever you’re ready, you have friends in Last Stand, Keely. People will want to be here for you just as you would be for them if the places were reversed.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed past the emotions in her throat, grateful for the assurance. “For too long, I’ve let Dad’s demons put a wall between me and the rest of the town, but a lot of that barrier is of my own making. If I do rebuild, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
She might not be ready to think about replanting, but she was done feeling alienated by her dad’s choices. People needed roots to thrive, just like plants. Even without the support of her mom and dad, she had Alexis. And Last Stand.
As for Nate? Her chest squeezed around the fear that he wasn’t going to be part of that foundation for much longer.
“Good for you, Keely.” Hailey juggled her dog from one arm to the other. “It’s obvious to everyone that you’re a hard worker and you’ve done everything you can to be a good daughter. You deserve to find your own happiness, whatever form that takes.”
Hailey departed and Keely closed the door behind her. When she turned around again, Nate was there. Phone still in his hand, he wore a grim expression. Her heart sunk.
“How soon do you have to leave?” she asked, preferring to get the conversation over with as fast as possible.
“Chicago moved me to their injured list. But they’re keeping me on the twenty-five-man roster and hope I can play before the end of the season.” He set his phone on the kitchen counter and then closed the distance between them. “Let’s sit down.”
She shook her head, not moving from the spot near the front door. She noticed he hadn’t answered her question about when he was leaving.
“I’m good,” she insisted, hugging the blanket more tightly around her shoulders. “I don’t want to get too comfortable here if you need to start packing.”
“That’s not a concern.” He straightened where he stood, his frown deepening. “I’ll be in Last Stand for another week. I’m going to finish out the camp.”
She wasn’t surprised he’d made that a priority. “It’s important to you, I know.”
“The camp isn’t the only thing that’s important to me here. Surely you know that.” Moving toward her, he cupped her shoulders in both his hands. “Keely, come with me at the end of the week. We can go to Chicago together and start over. Build a life together.”
The certainty in his tone pulled her in, making her want to believe they could do just that. Her feelings for Nate were still so strong, flaring to life all over again when he’d come back into town. But no matter how tempting the idea of walking away from her ruined business and her messy life, she couldn’t get around one inescapable fact.
Nate would be following his dream. But would she simply be following Nate? Her farm might be smoke and ashes, but would she regret just giving up everything she’d worked so hard to build?
