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He wanted to ask more about that—to find out which one of her parents she viewed as challenging, but his phone buzzed through the car’s stereo sound system, the dashboard screen alerting him that his brother was on the line.
“Do you mind if I take this?” he asked, his finger hovering near the connect button.
“Go right ahead.” She flipped her own phone over to amuse herself, or maybe just to give him the illusion of privacy.
Tapping the screen, he picked up the call.
“I’m five minutes from the stadium, Bro. You ready for game time?” Cal hadn’t spoken to Nate in weeks. But then, his brothers would understand better than anyone how being released from his team would mess with his mind.
No doubt, they’d simply been giving him space to deal with it on his own terms.
“Depends. If ‘bottom of the order’ equals ready, then I guess I’m good to go,” Nate announced, his voice revealing none of the angst that must have come with the news.
“Of all the nights for the bench boss to move you around in the order, it has to be tonight?” Cal shook his head, disgusted on Nate’s behalf.
The manager of his brother’s club—Moose Byers—had been a long-ago rival of their father’s, and the guy had been bitter his whole life that he hadn’t managed to make a career as a player while Clint had. Cal guessed that even the most charming of the Ramsey men—Nate by a long shot—wouldn’t have dissuaded Moose from his old grudge.
“What are the odds Dad will be more pissed at Moose than me when he gets the news?” Nate’s voice came through the stereo speakers tinny and echoing, and Cal guessed he was somewhere in the locker room.
“With Dad there’s no shortage of blame to spread around. I’m guessing there’s an equal amount of anger for both of you.”
“Clint Ramsey, ever the diplomat,” Nate said wryly, although there was a hint of humor behind it.
Of the three brothers, Nate had possessed the best ability to shake off a bad mood. He was the most laid-back, the most fun to be around.
“If I don’t see you in the stands after—” Cal began, wanting to make a plan for a post-game visit if Nate preferred to avoid their father.
He steered the vehicle through a knot of traffic near the stadium entrance, choosing a lane moving faster.
“I’ll be there either way,” Nate assured him, a P.A. system sounding in the background on his end of the call.
“Yeah?” He wouldn’t press his brother about it, but Cal found it tough to believe Nate would put in an appearance if he had a rough night at the plate.
“For sure.” There were some scuffling noises on Nate’s end. “Rumor has it Keely Harper is making the trip to see the game.”
Cal remembered Nate’s on-again, off-again girlfriend from high school. She’d cut and run as soon as Nate got drafted, apparently not interested in sticking with him through the lean years of the minor leagues, when paychecks weren’t even minimum wage.
He must have been silent a beat too long since Josie peered over at him, one eyebrow raised. But before he could craft a nonjudgmental reply, Nate spoke again.
“I’ve got to get out on the field, Cal. See you soon.” The call disconnected as Cal pulled into a parking spot outside the stadium.
While he struggled to figure out why Nate would want to see a woman who’d walked away during the hard times, Cal switched off the engine and refocused his attention on his date for the game.
“Ready?” His curt tone made him realize how much his brother’s call had riled him.
Gauging by Josie’s pursed lips, she hadn’t missed the edge in his voice either. She studied him across the console while a young family dressed in team colors walked past the car.
“Depends. I’m ready for baseball. I’m not sure if I’m ready for family drama.” Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap.
“With the Ramseys, the two go hand in hand.” Yet another facet of his major league career that he would miss—the aura of success around a professional at that level gave him a way to distance himself from the messed-up sports psychology that ran through his family tree.
“What if I get midway through the game and discover I’m in over my head?” The seriousness in her voice caught him off guard. Made him realize how much he’d stressed her out with the talk of his family dynamics.
Regret circled through him. He hadn’t meant to drag her into the chest-thumping toxicity that always seemed to simmer around his dad. He forced himself to breathe out his own frustrations so he could reassure her.
“We make our way to the exit and don’t look back.” He could always catch up with Nate on the road. “It’s more important to me that you have a good time.”
She nodded, but her expression remained skeptical. Her pretty eyes darted around uneasily.
