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Inside the bar were two of his friends, Caden and Graham. It was clear that the three of them had been close for some time, and as we sat down at a booth in the surprisingly busy bar, I got to know them a bit more.
“So,” I asked, “you played in the majors?”
“Yup,” Graham said. “Not for long, though.”
“Only because of his injury,” Ryan interrupted.
“Dude had a ninety-nine mile an hour sinker,” Caden said. “It was filthy. Batters could not hit it.”
“And a hell of a curve too,” Ryan said. “I could never hit it.”
“You couldn’t hit a beachball thrown by a toddler,” Caden said. “But yes, he had a hell of a curve too.”
“So what happened?” I asked.
“Ulnar collateral ligament,” he said. “It’s a ligament that runs on the inside of the elbow. Lots of pitchers end up with the injury because of the way we throw. Sometimes the surgery works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I was one of the unlucky ones.”
“I am so sorry,” I said. “That sounds awful.”
Graham shrugged.
“I got to The Show,” he said. “Was pretty successful there too. Not many people can say that. I just have to be content with that.”
“What about you? What do you do?” I asked, turning to Caden.
“Rancher,” he said. “Boring as shit.” He laughed heartily, and we all joined in.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Ryan said. “Caden is swimming in money now. He turned a struggling ranch into a million-dollar empire.”
“Multi-million-dollar empire,” Caden corrected, causing another round of laughter.
It was obvious how close the men were, or at least had been before life took them apart. Apparently, they were still getting back into the swing of things, seeing each other again after so much time.
I decided that I didn’t really feel like drinking much, and after a glass of wine, I tapped out. The appetizers were amazing, and just hanging out with Ryan and his friends was better than getting wasted anyway. Drinking to excess had never had much appeal to me as it was.
I woke up the next morning with more resolve than I had the day before. The night out with the boys had given me a much-needed release of pressure I didn’t even realize had been built up. I could live a normal life. One that I enjoyed. With friends and food and fun. It wasn’t something far-fetched or impossible. I could have it. Currently, I did have it.
So I wasn’t going to let something like this jerk owner of the house I wanted stand in my way. Even if it made me sad every time I let the thought cross my mind of what could be, it just meant I needed to channel that sadness into working harder and learning how to fix places up for when the time came that I did find a place that would work.
13
RYAN
The last couple of weeks had been amazing. Every day I felt closer to Allison, and as much sweat and effort as we put into her house, it all seemed worth it. When we finished a room, or just tumbled into bed together, every moment spent working on her place had value, and I enjoyed them not just for themselves, but for what they meant.
At least, what I thought they meant.
I was still a bit guarded about where we actually were. I hadn’t ever felt anything like what I was feeling for her before, so I wasn’t sure how it was all supposed to go. I knew I enjoyed being around her, more than I had ever enjoyed being around any other woman. I also knew that I could see myself continuing to enjoy spending time around her into perpetuity.
But how did she feel about it? I didn’t know. We hadn’t talked about it, and when little comments that referenced the future came up, we both tended to shy away from making any sort of commitment to anything beyond the week we were in. It was as if we both wanted to keep things light out of fear, but it was also possible that was all she wanted. I had to be cognizant of that. Maybe I was just a convenient lover. Someone who lived next door and could help her with her house.
I just had to take what I could get and try to enjoy it while I had it.
Among all the things about her, her dedication impressed me most. She was determined to get the house together and looking beautiful, and she knew that meant an income coming in that she could rely on.
She had visited Marvin’s auto body shop again a couple weeks ago to get a new inspection sticker for her car and noticed that he had a help wanted sign. It had been hanging in the shop for years with no interest, and he had totally forgotten about it. When she pointed it out, he gave her the job on the spot. I’d never seen Marvin happier, knowing that he had someone to run the office and let him get to the part of the job he loved most.
