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Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number. “Rick, your property on Bear Creek Trail. I have a full price, cash offer.”
When she looked at me and smiled, my heart jumped in my chest. “We’ll head back to my office right now and get you a written offer.”
“Okay, Bryson, take this elastic band and hold it in your hands like so. Keeping your elbows in close to your body, pull your hands apart, squeezing your back.”
I did as Kasey, my physical therapist, instructed.
“Good. You shouldn’t feel pain, but you should feel the muscles right behind your shoulder.”
It had been four weeks of PT and rest. I’d gone to games with the team a few times, but it killed me to just sit there and not play.
“Have you noticed any improvements?”
I turned to see Trent leaning against the door of the physical therapy room.
“Maybe some,” I stated.
He nodded and pushed off to walk into the room. “You’re doing the exercises they say to do?”
“Yes, I am…Mom.”
Laughing, he pulled up a seat and watched me as Kasey had me do another exercise.
“In all seriousness, Bryson, how is it feeling?”
I stopped doing the exercise and looked at him. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I needed to be honest with myself and, more importantly, with Trent.
“If I’m honest, I think I’ll need surgery. It feels better, but I’d be in pain if I tried to pitch.”
He looked down at the floor while he rubbed the back of his neck. “Fuck.”
“I echo the sentiment.”
Starting the exercise once again, I felt his eyes on me.
“It’s only been a few weeks. Maybe you should get away, go relax somewhere, and let your arm rest.”
Laughing, I set the resistance band down and turned to face him. “Isn’t that what I’m doing now?”
Kasey had me sit at a machine and instructed me to use it. I did as Trent paced back and forth.
“If you let me work with Caleb, I know he can move up fast in the ranks,” I said as I moved my arms in a circular motion. The machine was like a bike, but you used your arms to pedal.
“Monty? Hell, Bryson, he’s just a baby!”
“A talented baby who, if given the chance, could easily take my place. He’s good, Trent, and you know it.”
“He wouldn’t be on the team if he wasn’t good.”
“Then start to use him. Bring him up in the ranks and give the kid some playing time. He has a wicked fastball.”
Trent scrubbed his hands down his face and released a heavy sigh. “And if we start him too soon, he’ll end up right where you are.”
“Bullshit. You know as well as I do a pitcher can injure themselves at any time in their career. New or old. I’m not saying make him your starter, just give the kid a chance. Let him show you what he has.”
He sat down on a rolling chair and looked at me. “You’ll be out at worse, a year? If anything, you can mentor the kid, help him adjust to the MLB and all of that.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
It wasn’t the time to tell Trent that I had already made up my mind. Regardless if I needed the surgery or not, I wouldn’t be returning to the roster. The last thing I wanted to do was come back and be kept on the team as a last-ditch pitcher. Fuck that.
An image of Rose flashed through my mind. I was a firm believer in destiny and fate. Rose was brought into my life at that exact moment for a reason. I already knew she wasn’t the type of woman who would date a baseball player, and Loren had confirmed it. The sale on the land I had purchased closed three days ago, and I already had an appointment with Stiner Architectural Firm. I wasn’t sure how Rose would feel about me showing up on her work doorstep a few months after our night together, but I was willing to take the risk.
“I might take you up on the suggestion of taking a vacation. I think I’m going to head back to Montana for a bit. I might get a second opinion on my shoulder as well.”
Trent’s face lit up. “That’s a great idea, Bryson. Take the time. You’re not due back in front of the medical board for another month. Head on home, enjoy some family time, and we’ll revisit all of this then.”
I nodded, reached for Trent’s outstretched hand, and shook it. I felt bad keeping him in the dark, but I needed to figure out my future before I did anything else. It was July, and I hadn’t seen Rose since May. Two months had passed by, and I still thought about her constantly. I only hoped she didn’t see my next move as insane as Nick said it was.
