I wasn’t sure I was good with putting my fate in the hands of my little sister, but it seemed I’d been left with no other choice. And when she spilled her idea, the three of us drove aimlessly around discussing ways to refine it.
And by the time we brought carryout home to Dad for lunch, we had a solid plan.
A plan to show Jayden that I wasn’t ready to forget him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The plan was officially in action.
Coach Padilla wasn’t exactly happy to let me skip half of practice on Monday, but I think she was relieved enough to have me back on the team that she relented after some begging and explanation. Which was perfect, because this was my only chance to use Charlotte’s idea to win Jayden back.
I’d also had to clear the plan with Coach Morgan. His reaction couldn’t have been any more opposite than Coach Padilla’s. He’d gotten all red in the face, then slapped his knee and practically giggled with glee. His answer was clearly yes.
So, that’s how I’d found myself sitting in my mom’s van just down the block from the baseball diamond, spying on the team as they arrived for practice and started warm-ups.
“Are you sure you guys want to do this?” I turned to look at Mom and Charlotte, fear making my stomach churn. “Maybe we should just call the whole thing off. I shouldn’t have asked you guys to put yourself out for me.”
Mom rubbed my back and smiled. “Baby girl, have some faith. You’re always taking care of other people. For once, let us help you.”
“Yeah, we want to do this,” Charlotte added with a reassuring smile.
I scrunched up my face and sighed. “Okay. But for the record, if this ends in my total humiliation, I’m dropping out of school to become a professional hermit.”
Mom laughed, leaning back in her seat. “We’ll see about that.”
My heart thudded painfully in my chest as Trina pulled up in her car beside us with Audrey in the passenger seat. She parked along the curb and we all got out of our vehicles to the sound of excited barking. Reaching inside her car to open their kennels, Trina brought out three dogs, each cuter than the last.
“Awww, Mom, can we keep it?” Charlotte asked as she took the white furry one in her arms and it licked her neck.
“That wasn’t part of the plan,” Mom said sternly, although her eyes softened as she took in the sight of the chocolate lab mix that wagged its tail with enough force to knock anybody down.
Audrey led it by the leash and came to give me a hug, her eyes shining with tears. “This is so perfect. I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
I shot her a warning look and sighed. “Don’t start crying now. We haven’t even done anything yet.”
“I know, I know.” She blinked them back and gave me a smile. “I’m just so excited I can’t control my emotions.”
I went to roll my eyes, but was distracted by the third and final dog, a golden retriever mix with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. It came over to sit on my feet, its pink tongue lolling out of its mouth as it looked lovingly up at me.
“Trina, these dogs are pe
rfect.” I looked up at her while scratching behind the Golden’s ears. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“My friend at the shelter was happy to loan them to us.” She took a small chalkboard sign with a string attached and draped it over the golden’s head so that it hung from its neck. Smiling at me, she went to put two more signs on the other dogs. “I think she was hoping this little escapade would get one or all of them adopted. It’s going to be hard taking them back when this is all over.”
I gulped, my throat tightening. When this is all over. It could either be the best moment of my life, or one of the worst, depending on Jayden’s reaction. I could only hope that what he’d said on the bus was true.
Show me a furry face and I’m done for.
“All right, they’re done with warm-ups and Coach Morgan has them set up for a scrimmage, just like he promised,” Mom said, sneaking a peek around the van to spy on practice. “Jayden’s behind home plate. Mandy, head for the announcer’s booth. We’ll wait for your signal.”
“Good luck, M,” Audrey said, handing me my own chalkboard sign.
I gave her a thumbs-up as I walked away, but my arms were trembling. It wasn’t a very hot day, but my dress still felt suffocatingly hot. It was the dress I’d worn to the mall on our date—the one saved for special occasions.
Now that the boot was gone, I’d paired it with two lacy ankle boots that were the perfect combination of feminine and useful for quick escapes, if need be. Tied around my waist was Jayden’s hoodie. The very hoodie that had haunted me from day one and now served as a reminder of how much I had to gain from putting myself out there like this.
And how much I had to lose.