The Other Game (The Perfect Game 4)

“Well, you also know that he still hasn’t talked to her. And so I was going to tell her, you know?” She glared at me as I swallowed a bite of my sandwich. “I wanted to tell her what was going on so that she’d stop being so sad all the time. But when I talked to her—”

She paused, waiting for me to look up at her. “She sounded . . . happy. She sounded really happy, Dean. Like she was finally settling in there and moving on with her life without your brother. And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tell her because I knew it would devastate her.”

I froze with my sandwich midway between my tray and my mouth, processing the conflicting emotions her news stirred up. Half of me was thrilled for Cassie, happy that she wasn’t miserable anymore. But the other half was devastated, knowing what this could mean for Jack.

“So you didn’t tell her anything at all?”

“I couldn’t. And the worst part was—” She took a bite of her own sandwich, chewing and swallowing quickly before she said, “I sort of understood what Jack has been saying this whole time. How he was waiting to get it all in order before he went to her. It finally made sense to me.”

“Chrystle signed the papers,” I said quickly, holding my breath as I waited for Melissa’s reaction.

She slammed her fist on top of the table. “She what? When? How long ago?”

“It just happened.” I shushed her, trying to calm her down when I noticed the number of people staring in our direction.

Her breathing quickened as her fury mounted. Before I knew it, her eyes were shooting daggers at me.

“And he didn’t call her the second it happened? The second he knew he was free? Okay, I take back everything nice I just said about your stupid brother. I don’t understand him at all, and I hate him again,” she practically growled.

Melissa shot to her feet and snatched up her tray. “I’m calling him later, I hope you know, and giving him a piece of my mind!”

• • •

I sent Jack a text to warn him that Melissa was going to call him, and she wasn’t happy. I also demanded he call me right after and tell me everything. He did.

“That was fun,” he said instead of hello, and I laughed nervously.

“I bet. She was a real peach today after I told her that Chrystle had signed the papers.”

“Yeah, she asked me what I was waiting for, and I tried to tell her that I needed to see if a few things would fall into place first. But she wouldn’t listen and flipped out.” He sucked in a deep breath. “She ended the call by telling me to leave Cassie the hell alone and to stay out of her life forever.”

I chuckled. “For such a little thing, she sure is vicious.”

“Good thing I’m not afraid of her,” he said with a laugh.

“So you aren’t going to leave her alone and stay away from her forever?” I asked, mimicking Melissa’s voice.

He laughed loudly. “I could never do that. Ever. I need her too bad. You know it. I know it. Hell, the whole world knows it.”

Annoyed, I said, “You sure as shit have a funny way of showing it.”

“Patience, little brother. And faith. Can you have both of those in me right now, please?”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I had it in me. I wanted to believe Jack, but his track record in the last year had sucked.

Happily Ever After

I understood Melissa’s frustration and anger; I’d felt it as well. But when I woke up this morning to my phone pinging with a jillion text notifications, I finally understood everything.

Jack had been traded to the New York Mets.

My brother had switched teams in order to be closer to Cassie, and I’d had no idea. He’d kept it from me, kept it from everyone. That must have been what he was waiting on finding out about all those weeks ago.

My phone pinged again.

Melissa: Did you know? Did you know he was getting traded?

Dean: I had no idea. He didn’t tell me a thing.