She smiled wryly. “If that’s the case, piece of cake.” Then she fell silent, and in the quiet of their room, she listened to the thudding of Boone’s heart.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
So steady. So strong.
“Boone?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Your shoulder’s going to be fine. You’re going to be back in the lineup in just a few days. You’re going to have one of the best seasons you’ve had in years.”
She felt him smile. “You think so, Coach?” he drawled, pressing another kiss to the top of her head.
“Yeah, Walker. I do.”
* * *
But when Boone left for the park the next morning to meet with the trainer and the team doctor, Sarah was nervous. Like most professional sports teams, Tampa Bay had their own imaging equipment, an X-ray for breaks and an ultrasound to detect muscle and rotator cuff tears as well as to check for tendon inflammation. Which meant Boone would know sooner than later how serious his injury was.
And if it was serious, would the team put him on the disabled list, and if so, for how many days?
The disabled list was a bad place for an athlete. It immediately devaluated a player, as it signaled to the rest of the world that he was weak. Broken.
Please don’t let Boone be seriously hurt, she prayed. In fact, please don’t let Boone be hurt at all.
Let it just be tender. A little bruise. Nothing much. And get him back in the lineup tonight or tomorrow.
* * *
Boone didn’t end up playing for five days. But it wasn’t his shoulder keeping him out of the game, it was Gordon, the hitting instructor, who decided that Boone didn’t need to be in the lineup. He and Boone were still in the middle of a pissing contest, and with Boone getting banged up in that “stupid play at first,” he thought that Boone could use some time on the bench. Some time to sit and think about his commitment to baseball, as well as his role on the team.
After eighteen years playing professional baseball, sixteen of them in the big leagues, Boone didn’t need to think about his role on a team or his commitment to his sport. He trained in the off-season, was one of the first players at the park during spring training, and he pushed hard all season long. Baseball was his career. His identity. And for the past eighteen years, his life.
And putting Boone on the bench was probably the worst thing Adam Gordon could do to him.
Sarah suspected Adam knew it, too.
By the time Boone was back in the lineup, he was wound up so tight he couldn’t hit. The power plays with Gordon, who’d once been Boone’s teammate in Houston but never his friend, had messed with his head. In Houston, Gordon and Boone had tolerated each other, and that was about it. Now it became a war, and as Boone struggled at bat against the Mariners in their four-game series at home, Sarah wondered what would happen once the Rays hit the road after their upcoming series with the A’s.
Sarah could feel his rage and frustration, but Boone wouldn’t talk about his feelings. She knew from the past that when he struggled at the plate, he’d blow off steam in other ways. Going out with the guys. Staying out late. Drinking more than he should. Talking to women he didn’t need to know.
The last was a real concern. Because sober, Boone was pretty much a family man, but put a couple of drinks in him and he loosened up, becoming friendlier, more open. More open to advances.
And now he was going out again, hanging out with the guys, doing whatever it was macho guys did to chill out.
Strip clubs. Titty bars. Nightclubs.
“What if I got a sitter,” Sarah said, trying to suppress the wave of worry. He loved her. He did. He wasn’t going to hook up with anyone tonight. He wasn’t going out to meet up with someone he’d met last night. “You and I could go to Bern’s, have a great steak, maybe hit the Fox Jazz Café after.”
“Let’s do that when I come back from next week’s road trip. Tonight I’ve already made plans to hang with the guys.”
“But you’ll be with the guys all week on the road.”
“I know, but it’s Danny’s birthday, everyone’s going out.”
“Doesn’t Danny have a wife to celebrate with?”
“Sarah.”
She hated that he made her feel like she was being a ball and chain. She wasn’t a ball and chain. She was so supportive of him. Had given up her career and family to follow him. He and the kids were her priority. The focus of her life.
She exhaled slowly. “I just feel like I don’t get enough time with you.”
“It’s always like this during the season.”
“But you’ve been so down lately. It’s kind of hard to reach you.”