39. Jett

Chapter 39

It's no secret Wyla was not thrilled about me leaving earlier this week.

So many times I wanted to tell her my plan, and had it not been for all the shit I needed to get done, I probably wouldn't have left that night. But getting to see her reaction now is going to be so fucking worth it.

I get her in the rental car, and she's already fired off ten questions about what we're doing.

"Are we going to get Stevie? She's at my parent's house."

Yeah, baby, I asked them to keep her.

"I know, and no, we aren't."

She turns in her seat to face me. "Why aren't you in New Mexico pitching right now?"

"Wyla," I respond with the implication to stop asking questions.

"Jett." She doesn't miss a beat and matches my tone .

God, I love this woman.

For the ten-minute car ride, I answer the rest of her questions with either short answers or nothing at all. She's getting incredibly frustrated but hopefully it's about to be all worth it.

We pull into the parking lot, and her eyebrows narrow. "You brought me to the gym?"

"Come on, let's go." I hop out and round the car to open her door. She takes my hand and we walk up to the door.

"Jett, I don't understand. They closed two days ago, someone else bought it out."

I pull the key out of my pocket. "Yeah. We did."

Wyla's mouth gapes. "We… W-what?"

"We bought the gym, Wy." I unlock the front door and bring her inside. It's mostly empty now, I've had people in here tearing out stuff for two days. "It needs a lot of work but I've got plenty of time to get it ready to open by the end of this season."

Wyla spins slowly, taking it all in. "I'm a little confused, Jett. Why did you buy this place?"

Pulling her close by the waist. I'm so fucking happy about this decision. "Because I'm going to need something to do here when I retire at the end of this season."

Her eyes go wide and that smile starts but it's not completely there yet. "Y-you're retiring? Why? "

"People keep telling me I'm old," I joke, and she rolls her eyes. "Here is where we need to be, Wy."

Her smile grows. "So, we're staying?"

"Permanently? Yes. I have to finish out my contract so I'm hoping you will stay with me in Seattle for the next few months, but after that… I want our family here."

"I want that too." Her eyes glisten as she looks around again in amazement. "How did you manage all this without me knowing anything about it?"

"Turns out, having your girlfriend's dad as the beloved police chief goes a long way." A very long way, actually. With one phone call to him about what I wanted to do, in the hour I had an email for the offer on the gym.

After that, I talked to my agent and my manager and informed them I'll be retiring at the end of this season. I managed to get tonight's game off so I could surprise Wyla and hopefully still take her and Stevie to Seattle for the next six months but then that's it.

We'll be moving back here and I'll run an actual gym in this town. There's still plenty of things I'll have to do, like completely repairing this place and getting it up to code but it'll all be worth it knowing it gives me the flexibility to be with Wyla and Stevie more.

"And you're sure about this? You're sure you want to retire? "

"I'm sure, baby." I rest my hands on her hips, pulling her a step closer. "I did talk to the high school here and the college out in Northshore, and offered to help them with spring training when that time comes. But other than that, I'm good. I've gotten what I've wanted out of my career."

"And now, what do you want?" Her voice is low and she bites at her bottom lip.

"I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to put my daughter to bed every night. I want to be there when things go wrong and when they go right. Wyla, I want to marry you. I want to have another kid with you, and I don't want to push any of that stuff off because of my career. Me and you, Wy."

That smile of hers lights up her face as a few tears slide down her cheeks. "Me and you, Jett." She goes up on her toes and pulls me down to kiss her.

A request I happily oblige.

"I think there's a closet around here somewhere."