Chapter 43 Dom

Chapter 43

Dom

“Slugger,” Montana calls out, holding his hand up for a high-five.

He’s not the only one that thinks he’s funny. Braxton Hayes puts his fists up and pretends to dodge punches as I pass. The team plane is a minefield of questions and snarky remarks from my teammates as I walk down the aisle to find my seat.

Once I make it past the rookies, who are relegated to the front where management and the coaching staff sit, the chatter dies down. The middle of the plane is much more subdued, maybe even a little peeved. I haven’t seen the guys since after the game and our texts have been limited as I waited to learn my fate, spent time with my family, and met with Indie’s surgical team.

My best friend stands, holding out his hand for a hand for fist bump. “I’m glad you’re here even if you can’t play in the first game. Now sit down and tell us what the fuck is going on.”

“Such a warm welcome. How could I not?” I’m forty percent joking. Coming from Dean, it’s practically a love poem.

Indie told me I could fill the guys in as long as they let her tell the girls, which she’s doing today. I rub the gold ring on my finger. Across from me, Xavier’s eyes drop, tracking the movement. Catchers don’t miss a thing.

“You’re really fucking married?” He laughs, like he can’t wrap his head around it.

“Yep.”

“Congratulations,” Cruz says, earnestly holding out his hand for me to shake.

“Thanks. Listen, I know you guys have questions. You’re all basically foaming at the mouth for the gossip and while I applaud you for keeping it together for this long, you need to keep this to yourself at least until after the game tonight when Indie has a chance to talk to the girls.”

“Oh shit, I was mostly kidding about you knocking her up,” Hendrix says.

My jaw clicks with irritation. I’ve probably done the same thing a hundred times, but until you’re the one going through something like this, you don’t realize the impact those kinds of comments can have.

“Or not,” he adds carefully.

“Not pregnant.” I push my hair back from where it’s fallen over my forehead. “A couple weeks ago, Indie had genetic testing done. The results weren’t great. She carries an inherited gene that makes it much more likely for her to develop cancer, like her mom.”

“Fuck,” Dean draws the word out.

“Yeah. That pretty much sums it up,” I tell him, before I go over what the testing meant for us and everything we are facing, to make sure that Indie has the best chance at a long, healthy life.

“She’s gone through a lot in the past two weeks. Learning that she could have to battle like her mom did was hard enough, but the treatments and surgeries, that shit is expensive as hell. I couldn’t stand by and watch more of her dreams be taken away. I already knew she was it for me, so I offered to help the best way I knew how.”

“By marrying her?” Hendrix asks, sounding a little more doubtful than I’d like .

“It wasn’t like that. I mean, okay, it kind of was when I first came up with the idea. But it’s so much more than that. She needed the insurance. And yes, marrying me helped with that, but I was already head over heels for her. This just accelerated that timeline.”

“Not to be a dick, man, but does she feel the same way?” Xavier asks.

“Dude.” Cruz kicks his shin making him flinch.

“I just want to make sure he’s not going to get his heart broken.”

“She was a half step behind me when I suggested it. But she’s right there with me now. Indie’s not great at accepting help. She never would have married me just for the insurance. Her stubborn ass would have gone out and gotten another job with insurance to try to cover it while she continued trying to build up her portfolio of freelance work.”

“You obviously know your wife better than I do.” Dean smirks, and he’s lucky I’m required to be a boy scout right now or I might put him in a headlock for that. “But Mia said something similar after the game. That whatever happened, Indie needed to be all in or she would never have gone through with it.”

“She might be reckless in a lot of ways, but never with her feelings for you. She fought those hard,” Cruz contributes thoughtfully.

“Is she going to be okay?” Hendrix asks, his eyes filled with a genuine concern.

“I really fucking hope so, because I can’t lose her.” My voice breaks and I fight to keep my composure. “My wife is tough as hell, but we’re doing everything in our power to make sure I can annoy the crap out of her until she’s old and gray.”