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.I’m going to put you on speaker."Nate and Matt shake the table as they lean in together to hear."It’s finally happening! A heart is en route as we speak.I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but someone has to be watching over us.I didn’t want to tell you until tomorrow, but the doctors weren’t giving Kyle more than seventy-two hours to live.If this heart didn’t come when it did, I don’t think he would’ve still been here when you guys got back from St.Louis."Sasha and I exchange a frightened look.She leans in to me with a sob, my arms going around her, holding her close.We’re going to have to get on a plane in the morning while her brother undergoes the most serious operation of his life.I know we both wish we didn’t have to leave, but it’s in the hands of fate now.We won’t get to see him again before the surgery.We won’t get a chance to say goodbye.This is it.I kiss the top of Sasha’s head, closing my eyes as I rest my forehead against her soft hair.I breathe her in, feeling how alive she is against my body.She might be the last living piece of Kyle that I have left, and I’ll do whatever it takes to cherish her and keep her safe because I can’t lose her too.I just can’t.She’s a part of my life now.She broke through the barriers I had keeping her at bay, forcing me to let her in.I was scared to love her, but not anymore.No matter what happens, there’s no going back, only forward.Chapter Twenty-SixSashaKyle made it through the transplant procedure, but the doctors remain skeptical about whether or not his body is accepting the new heart.We took three from St.Louis in their home ballpark, silencing our critics, but we’re flying back to New York with heavy spirits.The atmosphere on the plane is subdued, sober.I think everyone was ecstatic when they found out about Kyle’s operation.Every guy on the roster wanted to play his absolute best in support of what he was going through.There was no way this team was going to let this series slip through its fingers.It’s ours to win.We just have to want it badly enough.Our pitchers did a phenomenal job shutting down St.Louis’s offense, but none more so than Jilly.If we end up winning this thing, he’s a lock to be named World Series MVP—he’s been that good.He hasn’t given up a hit, never mind a run.In fact, the radar gun clocked some of his pitches at one hundred miles per hour.No one was able to touch him.It’s like he ratcheted up his arm to a whole other level, one that nobody even knew he had, much less his flabbergasted manager.In game three, Colton made a heck of a catch, securing our one-to-nothing lead.He’s been playing with a strained muscle in his leg, but somehow he managed to grind it out and find the speed to propel himself into the right center-field gap just before the wall.He stretched out his arm, full extension, snagging the ball in the web of his glove while Andy yelled on TV the words I love to hear, "Ball game over! Kings win! The Kiiiiiiings win!"Pedro hit a much-needed game-tying homer in game five, and Scott had four doubles in three games, driving in most of our RBIs so far.It’s been a true team effort, everyone contributing and doing their part.We might only have one big-name superstar in Drake, but our regular position players have done so much more than he has.Big surprise.He always chokes when it comes to the playoffs.He manages to post his numbers during the season, but once October rolls around, it’s like he checks out.But no one is thinking about Drake as the landing gear touches down on the tarmac.There’s only one New York King in our thoughts—the one who can’t be with us, the one who’s still fighting for his life, even with a new heart in his body.I seriously believed that I’d be able to stop worrying once the transplant was over.I never in my wildest dreams imagined that his already weakened body would reject the thing it needed the most.It doesn’t seem fair somehow.I let Brooks take over as he links his arm through mine, guiding me where I need to go.I should’ve slept on the plane, but I was too wound up.Now I’m like a walking zombie as I stagger beside him, feeling that lightheadedness that always sets in whenever I’m sleep deprived.I sink into the cushy confines of a waiting Lexus that’s been brought out onto the runway.I don’t even recognize it as Brooks’s until he gets in the driver’s seat and pulls away.He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, letting his fingers linger on my face until I smile against his touch.In no time at all, we’re at the hospital and Brooks is tossing the keys to someone who pulled up behind him.I don’t have a chance to see who it is as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him and shielding me from any gaping onlookers as we enter the hospital.Somehow he knows exactly where to go as soon as we get off the elevator.We’re in some kind of observation room, and there’s Kyle post-surgery behind a thick pane of glass.I gasp when I get my first glimpse of him.His color isn’t good, and he’s lost even more weight.I feel my knees start to give way and I sink against Brooks, his strong arm around my waist the only thing holding me up.I hear heavy footsteps marching in behind us as I try to get my bearings, not wanting to fall to pieces in front of the team of doctors who worked on my brother.But it’s not a team of doctors—it’s my team.Jilly and Scott.Pedro and Landry.Tony and Chase—all forty guys from the playoff roster.They followed us here, dead tired in the midst of one of the biggest series of their lives.Yet they came.They came to see Kyle.I sniffle, my eyes tearing up for what feels like the millionth time this week.But they are happy tears, tears of gratitude and love."Thank you," I whisper loud enough for them to hear me as they cram into the tiny room."Anything for K-Rob," Jilly answers for all of them, nodding his head solemnly in my direction."Hear, hear," Scott replies, raising his fist in the air.No one mentions how bad he looks.No one lies and says that he looks good either, and I’m grateful for that.Everyone just stares in at him like it might be the last time they ever see him again.A respectful hush falls over the room.Brooks breaks the silence, pressing his hand against the glass."To K-Rob.""To K-Rob," Chase says, following suit."To K-Rob," the other guys say one by one as they step up to the glass and palm-to-palm salute their fallen brother.For a moment, it makes me feel better just to know how much he’s loved.I only hope Kyle can feel it too.Chapter Twenty-SevenSashaLenore, my hair-and-makeup guru-turned-confidante, is putting the finishing touches on my pre-game face, something she recently started doing once we hit the playoffs and the nationally broadcast television schedule.Terry wants me always looking my best, even when I’m at my absolute worst.My eyes are puffy from crying all night, but Lenore’s a pro, making it appear like I had eight full hours of beauty rest."There." Lenore stands back to examine her work."Perfect if I do say so myself."I lean closer to the lighted mirror Terry had installed and just stare at my reflection."What? You don’t like it?" Lenore asks, getting flustered, her Long Island accent coming out extra strong, and she starts fluffing the ponytail sticking out of my cap."Sometimes I can’t believe that person in the glass is really me, you know?" I lift my eyes to hers, hoping she’ll understand."You’re an icon, toots." She places her hands on my shoulders, giving me a smile."I’ve done magazine shoots, newscasters, Broadway, you name it, but I’ve never come across that little special something you possess.You’re either born with it or you’re not.""Yeah [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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