Read Online The Light of Day by Kristen Kehoe - Free Book Online

remind my body what it knows how to do, what motions it needs to bring back, etc., and in two weeks, if everything stays on track, I’ll begin a new throwing program.  It will be the first time I’ve thrown a ball since last July.  And still, I’m almost five months out of surgery and I feel less like an athlete now than I ever have before.
                  Because I can see the curiosity in his eyes, because we both know I’m working out and doing everything the doctors say even though I refuse to acknowledge a possible future in baseball, I shrug.
                  “Yeah, you know, took my little jog, did my lunges and core, worked hard to make sure my ass will look good in those pants your girl picked out.  Of course, she thinks I look good in everything, so it won’t be hard.”
                  “Just give it five years when you’re in the majors and your running is minimal and the body you’re so proud of now becomes thick and flabby.  You might just lose your Handsome Jake superpowers.”
                  Murph’s grin remains as he throws the banter at me, but I freeze.  I know what he’s doing, refusing to accept that I’m done, refusing to let me accept it.  His eyes are steady on mine but rather than amused, they’re set in a challenge.
    Go ahead , they say, try to walk out on all of it .  Fucking Murph.
    This kid shits happiness because that’s what his life is, fucking happy.  His girl is perfect, his parents are actual parents, the ones who appear to feel pride and actually enjoy being with their kids, and his career… Christ, his career is just beginning.
                  There’s no stopping the Murph, and for some goddamned reason he doesn’t believe in allowing anyone else to stop, either.
                  Because it’s his day, and the fact is that I really do care about him, despite my deep seated envy of everything he’s got going, I try to stay calm as I shake my head.  “Let it go, man.  I’m doing the rehab, I’m following the orders, but you and I both know eleven months to a year off with an un-played college season makes me less and less desirable.”
                  “Neither of us knows that, Jake, but what we both do know is that this shit happens and people recover.  You tore a major ligament, now you’ve replaced it and are rehabbing.  You’re following the orders of some of the best sports doctors there are.  The timing is shit, but your arm is going to heal, man, and when it does, you’re entering next year’s draft with me.”
                  “To do what? Spend a half a decade or more in the minors working my ass off just to be told I’m not quite good enough?”
                  Murph just shrugs his shoulders when I push off the chair to pace.  “That’s a chance all of us take.  With or without surgery you would have gone to Short A just like me and every other prospect that’s coming out of college.  There are still three levels we’ve got to move up before we really get looked at, possibly four.  So no, it’s not a fucking guarantee, but you knew that last year, just like you know it now.”
    He stands with me, watching me as I pace, his voice like a whip.  “You’re scared, I get it, but don’t quit because it’s easier than admitting how much you care.  That’s bullshit and you know it.”
                  The problem with someone like Ryan is they make you want to believe.  They’re the optimistic prick that sees the glass as half-full, the ones who know that if one dream doesn’t work out, another will come along because life’s just that good to them.  The rest of us know that getting to taste even a little bit of one dream is pretty fantastic, but to get two chances? No way.
                  “I’m moving to Portland.  I asked Blue to think about taking me on as her