Unwritten Rules

What does it mean to get a second chance in a game that offers few? Zach Glasser has put up with a lot for the sport he loves. Endless days on the road, playing half-decent baseball in front of half-full stadiums and endless nights alone, pretending this is the life he's always wanted. The thing is, it could have been everything he ever wanted—if only he'd had the guts to tell his family, tell the club, that he was in love with his teammate Eugenio Morales. Well, ex-teammate now. When Zach wouldn't—couldn't—come out, Eugenio made the devastating choice to move on, demanding a trade away from Oakland. Away from Zach. Three years and countless regrets later, Zach still can't get Eugenio out of his head. Or his heart. And when they both get selected to play in the league's All-Star Classic, those feelings and that chemistry come roaring back. Zach wants a second chance. Eugenio wants a relationship he doesn't have to hide. Maybe it's finally time they both get what they want.

Charlie Braxton has it all: a wicked curveball, a beautiful wife, and the kind of money and attention that's attached to a professional baseball contract. Except his famous curveball comes with intense social anxiety, his wife is actually his soon-to-be ex-wife, and the money... Well, suffice it to say, he knows what it's like to be treated like an ATM. But at least he's better off than the new guy. Relief pitcher Reid Giordano is struggling to maintain his sobriety, and his roster spot. The press, along with a heck of a lot of his new Oakland teammates, seem to think his best baseball days are behind him. Only Charlie Braxton gives him the benefit of the doubt, and a place to stay when Reid finds himself short on cash...and friends. When their growing friendship turns into an unexpected attraction, and that ignites a romance, both Charlie and Reid must grapple with what it means to be more than teammates. And as their season winds down, they'll need to walk away...or go out there and give it everything they've got.

Teammates reunite to give love another shot in the third installment of K. D. Casey's riveting “Unwritten Rules” series. Jake Fischer has been here before: pitching for the Oakland Elephants, hiding his worries behind a smile, hoping to win it all. Ten years ago, it didn't turn out the way he wanted. Nothing in his life did. But now he's back, and so is the one teammate tied inexorably to his past. It doesn't matter how many times catcher Alex Angelides replays that moment during the Fall Classic over in his mind, the outcome never changes. He's not sure what happened to make that pitch glance off his glove, or what happened with his relationship with Jake, and he's not going to be the one to ask. A whole lot may have changed in the last decade, but some things have stayed the same. Jake and Alex still can't stay out of each other's faces on the field, or out of each other's beds off of it. They've got a second chance to win it all...but only if they realize what they lost.