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“What’s gonna be up there?” Nora asks as we pass the garage, heading toward the house to use the bathroom so she and I can get washed up to go grab a snack in town, which was approved by Whit with a thumbs-up emoji.
“A couple bedrooms and bathrooms,” I answer with a smile.
“And a high-up porch?”
“Yep.” I smile.
“What about the other bedrooms inside?”
“The inside’s gonna change too. But I’ll need a place to sleep while that’s happening.”
“’Cause you’re gonna live in Walton too?”
We have similar discussions daily. She needs reassurance that I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll give her that as often as she needs.
“When I’m not working, I’m going to be here as much as I can be.”
“You gotta work in Florida and then in New York?” I open the back door and we walk into the kitchen
I pick her up and set her on the counter, then turn on the faucet. “Just like you’ve been practicing throwing, catching, and batting every day, I have to do that with my team too.”
“And you’ll teach me all the things you learn when you come back and sleep in the upstairs of the garage?”
Squirting soap in her hands, I answer, “Baseball season ends before all the big holidays, except your birthday and your mom’s. I’ll be here even more then.”
“And you’ll see me or call me on my birthday?”
“You bet I will.”
“And Mommy?”
“And Mommy,” I concur.
“You gonna get a tree at Christmastime?” she asks, beaming.
“Might need someone to help me find one.”
“I’m a good tree finder.” She grins. “The best!”
“Perfect.” We finish rinsing our hands. “Then, you can teach me how to pick the perfect tree.”
“You promise?”
I hold out my pinkie, and she looks from it to me curiously. Seriously adorable. “When your mommy and I were younger, when a promise was very, very important, we used to hook our pinkies and shake them, like this.” I curve her little pinkie around mine and give them a shake. “That’s an unbreakable promise.” I lift her off the counter and set her on her feet. “Whenever I’m here, I promise that I’ll ask you to go get the Christmas tree for this house.”
She bounces up, arms in the air, which is Nora for catch me. Her little arms wrap around me. “I love you.”
Ever had the air taken right out of your lungs, but instead of it hurting, it feels good? Me neither—until right now. It’s been to damn long since anyone has said those words to me.
“Love you too, little slugger,” I whisper against her hair.
She leans back, takes my face in her hands, and says, “I know.”
“No doubt you do.” I force a laugh, hoping to keep the emotions her words have brought on at bay.
It’s midnight when I walk into the five-star hotel and resort in Vegas to check in and make sure everything is set for the others when they get here tomorrow.
York assured me Whit will be with them. She also promised if Whit backs out for any reason, they won’t leave her back home, not alone, not when I feel there’s still a threat—and I’ll be feeling that until Whit and I have a chance to talk about what she wants so she doesn’t feel like I’m stepping on her toes. That’s unlikely to happen this weekend, but ready or not, it has to happen before I head to Florida for training camp and then the regular season begins.
