It lingered, sharper than vinegar on her tongue.
That night, sitting on her porch with the cicadas screaming and thePolaroidstill on her kitchen table,Rosetried to untangle it all.
Acen’s note.Hispresence on the field.Thepast.Thenew promises.
Declan’s smile.Hisease.Hisability to step right into her life without dredging up the past.
And her own heart, traitorous and torn, beating harder than it had in years.
She closed her eyes, the night air thick, the lake a dark mirror in the distance.
She wanted simple.Shewanted safe.Butshe was aMcAllister.She’dnever been either.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
The next morning,Rosewoke to the endless summer sound of cicadas humming outside her window and the faint smell of honeysuckle drifting in from the tree line.
She stretched, stood, and pulled her hair into a ponytail.Todaywasn’t aboutDeclan, orAcen, orBriana, or ghosts that had been stirred from the past.Todaywas about her team.AboutthePickwickPirateQueens.Ifanything grounded her, it was those women.Laughing, sweating, hollering encouragement across the diamond.
Last practice before the first game of the tournament.
But first, a full day atSouthernSips.
As she unlocked the door,Sarahand her husband,James, pulled into the parking lot.Shewaited for them to exit their car and walk onto the porch of the café.
“Good morning, y’all.Whatbrings the two of you out so early?Andduring the week.”
Sarah laughed as they came through the door.“Weare officially retired and moving toPickwickBendfull time.”
“Congratulations!Howabout free coffee and muffins to celebrate your new status as locals?”Roseasked as she slipped behind the counter and started making coffee.
Once she had them settled with coffee and muffins, the day seemed to take off and rush by.Unusualfor a weekday, but welcome as it made the day pass more quickly.Thesmiles and conversation with friends and strangers alike made for a good feeling.SouthernSipshad been her brainchild, and its success meant the world to her.
Cindy burst through the door at four o’clock breathless.
“Sorry!IthoughtImight be late and didn’t want to hold you up from getting to the ballfield.”Shepanted.
“No worries.”Rosesaid, taking off her logo apron and exiting the space behind the counter.“You’reright on time.”
“Good luck.”Cindycalled as the door shut behind her.
By the time she rolled into the gravel lot at the park, the sun had already baked the field into a haze of heat.Dusthung in the air, stirred up by cleats digging in the dirt by her team.Thecrack of a bat echoed sharp, followed by a round of groans and whoops from the little league field adjacent to their own.
Then, she saw him.Acen.Leaningagainst the chain-link fence of their assigned field, glove in one hand, a bucket of balls at his feet.Hewas waiting.Andjust like he’d promised, he didn’t try to cross that invisible line between them.
“Afternoon,Coach,” he called, voice easy, steady.
The little scene in her coffee shop might never have happened.Rosegave him a curt nod, then turned her attention to the women jogging laps.“Let’spick it up, ladies!Tournamentstarts thisSaturday, and we’re gonna stomp some teams this year.”
The chatter rose.Daniwhooped,Ginnymuttered something about melting in the sun, andTashayelled back, “Ain’tno excuses, let’s go!”
For a little while, it almost felt normal.
But normal had a way of slipping.
Because the secondBrianaLewisshowed up again, leaning against the bleachers in another one of her too-crisp outfits, sunglasses glinting, the atmosphere changed.
Rose caught the way half the team glanced toward her, then towardAcen, then back toBriana.Whisperedchatter rippled like wildfire.
