I glance at the dark cloud that feels as if it’s hanging over us. “I should probably go get Hazel.”
He looks at the pavilion where Lake and the girls are handing out garbage bags and bottles of water.
“Lake is a good babysitter. She’s okay.”
I make a noise, and he laughs.
“You gotta let her have some freedom.”
I turn and tilt my head. “Says the man without a child.”
He shrugs. “Touché. That I don’t.”
“You’re getting up there, old man. You don’t want to get so old people confuse you for a grandpa instead of a dad.” I regret the sentence as soon as I hear it. What I meant to be a teasing joke comes off differently than I intended.
“Well, maybe if someone didn’t leave me without a word three years ago, I’d be pushing a stroller right now.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “It was complicated.” I pick up a cigarette pack from the ground and put it in the bucket.
“How? I thought…”
I glance behind us to see that Lincoln is now with Leighton and Hayes, although Hayes and Lincoln are doing more sword fighting with their grippers than picking up trash. Leighton laughs and lets Lincoln hide behind her. I can’t deny the envy I feel when I see them all together.
I sigh. “Can’t we just leave it all in the past?”
“You know I can’t.”
The pain in his voice leaves my feet cemented to the ground as he wanders a few feet ahead and picks up a piece of paper, then busies himself cleaning the area around him.
“Decker, what’s the point in rehashing the past? We’re making this work. This friendship. Maybe one day we can dive into the past, but right now… we each have a lot on our plates.”
He doesn’t look over when he answers. “Sure.”
This is Decker who doesn’t like to fight, never wants to push the envelope, never make anyone feel as if he’s pressuring them. And I appreciate that side of him right now.
“What do you want to talk about then?” he asks, coming back over to me and standing a little too close. So close that I can smell his cologne.
“I don’t know. Want to discuss what other Dugout Social Club activities to plan?”
“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t.” He glances over his shoulder, but I still hear Leighton squealing with laughter, so I’m pretty sure they’re occupied. “I’d rather hear about you and what you’ve been up to.”
“Me? You know what I’ve been up to. I’ve been raising a daughter.”
“And where were you before you moved here?”
I side-eye him. “You never looked me up?”
“I did one time, then I stopped. It was too hard.”
“Yeah, me too. Except you’re a little harder to keep off my radar.”
He nods.
How many times did I watch his games or interviews? Too many to count. Then I would see pictures of him and different women. There was one in particular a few years ago. A long-haired brunette that I remember from when we were younger. She was the older sister of his best friend. I’d never ask him about it because I clearly had my own relationships. Hazel is proof of that.
“Can I ask why you came to Chicago? I mean, you knew I was here, and Foster got traded. But you willingly came here knowing you’d have to be around us.”
I’d half expected Decker to show up on my doorstep or pull me aside the first time he realized I had moved here. But the fact that he didn’t told me he’d moved on.
