Page 29 of Take The Risk

​And that is how I ended up at Maple Mornings café with my friends.

​We laughed for what felt like hours. Alex, being the unpredictable hurricane that she was, came blowing into town and joined us.

​By the time the day had ended, we all agreed to have dinner at Cady-Jo’s after picking the kids up at school.

​Alex and I were the last to arrive. I’d made some chocolate chip cookie dough earlier and wanted to bake it off for dessert. I also needed to find out why Alex’s face looked pinched. Not that I had to really guess hard. Preston.

​“That’s great, Lock. Now, widen your grip an inch.”

​Lock did as he was instructed, his feet planted apart, the bat held steady.

​“Great. Now, Scarlette, remember we don’t want a head injury,” Ty instructed his sister, who gave a solemn nod. She lifted her foot and then threw the ball at Lock, who swung as hard as he could and missed. For the thirty-first time. And no, I wasn’t exaggerating that number.

​I winced when Ty sucked in a breath, already on my feet.

​“I’m sorry!” Lock cried, closing in on himself. Another Jeremy reaction, making me want to take that bat to my ex. “I shouldn’t do this.”

​“It’s okay, pal.” Ty moved over to him, hunkering down so he was on Lock’s level, and I stopped at the bottom step of the patio. “I know this is frustrating. You are improving. I can see it every time you swing the bat. You’re getting closer.”

​“You really are.” Scarlette abandoned her spot on the makeshift pitcher’s mound. “You can’t help that I’m an excellent pitcher.”

​My lips twitched, and Lock rolled his eyes at the same time Ty pinched the bridge of his nose.

​Ty must have seen the hesitation in Lock. “Listen, how many times did the Wright brothers have to try to fly before they did? We don’t know. All we know is that they flew and changed history. But I’m betting they failed hundreds of times first. Each time they failed, they tried again because they believed in themselves and in what they could do. I believe in you. Your mom believes in you. Your aunt Alex believing in you should frighten you—”

​“Hey!” Alex cried in outrage while the others sitting with her laughed, earning them a lecture on how awesome she was.

​When Lock smiled genuinely, I knew why Ty had done it. I sat down on the bottom step.

​“—now all you need to do is believe in you. We’ve all failed. Heck, I fail all the time. It’s okay. The only real failure you can ever have in life is giving up.”

​Lock hefted the bat over his shoulders. “Let’s do this!”

​It took Lock eleven more tries, and then he hit the ball so hard Scarlette had to dive down or get taken out.

​When Ty high-fived him and reminded him that head injuries were not fun, Lock beamed.

​A tear slid down my cheek, and I barely noticed Alex sitting down beside me. Now, if you thought Lock would acknowledge my presence or even ask me if I was proud of him, you don’t know my son. Instead, he got right back into batting position and demanded to try again.

​Blinking back the tears, I wiped away the lone tear, hoping no one noticed.

​Unable to help myself, I sought Ty out, expecting him to be watching the next pitch. Instead, I found him looking at me with a grin of pride on his face. Pride in my son. In his perseverance.

​“Hey! When do I get a turn!” Alex jumped up, making sure she interrupted the moment. “Now let Aunty Alex show you how it’s really done...”

​“So that’s how it’s done, huh?” I pressed the ice pack against the side of her face five minutes later.

​“Less talking, more icing!”

Chapter 12

​“Barmills, Isaac, and make it a double with a Guinness.” I sat down heavily on the bar stool at my dad’s bar.

​“Double? Rough day, son?” Dad asked, claiming the seat next to me.

​Isaac slid my drink across the polished bar top. Picking up the glass, I tossed it back, welcoming the burn.

​Dad said nothing when I put the glass down and reached for the Guinness. I would give anything to be able to get drunk, but I had to be back at the source of my current black mood’s house in the morning, and being hungover while using a scroll saw meant I felt like I was carving my brain in two.