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I flipped a rosin bag back and forth in my right hand. “It’s like Granddad always said: You can take the kid out of the farm but you can’t take the farm out of the kid.”

“I’d like to take the farm and replace it with suburbs. Get the old Reed, who would sleep in till at least ten, back.” He dropped his glove near home plate. “So why are we here again?”

“To get an early start before the guys come at noon.” I dug the toe of my cleat into the damp clay on the mound and gave a once-over to the infield.

Damn, this place really needs a good screen drag.

“We played a game yesterday. Everything still hurts.”

“Everything hurts because you got loaded with Brett last night.”

He groaned and stretched his arms behind his back. “You should’ve been there. Brett had to hold me back from kicking the shit out of a couple of Crowley guys.”

“What’d they do?”

“Does it matter?” Ben picked up his glove. “Still could’ve used you though.” Somehow, I doubted that. Ben and I may have done everything together for the last few years, but his temper was far worse than mine. Throwing a fist was second nature to him.

“Sorry,” I said. “My phone died, and my watch stopped working again.” I smacked the old digital face on my wrist until it started blinking to life.

“Why do you wear that thing if it’s broken ninety percent of the time?”

“I’ve had it for forever—just used to wearing it.” My life had had enough unexpected turns over the years, thanks to the military. So yeah, if I had to deal with an old watch, I’d do it. It was too special to get rid of and at least I could count on it to always work 10 percent of the time. Couldn’t say that for much else.

“So what did you get into last night?” Ben asked.

“Granddad took me on a tour of the fields.” I dug my toe into the dirt.

He chuckled. “It’s a bunch of corn. What’s there to see…in the dark?”

“You can see a lot even in the dark. The fields are quieter at night too. Helps with focus.” I soft-tossed the ball to him. “He also wanted to explain how all the numbers worked. Which field went to which market. And he kinda wanted my opinion about adding an orchard to the northern end of the property too.”

“Your opinion?”

“Guess he wanted someone else to talk to about it other than Nana. It’s not like Dad’s here to chat with him.” I pressed my fingers against a pair of dog tags hanging around my neck, the other thing I’d grown used to wearing. A deep ache spread across my chest. When Dad had these made before he was deployed again eight months ago, he said they’d bring me luck. Could’ve used them last summer, but something told me I’d definitely need them for this one. “Granddad’s just proud of how far the farm’s come over the years. Nothing wrong with that,” I said.

“I know, I know.” Ben threw the ball back to me. “But he needs to remember he asked us here to win the season for him. Can’t do that if you’re busy talkin’ about fruit trees.”

“Trust me. He remembers why we’re here.”

Yesterday’s Family Day brought in a lot of money and support, but we played horribly. While we hadn’t played for a few weeks after our spring season back home in Fayetteville, half the team acted like they hadn’t picked up a ball in years. Dropped fly balls, shitty batting, and even a couple of missed grounders through the legs.

We had made Bill Buckner look good.

Ben hit his glove a few times before crouching behind the mound. “Did you see the Crowleys spying on us yesterday?”

“Which ones?” I still hadn’t figured out what to do about Eliza’s mask or how to return it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to return it. She did melt my Optimus Prime and Hot Rod—my favorites.

“Daddy and Princess were above the press box for half the game with some of the other players.” Ben held open his glove. “That’s probably her favorite spot, right? Someone like her wouldn’t want to get too close to the field. Might get dirty.”

“Eliza’s been around a ballpark her whole life.” I lobbed a couple of pitches over the plate. “She’s not afraid to get dirty.”

“She sure keeps her BMW clean, I can tell you.”

“She drives a BMW?” Why was I surprised? Of course she did.

Ben flipped his hat around backward and leaned back on his heels. “I saw her pull out of the stadium in it yesterday.”

Huh. “Didn’t take her for a BMW kinda girl, honestly.”