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Emily brought another tray of individually wrapped cookies out from the back storage area, distracting me. She carefully loaded them into the display case and arranged them to show off the colours and designs. The cookies were our biggest seller so far, although the cake pops and cupcakes had done well too.

Emily and I had brainstormed a promotion to get customers to come into the shop after the game by handing out coupons to anyone who bought four or more confections from us. If even 10 percent of them were redeemed, the next two weeks would be steady. If more people brought them in, I’d have the best sales period since launching my bakery. Even better than when I had catered a couple of weddings.

Landing this contract permanently would launch my business to the next level, so missing some ball games was worth it.

I turned my head at the crack of the bat, relaxing when the crowd cheered, telling me that the ball was caught. I glanced up at the scoreboard, thankful that our booth placement had a direct sight line to the electronic signboard over the outfield fence. Top of the first, two outs. One more and the Fliers would come up to bat.

I checked the online ordering system. Several more orders had come in. In-seat ordering was a new feature the Fliers had added last year, and it was a huge hit. Some people ordered and came to pick up their food; others in the premium seats had dedicated servers who would deliver directly to them. Either way, Emily and I were filling sales even when there were no lines at the booth.

The top of the inning had ended scoreless, and the first Fliers batter was due up when Emily looked over at me. “Go watch the first inning. I know you want to see Carter’s at bat. I’ve got this.”

I checked the system again. Emily could handle the few news requests that had come in, and no one was lined up at our booth for the moment. She would be fine.

“You’ll call me if you need help?” I asked.

Emily rolled her eyes at me and pointed me over to the bleachers. I flashed her a grateful smile and slipped out from behind the display case.

I walked down the vendor concourse, waving at friends who were running their own booths. It looked like everyone had long lines of customers, and I was thrilled for all of us. I saw a few people I knew, smiling and waving but not stopping to talk. I wanted to make the most of my time, to see the team batting. Carter was batting third in the lineup today, so this was my best chance to see him at least once.

I found a location where I could see everything. I spotted Carter immediately, standing on the top dugout step, holding his bat. My mouth went dry as I took in how his baseball pants made his legs look impossibly long, and lovingly outlined his ass and quads. God, I loved the way those pants fit.

A decade younger than me or not, he was a gorgeous man. I curled my hands into fists and held my breath as he stepped into the on-deck circle.

Carter

I took my place in the on-deck circle, the bat in my hands feeling like an old friend. Adrenaline had my heart racing, and I bounced on the balls of my feet in anticipation of my first game day at bat in two and a half years. It felt so good to be back. There was nothing on earth like being on the ball field, the sounds of the crowd, the smell of the freshly cut grass mixing with the sugary, greasy smells of concession foods. It felt like coming home.

We were facing a pretty decent minor league pitcher who would probably be called up to his major league team soon, and our leadoff hitter struck out swinging at a nasty slider that ended almost a foot off the plate. Something to look out for.

I watched Jaden Wittenberg, our number two hitter, foul off several high fastballs before drawing a walk on the ninth pitch. Witt had an amazing ability to see the ball, and even though he was only twenty, I suspected he’d get the call to go up to Vancouver later this season.

I stepped into the batter’s box and hoped that the Spokane pitcher had watched a lot of my old film. Before my accident, high pitches on the outside of the plate had been my sweet spot, so I rarely saw them unless a pitcher missed.

The accident changed everything. I could still hit a high ball, but not for power. Now I had to go lower in the zone and try to connect if I wanted to hit it out of the park. The best pitches? Sinking fastballs that actually dropped out of the zone. And this pitcher threw a lot of those. I stared out at him and waited.

He stepped on the rubber and started his windup; then the ball was hurtling toward the plate. I watched it drift far outside and waited.

“Ball one.” I relaxed, the call validating how I’d seen the ball. For all the practice I’d had, games were different. Until I faced live pitching, I wouldn’t know if I still had my ability to read the pitch.

The second pitch was better, but high and inside.

“Ball two.”

I felt my heart rate slowing as I prepared for the third pitch. The count was in my favour, and this guy had to throw me a strike. I took my stance and waited.

The ball came out of his hand and I knew. I knew exactly where that ball was going to be. I swung my bat and connected with a satisfying smack. The crowd roared as the ball flew high and true, sailing over the right field fence.

Pure joy had me flipping my bat at the dugout in celebration. Exhilarated, I circled the bases, savouring every step.

Witt high-fived me when I stepped on the plate, and I went down the dugout steps to the cheers and backslaps of my teammates. I was thrilled that I’d made a major contribution to the team in my first at bat. Thanks to that hit, we were up two to nothing in the bottom of the first, but now was no time to relax. There were a lot of innings to go, and Spokane had power hitters in their lineup too.

“Nice hit, Cook. Keep that up.”

“Thanks, Skip. I got lucky.” Right now I was still being profiled by how I hit before. Soon enough the opposition would be pitching me up high, and I’d be lucky to get a base hit off any of them. Within a couple of games, word would spread, videos would be shared, and pitchers would adapt to my new hitting style. I’d make the most of it while I could, though.

The rest of the game wasn’t quite as exciting as that first inning, though we never gave up our lead, adding more runs in the third and the eighth in response to single runs scored by Spokane in the second and the fifth. The final score was 8–2, and I wound up with two hits and three RBIs. A strong first outing.

I chafed at not being out in center field making plays, but Skip’s promise that he would play me later in the season made being the DH easier to handle. Raine had played center field, and I understood why the Vanquish had signed him. He had good instincts and enough speed to have solid range. Center was an important position, and if I wasn’t 100 percent, Raine was a better choice to put out there. Still, I wasn’t ready to ride the bench just yet. I might never win another fielding award, but I had skills.