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Chapter Fifteen
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The rest of the evening had gone as well as could be expected. As promised, Erik didn’t stay and Baylee had joined Drew and their group once more. They’d danced the night away, but something had shifted in Baylee. Drew saw it in her eyes. Sure, she tried to put up a brave front, but his gut said something was wrong.
Erik had shown up to let her know he was getting married. Good riddance, in Drew’s opinion. He’d added some extra time with the punching bag in his workout that morning, just to work of his anger towards the man for not wanting to visit his own son. He’d flown in for a night to give Baylee news he could have easily given over the phone, then left without even saying hello to Casey. His own flesh and blood. His own son.
Anger boiled up inside Drew again, but he stamped it down. Baylee had asked him to watch Casey after school so she could run some errands. It was Monday, her day off, and she had a few things to do. Drew was more than happy to say yes. He enjoyed time with Casey. Sure, he was quiet, but that was one of the main things Drew loved about him. They could hang out. Just be. And the kid had been studying baseball stats and fun facts almost religiously. He could give Vin Scully a run for his money at this point.
“Baseball players are superstitious,” Casey said. They sat on the couch together, watching an old Yankees game. “One pitcher used to step over the first and third base lines when he came on and off the field.”
Drew smiled. He could listen to the kid all day.
He ruffled Casey’s hair and agreed. “Yep. We are superstitious creatures. I went a whole season once without cutting my hair.”
Casey looked up at him but said nothing.
“I’d cut it once and threw the worst game of my life. After that, I just let it grow. Drove my mom nuts.” He laughed.
Casey blinked. “You don’t have long hair now.”
“Nope. I had a run of not so great games toward the end of the season. Decided to cut it after the playoffs. Moved on to another superstition. I’m not as bad as some of the other guys though.” He shook his head.
One season the centerfielder didn’t change his socks. Thank God he was out in the middle of the field where no one could smell him. The right fielder swore he could on windy days. They even moved the guy’s locker to another room it got so bad. No one wanted to be within a mile of those socks.
Man, he missed it. The team. The field. The locker-room antics. All of it.
He looked down at Casey, now engrossed in the game on TV once again. Could Drew have both worlds? He’d thought so initially, but now? Now that it was growing dangerously close to the time he’d have to leave for spring training, he wasn’t so sure.
“I would like to throw a ball.”
Casey’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. I have some stuff in the trunk of my car. I’ll be right back.”
Since that first picnic with Baylee, Drew hadn’t given much thought to playing catch with Casey. He didn’t want to push, but rather let Casey take the lead on things. Whatever Casey wanted to do was fine by him. In the same way Drew’s dad had been with him, he wanted to learn from Casey what he loved, not force his interests on him.
He ran to his car and got the gloves and baseball from the trunk. Casey stood in the front yard, waiting for him. Drew showed him how to fit the glove on his hand. He wasn’t exactly sure when he’d bought the glove how it would fit Casey, but it worked.
Drew put on his own glove. It formed to his hand like a second skin. The scent of leather and grass filled his nose. He breathed it in and grinned wide. This. This was his kind of day.
“Okay. You stand there, Casey, and I’ll go over here and throw you the ball.” He took a few steps away and faced the boy. “Now, hold your glove out and I’ll toss you the ball, nice and easy. I want you to get used to how it feels in the glove.”
Casey nodded but said nothing. He held out the glove.
Drew lobbed it nice and easy, the ball landing dead center in Casey’s glove. The boy stared at it then looked at Drew.
“Okay. Now. Grab it in your other hand and toss it to me.”
Casey obeyed. The toss was awkward. The ball dropped in the grass a few yards from Drew and rolled toward his feet. He scooped it up with his glove. “That’s great! Just like that.”
They did this a few more times, Casey’s movements almost mechanical. Catch. Grab. Toss. Catch. Grab. Toss. The kid wasn’t anywhere near a natural but that didn’t matter. Drew’s heart grew a few sizes in his chest, seeing Casey do the same movement over and over again. A hint of a smile even graced Casey’s lips at one point.
He seemed to like the repetition of it all so Drew kept things moving at the same pace, moving back a step or two every few throws to see if Casey could throw a bit harder with time.
A car door slammed and then Baylee’s voice carried across the yard. “What are you doing?”
