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Chapter Twenty
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Drew took a deep breath in, let the scent of fresh cut grass fill his nose. The Florida sunshine beat against his back, the cotton of his t-shirt he wore under his uniform sticking to his skin from sweat. He took his cap off, swiped his brow with his forearm, then placed the cap back on his head. He breathed in leather as he lifted his glove with the ball inside close to his face, the beginning of his pitching stance. In one smooth motion, he curled up his front leg, whipped his arm around and released the ball from his hand. Its trajectory landed it right in the catcher’s glove. Strike.
There was nothing like a ballpark.
Tyler came up next to him in the bullpen. “You ready for this?”
“Didn’t you see that strike?”
The only change in Tyler’s expression was a slight lift of one side of his mouth. “Oh, I saw it. But you got a whole lot of those hanging around in your back pocket?”
Drew smiled. “Man, I hope so.”
Tyler’s face went stone-cold again. “I mean it though. You ready?”
Drew nodded.
“You got your head clear of all that stuff back in California?”
Baylee. The honest answer was no. But hell if he was going to start spewing his feelings to Tyler there on the pitcher’s mound of the bullpen. He’d had a short phone conversation with Baylee the night before, just checking in, letting her now he’d made it to Florida. As much as she tried to sound cheery, he could sense something was off and he didn’t like it. They both had to be one hundred percent all in for this thing to work.
The way they danced around each other, uncertain, wasn’t helping things at all.
The crack of a bat hitting a ball brought him from his thoughts.
“Yeah, my head is clear.”
Tyler nodded. He was the only one associated with the Empires who knew the whole story about Drew and Baylee. Well, as much as Drew let him in on. A few of the guys razzed him about her when he first got to camp, but otherwise, it was a dead issue. Everyone was focused on playing well, securing a place on the team. Something Drew needed to get zoned in on as well.
The rest of the day went by without Drew’s shoulder giving him too much trouble. He was a little wild though, something Tyler said would probably work itself out over the next few days. As Drew stood in the shower, letting the hot water pound against his aching muscles, he prayed Tyler was right. A month ago, this was all he had. All he wanted. Now, it was costing him something. Time with Baylee.
He’d called her earlier after practice as he was leaving the field. It was as if any free second he had, he wanted it to be with her. Hear her voice. He’d gotten her voice mail so he called the bakery. Eva answered and said Baylee was at the doctor with Casey.
Panic had set in. His imagination ran wild with all that could be wrong with the little boy that had made his way into Drew’s heart in such a short time. He was about to have Monica book him a flight to California, spring training be damned, when Baylee called. Casey was fine. He’d fallen on the playground at school and had gotten banged up a bit.
Drew replayed their conversation in his mind.
“Drew. He’s fine. Don’t you dare get on a plane. You need to say where you are.”
“But I hate not being there for him. For you.”
“I appreciate that. More than you know. But there are gonna be bumps in the road. You can’t hop on a plane for every single one.”
Her words will rang in his head an hour later when he sat down to dinner with Fred, the starting left fielder for the Empires. Only a year older than Drew, the man was tall and lean, his dark hair in a buzz cut, his jeans and golf shirt typical of the man’s casual demeanor. They were friends, but Drew wanted to pick the guy’s brain about how he had such a solid marriage and good relationship with his two kids while playing in the majors.
“What’s on your mind, Mac?”
“Not one for small talk, eh, Fred?”
Fred laughed. “Nope. And when you asked me to have dinner with you, I figured there was something on your mind. You’re not a chatty Cathy like some of the others. If you want to meet, there’s a reason.”
Fair enough. He hadn’t spent a ton of time with Fred, but he’d nailed Drew’s personality all the same.
Their waitress filled their water glasses and took their drink order. When she left, Drew asked, “How do you do it?”
“What? Stay happily married in this circus we call a job?”
