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I smiled at how he pitched his voice higher to sound like his daughter asking questions. “I don’t see too many girls playing at this age. She’s brave.”
He nodded. “She’s fearless.”
I heard the affection in his voice. The love for his daughter. It did something to me, but I wasn’t prepared to feel anything for him other than physical attraction. In high school, I disregarded it because he was my competition. A guy who pushed all your buttons shouldn’t be someone you were attracted to.
I wondered what he’d be like in a relationship. A flash popped into my head of him hovering over me in bed with that familiar glint in his eyes, the one that challenged me. He’d probably want to prove how good he was in bed. My core tightened at the thought.
“I didn’t think to bring a chair. I came straight from work,” he said as if he was worried I’d judge him.
Normally, I would’ve said something about his more formal attire at a kids’ baseball practice, but Ben having a daughter changed everything. I’d always seen him as a hard guy, driven and impenetrable, but he’d revealed something personal. He’d been vulnerablewith me. It was unexpected, and I was still trying to wrap my mind around it.
He stood next to me as we watched Cammie throw a few pitches. Each time, the coach took the time to tweak her form.
“She’ll be okay.”And you will be, too.I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to soothe him when I never had before.
“I hope so. Hopefully, it’s not too late to put her in softball if she changes her mind.”
I laughed as Hunter ran up to me and breathlessly asked, “Coach said I need a cup.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I reached around for the water bottle I’d brought for him.
“Nooo,” Hunter said, drawing out the word. “If I want to play catcher, I need a cup.”
My brow furrowed in confusion, still not grasping what he was trying to tell me.
Ben crouched down to Hunter’s level and lowered his voice, “Boys wear cups to protect themselves while they’re playing. It could really hurt if you get hit.”
My face heated. Why hadn’t I thought of that? But I never had a brother, and I’d never dated a jock.
“I bet your dad could help you with that,” Ben told Hunter.
“Oh, he doesn’t—” What could I say in front of Hunter that didn’t put down his father but let him know he wasn’t in the picture?
“I’ll tell my mom,” Hunter said before racing off to the field, seemingly undisturbed by the mention of his absentee father.
“His father doesn’t come around much.” He certainly wasn’t involved in Hunter’s day-to-day needs. That was all Abby.
Ben grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”
An awkward silence fell between us, mainly because my mind was still trying to catch up to the new and improved Ben. The one who had responsibilities and vulnerabilities. The one with a daughter. The one who’d just saved me from an uncomfortable conversation with my nephew.
“I’m going to take a seat.” He gestured to the small metal bleachers behind the backstop.
“I’ll see you around,” I mumbled. I would be seeing him around town and at my nephew’s baseball practices and games. I should have been irritated, so why did my skin tingle the entire time he stood next to me? Why did I care so much that he was a good dad?
None of it should have mattered because Ben was the same person at his core. Wasn’t he? No matter how much of a family man he had become, we had nothing in common. Except a love for kids, and that wasn’t enough to erase our history.
I’d seen his façade drop because he was around his daughter, but if I ran into him around town, he’d be back to his usual competitive self. He couldn’t help it.
The thought made me a little sad because I liked the guy I saw at practice. If he were any other single dad, I might have tried to get to know him better. But I could never go there with Ben.
At the end of practice, I folded my chair and slung it over my shoulder. I couldn’t help but overhear Cammie when she said, “Daddy, Daddy, I told you they’d let me pitch.”
“You did such a good job,” Ben said, taking her bag from her.
“Did you see that ball I hit? And how I slid into first base?” she asked.
“You’re supposed to run through first base, though,” Ben said gently, taking her offered hand.
