AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cammie pitched another ball to Ben. Hunter was watching, his foot on first.
“You’re very patient with them.”
I felt Abby’s gaze on the side of my face, but I kept my attention on the pickup game. Occasionally, I saw Ben shoot us a look. I couldn’t tell if it was a warning or just checking to make sure Abby was okay.
“I know we have a lot of work to do. I’m going to teach them the fundamentals, and we’ll get better.” I could break it down in my head, every small thing we needed to get before spring. I wasn’t worried. We’d get there.
She bumped her shoulder with mine. “You’re a great coach.”
The touch sent a tingle down my arm.
I chuckled, finding that hard to believe since I’d never done it before. “You can tell that from one practice?”
“There was a tryout, a team meeting, and a practice,” Abby said with a smile. “And when you’ve had a bad coach, you know how to spot the good ones.”
“Hunter’s had a bad coach?” That time, I focused on Abby’s face. I didn’t like it. One bad coach had the power to make a kid lose his love for the sport. Or burn out young and never realize their potential.
Abby’s face pinched. “He had one who wouldn’t let him play a base or pitch.”
“Why?” I couldn’t imagine Hunter wasn’t showing potential even at a young age.
“He’d said they had to pay attention one hundred percent of the time, or they couldn’t play a base. They were six.”
“You’re kidding.” I couldn’t take my eyes from hers, wondering if she was telling me the truth.
“Nope. His son always pitched, though.”
“Ah. One of those. Everyone wants their kid to pitch. During the season, the two pitchers will be Hunter and Jackson.”
“You already know?” Abby asked, curious.
“I’m going to be honest with you. Right now, Hunter’s the best. I picked him for the team solely because of his arm.”
“You don’t think he can bat—”
I held up a hand to stop her. “He continually impresses me with his potential in everything he does. But I put him on the team because he can pitch. Batting will come with time.”
We’d moved closer when I lowered my voice. I didn’t want Hunter or Brody to hear me talking about the kids on the team.
Her lips twisted. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he didn’t make the other travel team in the area.”
That didn’t necessarily surprise me. Most kids got on the team because their dads volunteered to coach. Hunter was at a disadvantage if his father wasn’t in the picture.
“He was devastated.”
“I bet.” Hunter loved baseball. He’d want to be on the best team and would take any rejection hard. I would have.
Abby shook her head. “I don’t understand it because he seemed good enough.”
“There’s so many politics with this stuff. Did the head coach know the other kids’ parents? Are they neighbors? Are you willing to assistant coach?”
“Exactly.” Abby laughed, and I relaxed even further. “Thank you. That makes me feel better. I think Hunter’s good, but I don’t know much about baseball.”
I took a deep breath before I asked, “Did his father teach him?”
Abby tensed. “No. We were just playing in the backyard one day, and he was good. So I asked him why he was playing soccer and not baseball. We never even thought about it. You just start with soccer. Sometimes I wonder if we’d started earlier, if he’d had a father who’d taught him when he was young, he’d be further along.”
“Hunter has potential. With time, he’s going to learn what it takes to be a great ball player. Those other kids that made the travel team might have had more experience, but that doesn’t mean they were more talented.”
