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Her eyes searched mine before she said, “Thank you for saying that.”
“I’m not just saying things to make you feel better. I’m telling you how it is.”
“Well, I appreciate it.” She fell silent for a few seconds before continuing, “The fact is—you’re a better coach. The other team’s schedule wasn’t doable for me.”
“Do you mind me asking where his father is?”
She shot me a look I couldn’t read. “He’s not very involved. This is a lot for him.”
I wanted to ask so many questions. How involved was he? Did she mean practice was too much for him, or something else? I loved being involved in Brody’s life, and he was only my nephew.
“Are you two going to join us? We need more fielders,” Ben said from the mound where he was pitching to Cammie.
The expression on his face could only be described as one of a concerned brother. I wonder if Ben felt protective of her because of her situation.
“Let me grab my glove.” I enjoyed talking to Abby, but we’d gotten a little too personal, and I wondered if Ben sensed it.
I headed to center field.
I was surprised when Abby grabbed a glove and took third. She said she didn’t know much about baseball. But I wondered if she’d learned because of Hunter.
A couple of weeks ago, I was living alone in a home I rented, working on my computer, in a town where I didn’t know a lot of people. My days were solitary.
On some level, I must have always known it was temporary. That I’d need to pick up and help Brody at any time. I moved here because I wanted to give Brody stability. Now, I had him, the team, and their parents. Already, Annapolis was feeling more like a home than it had when I grew up here.
I shouldn’t get used to it. There was always a possibility Austin might get out of the charges. He’d take Brody back, and I’d be left with nothing. I rubbed my chest with my free hand.
“You ready?” Ben asked from the mound.
I looked at Cammie, who held her bat in good position in the batter’s box. “I’m ready.”
But I wasn’t expecting her to hit a line drive at my head. I barely got my glove up to block it in time, and then it bounced out of my glove. I’d been distracted and not really expecting a young girl to hit it that hard.
Impressed, I picked the ball off the ground and threw it to Ben. It would take longer for my pride to recover.
“Coach, what was that?” Hunter asked from second, his hands on his hips.
Cammie smiled wide, clearly pleased with her at-bat. Abby jogged over to her and high-fived her.
I cleared my throat. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Obviously,” Brody mumbled from his spot at catcher before pulling his face mask down.
Ben raised a brow. “You ready now?”
“Yup.” I cleared my throat, which was dry from the dust I’d kicked up grabbing the ball.
Abby touched my shoulder with a smile as she jogged by on her way to third. “You got this?”
“I got it,” I grumbled, not wanting to appear amused by her teasing. I was very aware that Ben had his eye on me. The last thing I needed was anyone suspecting something had happened between us. I knew Abby wanted to keep it quiet, and I was positive she wouldn’t want her future brother-in-law figuring it out.
“Who’s up?” Ben asked.
Brody stood up. “Can I bat?”
“I’ll catch for you,” I said, jogging to home plate.
Ben was just throwing from his shoulder, not using a full extension, so I didn’t need any gear. It was just a low-key pick-up game. We let the kids bat, and we fielded. I held back on giving any critiques. It was purely for fun. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d hung out with anyone doing what I loved.
