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“It’s honestly going well. You weren’t kidding when you said this group has so much talent.”
Before I can say more, Coach gets lost in a coughing fit.
“You should probably get home and rest, Coach.”
Once he composes himself, he puts a white handkerchief that he used to wipe his mouth back in his pocket.
“And I think you should take a glass of shut the hell up.”
I fight back my laughter. Someone clearly woke up and chose violence today.
“I had an idea, actually, that I wanted to run by you. Beau Marshall has probably more talent in his pinky finger than anyone I know.”
“He does. That boy eats, sleeps, and breathes the game—like someone else I know. So, what’s your big idea?”
“I want to bring someone else in just to assist a little. Well, mainly to focus on Beau and strengthen his skill set.”
“Cooper, it’s your clinic. It’s your baby, so to speak, and you can do with it as you see fit.” I nod. “It’s none of my business, but who are you thinking of bringing on?”
“Ace Sullivan.”
Coach lets out a loud whistle. “As in Ace Sullivan, the catcher for the Chicago Knights?”
“Yep, one and the same.” Ace was already in his second year playing for the Knights when I joined the team, and he took me under his wing.
It’s no secret that when I first arrived in Chicago, I was on a bit of a self-destructive path. A combination of guilt, shame, and being on my own for the first time. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Ace pulling my head out of my ass, I’m not sure I would have even survived as long as I did.
Our friendship off the field only strengthened the bond we had on the field and made us a better team. No one could ever replace Tanner, but somehow, Ace wormed his way into my life and became invaluable. Although some days, I feel like he’s more like gum on the bottom of your shoe or an STD that you bring home from a weekend in Vegas, but he’s a damn good ballplayer. I think the kids could really benefit from him—Beau, especially.
“Whatcha got there?” He nods toward the book by my side on the bench, and I hold it up. “That have something to do with needing a moment today?”
“Yeah, something like that.” I stare at the closed book as if it holds the answers to life’s greatest questions.
“May I?” He accepts the scrapbook when I place it in his hands. He traces his fingers over the leather binding.
I watch as he smiles with pride, flipping through the pages.
“I’d say whoever made this loves you very much and is just as proud of you as I am. Your mama?”
I shake my head. “Riley, actually. She made it and held on to it till Austin dug it out of the trash this morning.”
“Ouch.” Coach winces. “You and Miss Parker having a lover’s quarrel?”
I have no control over the bellowed laughter that slips from my lips. “Sorry, Coach, but I think that’s the understatement of the century, possibly the millennium.”
Silence passes through us as he closes the book and hands it back to me.
“Well, I know you might not want to hear this, Cooper, but put yourself in her shoes for a moment. And I don’t mean literally since she’s such a tiny firecracker. Did you honestly think you would come home to find nothing had changed? You said it yourself that day at my house—you’re not the same Cooper Graham as you once were, and she’s not the same girl either.” She said so herself that day in the auditorium.
I push to my feet and pace slowly back and forth.
“I get that, but I can’t change my past. I can’t go back.”
“So move forward. Show Miss Parker what I know and that you refuse to accept—that youarethe same Cooper deep down.”
Chapter 18
Cooper
