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Okay, that’s good. I’m getting ready to go out for warm-ups, but if anything changes, call me. I’ll keep checking my phone when I can.
Me
Please don’t worry about me. Get out there and have a great game.
Mack
You saying not to worry is like telling a tiger to not have stripes. But I’ll do my best.
Mack
Keep staying alive, Reporter. I need you to be safe.
Shaking my head at his ridiculousness, I type back a thumbs up and toss my phone back on the bed.
“Mack again?”
“Yep.”
Sophie squeezes my leg. “I told you he’s a good one.”
She did tell me that and she’s right. I know she is.
* * *
Two hours later,I’ve been discharged and I’m back at the station. The game is getting ready to start and a lot of times I stay at my desk to run stats and do a recap for the late news, but I’m exhausted. So, George passed on that task to someone else tonight.
Sophie drops me off at my car and waits for me to get inside. We exit the lot together, but instead of following her home like she wanted me to, I head to Mack’s.
It’s where I want to be.
I just want to wash away this day and pull on one of his big oversized t-shirts, curl up in his bed and watch my Revelers play ball.
So, that’s what I do.
Unfortunately, they don’t win.
The game ends in a walk-off homerun by LA, but our guys fought hard. You can see it on every face as the camera spans over the away team dugout. I get a quick glimpse of Mack and it does my heart good. He’s giving one of the other players a man hug and I can almost hear his pep talk.
We’ll get ’em next time.
Keep your head up.
Because that’s just the kind of guy he is.
Once the broadcast ends, I switch over to channel six and catch the nightly news. I manage to stay awake for the first half hour, but after that the familiar voices begin to lull me to sleep.
When my phone rings some time later, I jolt awake and blindly reach for it.
“Hello?”
Rubbing my eyes, I try to clear the sleep and notice the alarm clock on Mack’s side of the bed read twelve-thirty. I’ve only been asleep for an hour or so, but it feels like the middle of the night.
“I’m sorry I woke you up.” Mack’s voice is low and quiet. “I tried texting you and you didn’t answer and I got worried. But I saw on my app that you unset and reset the alarm a few hours ago, so I knew you were home, but I still had to hear your voice to know you’re safe.”
So many of his words warm my heart.
Home.
