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My cheeks felt hot under her compliment. I was trying to do right by these girls, but I was better at being the fun, playful uncle, not the guy digging deeper and encouraging growth. I hoped I’d do okay.

We worked together to pack up the gear while the girls parted ways with their parents, and when we were done, I looked up to see Liv was still hanging out on the bleachers with Maya.

“You know,” I called to her, “for someone who was so desperate to find a coach for the team, you sure are at a lot of practices.”

Liv gestured at her pregnant belly. “You want a pregnant woman to coach softball?”

“Seems a pregnant woman would have plenty of experience with balls,” I retorted.

Under her breath, Maggie said, “You didnotjust say that.”

Liv’s mouth fell open, and Maya looked confused. “Are you talking about testicles?” she asked.

Oh god, that backfired.

“Forget it,” I said quickly. “Ponies. Rainbows. Unicorns.”

Maya made a face, and Liv laughed at me. “We’re going to get a late dinner from Woody’s. You wanna come?”

“Sure,” I said at the same time Maggie said, “That sounds fun.”

Suddenly, I realized maybe Liv meant the invite to go to Maggie. Maybe Maggie had wanted to catch up with Liv without the pressure of having me around.

“Um, I can eat at home,” I offered.

Maggie looked over at me, the bag of extra gloves hanging over her shoulder. “Why would you do that?”

Liv nodded. “Come along.”

With a smile, I said, “I’ll meet y’all there?”

Maya bounced up and down. “Can Graham and I ride with you?”

“If it’s okay with Livvy,” I said.

She glanced toward my sister, who nodded.

Maya and Graham ran ahead to the pickup while I walked behind. “What’s that sparkle in your hair?” I asked as we got into the pickup.

She swirled her ponytail over her shoulder and said, “Fairy hair. Livvy put it in for me.”

I held it in my fingers, looking at the shiny plastic strands. “Makes me wish I had enough hair to do that with.”

She giggled. “You’d look silly.” Then she got a thoughtful look. “Maggie would look good with it though. Don’t you think she’s pretty? Iloveher nails.”

I’d noticed too, the pink paint on her nails with silver sparkles to match our jerseys. “Mags is awful pretty,” I agreed. “Just like Livvy. Just like you.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “This boy at the pool told me I’m too skinny.”

“Fucker,” I muttered.

She gave me a look.

“Shit.”

Her eyes widened.

“Damn.”