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Knox

After the first game in Raleigh, Crew and I barely made it to our hotel room before collapsing onto the bed. Between the travel, meeting Crew’s parents, and the emotional rollercoaster of finding out about Grady, our bodies finally gave up, and we were asleep in seconds.

The next day, we were hanging out in the clubhouse waiting for Mallory and Grady to arrive. Crew had gotten them tickets for our two remaining games against the Crushers, and hoped to spend some time with Grady tomorrow before he had to get to the field.

It felt like every other day in the clubhouse except for the nervous energy radiating off Crew as we changed into our jerseys. He was jittery as hell, unable to sit still and focus on anything.

“You’re going to give yourself a heart attack if you don’t calm down,” I whispered, not wanting to draw attention to my boyfriend on the verge of losing his shit.

He looked at his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time since we’d finished batting practice. “I thought they’d be here by now. What if she changed her mind?”

“Mallory texted you from the airport saying they were on their way. They probably ran into some traffic on the drive over.”

Matthewson walked in to post the lineup and threw me a grin when he saw Crew running his hand over his hair while typing on his phone. He and Parker were the only two people on the team who knew the reason Crew looked like he’d pounded a case of energy drinks. The day before, Crew had asked our manager for permission to bring his son and his ex into the clubhouse for a quick tour. Matthewson happened to be there at the time, and both of them were on board with our visitors.

Crew and I had initially planned to tell the team about us after he came out to his family, but we decided to hold off for a bit because of everything that had gone down in Harvest Ridge. Grady was the priority, and once the dust settled from that life-changing news, we could address our relationship.

Son.

It seemed weird to think of Crew as a dad. Not that I didn’t think he was capable. In fact, it was just the opposite—he would make a great dad. But after going through the pregnancy scare when we first started messing around, I didn’t expect parenthood to be something either of us would be tackling at this point in our lives.

But I knew how badly Crew wanted to be a part of Grady’s life, and I would do everything possible to support that.

His phone vibrated, and he looked at the screen. “They’re here.” He jumped up. “I’m going to meet them so they don’t have any problems getting back here.”

A few minutes later, he stepped back into the locker room, Grady standing next to him but clinging to Mallory’s hand. When my eyes met Crew’s, I could see he was still nervous, yet he was sporting a huge smile as well, showing how happy he was to have his son close.

The three of them started walking toward Crew’s locker. When they got to me, Crew rested his hand on my shoulder. “Grady, this is my teammate, Knox.”

I knelt to his level and held my fist out for a bump. “Nice to meet you, little man.”

He blinked at me and then mumbled something that sounded like hi.

Mallory smiled. “He’s a little shy, but he couldn’t stop talking about watching a baseball game the entire way here.”

“Hopefully, we’ll put on a good show for you.” I stood and continued to get ready, although it was hard for me to keep my eyes off of Crew and Grady.

“This is where I keep all my gear,” Crew explained as he pulled out his chest protector. “Do you want to try it on?”

Grady beamed as Crew placed it on him. The thing practically swallowed the kid, but he couldn’t have looked happier.

“Hey, Stratton! Who’s the kid?” Diaz called out from the other side of the room.

Crew quickly introduced Mallory and Grady. “They’re friends of mine from back home.”

It was how Crew and Mallory agreed to describe their situation for the time being if questions came up. Neither of them wanted it to come out that Crew was Grady’s dad before they had the chance to explain things to him. I didn’t know how they planned to break the news to a four-year-old, and I didn’t ask.

Grady waddled around for a couple of minutes handing out high-fives once he got a little more comfortable. Eventually, Mallory told him it was time for them to find their seats.

Crew helped his son take off the gear and said, “I’m going to head out to the field soon. Make sure you look for me.”

Grady nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll be cheering for you,” Mallory replied.

Shortly after they left, Crew and I walked to the dugout. “You’ve got a cheering section tonight. You know what that means, right?”

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“You better hit a bomb and make your son’s night.”

“Talk about pressure.” He chuckled .

I elbowed him playfully. “I’m happy for you. Fatherhood looks good on ya.”

His face lit up. “If you told me a year ago that I’d have a boyfriend and a kid, I would’ve laughed in your face, but damn, I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Crew had a great game behind the dish. He blocked a few wild pitches, picked off a runner trying to steal second, and caught a couple of foul balls.

At the top of the eighth, the score was tied. Crew stepped up to the plate with two runners on and one out. From where I stood against the railing, I could see Mallory and Grady a section over and two rows back from the field, giving my man their undivided attention.

The first pitch was an outside fastball, just like Crew liked. I knew the moment he made contact that it was a solid hit, and I watched it soar over the left-field fence. Sabato and Turner scored, and when Crew rounded third, he looked over at his son, who waved a foam finger wildly in the air.

Both of them looked so happy in that moment.

When Crew got back in the dugout, I smacked his ass. “You just became someone’s hero.”

He let out a breath. “I hope so.”

When we got back to the locker room after the game, Crew checked his phone. “Mallory said Grady could hardly keep his eyes open. She’s taking him back to the hotel, and we’ll get together tomorrow morning.”

I nodded. “Well, you better get some rest tonight since it sounds like you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”

We showered quickly and boarded the bus to go back to the hotel. Our travel coordinator still booked us our own rooms, but I followed Crew to his. As soon as the door closed behind us, we stripped down to our boxers and climbed into bed.

I rolled onto my side, my hand trailing up and down his abs. “So, I’d say today went pretty well.”

“I’m not even sure the World Series could top that.” He turned to me. “In case I haven’t said it, thank you for being so cool about everything. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for you to come to terms with either, but you’ve been extremely supportive.”

I’d be lying if I said learning about Grady hadn’t shaken me a bit. When it was some random one-night stand claiming to be pregnant with Crew’s child, I didn’t worry about him wanting to do the family thing with her. But the current situation was different. Mallory wasn’t a stranger. They had a history together. And I had a few moments when I wondered if he’d want to try to create a family with her.

It would break my heart all over again, but it would be understandable.

But those thoughts didn’t last long. He hadn’t given me any reason to question his feelings or loyalty to me.

“How could I not be supportive when I’ve never seen you so happy before?”

“You make me happy too.” He leaned forward and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. “And I plan on showing you just how much.”

And then he did … twice.

The next morning, Crew invited Mallory and Grady to have breakfast with the team. I went down to the restaurant with them but kept my distance. For one, I didn’t want to impose on the limited time they had together, and second, I didn’t want our teammates to think it was odd that I was hanging out with his friend and her son.

After breakfast, the three of them headed to the pool and I returned to my room with a promise to join them in a bit.

I had something I needed to do before it was too late.

I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed the button on my phone to call my parents .

My dad answered after the second ring. “Hey, Knox. How’s it going?”

I could tell he had me on speakerphone because I heard my mom in the background say, “Hi, sweetie.”

“Hi you guys,” I greeted. “Things are good. Really good, actually.”

“We’ve been watching your games, and it seems like you’ve found your place with the Seawolves,” Dad mused.

I smiled to myself. I’d found a lot more than my place on a team since moving to Portland. “Yeah. I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that,” Mom offered. “For a while, it seemed like every time we talked, you had bad news to share.”

“I do have some news, but I promise it’s good …”

“Well, don’t leave us in suspense.” My dad laughed.

“I’ve, uh, I’ve been seeing someone. And it’s become pretty serious.”

“That’s great news,” Mom squealed. “I’m guessing it’s someone you met there in Portland?”

“Actually, I met him in Denver,” I explained. “We played together on the Rockies and then ended up on the Seawolves together.”

“You’re dating Crew Stratton?” It didn’t surprise me that my dad knew who I was talking about. He was a stats and players sort of guy and always kept up to date on my teammates. It made sense he would figure out the only guy I’d played with on both teams.

“Yep,” I confirmed.

Mom gasped. “The good-looking catcher?”

I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “That’s the one.”

“Wow. He’s a great ballplayer,” Dad said.

“He’s an even better man,” I replied. “Right now, only a couple of people know, but it won’t stay a secret for long, so I thought I better let you know before the media reports on it.”

“I’m so happy for you.” Mom sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

I almost told them about Grady, but that wasn’t my story to share. Crew and Mallory still hadn’t talked to him about Crew being his father, and until they did, I didn’t feel like it was my place to say anything.

“I’d love for you all to meet him,” I added instead. “Maybe we can get together when the season ends?”

“We’d love that,” they both agreed.

We talked for a few more minutes before we finally ended the call, and I tossed my phone on the bed.

Between baseball, my family, and my relationship, life seemed as close to perfect as possible.

And I couldn’t wait to join my boyfriend and his son down by the pool and spend the rest of the day with the people I wanted to build a future with.