Page 31 of Crew (Comeback Duet #1)

31

Knox

When I finished shagging balls in the outfield during batting practice, I jogged off the field. It was possible for the Seawolves to clinch our division with a win tonight, and everyone was a little more amped than usual.

As I made my way to the dugout, I was about to toss a ball to the fans, but I spotted Grady and Mallory sitting a couple of sections away in the front row. Grady looked like a diehard fan in his Seawolves jersey and hat, holding onto the glove Crew had bought him.

Grady scanned the field, watching the guys still out there getting ready for the game, including Crew, who was warming up with our starting pitcher.

My boyfriend hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d told Grady he was his father. He’d even teared up a bit when recalling how Grady asked if he could call him daddy.

I was happy for him.

Happy for both of them.

Crew may have missed out on the first four years of Grady’s life, but he was determined to be an involved father. I hadn’t given much thought to whether or not I wanted kids in the future, but knowing Crew was now part of a package deal that included Grady, I was all in. Maybe it was because Grady was a pretty awesome kid, or maybe I just loved Crew that much. Whatever it was, I would do everything in my power to support their new relationship.

Instead of walking down the stairs, I headed toward Grady and Mallory. Mallory noticed me first and smiled.

“Hey, you two. Are you ready for the game?”

Grady whipped his head around and beamed. “Yeah! I told my daddy to hit a home run.”

I chuckled. Crew had set himself up for that, seeing as he hit a three-run bomb at Grady’s first game. “Hopefully, he does.”

Just then, Jacobs sent a shot into the left-field bleachers. Grady watched as a couple of kids ran to where it had landed.

“You get a ball yet?” I asked.

Grady shook his head, his bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout. “No.”

“Let's fix that.” I showed him the ball and tossed it over the netting for Mallory to catch.

“Thanks, Knox!” He hugged it to his chest after his mom handed it over, and in that moment, I felt like the coolest guy out there.

“You’re welcome, buddy. Hope you have fun tonight.”

“Good luck,” Mallory said. “We’ll be cheering for both of you.”

“Best cheering section ever.” I flashed her a grin and walked back to the dugout.

When I hit the steps, I saw Crew crossing the field from the bullpen. He went straight toward his son, and it was clear nothing could take away from the happiness he felt having Grady there to watch him play.

It would have been easy for members of a new team to let the pressure of the playoffs get to them, but the Seawolves had shown all season that we were the real deal. And tonight, we were proving it again.

Crew had done a great job behind the plate, keeping Meija calm and focused. The Royals had only scored one run through the top of the eighth, and looking at their dugout, I could tell they felt the game slipping away.

We were leading by four, with two runners on and two outs, when I stepped up to the plate. It felt like the win was within reach, but we couldn’t let up now.

The Royals’ reliever loved using his slider whenever he was ahead in the count, and it just so happened I’d been working on hitting that exact pitch in the batting cages the last few days, preparing for this possibility.

He got ahead of me in the count, and I knew what was coming next.

When the off-speed ball moved into the zone, I drove it up the middle, straight into center field. Both runners scored, and my teammates cheered from the dugout as I pointed to them from first.

Sabato followed but popped up to the third baseman.

We were three outs away.

Jensen came into pitch and made quick work of the first two batters.

The crowd got to their feet.

Crew sent Jensen a sign, and I watched as the ninety-nine-mile-per-hour fastball sailed past the batter for strike one.

The next pitch was another fastball that was fouled off for strike two.

I could barely hear anything over the cheers ringing throughout the stadium, but I maintained focus and watched Crew set up to receive the next pitch.

It was a curveball that dropped into the strike zone at the very last second. The umpire called strike three.

We swarmed the mound, everyone hugging and grinning like idiots. We were division champs .

The season before, I’d been in a similar situation with the Twins, but this felt different.

I had more than just the game I loved; I had the man I loved by my side as well.

The celebration on the field continued in pure chaos, but I couldn't stop watching him in the middle of it all.

Crew pulled off his gear and walked over to Grady, who was jumping up and down, hands raised in the air.

I headed for the dugout, giving the three of them a wave as I walked down the steps. I wanted them to have their moment, but I couldn’t ignore them either. Grady and Mallory were extremely important to Crew, making them equally significant to me.

Inside the clubhouse, music was blasting, and Perez started passing around champagne bottles. I grabbed a pair of ski goggles from my cubby that I’d brought in for this exact moment, then popped the cork and sprayed my teammates.

Crew was by my side seconds later, and I pulled him in for a hug. It started off as one of those back-thumping, teammate sort of embraces. The kind we’d done after every win. Only this time, it lingered.

“Just kiss him already!” Jacobs yelled from across the room.

Laughter broke out around us as someone added, “Worst-kept secret on the team!”

Crew looked at me. We’d planned on coming out to the team, but then he found out about Grady, and that took priority. Then, we didn’t want to become a distraction as we made a run for the playoffs.

Apparently, it hadn’t mattered.

“No reason to hold back now.” I smirked.

“I guess not,” he replied, and then he kissed me.

It wasn’t anything over the top. Just a solid kiss between boyfriends.

The room exploded with cheers.

“Finally!” Walker shouted, spraying more champagne over our heads.

“Worst-kept secret, huh?” I laughed at my teammates.

“You two were so obvious.” Perez smacked me on the back. “You’re probably going to announce next that the Grady kid is Stratton’s son.”

“What?” Crew’s eyes widened. “You figured that out too?”

“Man, he looks just like you. I’m starting to worry you guys think you play with a bunch of dumbasses.” Turner cracked up.

“Glad we don’t have any other secrets,” Crew whispered in my ear.

I glanced around the locker room, taking in our team celebrating not only our win but us as well.

“Seems like we don’t need to keep any.”

The NLDS hadn’t gone the way we wanted. We split the first two games on the road, then lost game three at home.

Now, it was game four, and things weren’t looking good.

Our bats never got hot, we committed a couple of errors, and suddenly, it was the bottom of the ninth, and we were down 5-2.

We had two outs.

And I was up.

I could feel the weight of the entire season on my shoulders as I stepped into the batter’s box. The crowd rose to their feet, hoping we could rally.

The first pitch was a belt-high fastball down the middle of the plate.

I didn’t hesitate.

My swing was solid, and the crack of the bat echoed through the stadium. The ball was headed for right field, and I took off for first.

Then I watched as the first baseman leaped and snagged the ball above his head.

I stopped halfway down the line, frozen briefly as the Braves rushed the mound to celebrate.

We’d come so far.

And just like that, our season was over.

The atmosphere in the clubhouse felt like a different world compared to the week before. Instead of champagne showers and hugs, it was silence as the guys packed up their lockers.

“Hey.” Crew wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up. You had a hell of a season.”

I let out a breath as I tried to take comfort in his words, but the disappointment that I couldn’t lead the team to victory would likely stick with me for a while.

A few seconds later, Parker walked in and looked around the room. We all sat down and waited to hear what he had to say.

“Every single one of you should be proud of what we accomplished,” he praised, and a few of the coaches nodded. “Back in April, no one would have guessed one of the expansion teams would make it to the playoffs. But you made Portland believe in us and proved all the critics wrong.”

A few shouts of agreement rang out.

“This isn’t the end,” he continued. “We’ve built a foundation here. And I can’t wait to do this again next year. Only better.”

Once we were showered and packed, Crew laced his fingers with mine. “Let’s go home.”

I looked over at him. Despite how the night had gone, this team had changed everything for me. And that was something a loss couldn’t ever take away.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”