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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Evan

Now I see why coaches warned me of girls like her because that little space in my head that used to be occupied with only baseball seems to be filling up with her and Nolan more and more.

We just finished our night game, and I’m racing out of here to get to her.

As I throw my stuff in my bag, I hear Jake off to the side say, “Where are you racing off to in such a hurry?”

I just give him a smirk, then turn to get one more thing.

“Fuck, dude. You got it bad.” He opens his arms out wide. “You’ve worked how hard to get here, and now you’re racing out of here on the daily for some girl?”

I don’t hide my chuckle or feel bad about it as I grab my stuff, swing my bag around my shoulder, and smile at him. “Yep. Sure am. Don’t be jealous that she’s helping my game while you sucked today,” I jab back just for fun.

As I walk out the door, he lets out a loud laugh behind me because he knows I’m full of shit since he had a decent game.

I did my job today, played a good game even, but now it’s time for my personal life. So far, I’ve proven I can do both, and if there’s one thing baseball players are, it’s superstitious. As of right now, I’m continuing to play just as well as I did in the minors, so I’m not changing a thing.

I head straight to Christy’s house, excited that I have the day off tomorrow and I get to go to Nolan’s game tomorrow night. We didn’t discuss me coming over after tonight’s game, but I don’t care. Even if I only get a quick kiss good night, it will be worth it.

When I arrive, I hop out of the truck and walk up to her door, only for it to open up before I get there. Just seeing her standing there makes me stop in my tracks. Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail with little pieces falling out, and it’s obvious she’s already taken off all of her makeup to get ready for bed.

All I can think is, This is the real her, and she’s absolutely gorgeous .

I take the next few steps faster than before, picking her up into my arms and kissing her with everything I’ve got.

“God, I missed you,” I say between kisses.

“It’s only been two days since I saw you last.” She giggles.

“Two days is too long. I had to come straight here.”

“I was hoping you would.”

I look into her eyes with a smirk. “So, you were watching out the door for me?”

“Maybe.”

I pick her up, having her wrap her legs around me, and carry her inside. “Glad we’re on the same page here.”

I head toward her room, only to be stopped by a little boy who exits his room.

“Mommy?” he asks, a little confused, I’m sure, to see a man carrying his mom.

“Busted,” I whisper as I set her down.

“Yeah, baby?” Christy asks.

“Evan!” Nolan runs into my arms when he sees me.

“Hey, bud! How are you?”

“I’m good. I watched you play tonight!” he responds with so much excitement that I can’t help but smile.

“You did? Did you see me get that hit?”

“Down the third baseline? I did!”

“Did you see the really deep one I hit?” I draw out my words.

His little shoulders sag. “I can’t believe that guy dived and caught it. You were robbed.”

I laugh a little. “That’s baseball. I can’t hate on the guy because he caught it. I’d like to say if the tables were turned, I would have caught that ball too.”

“You always make your diving catches. Can you teach me how to do that?”

I smile. “When you’re older, I’d love to.” I squeeze his arm muscles. “We have to wait for these to get a little bigger so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“Come on,” Christy says as she takes him from my arms. “Let’s get you back in bed.”

Nolan looks at her, then back at me. “Are you going to be my daddy?”

My breath hitches in surprise, but not as much as it does for Christy.

“Oh my God,” she blurts out, setting Nolan on the ground and squatting to be at his height. “Nolan, baby, that’s something?—”

I place my hand on her shoulder and squat down too. “Being your daddy is a big role in your life that maybe we can think about down the road, but until then, it’s like baseball. I have to try out for the team. Ultimately, you two are the coaches and get to decide if I make the team or not.”

Nolan nods his head over dramatically. “I think you made the team. Mommy, what do you think?”

She stands, placing her hand on his back and guiding him to turn toward his room. “I think little boys need to go back to bed.”

Nolan does as he was told, but stops to hold up a thumb to me. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

I have to stifle a laugh when I hold up my thumb to him, making Christy laugh even more.

I head out to her living room and sit on the couch, waiting for her to come back.

“I am so sorry about that,” she says, waving her hands in front of her like she’s still in shock.

I reach for her and bring her down to the couch with me. When she’s cuddled in my arms, I kiss the top of her head. “Don’t be sorry. I like knowing that he feels I made the team.”

She laughs out loud, covering her face with her palms.

I hold her tighter. “I know this is all new, but I’ve already told you, I’m diving in with both feet, straight into the deep end.”

She looks over her shoulder at me. “I’ve just never dated anyone since I had him. I don’t want him to ever be disappointed. If, you know …”

I turn her chin to face me more. “The way I look at it is, you’d have to end it with me, so that would be on you. I’m not going anywhere.”

I kiss her and love that she doesn’t hold back when she lifts up to straddle my waist, showing me she feels the same way about me that I do her.

We arrive at Nolan’s game, walking up together, holding hands, when a mom stops us.

“So, that was you in the photo? I told my husband I knew she was in our baseball program, and he didn’t believe me. He will die when I tell him I was right.”

“I, um …” Christy looks back and forth from me to her.

I hold out my hand to the woman. “I’m Evan Parker. Nice to meet you.”

She shakes it. “I’m Danielle. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Danielle, it was very unfortunate that someone caught us in what we thought was a private moment and posted it for the world to see. Can you imagine if someone did that with you and your husband?”

Her face gets red as she stands there with a shocked expression. “I-I’m sorry. God. I didn’t even think about that. It’s just … you see pictures online and?—”

“And it sucks that a lot of those pictures are real people who maybe didn’t want them out there.” I lean in. “So, if you can just forget about the photo and let us watch her son’s game, we would really appreciate it.”

“Oh, yes.” She waves her hands in front of her. “I totally get it.” She pretends like she’s zipping her lips. “You won’t hear another word from me about it.”

“Thank you.” We start to step away, and I call over my shoulder, “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She waves.

Christy slaps my chest with the back of her arm. “Nice to meet you? No, it wasn’t.” She laughs.

I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips to kiss. “You learn how to politely tell someone to shut the fuck up when you’ve been doing this long enough.”

She laughs even harder. “Yes, that was a very polite way to say that.”

I kiss the top of her head before we step up the bleachers to our seats.

When Nolan gets up to bat, I notice something so familiar that I feel like I could guess his next move when Christy turns to me.

“He’s been watching your at bats closely.”

I smile so big that it hurts as I watch him do the same moves I do when I step into the box before every pitch.

“I’m honored he wants to copy me.”

In this moment, a wave of pride comes over me that I’ve never experienced. To know this little boy has watched me that closely that he nails exactly what I do is more special than anything I’ve ever felt.

This must be what it feels like to really be a dad …