Page 62

Sam

“ A re you checking out my ass?” Kelsey teased as I ran slightly behind her, pushing Crew’s jogging stroller.

“I’d be an idiot if I didn’t. It wasn’t fair for you to take advantage of me when I stopped to get Crew’s monkey when he tossed it out of the stroller.”

“Aww, look at you, ensuring we don’t lose his favorite toy. Good thing we aren’t racing. I mean, I’d expect more from an athlete. It's good that you aren’t a hitter; I doubt you could round the bases without stopping to take a break.”

I sped up to catch her, giving her a little swat on the ass. “You question my stamina?”

“Hmm, maybe. I don’t want to worry about you getting through your next game.”

God, she looked so alive. Her face was flushed from exertion, and the sweat gave her a dewy appearance. Young, fresh, and happier than I’d ever seen her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked suspiciously.

As we ran through a crowded section of the Boston Freedom Trail, she took advantage of my need to slow down with the carriage and sped ahead.

“Next time, you get to push the stroller,” I yelled, garnering the attention of a few people in the crowd. At that point, a young kid shouted, “Hey, it’s Sam Drummond. Sam! Sam! Can you sign my hat?”

Kelsey knew I was a sucker for the younger fans and slowed down, so I could stop.

She stood next to me as the kid polled other people in the crowd for something I could use to sign the hat.

By the time someone produced a Sharpie, we had amassed a crowd.

I signed a t-shirt and a couple more Minutemen hats before apologizing and setting out to finish our run.

“Thanks for stopping.”

“I know how much you like interacting with the young fans.”

“Yeah, it would have meant the world to me when I was that age. And when the fans stop giving a shit, then people stop coming to the games. If that happens? I become irrelevant.”

“Ooh, a one-man battle against irrelevancy. I love it!” she said sarcastically.

“Watch that smart little mouth, Kelsey.”

“Or else?” She shot back teasingly.

“Or else I’ll show you the appropriate use.”

“Oh, Sam, I can’t wait.”

We were gone for a few hours between the run and the autograph stop.

Crew had been awake the entire time, laughing and giggling.

But as he got hungry and tired, his temperament started souring.

On the last leg of the run, he tossed his monkey several times, and the last time, I decided not to return it to him .

“You’re a better person than I am. I would have taken it away after he tossed it the first time.”

“I’ll remember that for next time. I only returned it because I thought you’d want me to.”

When we arrived home, Kelsey asked me if I could keep him occupied while she ditched her sweaty workout clothes.

She was back in a robe in less than five minutes, and Crew’s patience had finally snapped.

He was fully wailing as he begged pathetically for dinner.

I opened the sliding door to the ground-level patio and shuffled them outside to the couch I had out there.

Kelsey fed the baby while I finished my workout with a post-run stretch.

Crew was sleepy once he finished, and I offered to take him to bed so Kelsey could shower.

“I planned to run a bath. Join me?”

“Absolutely.”

After I set Crew in his crib, I patted his belly and whispered to him as he drifted off to sleep.

Once I was sure he would stay asleep, I headed to the master bathroom, finding Kelsey already in the tub.

I dropped my clothes on the bathroom floor as she shifted in the tub so I could settle in behind her.

She leaned against my chest, sighing as I wrapped myself around her.

“Love you, Sam,” she whispered.

“Love you too, Kels. So much.”