Sweet Spot (13 page)
Authors: Rae Lynn Blaise
“Are you taking care of it? Any surgery?”
“No, sir. I didn’t tear it, but came damn close. I don’t want to destroy my body for this game, no matter how much I love it. I still want to be able to coach and teach other kids about the love of the game. I want to be able to give my best to them.”
“That’s very admirable. Tell you what, I’d love to set up an interview, walk you around, show you the ropes. Any way you can get out here this week?”
“Name the day and I’m there.” Am I getting hired over the phone?
“Great. I’ll work with my people and get back to you.” He sounds like...maybe he means it?
“Thank you very much, Mr. Schwartz.” I hold my breath.
“Eh, call me Derrick. Hopefully, soon, you can call me boss. We’ll talk again soon.”
I hang up the phone, feeling like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. This is such a huge change. The instant I think of Ally, though—of being close to her, being with her, spending my time and my life with her, I know everything feels right.
I look up at the picture of me and my mom on my mantle. “Is this supposed to be my path, mom? Did everything lead me to this moment, so I can break away from this life and start a new one with the woman I’m meant to be with?”
There’s no response. Of course there isn’t. My beautiful mother is dead. Then, suddenly, a feeling of intense warmth spreads through me and I know the answer is yes. My mother is leading me down the path I’m supposed to go, and Ally is my destination.
The next day, I grab a flight to visit the U of A campus. It’s beautiful and full of great staff who really want to make a difference in these students’ lives. I find the campus coffee shop and grab a drink so I can think through my choices before calling my agent.
The idea of moving here, of getting a fresh start, of pursuing a new career makes me feel light. The struggle inside me has quieted. I can stop worrying about my knee every day, I can stop fighting the losing battle to get back in the game when I know I have, at most, one or two more decent seasons left in me. I can start over, and I can love what I’m doing. I know I’ll miss the guys so much. The roar in the stadium, the feeling of the ball cracking off the bat and soaring over to that magical spot in the field. But I had all that, and it was amazing...and now I have something new and amazing. Someone.
I almost hear mom’s voice urging me to choose the path that feels right, and I realize I’m grinning like a fool while I sit here at this table. I feel so reinvigorated in my decision, more than ever, that this is where I’m supposed to be. I begin to think about all the ways that this coaching opportunity will let me provide the kind of life for Ally that she deserves.
Coach wanted to protect her from the boys in uniform. From life on the road, from the stupid decisions we make. Well, I won’t be in uniform anymore, then. I’ll be a family man. I’ll be
her
man. I’ll continue to pursue my passion, and I’ll support Ally in absolutely anything and everything she wants to do. Ever. As long as she wants me, I want her right back, and I know I’ll want her forever.
I scroll through my phone and find her dorm address. After asking the barista quickly for directions, I sprint across campus as I text her.
Are you in your dorm?
Yes, why?
I don’t answer. Running up three flights of stairs, I’m breathless when I get to her floor. I hear laughter and loud music behind doors as I walk down the hall, pausing only for a moment in front of her door before knocking loudly. It’s only half a second before she swings it open, her mouth ajar a little in surprise, her eyes wide. She emits a tiny squeak of joy and confusion and shock, waiting for me to say something. Her hair’s pulled up in a messy bun and she’s wearing workout shorts with a crop top that exposes just the perfect amount of her tanned skin. She looks like an angel. My angel.
I realize three things at exactly the same time. I know what I have to ask her, I know that I’m not prepared, and I know that I have to ask her right this very moment anyway. I hesitate for a heartbeat’s span of time before sinking to my knee. I tug at my World Series ring, pulling it off my finger and holding it up. I’m still trying to catch my breath, and it feels like an impossible feat with how my heart just keeps beating faster.
“Ally Holstead. I love you more than I love anything in this entire world. I want to do amazing things with you by my side. I want to worship every part of you, every day.” I choke, breathless, all of my feelings pouring out of me at once. “You make me an honest man, and you make me better in ways I never imagined were possible. Every day, I want to be a better person than the day before, so I can be the man you deserve.” She hasn’t moved, her eyes still wide, but now her heart must be racing because she’s breathing faster. She licks her lips and her eyes search mine. I hold up the ring. “I want to help kids and I want to coach and I want to have children with you and I want to—” I’m cut off as she throws herself on me, toppling me back into the hallway.
She covers my mouth with hers and I stop trying to talk, drinking in her taste and her scent and her feel. I could die right now, right this very moment, and I would be happy. I feel like my heart might explode. She stops kissing me long enough to suck in a deep breath and begins kissing my entire face.
As I gasp the words, “Ally, will you marry me?” she punctuates every kiss with her answer.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
A
knock
on the door wakes me up with a jolt. Ally shifts next to me, but I kiss her shoulder and whisper, “Go back to sleep.”
“Mmhmm.” She rolls over and snuggles into me. I want to lay there with her, smell her hair and maybe get her in on a little late night action, wink wink, but the knocking on the door persists.
After all my time with Ally, I should be used to late night visitors by now, but with her by my side, I’m not sure who would be at that door, and I’m not entirely sure I want to know. I slide on my robe, grab a baseball bat, and check the peephole in my door.
It’s not like Tucson is a dangerous town, but you never really know.
Much to my surprise, it’s Coach. Coach is at my door. With our wedding invitation.
I open the door, in shock. I set the baseball bat down behind the door, but wonder if I should keep it up for protection. You know, just in case. Not that I could ever, ever do something to hurt Coach. Well...not more than I already have, damaging the relationship we had.
“Hey, Coach,” I choke out.
“You can call me Mike.” He looks uncomfortable. “I’m coming in.”
Shit, he’s here for Ally. I block the door, but he pushes his way in and sinks on the couch. Not exactly the way I was expecting him to go. “I was wrong, Kemp.”
I shake my head slightly, like I didn’t hear him right.
“You didn’t break your promise to me.”
“Um, what?” I have no idea what this crazy man is talking about, here in the middle of the night, in Tucson when he should be two hours away in Phoenix.
“You didn’t break your promise to me. The only rule you broke was your own—not to fall in love. All I ever asked was no flings. I guess I just never realized how serious this was.”
I sit across from him in a chair and watch him. It’s pretty clear that this whole conversation is uncomfortable as fuck for him, and I’m torn. I always thought, if this day ever came, it would be some sort of vindication—proof that we were right and he was wrong. But I realize that I thought those things to shield myself from feeling the full weight of the guilt I’ve had over losing my relationship with him. But here he is, this man I respected so much...this man who’d filled a void in my life and taken me under his wing in a way nobody else ever had. All he’d wanted to do was protect his daughter.
He looks older, but also stronger.
“It’s hard for me to say this, but you two seem to be really good for one another. I mean, I’d hope so, given that you guys are getting married.”
I nod. “We are. We’re really great together.”
“If it’s okay, I’d like to see that. You know, be around more.” He rubs his hand across his face, and I realize how emotional he’s feeling right now, this grizzled hulk of a man who I’d built up to basically god status through my years on his team. A man I’d never seen show an ounce of weakness or hesitation, not once, stands in front of me...unsure of himself. He looks like he could crumble from the strain of holding his conflicting feelings inside. I realize in this instant how much I’ve missed him, how much more Ally must have missed being close to her dad, and how much we’d lose if he wasn’t in our lives.
“That would be great. Ally would love it.” I try to hide the grin breaking across my face, but it’s hard. “And...and me. I would love it, too.”
He searches my eyes, and I see a flicker of relief in him. “You coming back next season? I don’t know how we’ll fare in the series without you, but I’d love to sign you back.”
My heart races, because this is one of the biggest things I ever wanted…but then I think about my future wife, laying in our bed, in our room, in our home together. And I realize I have everything I ever wanted, right here, with me.
“You know? I think coaching is what I really love. All I ever wanted to do was be like you, Coach, and I guess I am.”
“Damn fine coach, too, from what I hear.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He slaps his hands on his knees and stands. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen sooner, Kemp. I just wanted the best for her. Baseball life isn’t easy. You know that.”
“I know. But I would do anything for her. I want to give her the world.”
“I trust that you will. Well, I should go. Maybe you two can come up for a game this week?”
“That would be great.”
We stand for a minute, and then hug. I always wanted him as a dad, and now I do have him, in a way. It took a lot for him to come out and apologize like this, so I know he means it. And that’s pretty fucking awesome.
I walk him out and Coach waves before hopping in his car. I go back inside to turn off all the lights so I can snuggle with my perfect, beautiful, fiancée. Walking through the living room, something catches my eye on the couch, right where Coach sat.
It was a check, covering the entire cost of the wedding and then some. Not only did he apologize, he paid for our wedding. We’ll tear it up. It’s symbolic. I know he believes in us now more than ever. Life couldn’t get better.
Turns out, the sweet spot is anywhere me and Ally are. Together.
N
ew Orleans girl
. Tattooed connoisseur of smut. Compulsive writer of any sexy idea that drifts through my mind. Hurricanes and hot guys always welcome.
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