Chapter 34
[Ford]
“Surprise.” The cheer isn’t overly emphatic. No one jumps up from behind a couch or stands in a dark room before the lights flip on.
No, my family is lingering in various positions in the middle of the fenced-in field I started mowing the other day which now appears to be a rudimentary baseball diamond. Exactly how I envisioned this land transforming.
A bit tongue tied, I eventually ask, “When did you guys do all this?”
After Cadence and I spent the night at Mountain Motel, we returned to Sterling Falls and took the girls on another hike. Last night, I snuck into her room and filled her up again before tucking myself around her in her bed. That way, I spent the entire night with her beside me.
Clay shrugs. “Finished this morning. Had the sand delivered yesterday. Brick and I laid it out with the help of a few guys from the Seed & Soil. Stone counted out the baseline and chalked it.”
The lines were perfect even if the running path wasn’t. The infield was still a choppy-mowed meadow. The outfield matches the rough-cut grass, but none of it matters.
My family built me a baseball diamond.
“We bought you new bases, too,” my nephew Hudson proudly states, pointing to the bright white bags at first, second, and third, and a flat home plate.
I glance from family member to family member, my jaw tense, my shoulders tight.
I’m not an overly emotional man but this .
. . this is so much more than pity cake for a birthday.
And I’d been kind of a shit brother who didn’t deserve what I’d been given.
Siblings who stood beside one another through thick and thin.
I wasn’t as tight with each of them as I should be, but I was damn thankful they were my family.
Out of habit, I glance at Stone. “Thank you.”
He turns his head and tips his chin at Sebastian. “His idea to finish it.”
“Dude,” I snap as my eyes start to burn.
Then I close the distance between Sebastian and me, startling my younger brother by wrapping my arms around him.
Sebastian stands stone still a second before his hands come to my sides where he awkwardly pats me a few times.
Stepping out of the embrace, I cup the back of his neck and look him directly in the eye. “Thank you.”
Despite wanting to have words with him about Cadence, he deserves my gratitude for what he’d done for me. Again.
“It was nothing.” Not used to praise from me or the overshow of appreciation, Sebastian brushes it off while lowering his head and fighting a grin.
“I mean it. Thank you for everything.”
Sebastian eyes Stone. I squeeze the back of his neck, drawing his attention back to me, and nod at the field. “You did good.”
Almost at the three-month marker from my shoulder surgery, this space is perfect for easy batting practice and the conditioning I want to begin with the heavy metal ball typically used in a shot-put tournament. With my mitt in the back of my Escalade, I’m eager to test my shoulder.
Sensing my anticipation, Clay pulls a ball from his back pocket and tosses it up in the air before catching it with his other hand. “What do you say? Wanna play ball?”
“Hell yeah!” I cheer.
“That’s a dollar please,” Zelle rolls out her hand like I’ve seen Hudson do, charging my brothers every time they swear during Sylver Sundays as Cadence has deemed the weekly family meal.
“You’ve been hanging around your cousin too much,” I tease. In the short time we’ve been here, Zelle and Hudson have quickly formed a friendship.
“Hell isn’t really a swear word,” Winnie corrects her sister. “It’s an actual place.”
I do not want to know how Winnie learned such a thing, but I chuckle as I glance at Cadence, who is holding June’s hand beside her.
All my ducks, right in a row, and a gaggle of family around me. I’m one lucky man.
“Prepare to go down,” I point at Clay. “Who are the captains?” And just like that, I’m ten again on the field near my elementary school.
Clay and I each captain a team, although we don’t have enough players for every position, and we’ll need to rotate out batters.
Incorporating the second generation, I snag Hudson while Clay steals Zelle.
Sebastian goes with me. Enya with Clay.
“She’s pregnant,” Sebastian warns our brother.
“I’m not that far along. I’ll be fine,” she dismisses his concern.
Vale with me. Stone with Clay.
I take Tim. Clay gets Violet.
I take Halle. Clay gets Knox.
Seeing the family is getting unevenly distributed, I ask for Judd who is surprisingly present and while he doesn’t have a lick of athleticism in him, he’s strong and can run.
“Then I get Cadence.” Clay winks.
The sexy superstar walks passed me, pulling my cap from her back pocket and slipping it on her head. She’s wearing short white jean shorts and the Anchors tee with my name on the back plus light gray gym shoes on her feet.
“Did you know about this?”
With a mischievous smile, she points two fingers at her eyes, then swivels her wrist to point at me. “I’m watching you, cowboy.”
That doesn’t answer my question but I’m grinning back at her. She can watch me all she wants. I’ll be looking right back.
“Me pway,” June whines.
I glance up at Clay. We both know June isn’t going to hit a ball, but he nods at me to take her and Clay picks Winnie.
“I always get picked last,” she pouts, crossing her arms.
“Saved the best for that position,” Clay argues to dispel a tantrum and swoops up my girl.
With the family divided into teams, we play ball, and a teetering whisper in the wind sounds like a voice that’s tickled my dreams.
You did good, Fordie.
The rousing game turns into a night of beers and brats in the backyard. A cake in the shape of a duck is brought out and when I cut into the layers, one pink and one yellow, Cadence and I share a laugh. I’m keenly aware my family is watching us, and I don’t care.
Eventually, Stone lights the fire pit and Cadence grabs her guitar although I don’t remember her putting it in the back of the SUV.
My siblings and I are not known for carrying a tune, but Enya and Cadence have everyone clapping in time to “Good Time” by Niko Moon, and I can’t remember the last time I was this happy.