Chapter 28
Leah threw the ball at Zoe hard, and she caught it, the sound a loud thwack as it hit her glove.
“Nice day for it,” Sawyer said, wandering over to where she stood warming up with the others. “It would be even nicer if that fucker, Grill, was caught and behind bars so I could go into the station and entice him to take a swing at me. Then I could break his arm like he broke Dan’s.”
“That’s a thorough revenge plot right there,” Jed Knox said, swinging his arms, which Leah guessed meant he was warming up.
“He broke Dan’s shoulder. I’ll kill him for that,” Sawyer said.
“We will kill him for that,” Ryder Duke corrected.
“Amen,” Brody added.
It had been four days since the raid on the Bandits. Four days since Dan had been hurt. When Uncle Callum had come home with pizza and the story of the arrest, something inside Leah shifted. Fear for Dan had her thinking clearly for the first time in years.
She let the past blind her to what was right in front of her. Coming back to Lyntacky had awakened a fragile kind of hope, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, Dan was part of that hope. He had always mattered to her. She just hadn’t wanted to admit it.
But the moment she heard he was hurt, the truth had surged to the surface. She couldn’t pretend anymore. Leah cared deeply for Dan Duke.
“You need to focus now, Leah. Dan’s first base usually, and you’re taking his place,” Zoe said.
“Right, focus,” she muttered.
Game day was always a big deal, but it was an even bigger deal when the two Lyntacky teams were playing each other, like they were today.
The bleachers were full of supporters separated into two distinct sections.
This had been implemented by Tripp when the heckling turned into fighting a few years back, or so one of Birdie’s emails had told Leah.
On the right sat the Lemon Levelers, and on the left sat the Lavender Leaders. The seats were filled with pastel in support of their teams.
“Do you think Mom’s been a bit giggly this week?” Sawyer asked Brody.
“Giggly?” Brody said as the ball whistled back to Leah from Zoe. The only female Duke arrived seconds later.
“Kinda happy,” Sawyer said.
“Who’s happy?” Zoe demanded. Her cap was pulled down low, the black tail of her hair fed through the back. “And how dare they be.”
“Mom,” Sawyer said. “She’s giggly.”
“Who’s giggly?” Ryder asked. “Better not be you, bro, because the changes in you are hard enough to take, but if you start giggling, Sawyer, we’re going to have problems.”
“Mom,” Zoe clarified.
Leah thought about leaving and even took a step backward.
“Ah,” Brody said. “Noticed that, did you?”
“Shouldn’t we be happy she’s giggly?” Ryder asked.
“My point here is, why?” Sawyer demanded, sounding testy now.
They all turned to look at the stands, so Leah did the same.
“That’s why,” Brody said.
Seated next to Robyn Duke was Leah’s Uncle Callum, and beside him were Hudson and Dan, wearing his sling. Next to them were all the other members of the Duke family.
“What am I looking at?” Sawyer demanded.
“Second row, middle,” Zoe said.
Brody whistled, Sawyer made a growling sound low in his throat, and Ryder sighed.
“I’m just going to—”
“Nope,” Zoe said, grabbing Leah’s arm as she started to walk away. “Don’t be a shisken shit.”
She’d known, of course, because her uncle had told her that Robyn Duke was a lovely lady who he’d asked out for a meal, and she’d accepted. What she now knew was how her children felt about that. Not happy, if the scowls on two of the males were any indication.
“I say good for you, Mom,” Zoe said. “And you Neanderthals are not saying anything but supportive words about this.”
“If it helps, I can tell you my uncle is a really good guy,” Leah said.
“What do you mean this?” Sawyer asked, ignoring Leah. “There is no this. That man won’t stay. He never does,” Sawyer said. “He’ll hurt her.”
“Ah, excuse me, but I won’t stand here and let you insult my uncle.” Leah felt a flush of anger. “He’s about the only good relative I have, so no way am I allowing you to do that.”
“What she said,” Zoe added.
“And,” JD said, pushing into the circle of Dukes, “your mom is just having some fun.”
“What kind of fun?” Sawyer demanded.
“The usual kind, I should imagine,” JD explained.
Sawyer got him in a headlock, and soon they were wrestling. The others ignored them, even Zoe, who didn’t look too worried her man was fighting with his best friend.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Ryder said.
“Me, either, but it’s nothing to do with us. She’s always been there for us, and we will be there for her,” Zoe said. “JD, Sawyer, stop that now!”
Both men did.
“Apologize to Leah, Sawyer, for being rude about her uncle,” Zoe demanded.
“Sorry. I guess I reacted, because, well… she’s our mom, and she’s never dated before.”
“Plus, it’s been a tough few days with Dan being injured,” Ryder added, smiling at Leah.
“Remember that Mom is an adult and can deal with this, so don’t go making whatever is going on difficult. I don’t want to hear that any of you have spoken to her about Callum—”
“We don’t even know—”
“Not one of you,” Zoe said, cutting Sawyer off. “If she is becoming romantically involved with him, then that’s up to her, and it will be the first time in my memory that has happened.”
“How can they be? He hasn’t been in town long,” Brody protested.
“Yeah, well, you know when you know,” she said.
“Aww, thanks, baby. I love you too,” JD replied.
“So help me god,” Sawyer gritted out and lunged at JD again as he started making kissing noises.
“Can we focus on the game here, because as you know, I need all the help I can get,” Jed said. “So, Leah. You up for first base?” Jed asked, as he was their captain today.
“I thought I was playing first base?” JD said.
“Nope. She’s way better than you could ever be, pretty boy. You are outfield because, reluctant though I am to admit it, you have a good arm,” Sawyer said.
“Yeah?” JD whistled. “Bet that hurt.”
“Don’t make me repeat it.”
“Right, so the plan is to beat these assholes,” Jed said.
“So the tactics haven’t changed any from when I played years ago, then?” Leah asked. “Maybe I should go back to the Levelers. They could be more professional.”
“You hush your mouth, little girl,” Zoe drawled.
“Let’s warm up,” Sawyer said.
“We never warm up,” Ryder said.
“Well, let’s look like we’re warming up because they are,” the oldest Duke said.
“Leah, how are you? I haven’t had a chance to talk to you yet,” Beau Keller said as she ran backward, waiting to catch a ball JD was throwing her. “I just can’t believe that Cassie’s gone, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks, Beau, and yeah, it’s been tough.”
“Well, if you need anything, you just call,” he added.
“Fuck off, Keller, we’ve got her,” Sawyer growled. “I hate that assface,” he added as Beau gave him the middle finger.
“You two really need to get over that shit now because you have Sadie, and you don’t want her growing up knowing her daddy is feuding, or do you want her to carry it on?” Leah asked.
The shock on Sawyer’s face had her walking away with a smile. She’d made him think.
“I’m here!” Jay wandered onto the pitch.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ryder asked.
“I heard you were short with Dan injured, so I said yes when Brody called me, begging.”
“Yes to what? You’re shit at anything with a ball,” Ryder said.
“Harsh and untrue. I just don’t do it because I don’t feel the need to constantly prove how exceptional I am, like you Dukes.”
“Are you losers ready to go down?”
Leah turned and watched Caleb and Phoebe coming toward them, dressed in their Lemon Levelers shirts. Stanways were Levelers, and although they were now part of the Duke family, on game day, all bets were off.
“Winners don’t wear lemon,” Brody said, glaring at his woman.
“I thought you weren’t playing?” Zoe said to Phoebe.
“I never miss an opportunity to beat the Levelers,” she said and smirked.
She shrieked when Brody lunged at her. Grabbing her, he planted a loud kiss on Phoebe’s lips.
“Hey! No fraternizing with the enemy!” Sawyer roared.
Tripp announced that the game was due to start and called all the players into the middle.
“After last year when a Leader used his bat to trip a Leveler who was scoring a home run and a riot ensued, we need to ensure that doesn’t happen again. So, I need you to behave. No cussing, hitting, or anything you wouldn’t want your own mother to overhear or see,” Tripp said.
“Hardly seems fair,” Beau said.
“Who knew there would come a day when we ever agreed?” Sawyer grunted.
Beau didn’t reply.
“I didn’t trip him; I was picking up my bat,” Zoe declared loudly.
Tripp did the coin toss, and the Levelers won, so they elected to bat first.
“God save us all,” Tripp muttered, walking off the pitch. “It will be a bloodbath.”
Leah jogged out to first base, and Ryder was pitching.
The first batter to step up to the plate was Caleb Stanway. He’d turned his cap around and bared his teeth at Ryder, who laughed back at him.
“Caleb, Caleb, he’s our man! Caleb, Caleb bakes a perfect flan!” These words came from his partner, Jonathan, who was sitting beside Caleb and Phoebe’s dad, waving a sign with Levelers for the Win written on it.
“He couldn’t come up with anything better than flan?” Sawyer asked.
“He’s a lawyer, not a poet. Now shut up and pitch, Duke,” Caleb said.
Ryder let the ball fly, and Bart, who was the umpire, called, “Strike!” They’d all chipped in to buy him an umpire’s uniform so they would no longer be subjected to his running shorts.
“Strike, my ass!” Beau Keller roared.
“One more word out of you, and I’m walking you before you even swing at a ball!” Bart yelled back.
Leah laughed. She’d forgotten how much she loved this game.
Over the past few days since she’d talked to Dan—really talked—Leah had felt lighter inside. She didn’t know what it meant for them and their future, but she knew that it could mean something, and for now, that was enough.
Hudson was happy and healthy here in Lyntacky, and he was starting to blossom too. Having Uncle Callum around made a difference. They were a family, and that felt right too.
“Strike two!”
Leah looked to the bleachers where the Lyntacky locals and a few tourists sat.
They were cheering, eating, and making noise.
Her eyes moved to Dan, who sat there in his sling, eating popcorn with Hudson and the rest of his family.
Were his eyes on her? She thought they were, and smiled. She then waved, and he waved back.
SJ, Betsy, and Dr. Hannah were dressed in their bikinis and covered in body paint, and they were all chanting. “Give me an L!”
Crazy, Leah thought, and she’d missed all of it.
“I just can’t unsee that,” Ryder muttered, winding up for his next pitch.
Caleb connected with the ball, and it sailed toward the outfield, where Jed Knox and JD were. Thankfully, it was closer to JD, who caught it with ease.
Jed was hopeless but had been playing on the team for years, so no one minded he couldn’t bat or field, but was a really good guy.
“Out!” Bart called.
The next one Beau hit, and the ball came back to Ryder. He picked it up and fired it to Leah, who caught it with a toe on the base.
Ryder struck Phoebe out next, who told him he was now dead to her. He ran in and grabbed her. Picking her up, he swung her in a circle, then planted a loud kiss on her cheek, making her and the crowd laugh.
“Maybe we could focus on the game?” Beau muttered, walking by.
“Won’t do you any good, asshole. You’ll still lose,” Sawyer muttered.
“We’ll see, shithead,” Beau said.
“You guys need to get over that crap,” Leah said. “It’s growing old.”
Sawyer and Beau both stared at her as she walked by them to wait for her turn to bat. It was the man who was seated in the dugout now who made her smile.