Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
JOSH
Twenty-two dates later…
I shoved the hard hat emblazoned with the logo of the construction company building our new hospital complex off the passenger seat and reached for my bat bag in the back seat.
Once we’d broken ground four months ago, the project had exploded forward.
Every week brought something new, something bigger.
Jim Tadlock and his group of wealthy horse owners had both donated and loaned us enough money to build the complex.
The monster loan part lurked in the back of my mind, but I somehow kept myself from jumping off the cliff into full-blown panic.
We’d signed on Ken Haegan and Erika’s friend, Victoria, as the founding equine vets to run the equine hospital, and even managed to lure another large-animal vet from Tennessee.
We were still hunting for small-animal and emergency doctors, but Sarah from Erika’s old practice planned to move down soon and take on a managerial role supervising the techs and veterinarian team.
So much. So fast. Sometimes my head spun just trying to keep up.
Today was the championship game for my adult league, and after clawing through a season full of highs and lows, we’d finally earned our spot by winning yesterday’s semifinals. I should’ve been thinking strategy. I should’ve been warming up.
Instead, I found myself squinting across the parking lot, searching for any sign of Erika’s car or Vinny’s bouncing energy. She’d promised they’d make it before the first pitch, but she’d done a house call to check on a patient she’d performed surgery on two days ago.
I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, heartbeat picking up for reasons that had nothing to do with baseball.
I just wanted to see them. Before everything started.
We were playing at NC State’s main stadium for the championship. Walking into that stadium felt like stepping into some strange full-circle moment. I hadn’t expected to be back here, not like this. I wanted Erika and Vinny to be here when I stepped back onto the field.
“Your old hunting ground, huh?” Reno said as he met me at the gate, clapping my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I exhaled, taking in the stands. “Feels weird being back. But I like this team a hell of a lot better than the one I was on back then.”
“They were idiots to cut you,” he said flatly.
I gave him a half smile. “Maybe. I don’t know. I think things turned out the way they were supposed to.” I paused, looking him straight in the eye. “I appreciate you giving me a chance on this team.”
“Sure,” he said with a scoff that was more affection than irritation. “We wouldn’t even be in this game without you behind the plate to keep those kids’ heads straight.” He lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, gaze stretching out toward the parking lot. “Is that a school bus?”
I turned just in time to see a yellow bus swing into the parking lot. Erika’s SUV followed right behind it. Then my heart caught. My dad’s truck followed close behind her with my mom in the passenger seat.
Players from Vinny’s team spilled off the bus, followed by a handful of moms. More cars pulled in. Kids ran to parents; families reuniting in little bursts of cheers and chaos.
Gruffly, I forced the words out, “That’s the team I coach.”
Reno let out a low laugh. “You brought your travel team and their parents to our game? This ought to be interesting.”
“Wait until they break out the walk-up music and noise makers.”
He gave a half-hearted laugh. “I know one of the pro scouts who’s coming today. He wanted to see Gregory pitch since the guy’s been throwing close to a hundred every game. You should have your A-game on. See you down there.” Reno clapped me on the shoulder before he headed for the dugout.
Erika jogged up to me, the giant red bag bouncing against her hip packed, no doubt, with snacks and every thoughtful thing I never remembered to bring for myself. She pulled my water bottle free like it was nothing and held it out.
“You forgot this.” She rummaged in the bag, then pulled out a can. “Figured you might need sunscreen too.”
Something in my chest hitched—harder than it should’ve. It wasn’t just the stuff. It was that she’d noticed. That she’d thought ahead, filled in the gaps I didn’t even realize I’d left.
I wasn’t used to that. Not someone paying attention like that. Not someone quietly having my back. It was such a small thing, but it landed heavy. Almost knocked the breath out of me.
She leaned in close, voice barely above a whisper. “Take a breath, Whiskey. It’s just a water bottle and sunscreen. Don’t be getting all teary right now. You’ve got a whole damn town coming to watch you win a championship. This time, with your clothes on.” She chuckled.
It felt like so much more than just a water bottle. It felt like everything I never thought I’d have.
I nodded at the familiar people in the parking lot who had driven an hour or more to be here. “How did they know?”
“I might’ve mentioned something to Marty. You know your parents have been counting down the days to today. Then Vinny might’ve mentioned something to one of the other kids.”
Just then, my parents finished paying the entry fee. My dad, all stern and serious, said, “About time all that money I spent on baseball gear way back when paid off.”
Mom hit him with her shoulder. “He means to say have a great game, sweetie.”
Hours later, it was my last turn at bat.
Like the last two times I came up, the whole town—my community—was screaming.
One of the travel ball team moms played a K-pop song on the small speaker that linked with her phone.
It was the song I usually danced to when I needed to pump up the kids in the middle of a game.
The kids were screaming wildly and dancing in sync.
I looked up before I stepped into the batter’s box and pointed at them, then I did the ridiculous dance move that always got them giggling. They roared. Even the ref laughed.
I cracked a solid hit, sending the ball flying far into the outfield and drove in a run.
The cheers felt good, sure, but it wasn’t the part of today that mattered most. Neither were the high-fives from the team after we won, or even meeting the scout Reno introduced me to, the one who said he was more interested in me than our star pitcher.
What mattered was afterward. My mom was there telling everyone to stick around a bit longer.
I jogged up to the main mezzanine where the people of Vision who mattered to me loitered, including my brother, Dante, and Tonya.
When I made it up there, Erika was grinning like she’d just gotten the best Christmas present of her life.
She ran to me and kissed me hard before I could stop her.
I pushed her away from me and cleared my throat, my heart pounding.
It took me a second to register the noise of my teammates closing in behind me, forming a wall of bodies and breathless excitement at my back.
Reno stood off to the side, still talking to the scout, both of them watching like they already knew exactly what was about to happen.
Hell, everyone knew my plan except the one person who mattered most.
Erika stepped closer, brows knitting. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
My heart felt like it might crash through my ribs. I dropped to one knee before I lost my nerve, and the whole world seemed to stop.
“Erika,” I said, voice unsteady, “in front of all these people who matter…and in front of the ones behind you who saw what I was like without you—” I heard a rumble of agreement from them, the kind that said they remembered every dark, messy part of that time.
“—which wasn’t good. I was going to wait until the hospital opened, but I’m not that patient.
Not when I’ve finally got you back. Not this time. I—”
“You’re monologuing,” she whispered, eyes shining.
I huffed out a shaky laugh, then pulled the ring box from my pocket. Dante’s help picking it out echoed in my mind. My hands shook as I opened it.
“You’re my always and my forever. Will you marry me?”
Her answer cut through everything. “Yes. Of course.” She dropped to her knees and kissed me like the rest of the world had vanished. Then whispered, “It’s about time you got around to asking.”
I slipped the ring on her finger.
Vinny barreled into my side, squeezing tight. I felt arms wrap around my shoulders—my mom, my dad—and somewhere behind me, my teammates roared like we’d just won the World Series.
And maybe I had.