Epilogue #5
Noise from the crowd made Oz turn. The players were running onto the field, and seeing Logan wearing red, white, and blue made Oz’s eyes tear up.
He’d done it. After all he’d been through. After the hard start he’d gotten in his life, he’d accomplished his greatest dreams.
It didn’t matter if the US won or lost this game. Logan had made it.
An arm snaked around his waist, and Oz knew immediately it was his wife. She was so tiny compared to him, and he’d recognize her touch anywhere. He didn’t take his gaze off Logan though. He didn’t want to miss a second.
Riley rested her head on his arm and said, “He did it.”
Oz wasn’t surprised she was on the same wavelength. “Yeah.”
“It was nice of Shin-Soo to come with his family,” Riley continued. “I know it means a lot to Logan that he’s here. Remember the first time he met him? God, I thought Logan was going to pass out. And now they’re friends. It’s kind of crazy.”
It was. It really was. Ember had facilitated that first meeting, and a lifelong friendship between the veteran and an up-and-coming player had been formed. It was as improbable as Oz becoming a father to a ten-year-old boy twenty years ago. But here they were.
Three hours later, Oz was just as awed as he’d been when the game first started.
The US lost, but Logan had caught an incredible fly ball, getting his team to within one run of winning.
There would be more games, and time would tell if Logan and his team would earn a medal, but for now, Oz was as proud as he could possibly be.
Their entire group waited outside the gates for Logan to come say hello before he went back to the athlete village with his teammates, and everyone made the drive back to their respective homes. Oz waited patiently when Logan finally emerged to greet everyone.
When it was finally his turn, he found himself utterly speechless.
He remembered when Logan was just a scared kid.
When he got upset anytime his throws went wide.
How happy he’d been when he’d caught his first fly ball in a game.
Logan was a grown man now, with a serious girlfriend who Oz had a feeling would become his daughter-in-law sooner rather than later.
But Logan would always be his little boy.
He grabbed Logan in a bear hug and held on tightly, trying to come up with the words to tell this man how proud he was of him.
But he didn’t need to say anything, Logan knew. He pulled back and held his hand out to his uncle. In it was a baseball.
“It’s that last one I caught,” Logan said. “I thought you might want it.”
Oz chuckled. He had over a dozen baseballs displayed back home.
His first homerun ball. The ball he caught at his high school championship game that had won the title for his team.
One from his first college game, and a half dozen others from important games throughout Logan’s life.
And now he had this one, the last ball Logan had caught in his first Olympic game. “Thanks,” Oz choked out.
“You were amazing,” Riley said, pushing her way between them and hugging Logan fiercely. He towered over her, but neither seemed to notice their height difference.
“Not bad for a pain-in-the-ass brother,” Bria said, shoving her way in as well.
Oz wrapped his arms around all three of them. He heard everyone talking in the background, but this moment was precious for the foursome. “Your mom would’ve been so proud,” Oz said softly.
Logan and Bria both nodded.
“The best day of my life was when the two of you became mine,” Oz said. “I admit that I wasn’t prepared to be a dad, but once I settled in, I couldn’t imagine anything better.”
“You mean after you begged Riley for some junk food to feed me that first morning,” Logan joked.
“Yup. I would’ve been lost without her,” Oz agreed readily.
He wanted to stay there with his kids forever, soaking in the moment, but someone yelled Logan’s name.
He apologized and said he had to get going.
It was too soon before Oz was watching him jog toward his teammates.
Bria hugged him and said she needed to get her baby home, since it was late.
Slowly, everyone began to drift away to the parking lot, but Oz still stood where he was, watching where Logan had disappeared.
“It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come, isn’t it?” Trigger asked as he came up next to him.
“Like, how in the hell did we all get so damn lucky?” Lefty asked.
“I know how I got lucky,” Lucky said with a chuckle. “It’s all in the name.”
“Whatever,” Doc said with a roll of his eyes.
“Today was amazing,” Grover added.
“I think Shin-Soo told my son that if he wanted a job at the multimillion-dollar company his son-in-law runs back in South Korea, it was his,” Brain said. “Now I have to worry about the kid heading halfway across the world, where I won’t get to see him as often.”
Everyone laughed. Oz turned his attention from where Logan had disappeared to the men at his side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw all their families waiting a short distance away.
It had been a while since they’d retired from the Army, but he was just as close to these men as he’d been twenty years ago, maybe more so. They’d gone through hell and back together, and this was their reward.
“At risk of sounding cheesy, I love you guys,” Oz said.
Not one of his friends made fun of him.
“Same,” Trigger agreed.
“Don’t know what I’d do without you all,” Doc agreed.
“I can’t imagine not having any of you in my life,” Lucky said.
“Best friends are the best,” Brain said with a grin.
“Love you too,” Lefty echoed.
“We’re all sappy old men tonight. But who cares? You’re all the best friends I’ve ever had,” Grover said.
Then a car backfired in the lot behind them, and the moment was gone. All seven moved as one, heading for their women and children, wanting to keep them safe from whatever evil might be lurking in the dark, even if it was only a car badly in need of maintenance.
Life was full of twists and turns, but Oz knew his friends all felt the same way he did…they wouldn’t change anything that had happened to them. Nothing they’d seen or done, if it meant ending up right here, right now, with their women and families at their sides.
I hope you enjoyed the Delta Team Two series…