41. Chapter 40
Austin - The Present
“So, you’re good with that plan?” I ask Raegan. We’re leaving my general manager’s office after discussing the outcome after my recent surgery and my long stay on the sixty-day disabled list. “I’ve recovered perfectly, the doctors claim. Just gotta regain strength and mobility.”
Raegan squeezes my hand and nods. “This is your dream, Austin, I love seeing you on that field. I will support you no matter where the road takes us.” She leans in close, “I’m your number one fan.
Even though I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, I’m glad it’s just Frisco and not somewhere else. ”
“It’ll be nice to see the guys on the Spurs again.”
“You see Jared almost every day for Bible study, but I get it. It’s like me with Chrissy and Jaimie when they’re no longer in school.”
“Do you know how lucky I am to have your support?”
“The luckiest.” She grabs my chin and presses a quick kiss to my lips.
My fate is settled. As long as I don’t injure something else I’m back off the DL and on my way back up to the majors.
Raegan and I walk the corridors of the Lariat’s stadium hand in hand.
“How long do you think it’ll take before you’re back up here?” Raegan asks once we’re back outside in the blinding sunshine.
“I asked around, and from what I’ve heard from other guys it’s taken about four months to get back to their full strength, and then the coaches give them a few weeks before playing them full time. And then they go back into the rotation.”
Raegan nods, her eyes narrowed in thought. “I guess it helps that you’re already in the majors.”
We’ve reached the gates to the parking lot and I grab Raegan's shoulders, pulling her so that she’s facing me. “Rae, I know I’ve thrown the word luck around when it comes to my healing, and my being in the major leagues. But Rae,” I give her a little shake. “It’s all God. All Him.”
Her eyes start to fill with tears. “I know.” She throws her arms around my neck, her hands threading through my hair. “He brought us through our doubts. Through our struggles.”
“And now that we’re seeing all the blessings, living on the high again we can’t forget that it’s all due to Him.”
Her lips find mine, hiking my temperature hotter than the hood of my truck in this ninety degree heat. I groan against her lips, my fingertips digging into her hips. “Wanna go grab a milkshake before we pick up Grace?” I ask as I reluctantly pull away.
Raegan smirks at me. “You know I’ll never turn down a milkshake.”
I press one more kiss to her nose before grabbing her hand and leading us to my truck.
“You ready to pray?” Raegan and I kneel beside Grace’s bed.
“Dee Jee-sus. Tanks fuh mama an’ Dad. ‘Men.”
I’m fairly certain tears will always come to my eyes when I hear Grace pray. Raegan squeezes my hand and we leave the room together.
“Are we going to sit out back and look at the stars?” Raegan grins at me.
Almost every night we hang out on the small cement slab behind the café, talking about our day and whatever else we can come up with.
“Every possible night, babe.” I kiss her before grabbing the baby monitor. Raegan grabs two mason jars of watermelon lemonade and some pumpkin cookies.
Once we’re down the back stairs, I hold open the door and then follow Raegan to the two chairs waiting for us.
There’s not much to see from where we sit behind the café– just the side streets with their homes, their gardens, their happy families.
It’s calm and quiet with the occasional car passing and the bugs singing.
“Are you happy with our life?” I ask after I’ve eaten one cookie.
Raegan's eyes are dreamy as she looks over at me. “The happiest. I’m glad I’ve got you. I’m glad we’re married. I’m glad we’ve got Grace. I’m glad we’ve got God. And my parents. And your parents.”
“Speaking of my parents…” I clear my throat. “They’re getting remarried.” Before I can finish the sentence Raegan's chair is falling backward and she’s jumping and cheering.
“I knew it! I knew it would happen. I saw them holding hands at our wedding.” She swipes away a tear. “Austin, that’s so exciting. I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
“I was a little surprised at first. But I know Dad has changed.” My own tears begin to well up. “We’ve all changed a little.”
Raegan perches on my knee and the chair groans under our combined weight. We’ve both grown recently, not necessarily physically, though I’ve packed on a couple pounds of muscle. Raegan is as perfect as ever. I’ll love her no matter how much she changes.
But spiritually… “I love how we’ve found peace. We’ve found healing. We went through a trial, okay, maybe a few trials, and we came out better. We came out stronger.”
“What an amazing God we have.” She kisses my cheek. “He brought us through our trials, and it was all for good.”
“All for good, babe. All for good.”