Chapter nine #4
“Everyone has room to improve.”
Chase sighs. “Look, you may be friends with my mom, but we don’t have to be friends, okay? I’m sorry I broke into your garage and smashed your car, but beyond working to repay you for that, we don’t need to talk.”
I cross my arms over my chest as the sky around us grows completely dark. “Don’t forget I’m your coach too.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” he mutters, running the tool through one more weed before standing up tall. “Am I done out here?”
I groan, realizing that the person I may need to work on my relationship with the most is the boy standing right in front of me. He’s not my kid, but he’s Scottie’s son, and the older brother of our child. I refuse to fight with him. There has to be a way we can figure this out.
“Yeah. Come on. I have another job for you.”
“Joy.”
Chase follows me into the garage and over to the steel sink where we scrub engine parts.
I found a bucket of odd parts and ends, stuff that I’m sure I don’t even need anymore, but the point is to get this kid’s hands dirty.
Mr. Rogers used to save this job for me when I worked here after school.
I didn’t understand the point of it back then, but now I do, and maybe Chase will figure it out too.
“Steel pads are in the bucket,” I say, pointing to a small container beside him. “Soap is above you, and I highly recommend wearing an apron.”
“You want me to clean these?” His eyes survey the grease-covered pieces of steel. “Is it even possible for these to get clean?”
“Yup. It’s possible.” I pat him on the shoulder and start to walk away, but before I can stop myself, more words spill out. “You know, I used to do the same thing.”
“What are you talking about?” Chase replies, still staring down into the sink full of engine parts.
“Practice my pitching without the ball.” Our eyes meet, and though he’s acting like he doesn’t care about what I have to say, his eyes show curiosity. “How often do you do that?”
He swallows visibly. “More than I should probably admit.”
I nod once. “I can tell. That’s what sets you apart, Chase. That’s why I told Coach Carter you should be the starting pitcher, not Max or Nathan.”
“I don’t need you doing me any favors,” he snaps.
“Believe me, the last place I would do you a favor is on the baseball field.” I walk back over to him and point in the sink. “This favor is for your mom, just so you know. But on the field? There’s no room for error, no place for players who don’t earn their spot.”
“Well, now the whole team hates me, so thanks for that.”
I lower my voice and continue, “It’s easy for people to be jealous of what you’ve got, but not how you got it.” His eyes bore into mine. “It comes down to hard work, Chase. If they put in the same effort, they could have your talent. Believe me, I know what you’re going through.”
For a moment, I see a flicker of understanding in his eyes, a realization that we have more in common than not. His face softens, and his scowl begins to fade. But then he clears his throat, grabs an apron from the sink, and reaches for a steel pad, running it under the water. “No, you don’t.”
A small part of me wants to argue with him, but the adult part of my brain tells me tonight isn’t the time. We have a long road ahead, and there will be moments to bridge the gaps that separate us.
At least, I hope so.
“I’ll be in the office if you need me,” I say as I walk away.
As I settle behind the counter, waiting for Scottie to return to pick him up, there’s a dull ache in my chest that won’t subside.
It’s half for the woman I want, and the other half for her son who has his own challenges to face, some I’m now responsible for as well.
***
“How’d it go?” Scottie asks as soon as she walks through the front door nearly an hour later. She’s changed from her dress into casual pants and a plain white t-shirt, but she still looks strikingly beautiful.
I rise from my chair, pulling up my jeans. “Well, do you want the truth?”
Her face falls. “What did he do?”
“Nothing horrible,” I say, brushing a hand through my hair. My shirt rides up a little, flashing a sliver of my abs, and Scottie’s eyes focus on the sight. I wait for her gaze to return to mine, smirking in her direction.
Her glare is icy, probably because I caught her staring. “Continue, please.”
“He’s just pissed, Scottie.”
“Well, he has no one to be pissed at but himself.” She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together. And maybe I’m just imagining things, but her boobs look bigger than they were earlier today.
She catches me staring this time, clearing her throat to regain my attention.
Is this how it’s going to be for the next six months? Stolen glances, catching each other staring, and denying what’s really between us?
I refocus on the matter at hand. “I don’t think it was just anger about the work.” I hold my hands up in frustration. “I might be way off base, but my gut is telling me there’s something else bothering him.”
Scottie blows out a breath, dropping her arms to her sides. “What did he say?”
I tell her about catching him practicing his pitching and how the boys on the team are giving him a hard time because he’s starting at the game tomorrow. And when I tried to explain how I can relate, he brushed me off.
“Yeah, sounds about right,” she says, shaking her head.
“So it’s not just me? I mean, I’m not here to be friends with the kid, but…”
“You’re a man, Grady. That’s all you had to do to piss him off. Having a penis is why Chase is giving you that attitude.”
My brows furrow. “Uh, can you explain further, please?”
Scottie leans on the counter that separates us. “He doesn’t trust you because you’re a man. The one man in his life he should have been able to count on never kept his word, so…”
Recognition races through me. God, I remember that feeling well—wondering why my father never stuck around. Wondering if all men were like that—leaving their kids behind without a second thought.
Knowing that Chase has experienced that just fuels the anger coursing through me. “Fuck, Scottie.”
She shrugs, but brushes a tear from her cheek. “It’s part of why we moved here,” she whispers. “I was tired of watching my son suffer, tired of seeing him disappointed when his father wouldn’t keep his word.”
I shift my gaze back to Chase, who’s still standing at the sink, scrubbing engine parts. That ache in my chest intensifies because now I not only have to ensure my own child never feels that disappointment, but I also want to show Chase that there are men who do keep their word.
“You did the right thing, Scottie.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier. And now he’s got a target on his back because of baseball. I was hoping that might go away too, but…”
“He’s really fucking talented,” I say, cutting in. “I swear, watching him yesterday was like…”
“Watching you,” she finishes for me, her eyes locked on mine.
“Yeah.”
Silence stretches between us. I stare at her, feeling like I’m a teenager all over again, getting lost in her eyes. But now, as adults? The connection is even more powerful.
We’re connected not just by friendship now, but by the life growing inside of her.
Scottie is the only person who really knew who I was before baseball. And her son has that same passion for the game—a passion only someone cut from the same cloth can recognize in another.
“I won’t let him down, Scottie,” I declare, breaking the silence. “Or you.”
“You—you can’t promise that, Grady.” Her voice is shaky and her lips are trembling, but it’s the fear in her eyes that tells me how fucking vital it is that I prove I’m serious.
Standing tall, I assert, “Yes, I can.”
She swallows and then pushes herself off the counter. “I need to get my son home.” Walking around me, she heads into the garage. “Chase?”
He looks over his shoulder at her. “Yeah?”
“You’re done for the day,” I tell him .
“Finally,” he mutters, tossing the steel pad into the sink.
“Say thank you to Grady,” Scottie warns as Chase pulls the apron from his body.
“For what?”
Scottie glares at her son. “For not putting you in jail!”
He rolls his eyes before walking past me. “Thanks.”
Scottie sighs as Chase leaves the garage, not bothering to wait for her. “Same time on Saturday?”
“Yeah. Have you, uh…decided when to tell Chase about the baby?” I hate the sound of desperation in my voice, but keeping this from him is only going to make matter worse.
“Um, not really.”
“Well, there’s a game tomorrow, so maybe you can tell Chase about the baby on Friday. That way he knows before he comes back on Saturday. Fridays won’t work in the future, just an FYI. I have to take my niece to her dance class sometimes on Friday nights for my sister, so Saturdays will work best.”
“You’re a dance uncle?” Scottie teases.
“And damn proud of it.”
Something briefly sparks in her eyes, a glimmer of appreciation maybe, or reverence, but I can’t be quite sure because she darts her gaze from mine in a flash and heads back for the office to follow Chase to her car. “Have a good night, Grady.”
“Keep growing our kid, Scottie,” I call after her.
The smirk she gives me over her shoulder is one I won’t soon forget. I’ve seen it before, and now my mission in life is to make sure that I never have to live without it again.