Chapter 40
J.T
I’m covered in sweat, grime, and that damn baseball diamond sand that stains everything burnt orange and never comes off.
My shirt is soaked through.
My back aches.
I’m pretty sure I twisted my wrist pitching in the third inning, and I know for a fact I wrecked my left knee trying to slide for a ball like I’m still twenty-five.
And there’s a big, fat circular chocolate ice cream stain across my chest where Evan nailed me with his cone when we were taking pictures after the game.
Worth it.
Every single second of it.
The kids beat the hell out of us.
Not even close.
They ran the bases like little demons while the rest of us dads and stepdads wheezed around the field pretending we weren’t winded.
Half the time we were laughing too hard to play properly anyway.
Thatcher—our coach and grossly biased umpire—definitely called a few plays in their favor. I caught him at least twice.
“Safe!” he yelled when the kid was clearly out by two feet.
“Bullshit!” I barked from the mound.
He just grinned at me like the cheating bastard he is.
“Scoreboard says otherwise, old man.”
But I didn’t care.
Not really.
Because every time Evan hit the ball he’d look straight at me first.
Like he wanted to make sure I was watching.
And every time he crossed home plate he’d grin that big crooked grin that looks so much like Kelly’s it almost knocks the air out of my lungs.
The stands were full of families.
Kids yelling.
Parents clapping.
The smell of fresh-cut grass and popcorn drifting from the concession stand.
And every time I glanced toward the bleachers Kelly was there.
Watching us.
Blue eyes bright.
Cheering like we were playing in the damn World Series.
That woman.
Jesus.
Sometimes I still can’t believe she’s mine. But she is. Make no mistake about that.
When the game finally ended, the kids piled onto the field like they’d just won the championship.
Which, according to them, they had.
Ice cream cones were handed out, and someone’s kid started a chant about how the “old guys got smoked.”
Even Maddox showed up with his girl and stood along the fence laughing while Evan told him exactly how bad we lost.
I swear the kid was enjoying my humiliation.
Goddamn traitor.
Guess I have two little shits now. Still, I can’t stop smiling.
“You ready to head home?” I ask as we walk across the gravel parking lot.
Kelly and Evan both turn to look at me.
Same blue eyes.
Same grins.
The sight of it hits me right in the chest.
My family.
“Yep!” Evan says immediately. “Tommy and I are gonna play Little Big League on Xbox!”
“After your shower,” Kelly says without missing a beat.
Evan groans dramatically and looks at me like I’m supposed to save him.
I lift my hands.
“She told me the same thing, kid. Apparently, we both stink.”
Kelly smirks.
“She’s right,” I say, and bend down, making a show of sniffing my armpit.
Evan sighs like the world is ending.
“Fine.”
We pile into the truck and head home with the windows down.
The mountain air rolls in cool and clean, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth.
Evan talks the whole way about the game.
The hit he got off me.
The play Tommy made at second.
How next year they’re going to beat us even worse.
I just listen. Let the sound of it settle somewhere deep in my chest.
For the last couple of years, it’s been just me. I only ever had joint custody of Maddox—lots of weekends and vacations. When he finally moved to Woodhaven, he was old enough to live on his own.
My life has been predictable.
Work.
Land.
Responsibility.
A house that used to feel too damn quiet most nights.
Then Kelly became available and my world shifted—for the better, of course.
This woman was made for me, and I know beyond a doubt I was put on this Earth to be with her.
She is soft where I’m rough. Bright where I’m dark.
And when I’m with her? Suddenly, everything that used to feel empty feels right.
The ride home is fast, and dusk is just settling over the mountain, creating a sort of ethereal glow around the place. It’s like magic.
But that might just be her. I turn my head and catch Kelly singing along with the radio and my heart squeezes.
God, I love her.
The minute we pull into the driveway, Evan bolts out of the truck.
“Shower!” Kelly calls after him.
“I KNOW!” he shouts back.
I chuckle and follow them inside.
The house smells like wood and mountain air.
It smells like comfort. Like contentment. Love. Home.
“I’m gonna wash all this crap off,” I tell Kelly, brushing my hand along her lower back as she heads toward the kitchen.
She nods.
A few minutes later I’m standing under the hot spray of the shower, letting the day wash off me.
The sting in my wrist.
The ache in my knee.
The grit of the baseball field sliding down the drain.
My head tips back under the water.
Goddamn, today was fun. It felt good. Right.
The laughter.
The kid calling me stepdad without hesitation.
Kelly cheering from the stands like she believed in me.
For a man who spent most of his life alone, it’s almost too much.
The bathroom door creaks open.
I figure it’s nothing. Me forgetting to close the door properly—I’ve done that a thousand times.
Yeah, probably just the wind.
But then the glass shower door slides open.
And I turn.
And there she is.
Kelly.
She’s standing there completely naked.
Hair loose around her shoulders.
Skin warm and flushed.
Soft curves I know by heart.
My chest tightens as it does whenever I see her.
Every damn time.
“Honey,” I murmur.
She steps into the shower without a word.
The water runs over her shoulders as she presses against me.
Warm.
Familiar.
Right.
My arms wrap around her automatically, pulling her close.
She lifts her arms, wrapping them around my neck, and she pulls me down to meet her eager mouth.
“Evan?”
“Already showered and playing. I told him he gets thirty minutes to play then we’re having snacks and a family movie.”
“Thirty minutes, huh?”
“Yep.”
“I can work with that.”