First the game, then the soft opening ofthe bar—which was what Finn, Drew, and Nola were still calling it, not having settled on a name yet—then cleanup. She’d be lucky if she saw her bed before two in the morning.
“Do I have to?” Willow whined, though she didn’t actually mean it. Of course she had to. If she didn’t, who else would?
Mac and Rory exchanged a look, then Rory said, “I take it you haven’t heard yet.”
“Heard what? Oh Lord, did those kids mess up the baseball diamond? Dammit, I told them last week to stop four-wheelin’ all over it.”
“The diamond’s fine, and the kids are the last thing you need to worry about.”
“Well, someone better tell me what Ishouldbe worrying about, because I’m findin’ I don’t have a lot of patience for y’all right this second.”
“We’ve got a new opposing team this year.”
Willow’s brow furrowed. Every year it’d been the firefighters against the Havens, which consisted of their family and a handful of town hall workers. Not even close to an fair match, considering most of the firefighters were a bunch of athletes in peak physical condition and the Havens’ team consisted of a slightly overweight man nearing sixty, a handful of people who’d played some kind of sport way back in high school but not much since, and the rest of them who were mostly artistic types without an athletic bone in their bodies. Their saving grace every year was Mac, who’d played softball all through high school and even some college. Despite the uneven playing field, somehow they won. Every year. Imagine that.
“Somethin’ come up with the firefighters?” she asked.
“Rumor has it someone sweet-talked them into sittin’ out,” Rory said.
“Really? Who? We got a shot?”
Mac snorted. “A shot at trouble.”
Willow didnothave the patience for her sisters today. “Would someone just spit it out already?”
“We’re up against Drew, Finn, and their old crew.” Mac smiled. “And by the looks of it, they’re out to win. Maybe I’ll finally get some competition out there.”
Willow’s mouth dropped open. “But—” Lord, she didn’t even want to think of the tantrum her daddy would throw if he lost the game for the first time in…well, she wasn’t sure she wanted to make such a broad sweeping statement as to sayever, but…ever.
As if reading Willow’s mind, Mac said, “Yep. Daddy’s gonna get his ass handed to him.” She hooked her arm through Willow’s and tugged her toward the baseball field, pure glee written over every inch of her body. “I feel like we’re gonna need popcorn for this show.”
* * *
Finn stood in the dugout,Drew, Nola, Nash, and Ty BSing with each other. They were still waiting for a handful of people to arrive, and then they could get this show on the road. He wasn’t sure he’d ever anticipated something more, with the exception of seeing Willow again.
All week they’d been putting the finishing touches on the bar, and he and Drew had been closing out details of their life in California while looking for a place for their momma to live in Havenbrook. But during that time, he’d also sat and stewed, really contemplated how he was going to give that money back to Dick.
He hadn’t waited ten years just to mail a check back to him.
Finally, as he’d been walking home one night, a town flyer about the parade had caught his eye, and he’d remembered the annual softball game—how the Havens’ opposing team had always, without exception, thrown the game. What he wouldn’t give to see the look on Dick’s face if someone actually challenged him.
And in that moment, he’d known that was it.
He’d made a few calls, sweet-talked some people, and then they were in. He and his misfit crew of friends were taking on the mayor. And they certainly wouldn’t be throwing the game. Then, after, the cash. Shoving the money down the mayor’s throat, along with a bit of humility, would make Finn’s whole year.
“You really sure you wanna go through with this?” Ty asked.
There wasn’t a doubt in Finn’s mind everyone else was thinking the same thing—with the exception of Drew. But of course, Drew wouldn’t question it at all because he’d been there. Through every up and down, every decision made between a rock and a hard place, every day of the past ten years. No, Drew wasn’t thinking it because he knew how badly Finn wanted this. How it wasn’t about beating the mayor, though that was definitely the icing on the cake. This wasn’t even about a stupid game, but about so much more.
As if he’d conjured her up in his mind, Willow came strolling onto the field, slipping into the dugout on the opposite side of the baseball diamond. She stood in a tank top and shorts that left very little to the imagination, her smiling face hitting him straight in the gut.
Goddamn, did he love her.
To Ty, he said, “Abso-fucking-lutely. I’m playing for more than the game.”
He never took his eyes off Willow, and eventually, she glanced his way. She froze for just a moment, and he held his breath, waiting to see what she’d do. This was the first time they’d be seen in public together since the night at the tree house, and he couldn’t deny he was anxious as hell to see how she’d respond to him.
After what felt like a lifetime, she bit her bottom lip then lifted her hand, fluttering her fingers as her sisters looked on. He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face at her acknowledgment of him.
