I hold out a fist and ignore the growing nerves threatening my stomach again.Simmer down, I tell it.You’re safe here. I always schedule Copper Valley on my tour while spring training’s going on. There’s no way thereal baseball playerI knew will be here tonight, despite beingfromhere.
“Hang in there, friend,” I tell the little boy. “I grew up without a dad too.”
“You did?”
I nod. “And you know what? There are lots of people who love you and who’ll be there for you even if you don’t have a traditional dad.”
He beams at me.
And I hope I’m not wrong.
“My dad says our pretend coach is a hack,” Percy announces. “What’s a hack? Waverly, are you a hack?”
I love kids this age.
No filters.
They’re fabulous.
“Some people think so, and that’s okay. I don’t believe it though.” I turn my focus on one of the quieter boys in the back. “How long have you all played together?”
“One season,” he whispers.
“We lost a lot,” the kid next to him says.
“She knows. We already told her.”
“How can you be the real Waverly when the real Waverly is doing a concert at Mink Arena tonight?” a shorter boy with dark hair asks.
“We’re at Mink Arena, Derek,” Aiden says. “But for real, do we get to stay to hear you sing?”
“Absolutely, you do.”
Two of the kids groan.
And I feel a real smile blooming. Their honesty is refreshing. “But only if you want to. Do you like The Cherry Tomatoes? They’re playing right now, and I think they’re still on for another forty minutes or so.”
Bingo. Both of the groaners light up. “Right now?Right now?” one asks.
“Right now.” I lower my voice. “I can get you secret tickets to stand next to the stage.”
And nowallthe boys are staring at me like I’m a goddess.
Hiramys doesn’t blink. I don’t do this every show, but I do it often enough that they plan for me to toss curve balls their way.
As the boys’ cheers die down, I smile at all of them. “You want pictures before you go? Can I sign anything for you?”
“Do we have to go?” Aiden asks.
“Unfortunately, I have to get ready for the show. But you can stick around and watch my set from our secret seats next to the stage too if you want.”
Hiramys gives me a thumbs-up. The coach’s face twists in a silentoh my god, are you serious?question, and I smile at him again.
I gesture for the program that Derek’s holding while Gus moves to start positioning the boys. “Did you want an autograph?”
He nods.
“Do we all get a copy of the picture?” Percy asks.
