Lark chuckles. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
Maeve closes her eyes as Lark begins arranging her hair in an intricate braid that starts on one side of her forehead. “Did your mama teach you to braid too? Mama tried to teach me, but I didn’t really get it.”
Lark gives her a bittersweet smile, and her deep green eyes fill with sorrow. “It was my big sister, actually. She taught me when I was about your age. And any time I had a bad day, she’d climb into bed with me and start braiding my hair. She’d alwaysdo the most elaborate designs as she let me talk, cry, or just process silently. Those are some of my favorite memories with her.”
“You’re lucky to have a big sister. All I have is an annoying little brother.” Maeve’s lips twist in disgust at the thought of her younger brother.
I huff a laugh because I get it. Younger bros are annoying as fuck sometimes. I love Remy and Wes, but, some days, I want to strangle them.
Lark’s lips tremble before she blows out a breath and smooths her expression. “I am, yeah. And I have a younger brother too. They’re the worst.”
Maeve giggles, and she and Lark talk and laugh for the rest of the inning, even after Lark finishes braiding her hair. The other kids gravitate over to Lark as well, and soon, the dugout is filled with laughter.
By the time the inning is over, I’m itching to get back to talk to Lark more. I’ve barely paid attention to the game, too focused on watching her. At least the team is doing well so far with four runs for our first at bat.
As I’m jogging back to our side, my players take their places on the field. I give them each a nod of encouragement or a pat on the back before I enter the dugout.
The six remaining kids are chatting animatedly with each other, giving Lark a break from their constant attention. Walking over to her, I sit down on the bench next to her.
She looks up at me and offers me a smile. “Hi.”
“Hey. How are you liking coaching so far?”
“I mean, I haven’t really coached anything,” she tells me with a laugh. “But it’s been a blast hanging out with the kids. Honestly, I’d happily do this every weekend.”
And now I need to figure out how to get rid of my human friend Austin. I like him, don’t get me wrong. But I’d be a fool topass up on the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Lark every week.
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe you could be our assistant, assistant coach.” That could work. Usually there are only two coaches, but I don’t think any of the kids will complain about me having two assistants.
She laughs, assuming I’m joking instead of dead serious. “I’m sure you totally need another unqualified coach to be getting in your way.”
I huff at her putting herself down like that. She’s clearly qualified to work with the kids and understands baseball. There’s really not much else needed.
Letting it go, I instead lean back and cross my arms as I watch her out of the corner of my eye. “You close with your family?”
She lets out a bitter laugh and avoids looking at me. “No, definitely not. What about you?”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting with how fondly she spoke about her sister. While I feel like I fucked up bringing it up, I’m too curious to drop the subject entirely. “Yeah, I’m close with my siblings and dads. You’re not close even with your sister?”
She closes her eyes and slumps like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. “It’s complicated,” she whispers, evading my question. “You’re not close with your mom?”
Sensing that I’m not going to get any more info from her right now, I sigh. “I was, but she died when Colt and I were eleven.”
It’s something everyone on the team knows, so I don’t mind sharing it where they can hear me. There’s a reason I volunteer with this team. I wish I’d had more adults in my life when it happened who understood what I was going through.
Lark whips around to look at me in shock before her face softens in empathy. “I’m so sorry, Colt.”
She places her delicate hand on my arm to comfort me. I grit my teeth as I try to convince my beast that her touching me isn’t an invitation. He wants to grab her around the waist and plop her onto my lap, showing everyone here just who she belongs to.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I focus back on our conversation. “Thank you, but it’s been a long time. We’ve all come to terms with it.”
At least, my siblings and I have. I don’t think my dads ever will. That’s just how it is when you lose your fated mate. There’s nothing in this or any other world that can heal the gaping hole left by their absence.
My dads are doing better than most, though. A lot of people die soon after losing their mate, but my dads had me and my siblings to consider. They couldn’t make us orphans, so they figured out how to go on without my mom.
Her eyes bounce around my face like she’s trying to figure something out. Eventually, she contemplatively looks back out at the field. “I’ve heard time heals all wounds. Not sure how true that is, though.”
I stare at her for a beat longer before shrugging. “Time helps. It makes it hurt less in some ways, but it never erases it completely.”
