She laughed breathlessly, her body shaking.
“They didn’t give it to me because they feel bad for me, either.”
She hadn’t thought that for one second. She opened her mouth to tell him so, and his thumb brushed her bottom lip. She couldn’t speak after that.
“I taught Gunner to throw a darn good cutter. If I can teach that little jagweed, then I can teach anyone.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “I had to tell you,” he said lowly.
“I’m so happy for you.” She lifted her chin. Their eyes met, and she was overwhelmed with the love pouring out of him.
“I gotta go to work.” He kissed her head once more. “But I’ll be loving you the whole time we’re apart.” He let her go and walked away, a swagger in his step.
Tilly stared after him. He’d done well for himself—found a new way to have baseball in his life. He’d climbed a mountain.
And the first person he wanted to tell was her. He’d shared his success, wanted her to be a part of it.
That wassomething.
She leaned against the railing for support.
“Honey, if you like it, you’d better put a ring on it,” said the lady with the white hair.
Tilly glanced down to find her entire section staring up at her. She laughed easily. “Ah, no. He’s going to have to work a little harder if he wants all this,” she teased with a wink.
Two women clapped for her. A few guys nodded appreciatively. The white-haired woman gave her a shrewd look. “Playing hard to get is a smart move.” She brushed her palms together. “You’re smart. I like you.”
Tilly grinned. She wasn’t playing anything. All her feelings were as real as the chairs in the seats or the lights blaring overhead. She was working through them the best she could. On the other side was Brayden and his time-stopping kisses. That was enough motivation for her to keep going, even though it was work to take down her walls. “The feeling is mutual.”
“That’s it, George.” She smacked her husband on the leg.
He about jumped out of his seat in surprise. Unlike his wife, he’d been watching the game. “What, woman?”
“We’re getting season tickets.”
“Fine by me,” he grumbled. Their food arrived, and Tilly spent a moment showing them how to hook the trays into their cup holders.
She made the rounds between the fifth and sixth inning, assuring her guests that ordering now would leave plenty of time to eat before the game was over. It looked like the Redrocks were set up to win another game. Tilly’s eyes wandered to the top of the lower section, where she’d caught Brayden watching her before.
He was there, his arms folded across his chest, his hat pulled low so she couldn’t see his eyes. Her heart pumped at the sight. As good as he looked in jeans, the man could pull off a pair of baseball pants like a champ, and she couldn’t wait for him to be back in the bullpen.
For the first time, she felt more than determination to do the right thing or see things through. For the first time, she felt hope.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Brayden
Brayden had been a full-time pitching coach for all of four days, but he felt like he’d been doing this his whole life. Maybe he had, to an extent. Like when he had a meeting with Vito Ramirez, they picked up right where he’d left off with their discussions on the knuckle ball.
The two of them had been playing around with the pitch for a few weeks before the accident, neither getting very far because they were just playing around. But Ramirez had potential and Brayden was excited to bring it out in him. He’d spent several nights at home, working through videos and reading chapters dedicated to the pitch guys called “the ghost ball.”
“Looks good,” Brayden called after Ramirez’s final throw. He wasn’t ready to roll the pitch out in a game, but with some more practice, they could work it in. Maybe they’d try it out on one of their big hitters, see what he thought of it.
“Thanks, man. It’s good to have you back. I missed this.” Ramirez wiped his face and neck down with a towel.
“Me too.” Brayden fist-bumped him and then headed out. He was due for a grueling PT session that he wasn’t looking forward to. Life was good today, and Elise could make it ugly with just a few exercises. He headed to the locker room to change for his torture session.
As he passed the PT room, he saw Tilly sitting in a chair, Elise massaging her neck. Her eyes were closed and she was focused on breathing in as Elise worked a knot, and then breathing out as the acids were pushed through the tissue.
He put his finger over his lips, telling Elise not to say anything. With shooing motions, he got her to slide over, and his hands were soon working the muscles he knew better than his own. Tilly was always a sucker for a good neck massage.
