“Oh yes!” Daisy said at the exact same time.
I looked at her like she was a traitor. “What?” she said. “I’m sorry. I love the cheerleaders. Baseball is kind of—”
“Oh, Daisy, choose your words carefully,” Drew interrupted. “You are on hallowed ground.”
We all laughed.
“Baseball is, um, fantastic,” Daisy said. “But the cheerleaders add such pizzazz.”
“Please, Coach,” Sarah said.
“Please, Mason,” Daisy said.
I threw my hands up. “Ladies of incredible baseball knowledge. Our time-outs don’t work like they do in football and basketball, so that isn’t going to work.”
“Well, you know,” Sarah said, making a running motion with her fingers. “When you guys, like, trade sides or whatever.”
Drew and I rolled our eyes at each other. But they were both so earnest. I looked at Drew. “A little help here?”
He put his hands up. “Don’t look at me.” He slid his arm around Sarah’s waist. “I’d do anything she wanted.”
My stomach turned. How could she be okay with this kid having no idea? How could Sarah be okay with it? I felt horrible.
Officer Foster, our school’s resource officer, rapped lightly at the open door of my small office. “It’s getting really crowded in here, Officer. But how can I help you?”
He looked a little sick.
“Well, uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they need Sarah down at the station for questioning.”
“What?” Sarah and Drew said at the same time. Daisy and I shared a look. Officer Foster seemed relaxed, but it wasn’t lost on me that he was blocking that door.
He looked from Daisy to Maisy to me to Drew to Sarah and shook his head. Yeah. It didn’t look great. “Sweetheart,” he said gently. “Maybe we should talk alone.”
“Absolutely not,” Drew said, walking toward him. “What are you doing, dude?”
Officer Foster looked at Sarah. “Okay, well, if that’s how it’s going to be. Sarah, we have had a few tips that give us reason to believe that the abandoned baby is yours, and I’m going to need to take you down to the station for questioning.”
“No,” I said. “Not without her parents.”
“Donotcall my parents!” Sarah cried.
“This is ridiculous,” Drew said. “Look, Foster, this is probably just some jealous cheerleader looking to cause trouble. You know that.”
I stood up. “So, why would you need to take Sarah in?” I was stalling, giving myself time to think.
“Well, child abandonment, reckless endangerment of an infant—”
“But what if she didn’t abandon the child?” I interrupted, my mouth working faster than my brain.
Daisy stood up now. “Look, Officer, whoever’s baby this is, she is fine. She is thriving. This is a happy ending here.”
“The father safe surrendered the baby to the hospital,” Sarah blurted out, locking eyes with Daisy.
Drew turned to look at me, and his face was very pale. He looked at Sarah. “But that was me.”
Foster studied my face. “Yes,” I agreed. “The father safe surrendered the baby. So, no crime here.”
The officer raised his eyebrows. “So then why didn’t you say that at the hospital when you first talked to Officer Mendoza?”
