“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m happy for you, Lark. I wish you nothing but the best.”
Even though he can’t see me, I smile. “Thank you. Same to you.”
“Right, well, I guess it’s goodbye —”
“Wait!” I interrupt. “Will you please try to get your motherto hear the truth? I don’t want her thinking the worst of me.”
Baron laughs, but there’s no warmth to it. “Not sure she deserves that, but yeah, I’ll tell her. Goodbye, Lark.”
We hang up and I stare at my phone. Why do I care what Baron’s mother believes of me? I wish I knew, but I don’t. Honestly, her opinion matters less than almost anyone else’s. Still, I don’t want people thinking I would disrespect Baron like that.
Just because we were wrong for each other doesn’t make him a bad guy.
But I certainly am glad this baby is Dan’s and not his.
Chapter forty-one
Monty
There’s something magical about opening day. The sounds, the smells, the sun. It’s a perfect symphony for the senses. The feeling of a fresh start and another chance to go all the way.
I’m feeling damn good about our team. Spring training was exactly what it should have been. A chance for us to come together as a team, figure out our dynamic, and hone our skills. And it all led up to this: Yami’s on the mound, I’m behind the plate, and the Toronto Wolverines have their first player walking up to bat.
I take a deep breath and shut out everything but my focus on Yami. I give him the signal. A curveball.
He nods, then takes a step and winds up. The ball is in my glove seconds later, and the umpire calls a strike.
That’s how it’s done, boys.Even though no one can see it, I’m grinning behind my mask. The rest of the inning goes much the same with three up, three down.
Guess the Wolverines didn’t have as good a time at spring training.
We jog off the field, everyone clapping Yami on the back andcelebrating his incredible start. I peel off my gear before finding him, knocking our heads together.
“There you go, brother. Unstoppable.”
He claps me on the back. “Hell, yeah. Dynamic duo. We should get matching tattoos.”
“Dude. Seriously?” I look at him, my mouth stretching in a maniacal grin. “I’msoin. Hey, Mav!” I shout for our teammate who has more tattoos than anyone. “Got a good tattoo artist? Me and Yami are gonna be twins.”
He fixes us with an inscrutable look. The guy has loosened up a lot over the last several months, but he still doesn’t laugh quite as easily as everyone else chuckling over my announcement.
“Unicorns shitting baseballs or mermaids?” I turn back to Yami. “Personally, I’m a fan of the unicorns.”
He just shakes his head. “Way to ruin my idea, Monty.” His smile betrays his griping.
Together, we turn to the field where Sin is stepping up to the plate against his former teammate. I lean against the railing, resting one foot on the lower bar. The pitcher sends the ball flying, but Sin’s a statue, familiar with the pitcher from when he played for the Wolverines.
Sure enough, the ump calls it a ball. He gets one more that’s too low, then a slider comes straight at him. The entire dugout holds their breath as Sin takes a swing.
CRACK.
“There it is!” I shout, clapping my hands as Sin takes off for first. He makes it with time to spare.
“You boys are off to a great start.”
I spin around at Lark’s voice. “Hey, Birdie.” I drop a kiss toher head and try to subtly touch her stomach as I lean in to whisper, “How’s baby bird doing?”
