Page 16 of Safe at Home

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “How is Nico?”

“Still unconscious, but the doctor’s are optimistic, whatever that means. He has a concussion for sure and a broken leg from a wall falling down on them. Ash saved his life. She was his hero.”

I wasn’t sure what to say and felt tears in my eyes, “I really am so sorry, Mack.”

“I know,” Mack said. “It fucking sucks, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. But, man, I am so happy to hear Molly and her co-worker were fine. What happened?”

I felt horrible telling him my good news about my wife being okay when his own wife wasn’t. But he had brought it up, so I told him how they found out we were having twins and wanted to surprise me. He couldn’t believe they didn’t even know about the tornado.

“Twins, man? Holy shit. That’s awesome. Congrats to your super sperm.”

I had to give a humorless laugh at that comment. “My parents had triplets, and I don’t want to think about my dad’s super sperm.”

Mack actually laughed. “Damn, Ty. I needed a laugh. Thank you.”

“Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Well,” Mack began. “I do have a proposition for you, and you can say no if you want. No pressure. The media has been all over because of the tornado, how it hit the stadium, Ash’s passing, and everything else. I talked to the Raptor’s owner, Sebastian Campbell, and we want to try to put a good spin on all the bad shit that has happened.”

“What can I do?” I asked.

“We want to get word out about the MiLB supporting the Red Cross and, how for every minor league game played today in the Midwest Conference, they will donate 20% of the ticket sales to the Tornado Relief Fund. It will help those in Riverbend who lost their homes, loved ones, or jobs. I would be the face of the support if I were still in Riverbend but -”

“You’re needed with Nico, Mack,” I interrupted him. “I can make a speech, talk to the media, whatever you need. I think it’s an awesome cause, and it hits home with me, literally.”

“I figured you’d say that,” Mack said. “Thanks, Tyler. It will take a load off my shoulders because I know you’ll do a great job. There is a local reporter waiting to video call with you to talk about what to say and everything. Is it okay to give him your number?”

“Of course,” I agreed. “You stay with Nico. He is your number one priority. Let me know how he’s doing, okay?”

“You know I will,” Mack said. “Thanks, again, Stone. Tell your girl that I’m really happy that she’s okay.”

“I will. And please let me know when you’ve made arrangements for your wife for her celebration of life. I hope they’ll let me off to be there.”

“We’ll figure out a way to get you there. Hey, Stone, the nurse just walked in, so I’m going to talk to her about Nico. We’ll talk later.”

He hung up, and I saw a new text from Molly:

My everything: Please call me after your meeting, if you can. Hopefully everything is ok. Let me know what time you could meet for lunch. I don’t think I’ll be able to sit down, though. Who knew my man was a vampire? ??

Me: I think vampires prefer to bite necks and not perfect asses, baby. ??

My everything: You’re too much. My whole body hurts, but in the best way possible.

Me: Take a bath, sweetheart. That will help. I wish I was there to take one with you.

My everything: This bathtub is hardly going to be big enough for me alone.

My everything: What was your meeting about, Ty? I’m worried my coming will get you in trouble. I’ve never seen anyone leave a game mid at-bat before. And I’ve watched a lot of baseball.

Me: Fuck, baby. I love you so much. Don’t worry. I’m not in trouble. But it’s not a conversation to have over text.

My everything: Ok, I trust you. I love you, too, Ty. I’m going to get in the bath and then see what Pen and the kids are up to.

Me: That sounds good. Take a long bath, Molly, and just relax. Love you.

I put my phone in my pocket and almost jumped when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a man several inches shorter than me wearing a dark blue suit with a bright blue shirt underneath and a tie that matched the suit color. He has short brown hair that was gelled a little in the front and wore round glasses over his brown eyes. He had a kind, genuine smile. “Hi, sorry to bother you. I was told to give you a few minutes, and hopefully, I’m not interrupting. Are you Tyler Stone?”

“I am,” I responded and then shook his outstretched hand. He looked vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I knew him from.

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