Page 55 of Until Forever

“Man. This is stupid.” He frowns, stomps, and crosses his arms over his chest.

“It’s okay. You’ll get it,” Jasper tries to convince him.

“I suck at this,” JJ pouts.

As I prepare to rush to console him, Jasper beats me to it, stepping forward until they’re only inches apart. I move back, watching to see how he handles this.

“You do not suck.” He kneels in front of him. “This is why we practice, right? To get good at new things, right?”

JJ pouts more. “But I’ve been practicing formonths,” he exaggerates.

“That’s fine. Sometimes things take a little while, but we’ll get there. Okay?”

JJ sighs with a nod. “You promise?”

Jasper removes his glove and rests his palm on JJ’s shoulder. “I promise that if you work hard, don’t quit, and never let anything make you feel like you suck, you’ll be amazing at whatever you put your mind to. Yeah?”

“Yes,” JJ quips, his mood already improving.

With my hand over my heart, a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. That was perfect, and it’s not lost on me that those were all the words he never heard when he was a boy.

“Good.” Jasper is back on his feet and yanks his glove on. “Now, no more doubting yourself. Got it?”

“Got it,” JJ cheers.

“All right. Let’s try this.” Jasper holds his mitt in front of him, using his free hand to illustrate his message. “If you bend your elbow just a little when you catch the ball, it’ll help hold on to the ball better.”

“Like this?” JJ mimics Jasper.

“Perfect.”

The smile that spreads over JJ’s face is contagious, and I realize that I’m not the only person mirroring it. As Jasper turns to head back to his post, we make eye contact, and he winks at me.

“Hey, Mommy.”

My grin widens. “Hey, baby.”

“All right, bud. Let’s show your momma what you’ve got,” Jasper encourages.

JJ gets into his stance, taking extra care to do exactly what Jasper just taught him. I hug myself, the anticipation already building in my chest. After that pep talk, I’m eager to see my child overcome this small obstacle.

Jaspers lifts his arms and pitches. JJ moves forward, his mouth open and his eyes on the ball. Just when I think he’s going to miss, he catches it, and I can’t stop myself. I let out a scream and jump for joy while running toward him at the same time as Jasper.

JJ’s freezes in an awkward stance, his brows hiked high and his mouth still ajar. “I did it. Mommy, did you see that? I caught the ball.”

I scoop him into my arms, planting a kiss on his cheek. He’s so thrilled with himself he doesn’t protest my kiss as he normally would. Jasper ruffles his hair, and I peer up at him.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He nods. “Great job, bud. Let’s keep practicing, and you’ll be the best catcher on your team.”

I place JJ on his feet and step back, wrapping my arms around myself to watch them. They return to their makeshift posts and continue to throw the ball around a hundred more times. And with each pass, I notice the confidence building in JJ. Where he was once down and out about this game, he seems readier than ever, and it’s all because of Jasper.

I stare at him with appreciation, loving the way he is with JJ. This is nice—the three of us like this. There’s still so much to figure out, but maybe this is for the best. Maybe it’s all working out the way it was always supposed to.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JASPER

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