Page 126 of Home Run

She didn’t reply, instead her eyes dropped down to the cleats I was still wearing and back up to the grass-stained pants, and shirt.

“Holiday will bring me some clean clothes.”

I hadn’t asked her to, but I knew she’d wouldn’t be far away. She’d followed me out to the ambulance as we stretchered Millie, and the paramedics had told her which hospital.

“And is she going to bring you some food too? You must be starving.”

I shrugged, ignoring the rumble in my stomach. “Yeah, I’ll ask her to do that.”

Kirsty shook her head, but with one of those looks that only moms got where you knew they thought you were crazy, but were also kind of impressed too.

“I’m going to go back to the apartment and change, but I’ll be back with proper food and some of Millie’s things. I need to check on the boys and your parents.” She saideventually, before her hand cupped my cheek. “You’re a good boy, Tanner. I’m glad Millie found you.”

“Me too.” I croaked out. “Me too.”

“And I’m going to have a grandson.”

For the first time since I’d sprinted off the field during the fifth inning, I smiled. A huge, broad smile that stretched from ear to ear. I was having a son. A baby boy.

“Yes ma’am. You are. Brady.”

Her hand gently patted my cheek. “Millie’s dad would have liked you.”

I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t have any words. It was possibly one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, and I was in far too much of a fragile state to come up with anything more eloquent than“thank you.”

With a final smile and an “I’ll be back,” (though disappointingly not in anArnievoice), Kirsty walked off down the corridor and disappeared around the corner to the elevators.

Removing my cleats, I waited until the corridor was quiet again before I eased open Millie’s door and crept in, though I knew there’s no way she would wake up. Whatever sedatives she’d been given had been very effective.

I could do with them myself.

Pulling the chair up to the bed, I dropped down in it with a heavy sigh and for the thousandth time in the last ten minutes alone I thanked my lucky stars.

She looked so peaceful - her lips moving ever-so slightly with each inhale, her dark hair fanned around the pillow – that only the small pink Band-Aid on her forehead was evidence of the past two chaos-filledhours.

Chaos and a little terror, all now soundtracked by the slow and steadybeep beep beepof the heart monitor.

As always, whenever I made it to third base I’d searched for her, only this time when I found her, I watched as she crumbled to the ground. I’d always read about people saying their future flashed before their eyes and never truly understood what that meant until tonight.

That’s exactly what had happened – a glimpse of a life without Millie, and I knew it was a life I never wanted to experience.

I glanced up as the door opened expecting the nurse, but it was someone better.

“God, it’s like Fort Knox in here, they nearly didn’t let me up.” Holiday said, as she rushed in, dropped a bag on the floor and pulled me into a hug. “How is she?”

I eased out of her grip, “She’s okay, she has acute appendicitis. Surgery is scheduled for the morning.”

“Oh my god,ouch.” She winced. “remember when we had ours? That was so painful.”

I nodded.

“Anyway, I brought you clean clothes. Figured you’d be staying. You won tonight by the way. The Lions are three games up now.”

I stared at my sister and the firing of information.

Holy shit. Three games, we just had one more to win. Jupiter Reeves prediction might very well come true. The Lions would win the World Series in five games.

More surprisingly, even though I was dressed in my baseball pants and shirt, I’d completely forgotten I’d been playing baseball a couple of hours ago.

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