Page 23 of Scoring in Cedarwood

“Thanks.” He didn’t mind busy days, but he’d wanted to attend Tanner’s game—one of them at least. “I’ll call Devlin once I get to my office.” He paused. “Hey, Sandra? Did you get a pink flier in the mail yesterday?”

“That horrible anti-gay one? Yes.” She crinkled her nose. “I threw it away. Why? Did we get one here, too?”

“We did and I got one at the house, as well.” He knocked on the doorframe. “I wish they’d stop.” He hated the group hell-bent on destroying lives just because some residents of Cedarwood happened to be homosexual.

“Considering you take care of so many of the members of that group, they know you’re gay and also that you’ll heal them. They shouldn’t complain.” Sandra flipped through the stack of envelopes. “If we get another one of those fliers, I’ll have it returned to the sender and notify the post office we don’t want those pieces of mail.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the help.” He nodded once. “I’ll be in my office, calling Devlin.” He left the front of the building and went into his private space. He placed his bag on his chair then withdrew his phone. He dialed Devlin.

After three rings, his friend answered. “Dane.”

“Devlin.” He closed his office door. “What’s so pressing you had to call my phone and the practice this morning? Sandra just gave me the message and I haven’t had time to listen to your voicemail.”

“Are you coming to either game today?” Devlin asked.

“I’m not sure. I’m scheduled through set hours and will have a full house during the walk-in time. Plus, I’m on call for the rest of the weekend. Why?”

“I’ve got bad news,” Devlin said. “Someone defaced the stadium.”

“Are you serious?” His stomach lurched. He’d hoped this wouldn’t happen—why wreck a perfectly good public space? “What happened?”

“The person or persons spray-painted hate speech on the parking lot and the Wildcat statue,” Devlin said. “The police have already taken pictures and once the grounds crew arrive, it’ll be cleaned up, but still.”

“That’s terrible.” He wasn’t sure why Devlin felt the need to tell him, though. “It can be fixed by game time, right? I don’t know anything about removing paint, but I’m guessing the stadium crew will.”

“Just…I can’t get a hold of Tanner. I’ve called the other members of the team, but I wanted to touch base with him in particular because the hate speech concerns him.”

“Because he’s gay.” Dane sighed. “Fuck. Was it the coalition?”

“Not sure,” Devlin said. “Would you call him? I want him to be on guard when he comes to the stadium. I’m pissed, hurt and annoyed. This should be Tanner’s big debut, but instead it’s a mess. Fans don’t want to see anti-gay messages on the stadium grounds. They want to see a game. And what’s worse? The coalition is already having a ball with the incident. They swear it’s not them, but they’ve posted on social media. Raji brought it to my attention.”

“They know about Tanner being gay.” Dane sank onto his desk. “This is getting out of control. This isn’t something to be proud of.”

“Tanner hasn’t come out, per se, but he’s never said he’s not gay.”

“He’s not flaming because he knew shit like this would happen,” Dane snapped. “And you can’t guarantee he’ll be safe. If the coalition wants to throw stuff at him or deface his car, they might not be caught.”

“I’ve increased security and am working with the police to have more patrols, but damn,” Devlin said. “I want my players to be happy here. I’ve already had two threaten to quit the game if they have to fear coming to the stadium.”

“I can’t say I blame them. It’s scary.” He wasn’t sure what else to do. “I’ll call Tanner when I’m off the phone with you.”

“Raji’s freaking out. He found the posts and arrived with me at the stadium. We were the first to find the graffiti. He keeps checking on me,” Devlin said. “I’m worried someone will destroy my field.”

He paused. He’d heard Raji’s name mentioned twice now. “I’m glad you and Raji finally got together.”

“I—we…” Devlin fumbled. “You knew we… Dane?”

“I knew you liked each other. It wasn’t hard to see and you told me earlier you were a couple. You have a thing for tall, dark and handsome, plus, you’re attracted to doctors.” Dane bit back a chuckle. Devlin certainly had a type.

“I am.”

“It’s natural that you’d get together.” Besides, he wasn’t jealous.

“You’re not pissed? I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Devlin said.

“You’re not my boyfriend. I wish you the best with Raji and hope it lasts forever.” He massaged his forehead. The feelings surprised him. He’d expected to be angry when he found out Devlin had moved on, but he wasn’t. A weight, one of the many, lifted from his shoulders. “If you’re good, then I am, too.”

“Damn, Dane. You’re mature. I’d be upset if I knew you were with someone. It’s selfish, I know,” Devlin said. “I always kind of hoped you’d be hung up on me—like I was the one that got away.” He sighed. “Just be advised. A gay man on my baseball team, a gay man who is out, seems to be the tipping point for the coalition. They’ve attacked before, so be aware, okay?”

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