Page 132 of Spotlight
“Guess what?!” She doesn’t wait for me to answer. “I’m going to play baseball for the Mustangs this summer.”
She bounces in front of me. Her curls are covered by a blue Mustangs hat. It’s too big and falls down onto her forehead, nearly covering her eyes.
I glance at Olivia, standing next to her, then back to Greer. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that great? I’m going to be just like you, Hotshot. Will you come watch me play?”
My chest feels like it’s been cracked open.
Another quick peek at Olivia confirms she’s feeling the same misery.
“Grandpa signed her up for the youth camp at the stadium this summer,” Olivia explains with a hitch in her voice that makes it sound like she’s as close to tears as I feel.
“Right,” I say, then squat down so I’m eye-level with Greer. “That’s awesome. You’re going to kill it out there. Let me see your wind up?”
With glee, she lifts her left leg while holding both hands up at her chest like she’s cradling a ball, then steps and throws. When she’s done, she looks to me for my feedback.
I clear my throat in an attempt to dislodge the giant lump. “That was perfect.”
“Duh. I learned from the best.” She adjusts the hat so more of her big, green eyes are showing. “So will you come watch me?”
Goddamn this is going to hurt so much more than I ever imagined.
“Let’s go sit down on the couch,” Olivia says and takes a step in that direction.
She and Greer head that way. I’m slow to stand upright and slower to move toward them. Every step feels wooden.
Olivia sits on one side of the couch, Greer in the middle. I take a seat on the other side of my favorite little girl in the whole world. It isn’t an exaggeration. Sure, she’s the only one I really know, but it doesn’t make it any less true. She’s taught me so much about the man I want to be. The father I hope to be someday too.
“We have something to tell you,” Olivia starts.
Greer is too young for that sentence to inspire any type of fearful reaction. She rests one little palm on my knee as she kicks her feet against the couch.
Olivia meets my gaze above her daughter’s head. It feels like my cue.
“You know how sometimes baseball players get traded to different teams?” I ask Greer.
She nods, still unphased. “Like you last year. You played for Minnesota.”
“That’s right. Then I came here, and I met you.” I smile at her. A real, genuine smile despite the warring in my body. I wouldn’t change the past few months for anything.
She leans over and hugs me around the middle. My eyes burn and I swallow hard. When I look to Olivia for help, her eyes are watery, but she has a steely resolve in her expression like she’s forbidding the tears to fall.
“Flynn’s such a great pitcher that lots of teams want him to play for them, including the Renegades—the best team in the league. Isn’t that cool?” Olivia asks her.
Greer pulls back and her arms fall from my waist, but her body still rests against mine. Her brows furrow and her feet stop kicking. “I guess, but I like the Mustangs better. And Grandpa says this season we’re as good as any other team because of Hotshot.”
That unabashed smile filled with joy and simplicity is back on her face. I’ve had a lot of people believe in me: my brothers, my dad, friends, teammates, coaches, Everly, Olivia. But none feel quite as inspiring as Greer’s unwavering belief in me. If I told her I was going to throw a perfect game, she’d consider it as good as done. She thinks I can do anything. Full stop. And I want to for her.
I find my voice, speaking with gravel scraping up my throat. “What your mom is trying to say is that I’m not going to be playing for the Mustangs anymore. Tomorrow is my last game with them, and then I’ll be moving to New York to play for the Renegades.”
It’s the first time I’ve said the words, and it doesn’t feel the way I always thought it would. I’m going to be a Renegade. A lifetime dream achieved.
She inches away slowly, moving closer to her mom. “Does that mean we can’t go for ice cream anymore?”
I hear Knox’s advice—don’t make promises you can’t keep.
“I won’t be here, but I’ll bet your mom will still take you.”
