Page 113 of Spotlight
“You still there?” he asks, and the background is quieter now, like he moved away from people.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Did you need something or just calling to check in?”
“Both. I haven’t heard from you in a couple weeks. Everything good?”
“Yeah. All good here. How about you? Couple of tough losses last week. Your team isn’t giving you a lot of help. Someone needs to figure out how to swing a bat over there.”
I feel defensive of the guys, especially because JT was feeling down yesterday about his batting average this season. Baseball is a tough game, and everyone is fighting either to get on top or stay there.
“Hoping to turn things around tonight,” I say, suddenly feeling like I’m giving a publicity quip instead of talking to my dad.
Things are weird between us lately and I don’t know why.
“What did you need?” he asks, pulling me back to the conversation.
“Your birthday party. It’s all set up for June 10th.It’s a Saturday. Hendrick agreed to host it at The Tipsy Rose. Feel free to invite Terri and whoever else you want.”
He’s quiet for a beat and I really hope he isn’t going to bail. My brothers will never let me forget it.
“Okay.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “You’ll be there?”
He makes a grunt of agreement. “I’ll be there, but no mention of the number sixty.”
“Done.” A small smile tips up the corners of my mouth. This is going to be so great. I know it’ll be awkward for him and my brothers, but hopefully it’s the first of many family get-togethers.
“All right,” Dad says. “I better get back out there before someone drinks my beer. Have a good game tonight.”
“Thanks.”
We hang up and I go through my normal warm-up routine. The rest of the team starts to trickle in too.
Gunnar and Bo arrive together. I give them my usual nod of greeting and go back to warming up, so I’m surprised when they head toward me.
My first reaction is nerves. We’ve reached a mutual understanding, and they’ve stopped excluding me outright, but they don’t usually seek me out to chit-chat.
“We’ve got your back tonight,” Bo says.
Confusion tugs my brows together.
“You strike them out and we’ll make sure we get on base.” Gunnar holds out a beefy hand like we’re going to arm wrestle.
Hesitantly, I put my palm in his. He grips my hand tight and then pulls me in to his broad chest.
“Pitching arm,” I remind him.
“Right.” He eases up and I step back, still not sure what to make of the change in them.
As they wander off, I rub my right arm protectively. Earl walked in at some point, and he smiles as he watches Gunnar and Bo retreat.
“Big game tonight,” Earl says.
“Yeah,” I agree.
“How are you feeling about facing your old teammates?”
