Page 129 of Spotlight
Enjoy the peaches.
Be home late tonight.
Twenty years and counting x
Twenty years. Gosh, what that must be like to spend so much time with someone. I wonder what Flynn will be like in twenty years. Where will he be? Most baseball players have retired from the sport by their late thirties or early forties. What will Flynn do after that?
I have this image of him with a whole brood of kids, taking them to the park and teaching them baseball. Ugh. I have to stop torturing myself.
Since Greer is staying with my grandparents tonight, I head to the apartment by myself. As I approach my front door, a man stands from the top step.
Flynn.
My pulse kicks up as he unfolds himself and aims a smile at me.
“Hi.” He stays where he is, and I’m temporarily frozen in place.
Then I rush to him.
32
FLYNN
I wake up to an empty bed. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. The long, restless nights have caught up with me. And I think my body relaxes more when I’m with Olivia. She feels like home.
I listen for her as I get up and pull on my jeans. The apartment is quiet, but small enough that it isn’t hard to find her.
Olivia sits on the couch with a book in her lap. It’s closed and she stares out the dark window like she’s deep in thought.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
Her attention snaps to me and she blinks several times. She tosses the book onto the coffee table. “I couldn’t sleep.”
I cross the room and sit beside her, then pull her onto my lap. She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her head in my shoulder.
This whole thing sucks. New York was great. They said all the things I wanted them to say—that they were wrong, that I’ve come a long way, that they think I’d be an asset to their team.
I always thought this moment would be full of joy and excitement, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s requiring me to sacrifice a lot. I’ll have to leave Olivia, Greer, my brothers, my team.
My hands rub slow circles on her back as I breathe her in. I shift so that I can look into her eyes. I push her hair back away from her face.
“Did you give any more thought to coming with me?” I know it’s a lot to ask of her, but it all feels so much more exciting with her at my side. “They’ll put me up in housing for three months until I find a place. They said there are lots of great schools nearby for Greer. We can go check them out together and I can ask the other guys on the team. I want to make this work.”
“So do I,” she says in a sad voice. “If it were just me, I’d follow you in an instant. There is nothing I want more than to see you achieve everything you want. You’re such a good man and so freaking talented.”
She doesn’t even have to say it. I know what’s holding her back. I know and I respect it, but it still guts me knowing she isn’t coming with me.
“It’s a big ask and I get it. You’re a great mom. It’s one of the many reasons I love you. Greer is lucky to have you always looking out for her.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. It doesn’t escape me that she’s doing the thing I wish my dad had done for me—putting her daughter’s happiness over her own.
“We could do long-distance, at least for a while. Greer and I can come up for a weekend sometime and you can show us around.” She smiles, but it feels like goodbye.
“Of course. I would love that.”
“I do love you,” she says, like she wants to reassure me. Her hands come up and frame my face. “I love you more than I have ever loved anyone.”
I blow out a breath that feels like it steals the life from me and press my forehead against hers.
