Page 61 of Knox
“If that’s what you have to tell yourself.” We both laughed.
“Dad, I picked out the book I want you to read,” Grady shouted, probably from his bedroom where the bookcase was.
Crew let out a breath. “I should probably get him in the bath and then ready for bed.” He lowered his voice. “I promised him one story, but you know he’ll probably talk me into at least three.”
“You’re such a sucker.”
He shrugged. “Probably, but I’ve got a lot of nights of missed stories to make up for.”
“You know, you’re the only one still holding onto that, right? Grady and Mallory are just happy to have you in his life now.”
Even though it had been eight months since Crew had found out he was a father, I knew he still felt guilty at times for not being there for his son. I didn’t quite understand why he felt that way since he hadn’t even known about Grady, but I’d never been in that situation before, so I tried not to question him too much.
“Yeah, I know. It just hits me sometimes.”
“I picked out another one,” Grady called out once more.
Crew ran a hand over his face. “I better get in there before he pulls out every book he owns. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
The call ended, and I set my phone down on the nightstand. The room was quiet again, and the bed still felt too damn big.
The bar was packed,and we were ready to start our post-game celebration. We’d taken game one from the Dodgers, and while we still had two more games to play against them, it felt good to take the lead early.
Our group managed to snag a table in the back where Pearson and Ramos were keeping us entertained with their ridiculous back-and-forth banter.
“I’m just saying”—Ramos took a sip of his beer and swallowed—“if she’s wearing a jersey and knows the difference between a fastball and curveball, that’s a two-point boost.”
Pearson smirked. “You running a scouting report on your hook ups?”
Ramos grinned. “It’s called having standards, Rookie. A personality counts for a lot, but if she’s repping the Seawolves, I’m at least buying her a drink.”
“You’re doing more than buying her a drink.” Jacobs laughed.
Ramos lifted a shoulder. “That’s accurate.” He turned to Pearson. “Stick with me tonight, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”
I snorted into my glass. “Trust me, he doesn’t need any pointers.”
Everyone looked my way.
“You’ve been holding out on gossip about the rookie?” Turner asked, eyes gleaming.
“All I’m saying is I saw the revolving door firsthand. If anything”—I pointed at Ramos—“you could probably learn a thing or two from him.”
Pearson leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Singleton doesn’t have much room to talk. Before Stratton, he had his fair share of guys coming and going from our place, but he’s not lying about me schooling you.” He jerked his chin toward a pair of women sitting at the bar, glancing in our direction. “See her in the red? I guarantee we’ll be walking out of here together in the next five minutes.”
A second later, Pearson and Ramos both stood and made their way over to the women, ready to turn on the charm.
I stayed for another round, which was long enough to watch them both leave with a woman on their arm. When Jacobs offered to buy another drink, I shook my head.
“I’m calling it a night. Need my beauty sleep.”
“Beauty sleep or a hot phone call with your man?” Turner grinned.
“Probably both.” I waggled my eyebrows, causing my teammates to shake their heads playfully. “See ya in the morning.”
