Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (7 page)

“It was really bad.”
Because he killed your wife.
“I’m all done here and I have a
lot planned for tomorrow. It was great talking to you, Trent, but
I’m going to head home.” I have to get away from him. I stand,
tossing my empty drink into the nearby trashcan.

“It was good talking to you,
too. It’s been refreshing to talk to someone aside from a five year
old, my grandmother, and my teammates, so thanks for that. Have a
good night, Scarlett,” he says as we reach the doors, about to go
our separate ways.

“You too.” I’m about to leave
him, but I stop. He will figure out who I am, but maybe I can help
him a bit too. I’ll deal with the consequences later. “If you ever
need someone to talk to, I wouldn’t mind it. I know what it’s like
to have everyone around you, but no one to listen. It sounds crazy,
but I get it.” I rush away from him before I make any more
mistakes.

***

WE'VE BEEN ON the road
for what feels like forever. Any stretch of games where we're gone
more than a few days didn’t used to bother me too much. I still
talked to Kaelyn at least twice a day. But before, she was at home
with her mother. Now, I can't help feeling a little guilt whenever
we go on any road game. I have to keep reminding myself that this
is my job. I make good money, which will take care of Kaelyn.

We're at a team dinner and
I'm stuck between Blake and Tanner. I have to admit, Blake has
surprised me the most. During the offseason, I think Hector, the
good guy that he is, wanted to get me out of the house. He invited
Kaelyn and me to dinner at his and Zoey's house. When I arrived
after almost canceling, Blake and Sofia were there as well. That
night hit hard.

Seeing the two couples, I
remember glancing down at my daughter. I wouldn't be going anywhere
again as part of a couple. I didn't have too much time to wallow
because Kaelyn immediately left my side for the board games Hector
apparently bought. It was a good night. We ate dinner and played
games with Kaelyn. I didn't realize how much we both needed it
until afterward.

Kaelyn has been in love with
Blake ever since. She nearly fell over with laughter when Hector
called Blake Grumpy. She didn't agree with it either. Ever since,
she's called Blake “my Happy” because from what she has seen, he
was always smiling and happy.

“How's Kaelyn doing?” Blake
asks, distracting me from my trip down memory lane. He asks about
her every single time he sees me. Hell, he asks about her more than
he asks about me. Never would I have guessed that the team's Grumpy
would be friends with my daughter.

“Speak of the kid,” I say as
my phone rings. He chuckles and I answer. “How's my girl?”

“When are you coming home,
Daddy?” Uh, oh. Not again. She's been asking me every time she
calls for the past two days. I don't like her whiny voice because
it makes me want to go home right away.

“Two more days, on
Monday.”

“Will you be able to take me
to school?”

“No, but I'm picking you
up.”

She sighs. “Can we get ice
cream then?”

“Yeah.” Blake pokes me and
waves his hand. “Happy says hey.”

Kaelyn squeals. “Let me talk
to my Happy, Daddy.”

“Yes, ma'am.” I hand him the
phone.

I've only seen Blake smile
like he is right now whenever he speaks of Sofia or those rare
moments he'll bring up his mother. He laughs and keeps agreeing
with whatever she's saying. He asks her about school and what's
she's been doing without her dad around to take her shopping. He
talks to her longer than I have today before he hands me the phone.
The call has already ended and I frown. She didn't even tell me bye
or goodnight or I love you.

“Sorry,” Blake says noticing
my expression. “I didn't think she was hanging up.”

“It's okay.”

“If it's okay with you, I
told her I would go with you to pick her up from school when she
asked. And we can go to my house for dinner. I know Sofia would
love to see Kaelyn again.” I open my mouth to tell him he doesn't
have to invite us over when he interrupts me. “If you're thinking
about saying no, Kaelyn is the one who asked if y'all could have
dinner with us. Do you really what to tell your kid she can't have
dinner with her Happy?” He smirks.

I laugh, unsure of how I feel
about the fact that the only reason I'm being invited over is
because my daughter is really the one being invited. “Yeah, okay.
That sounds great. Thanks.” After taking a sip of my drink, I say,
“You're really good with her. She loves you, too.”

He tries not to smile.
“Thanks. I'm a bit impressed with myself about it. I guess it's
good that I'm good with kids.” He seems to be thinking about
something, looking slightly nervous all of a sudden.

Hector, who is on the other
side of Blake, blurts out at the exact moment there's a lull in
conversation at our table. “Is Sof pregnant or something?”

Blake glances over at him,
and I'd bet my life that he's glaring one of his famous Grumpy
scowls. “No,” he grits a bit too forcefully.

Hector analyzes him for a
moment before conversation resumes. We talk about nothing important
as we finish our meal. All I can think about is what if Kaelyn ever
wants a little brother or sister? What if I want to give her one?
My stomach churns. I'd have to fall in love with someone else. Is
that even possible? Could I look at another woman like I looked at
Deborah?

I don't know, and I'm
definitely not ready to think about it yet.

We all have different
routines for game days. Some of us superstitious, either with
items, routines, or, in the case of our pitcher, Felix Hernandez,
people. His lucky charm is his girlfriend. Then, there’s another
batch of guys, who are more laid back. I like to think I fall into
that category. Don’t get me wrong. I like having a routine, but I
don’t mind switching things up, moving things around, or adjusting
when I need to.

On game days, I come in
early. I’ll watch tapes, lift weights, maybe go into the batting
cage, or any number of things. Sometimes, I’ll visit Sofia Gardner,
our massage therapist, to get her to work out a kink in my muscles
or simply to loosen me up. Sometimes, I’ll play a game on my phone.
It helps zone me out and clear my head. And then, of course, is the
pre-game meal. Well, I like to snack more than eat a full meal.

Before Deborah died, I never
had trouble checking out from reality during the game. Whatever was
going on in my personal life could always be placed carefully in a
box and stored elsewhere before a game. My mind would be clear and
focused on my tasks on the field. Maybe it’s because my life is
more complex now, being a single father, a widow, the person solely
responsible for all aspects of my life and my daughters, but it can
be difficult to shut those parts of my brain off.

My mind keeps replaying my
sweet daughter’s whiney voice as she asked when I would be home.
How she talked to Blake and then didn’t care if she got to talk to
me again or not. How she’s left in the care of someone other than
her mother while I’m gone.

Damn it, I miss her and my
wife.

There’s no way around it
today. There’s no way to place it into a box and think about it
later.

“Is there something on that
wall I’m not seeing?” Jordan Johnson, our shortstop, asks as he
takes a seat next to me. “You’re staring at it pretty hard.”

“Just thinking.”

He laughs. “Thinking won’t
get you anywhere. Let’s go lift some weights; Colby went off to
help Tanner with something.” He stands and looks back at me,
waiting for me to follow.

I don’t have a good reason
not to and doing something is better than nothing on days like
these. I stand and follow him, thankful for him saving me from my
own head.

Blake and I are standing just
outside the main office in Kaelyn's school. We got back earlier
than I thought and he suggested we surprise her by picking her up
early. She appears in the hallway with the lady who went to walk
her here.

“Happy!” Kaelyn takes off
running, right into Blake's arms.

Not going to lie, that hurt.
She kept asking me when I would be home because she missed her
daddy and she runs to Blake instead of me? I push it away and smile
as she hugs him tightly around the neck as he picks her up.

“Hey, kiddo. Are you
surprised?” he asks her.

She nods. “Very.”

“You can thank your dad. It
was his idea,” he lies.

Finally, my daughter looks my
way. “You're the best, Daddy. Are we going to get ice cream
now?”

“Yep.”

She claps her hands and we
walk outside to my car. Blake gets her settled in the backseat
before climbing into the passenger seat. Kaelyn talks his ear off
the entire time. I swear, I think she's forgotten I exist. I wasn't
kidding when I told Blake she loved him. I can't help but smile at
the two of them, especially when she calls him Happy. She refuses
to call him Blake, and Grumpy is most definitely out of the
question.

We may have lost the most
important person in our family, but we gained a family, too. Blake,
Hector, and a few of the other guys have been good friends. They're
all sort of like uncles to Kaelyn. Of course, she has a favorite
and if he's around, she pretty much ignores the rest of them,
including me. I'm only her favorite guy when Blake isn't
around.

As expected, I'm the third
wheel as we go out for ice cream and stop by a store. Blake insists
on buying her a game we can play tonight. I can't tell them both
no. So, he buys her the game before we head to his house. Sofia and
his mother are there, cooking in the kitchen. This is the first
time I've actually met his mother, Caroline. Kaelyn has because
Blake watched her for me over the winter when Granny was sick and I
had to go to the courthouse.

“Trent, it's so great to
finally meet you,” Caroline says.

“You too.”

She and Sofia fuss over
Kaelyn and invite her to help by making balls for cookies from the
cookie dough. Blake grabs two waters, hands one to me, and motions
for us to go to the living room and leave them to it.

“Finally get her to move in?”
I ask as we sit on the couch, taking in the dozens of boxes
scattered around.

“She was practically already
living here, but she's bringing her stuff now. Sorry about the
mess.”

I shrug. “When you have kids,
trust me, this will look tidy and spotless in comparison.”

He wears a small smile.
“Yeah, I guess it will.” He glances over his shoulder at the girls
before looking to me. “You doing all right, Trent?”

“Yeah,” I answer
automatically.

I can tell he doesn't believe
me, but he nods anyway. “Good.”

And that's that. Blake starts
talking baseball. That's one thing I like about him. He doesn't
push or give me looks of pity. Sometimes, I wonder if he's asking
because he feels like he should and not because he really wants to
know. I know when that stuff was going on with his father, he
didn't talk about it. We didn't ask. He was pissed off all the time
anyway and we weren’t about to push his buttons. The only person
who probably talked to him about it was Hector. Either way,
whatever his reasoning, I'm glad he doesn't push.