Page 44 of Batter Up!

“I’m so glad you noticed.” She smiled, almost shyly, and reached up to place a kiss on my cheek.

“These are for you,” I said and handed her a bouquet of purple lilies.

“Oh my gosh, they are beautiful! Thank you, Ty! Come in, and I’ll look for something to put these in.”

I followed her into the bakery kitchen and took it all in. It was immaculately clean with different size containers for flour, sugar, and other dry ingredients. Stand mixers in varying colors lined the cabinet against the far wall. Only Molly would have a rainbow of mixers.

“Red is for cookies, blue is for pies, white is for different breads, and yellow is for cakes,” she explained as she saw where I had been looking. I watched as she grabbed a Mason jar for the lilies and put it in the middle of the island. “Would you like a tour before we leave?” I told her I would love one. She told me how this was the main kitchen, and I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. Did she have more than one kitchen? She opened the door closest to her and gestured for me to check it out. In the pantry, I saw lots of different baking ingredients including chocolate chips, several more types of flour, sugars, and even several types of cereals. I had to laugh because the top two shelves were empty.

“I can’t reach them, so why use them?” she explained with a laugh and a shrug.

“I could buy you a step stool,” I offered, and she laughed as she walked back towards the main kitchen and pointed out a regular step stool and a small ladder with several steps.

“I still need these sometimes,” she laughed.

“My pint-size girlfriend, ladies and gentlemen,” I said, wrapping her in a hug, “You’re adorable.”

“I like being called your girlfriend!” She took my hand to lead me through another door. “Now, this is why I purchased this location. It originally was a butcher shop, but the wife did some canning and made lots of jams. She used this separate kitchen, so she didn’t get in her husband's way.”

“Wow. Do you make your own jams?”

She laughed at that. “Nah. But I do buy the widow’s jams and use them in my pastries.”

“That’s awesome and really smart,” I exclaimed and loved how she used local items for her own baked goods. It was great marketing and great for the community.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said proudly as she pulled me into a smaller kitchen. It was just as pristine, and I saw three more stand mixers in various colors on the counter and had to chuckle. “Does that mixer company sponsor you or something?”

“Nah. They are just the best. When I was having the kitchens remodeled, I found a few bakeries that were closing and got some equipment from them. I actually found a few online for really good deals.”

“Very thrifty, as well,” I said as I looked at the shelves and noticed words like ‘allergen-free chocolate chips,’ ‘gluten-free flour,’ ‘organic whole wheat pastry flour,’ and ‘canned pumpkin made in a peanut-free facility.’

“Welcome to my AF Kitchen as Penelope calls it. This is where I make all my allergy-friendly products. That way, there is no chance of cross-contamination.”

“Marry me?” I blurted as I dramatically got down on one knee. “You are my perfect woman. You love baseball, you have a second kitchen for allergy-free baking, and it doesn’t hurt that you are sexy as hell and a great kisser.”

“Oh my god! Get up!” She cried while giggling and using all her strength to try to help me get back up on my feet. “You’re crazy.”

“Nah. My dad said he knew my mom was the one within five minutes of meeting her.” I stood up, pulled her against me, and held her tightly in my arms. I did not want to let her go.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “Wow. That’s awesome. My parents were rare, too. They began dating in middle school, and my dad actually wrote in her eighth grade yearbook ‘To the Future Mrs. Green.’ They were together all through college, even though they went to college in different states. That’s one reason I have faith that we could make it if you get called up.”

“It means a lot to me that you have faith in us. I love that your parents helped with part of that.” I kissed the top of her head and felt emotions inside me I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. This girl really was something special.

She grinned, and then I heard her stomach growl. “Ugh. That’s embarrassing,” she said with a little blush to her cheeks.

“It is after six o’clock. Let's get going and have dinner. I hope you don’t mind; I packed us a picnic.”

“That sounds perfect!”

She took my hand as we walked out to the pick-up truck I borrowed from one of my teammates.

“This thing is huge!” she marveled. “And no running boards…”

I had to laugh. I hadn’t thought about her needing running boards to get up in the truck, but in a way, I was thankful because I opened the door and lifted her by her trim waist into the truck.

“Thank you,” she sighed with a grin and leaned over to give me a quick kiss.

As we drove to a nearby lake, I held her hand, and she rested her head on my shoulder. It felt so natural and right.

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