Page 53 of Batter Up!

“Your girlfriend can’t believe you threw out four guys trying to steal second base. That has to be some kind of record.”

“Not even close,” he said with a chuckle. “The record is held by a player from the late 1800s who threw out eight in one game.”

“Holy shit. That’s a long time to hold a record! Maybe you’ll break it someday.”

“Not likely since guys don’t try to steal as much, and a lot has changed about the game in over one hundred years,” Tyler said while stroking my back.

“Did you always want to be a catcher?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I always got along with everyone and liked learning everything about baseball. My first Little League coach called me a sponge because I wanted to know about every rule in baseball, what pitch every pitcher was best at throwing, and finally, all about the pitchers and batters on other teams. I couldn’t remember math times tables, but I could remember the pitches certain players couldn’t hit. Those are important when catching because you give the pitcher suggestions on if they should throw a curve or a fastball.”

“That’s really awesome,” I said in awe of this man.

“So what foods are you allergic to, so I’ll know for the future?” Tyler asked as I looked at him with furrowed brows. I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. “You obviously know I’m allergic to nuts, but I’m also allergic to shellfish and insect stings.”

“Wow. That’s a lot,” I said. “I’m lucky and not allergic to anything that I know of.”

“Really?” He looked shocked. “But you have a whole second kitchen for allergy-free baked items. I figured you were allergic to as much, if not more, than me.”

“There was an incident many years ago when I gave a cookie to some boys I had just met, and one of the boys had an allergic reaction. I felt so guilty, but the boy was so sweet and understanding about it. We spent the afternoon just talking, and I’m pretty sure he was my very first crush. It had an impact on me, and I wanted anyone with allergies to feel comfortable eating at my bakery. My best friend is lactose intolerant, so I make sure to make things she can eat as well, and I work on different recipes so they taste as close to the original item as possible. Meadow always said she hit the roommate lottery.”

“What was this boy's name? The one you had a crush on?”

“I was too shy to ask, but his brother’s called him ‘T,’” I said, and I squeezed his bicep as a tease. “Are you jealous? It was a long time ago. I was like ten or eleven.”

“T as in Tyler,” he said as a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said and had to laugh. “I guess I’m really bad at getting guys' names. I didn’t get your name when we first met.”

“I’m not much better because I called you Red.” He wrapped his strong arm around me and pulled me even closer. “I think you’re going to need to call Penelope and promote her to manager right away.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“More than anything,” I answered honestly.

“We’re taking the day off.”

“I can’t just take the day off,” I replied with a laugh. “And neither can you. You have a game tonight.”

“Call Penelope. She can open without you. I know you’ve done it enough on your own. While you call her, I need to make a few phone calls.”

“What in the world is going on, Ty?”

“Just call Pen, and maybe Cash or that other girl can come in. Once I’m done with my phone call, you’re not going to want to go into work.”

I looked at him confused, but I did trust him.

I pulled out my phone and watched as he went out to the family room to make his own phone call. I wasn’t sure who he was calling at 5 in the morning. I at least knew Penelope was awake and getting ready to come to work.

“Hey, I’ll be there in a few minutes!” Pen said in lue of a greeting.

“I have a huge favor to ask,” I said.

“What’s up?”

“Do you think you could open the bakery on your own? Everything is in the walk-in ready to go.”

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