Page 10 of Batter Up!

I nodded, “That would help me a lot.”

I walked to the other side of the bedroom where there was a small closet behind one door, and the other door led to a bathroom with a bath/shower combo, vanity, and toilet. It wasn’t much, but it would work for exactly what I needed.

I knew I had a big smile on my face. I could see myself living here and starting my bakery.

“Well, do you need some time to think about it? I can let you walk around by yourself for a bit or video call with a friend or family member,” Autumn said with a similar smile on her face.

“No, that’s not necessary. I would love to put in an offer for the full asking price. I would also request the soonest closing date because I would like to move in as soon as possible. My grandparents' house is on the market as well, and we have an offer on it contingent on my finding my own place.”

Autumn nodded, “I will put in the paperwork right away. Are you staying in town or heading back to New York?”

“Depending on how soon I can move in here, I would love to just stay. Everything I own is in my car or in a storage unit.”

Autumn nodded, “Well, let me make a quick phone call. You can look around some more if you would like, or if you’re hungry, I would recommend Fulton’s Bar and Grill.”

“Thank you. I ate a lot of snacks on the trip, so I think I’ll explore around here some more,” I said and immediately went back to the kitchen to look around.

Several minutes later, Autumn reentered the kitchen. “Hey, so I just got off the phone with Jane Jones. I told her all about you wanting to make this into a bakery and how you wanted to use her jams. She totally loved that idea, by the way. But she didn’t accept your offer.”

“What? No,” I said and felt my stomach sink. I didn’t think I’d ever find a place just like this for this price. “Can I up my offer? Or do they have a counter offer?”

“Oh, she has a counter offer,” Autumn said, and then I could tell she was trying to hide her smile. “She wants to know if you’d like to rent this apartment until a closing date can be set and just stay here until you close on it. She even said the rent payments could go towards the down payment.”

“No fucking way,” I said, then covered my mouth. “I mean, no freaking way! That’s perfect. Where do I sign?”

Autumn laughed, “I will go to the office and type everything up, then I’ll stop by later tonight to have you sign everything. Jane said she could come to the office, too. Welcome to Riverbend, Molly Green.”

“Thank you!” I said, and I didn’t care if it was unprofessional or not, but I gave her a big hug.

“Before I leave you to unpack your car and get settled, I wanted to let you know I want to get you a thank you gift for using me as your realtor and welcome you to town. Is there one thing you’d love to have for your bakery but don’t see yourself splurging on right away?”

I said the first thing that came to mind, “I would love an espresso machine, so I could offer special coffees with my baked goods. It doesn’t have to be top of the line or anything, but…“

Autumn laughed, “I love vanilla lattes, and the closest Starbucks is a few towns over. I will get you a great espresso machine!”

“Thank you! Anytime you want a vanilla latte, it will be on the house!” I said and gave her another hug.

From the travel to the food to the releases to the clubhouses - Minor League Baseball is full of incredible life experiences. One thing it isn’t, though? Glamorous.

“It isn’t much to look at, but it will be your home for the foreseeable future,” Mark Reeves, the hitting coach for the Raptors said as he pointed to the small apartments across from the stadium. “It used to be a dorm for the college, but they built new ones on the other side of the campus, so we purchased them for you players.”

I could do dorm rooms. I shared the basement of my parents’ house with my brothers forever, then we all got an apartment together. How bad could it be?

I grabbed my bags and walked towards the dorms. A couple players were hanging out front.

“You the new rook?” a guy asked as he was stretching in front of the dorm and getting ready for a run. “You’re kinda old, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m Tyler Stone. I’m a catcher,” I replied and chose to ignore his age comment. "Which way is room C?"

“Ian Baxter. Third base,” he replied with a head nod. "Room C is three doors down.”

“Thanks, man,” I said and headed to find my new apartment. I wasn’t sure if I should just walk right in since it was my place. I decided to go ahead and knock, and I heard, “It’s open!” called from the inside. I opened the door and found a small room with an old couch in the corner where two guys sat holding video game controllers in their hands. They both looked up but didn’t stop their game.

“Hey, you must be our new roomie,” a guy said on the other side of the room, where he was getting milk out of a cooler. He looked to be taller than me, and that was saying something since I was over six four. He had his dark blonde hair pulled back in a trendy man bun and had a thin, muscular build. My guess is that he was a pitcher. He poured the milk into a bowl of cereal. “Want a drink or something?”

“Sure, bottled water would be great if you have it.”

He nodded and threw me one. “I’m Cooper Dixon,” he said as he sat down on a milk crate next to the couch.

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