Page 79 of Sacrifice Bunt

“We make it work.” He stepped back, taking her hand.

She took a deep breath. “We make it work.” She bit down on her lip, wondering if that was really all it took. But then, Noah squeezed her hand in his and she looked over at him and saw him smiling.

Yeah, they could do this.

Epilogue

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Zara

Her leg wouldn’t stop shaking. It didn’t matter that Noah was playing phenomenally or that the Emperors were up by four runs in the top of the eighth.

This was the World Series.

Possibly the final game of the World Series.

“Honey,” her mom said, placing a hand on her knee, “you need to relax.”

Zara groaned. “I’ll relax when the game is over.” She wasn’t new to the World Series. Every year, she had at least one client on a team that made it. Watching from the stands with her family and Noah’s was new.

Being this nervous was new.

On the other side of her, Penny squeezed her hand. “Your mom’s right. There’s no reason to be so nervous.”

“Oh yeah, you’re as cool as a cucumber,” Ellie, Noah’s sister, said. “That’s why you’re clutching Zara’s hand like you’re about to fall off a cliff.”

Zara didn’t care if Penny broke her hand. All she wanted was for Noah’s team to win. If they lost tonight, there were still more games to play, but she knew how much he and the team wanted to end it tonight.

Over the last few months, she and Penny had spent a lot of time together when she was in California, which was often. During his home stretches, she stayed with him unless she had to meet with a client. When he had away games, she stayed in Valley Falls or traveled to meet clients. They even saw her parents more than she ever had before. They both loved Noah. In fact, sometimes she felt her dad liked him more than he liked her.

Behind her, Hannah said, “I need a drink. When this baby comes out, I’m drinking for days straight.”

“That’s fine, babe,” Edwin said. “I’ll be on daddy duty while you drink.” Edwin, along with a good portion of the rest of her friends from Valley Falls, had made the trip for the, hopefully, final game. The Strikers soccer season had ended early when they’d narrowly missed out on the playoffs thanks to a handful of injured starters.

The eighth inning ended with the Emperors still up by four. They just had to get through the top of the ninth and it would be over. Zara watched as the closing pitcher struck out the first two batters.

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