Page 127 of Mom Ball

“I love you too.” Her voice is less stressed.

I relax my shoulders at her calmer tone.

“Nate, can we go ahead and get your comments?” a voice calls from outside the field.

I turn to a reporter standing at the bottom of the stadium seats. “Yeah.” I hold up my finger for her to wait.

“That’s a sports reporter wanting an interview. I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you too.” I cut the call and head for the gate.

Time to get back to work.

CHAPTER 27

Brooke

I never thought I’d stick my hand down a frog’s throat. At least it’s a fake frog. I ease my fingers into the ceramic mouth and fumble around until I feel something wiggle.

“Ahh!” I jerk my hand out and wipe it down my shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Timothy bends down and stares at the frog.

A small worm slithers out of the frog’s mouth. He laughs and picks up the creature.

“Let it go someplace else.”

He moves toward the grass with the worm in tow, while I untuck my T-shirt. I stretch the end enough to form a makeshift glove over my hand before going back in there.

Growing up at an apple orchard, I’ve seen my fair share of worms. I also have a dad and two brothers who like to fish and taught me how to bait my own hooks. But I’d prefer to see the worm before I feel it.

I cup my covered hand around a keychain and pull it out. My shirt is stained with pollen and dust, and the two keys look the same.

With only two, it shouldn’t be hard to find the right one. I walk to the garage and try both. Of course it’s the second one.

Smothering heat welcomes me when I step inside. The fluorescent lights make a slight buzzing sound as I flip the switch. First thing I do is cut on the air conditioner and realize I probably should’ve gotten here sooner than twenty minutes before everyone else.

All the equipment is in the usual locations and ready for use.

I fan my face and try to push the larger door up to let out some of the pent-up air. It’s even heavier than it looks. I grit my teeth and squat lower to give it an extra push.

After another shove, it lifts.

“Hello, darling.” Morgan grins at me from the other side.

“You showed up just in time.”

She laughs and crosses the threshold. “I could tell from the slight shaking it had to be your scrawny butt in here trying to lift it.”

“How do you know it wasn’t Timothy?”

She cocks her head toward the pool. I crane my neck and find him chasing something.

“He was trying to get a lizard with a worm in its mouth.”

“Well, that takes care of that.” I step back and scan the space. “Any plans for tonight’s practice?”

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