Page 102 of The Light We Lost

I dug my nails into my palms, ready to throw hands. “Excuse—”

I covered my mouth, strangling down my remark at the sight of my sister’s grin. She held her arms out wide, blonde hair falling past her shoulders and curtaining around the newborn swaddled to her chest. In the back of my mind, I registered that our parents, along with her husband and sons, were behind her, but I could only focus on her.

My sister was here.

Eyes burning, I stumbled out from behind the table, and in an awkward attempt to not smush my baby nephew, I hugged Auburn from behind. She wrapped her arms around herself to squeeze me back, laughing as she yanked my hair, and I pinched her side in return.

“You’re so embarrassing,” she complained when I held on to her, as though the tears in my eyes weren’t a mirror to the ones in hers.

I buried my face deeper into the crook of her neck, pretending to wipe my snot on her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know. I was in the mood for Dad’s chili.” She twisted out of my hold to face me. She raised a light brow, her skin tan and dusted with freckles. There were tired circles beneath her green eyes and what looked to be dried spit-up on the sleeve of her shirt. But the smile she gave me was teasing and light, as though she wasn’t exhausted not only from having a newborn but having traveled with her family. “You didn’t think I was here for you, right?”

I snorted. “I’d be bothered if you were.”

We shared a shaky laugh, wiping the tears beneath our eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her until she was right in front of me. Her hand touched mine, and I latched on. Despite our words, I knew she was here for me. And I was so grateful for it.

After telling my nephews and brother-in-law hi, I made my way to my parents. I hugged Dad, and even though Mom and I hadn’t talked since our argument, I hugged her too. I didn’t know where we stood, but I was glad she was here. “Nolan has a booth if you want to check out some of his carvings,” I told Dad. “Brooks is running it. He’s set up beside Shay’s bake sale.”

Agreeing to meet up at the game in a little bit, I went back to helping where I could with the fundraiser. After refilling an igloo with lemonade, and with the game about to start, I walked toward the baseball fields.

All day I’d resisted the pull toward them and instead satisfied my need with stealing glances at Nolan on the field. Since it wasn’t high school baseball season, he’d spent the morning getting the field prepped for the game.

I loved him.

I didn’t know what the future held, but as sure as the sky was blue, grass was green, and water was wet, I knew I loved Nolan Graham.

And I had no interest in stopping.

He must’ve seen me walking up, as he strolled out of the away team’s dugout and toward me. He wore long white baseball pants and a plain navy shirt. Despite playing baseball for the first time in nearly a decade, his frame was loose, his smile easy. “Thought I’d have to drag you up here and away from tossing pies at Sheriff Turner.”

“Figured I’d tortured him enough.”

He gave me a crooked grin. “Your sister told me she hit him with two. One for each of you.”

I laughed and looked over his shoulder to where Auburn was watching us—along with half the people on the bleachers. Even knowing that, I put my hands on Nolan’s jaw and brought his lips down to mine. I kissed him slowly, deeply. And when I pulled back and saw the disbelief in his eyes, like he couldn’tbelieve I was kissing him in front of practically the whole town, I kissed him again.

“It’s the baseball pants, isn’t it?” he teased once I stopped kissing him, solely because I couldn’t handle it if Auburn screamed for Nolan to grab my boob one more time. She was a menace. “You’ve never been able to resist them.”

“Nah. Just the man wearing them.” Before he could tell me how cheesy I was, I asked, “How’s your arm?”

“Good enough to play first base. Tanner’s pitching.”

I let out a breath, relieved he hadn’t felt pressured to pitch. I was grateful for his support, but I’d told him a handful of times last night he didn’t have to play at all. He’d told me he was excited to play but that he didn’t want to pitch. His shoulder still irritated him occasionally, and he’d admitted he was worried what memories pitching might bring up.

I was positive the town would’ve loved to see their golden boy step on the mound, but I was glad Nolan had accepted he didn’t owe them anything. He’d told me the same yesterday after the Calder fiasco. We hadn’t talked about him suggesting I fly to New York early, hadn’t talked about my leaving at all.

I was considering broaching the subject when Lisa’s voice played over the field speakers, inviting everyone toward the game. Wishing Nolan good luck, I kissed his cheek before going to stand behind the backstop fence.

After “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, Lisa stood with her soccer team at home plate and thanked everyone for coming and for their donations toward funding the sports program. Ruby and Madison, the soccer team co-captains, shared how playing sports had affected their lives. One wouldn’t have been able to afford college this coming year if she hadn’t earned her athletic scholarship, and the other spoke about how sports kept her busy and helped her form genuine friendships.

Through it all, I watched Nolan, thinking of the fifteen-year-old boy who’d once thought his worth and his ability to play baseball went hand in hand. The man who’d thought he’d lost everything, yet somehow managed to make a good life for himself.

Wrapped up in my pride for him, I didn’t realize Lisa had called my name until Zeke, one of her students, nudged my shoulder and pointed to his teacher. She motioned me toward her, and I raised a brow, confused. More than aware everyone was watching me, I walked onto the baseball diamond.

Stepping up to home plate, I said to Lisa, “If someone chucks food at me, don’t expect me not to throw it back.” Laughter filtered through the air, and a lump swelled in my throat—I’d said it loud enough for the microphone to catch.

“Oh, sweet Indy.” She tossed an arm around my shoulder and addressed the crowd. “When I heard she was back, my first thought was: Quick! Somebody hide the new stop signs before Indy decides to use them for target practice.” I forced a laugh, dread filling my belly. Where was this going? “So when I talked to Indy for the first time since high school, I didn’t know what to expect. Thought she might try to steal my husband,” she teased and squeezed my arm, doing nothing to ease my nerves. “Anyways, we’re talking, and it’s nothing special. But in the middle of that, I bring up my work. How the sports program is getting slashed. I expect her to brush it off. She doesn’t live here; it doesn’t concern her. But she offers to help instead. I’m surprised, but I chalk it up to her being polite. Figure I’ll never hear from her again,” Lisa continued. “Except, a few days after that, Indy tells me she’s going to run a fundraiser. She’s even bringing a superstar athlete. We all know how that panned out, but the point is, as I’ve watched her this past month, I’ve realized I shouldn’t have been surprised. She’s always helped people—she just likes to put her own special twist on it. So thank you, Indy.”

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