Page 33 of Love in the Outfield

Mama and Doyle yell at the same time “Jasper no!” They catch him in time and he looks over his shoulder at them with an incriminating glower.

“Killjoy. I would’ve let him,” I say.

“I’m sure you would have,” Mama snips.

“Mama, don’t tax me right now. While you were beautifying the county, I had a visit from the Wicked Witch of Western Kentucky, Wendy Jennings. She threatened to sic her lawyer on me. Now this!”

I see the fire flare in Mama’s eyes and with satisfaction, I know I’ve caught her attention. “How dare that woman show up uninvited, on private property no less, and threaten my daughter!”

“What the hell!” Ava says laughing as she joins us. “Oops, I mean heck.” “It’s not the least bit funny,” I say. “Damn bouncy house.”

“It’s hysterical. You’ve lost your sense of humor.”

Mama says, “We have to call a family meetin’ tonight! Ava, call your sister and I’ll call Grammy and Papaw. Tell them to be here by seven.”

“What do I tell them?”

“Family emergency.”

“Over a bouncy house?” she asks.

“Just do as I ask.”

She salutes Mama. “Yes ma’am. We can include Asher on video call if you want.”

“There will be no meetin’,” I declare. “I can handle this myself.”

“We’re not letting that family threaten or bulldoze you into anything,” Mama says.

“I’m gonna try out the bouncy house,” Ava says running over to pick up Auggie on the way. Next thing I know they’re climbing in and she’s whooping and hollering. I can see glimpses of her through the cutout windows as she bounces up and down. Her hair is flying in every direction and then I see her do a flip in the air and hear August belly laughing at his aunt’s antics. Not to be left out, Jasper is barking to get in. Now that I’m cooling down, I grudgingly admit that it does look like fun. Maybe we can keep it for a bit. “Mama there is no need for a family meeting. I’ll handle this thing with Wendy.”

16

CADE

Ienter my river-view condo and drop my duffle bag onto the floor. I’ll deal with unpacking later. We have a day off tomorrow before the next series begins. I’m pretty beat up. I got hit by a pitch during yesterday’s game and trust me, you don’t want to know what a ninety-eight-mile-per-hour pitch on your ribcage feels like. X-rays were clear. No fractures, just bruised. At least that walk ended up with me scoring.

I still haven’t heard back from Georgia. I’m a little surprised. I know she’s busy between work, school and motherhood but still, an acknowledgement would have been nice. I’m excited to hear how August reacted to his bouncy house so I decide to give her another call.

I get a rush when I hear her voice. “Hello Cade.”

“Hi Georgia, did you miss me?”

“Congratulations on taking both series,” she replies, ignoring my question.

“Did you see me steal that homer away from Johnson? My glove was on fire!”

I hear a smile in her voice. “Yes, it was highway robbery. My heart was in my throat.”

“About killed myself hitting that wall but it was worth it. No pain, no glory.” I’m kind of bummed that she hasn’t mentioned my gift yet. I scratch my head. Maybe it wasn’t delivered.

“Did something show up there a couple days ago?” I ask.

“You mean the gargantuan inflatable skyscraper that takes up my entire front yard?” she says her voice saccharin sweet with that southern twang.Uh oh!

I do detect a smidgen of humor so I latch onto that. “You always did want to live in the city,” I say.

“August and Ava love it,” she says, her tone softening.

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