Page 64 of Saving it with My Best Friend's Brother

“Are you okay?” Amelia touched my arm gently, her fingers warm against my sleeve. The familiar scent of her coffee—hazelnut with a hint of cinnamon—wrapped around me, grounding me as she had so many times lately.

Before I could answer, baby Chad’s happy gurgle echoed through the lobby’s pine-paneled walls. Taylor had him in a carrier while she helped Claire with social media responses, her fingers flying across her laptop keyboard. The sight of my sister and nephew, bathed in morning light, stirred a profound sense of gratitude—family drawing close when we needed it most.

“Need a break?” Van appeared beside us, reading my expression like he had since we were kids playing baseball in his backyard. “I’m heading to check out the baseball field for the youth clinic. Walk with me?”

I glanced at Amelia, who smiled encouragingly, the morning sun catching the gold in her hair. “Go. Claire and I have the morning coverage handled.”

The kiss she pressed to my cheek was quick but tender, her lips soft against my skin, making Van grin knowingly as we headed out.

The morning air was crisp with the promise of fall as we walked the familiar path to the old baseball field. Pine needles crunched under our feet, the scent of mountain sage mixing with morning dew. Van’s presence beside me was familiar and comforting—the same steady friendship that had seen us through high school championships, college dreams, his rise to MLB stardom, and the dark days after my father’s and his parents’ death.

“So,” he said, pausing at the weathered dugout where we’d spent countless summer afternoons, “you and Amelia.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help smiling, remembering how she’d looked in the early light. “Me and Amelia.”

“About time.” He picked up a stray baseball someone had left on the pitcher’s mound, its leather worn smooth by practice and dreams. “Remember when you helped me set up Catch the Dream? You said something I never forgot.”

“What’s that?” The morning sun warmed my face as memories of that day flooded back—Van’s excitement about giving kids a chance at baseball, my growing realization that I could make a difference.

“That sometimes the best dreams aren’t the ones we plan.” He tossed me the ball, its familiar weight landing in my palm like coming home. “You were talking about helping kids find their path to baseball, but man, you should see your face when you look at her.”

I caught the ball, running my thumb over the stitches the way Dad had taught me. “That obvious, huh?”

“To everyone except you two, for the longest time.” He grinned, leaning against the dugout’s faded blue paint. “Reminds me of me and Taylor. Sometimes the best things are right in front of us.”

“Speaking of Taylor...” I threw the ball back, watching it arc against the mountain backdrop. “How did you know? That she was the one?”

Van’s expression softened in the morning light, his usual confident demeanor giving way to something more vulnerable. “Because she made me want to be better. Not just as a baseball player or a philanthropist, but as a person.” He paused, catching the ball with practiced ease. “The way Amelia does for you.”

“She does.” I sat on the old bleachers, the metal cool through my jeans. Van joined me, the familiar creak of the stands bringing back memories of countless games. “Even with everything—Mom being alive, Wheeler’s threats, all of it—she makes me feel...”

“Home,” Van finished. “Yeah, I get that.”

A hawk circled overhead, its cry echoing across the empty field. “The foundation’s youth clinic next month,” I changed subjects slightly, though my heart was full. “We’re still on for hosting it here, right?”

“Try and stop me.” Van’s eyes lit up with the same passion that had made him a baseball legend. “Assuming Pine Haven’s still standing.”

“It will be.” The certainty in my voice surprised me, as solid as the mountains rising behind us. “We’re not losing this place. Not with everyone fighting for it.”

“You know,” Van said thoughtfully, rolling the baseball between his palms, “when I first told you about helping set up my foundation, I thought you were just doing it as a favor to your best friend. But watching you with those kids, seeing how much you cared... I should’ve known you’d find your path to making a difference.”

“Saving Pine Haven isn’t just about property,” I admitted, watching shadows stretch across the field where generations of local kids had played. “It’s about community. Family. Future.”

“Speaking of the future,” Van’s smile turned knowing, reminding me of all the secrets we’d shared over the years. “Any plans there?”

Heat crept up my neck as I thought of the ring websites I’d been browsing. “One crisis at a time.”

“Right.” He laughed, the sound echoing off the dugout walls. “Because you haven’t been looking at engagement rings online.”

“How did you—”

“Taylor saw your browser’s history when she borrowed your laptop earlier.” He clapped my shoulder, his grip warm and steady. “Your secret’s safe with us. But for what it’s worth? She’ll say yes.”

“You think?”

“I know.” His expression turned serious, years of friendship in his eyes. “The way she looks at you... it’s real, Hunter. Don’t let Wheeler or anyone else make you doubt that.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed with a text from Amelia:Need you back here. Wheeler’s lawyers just arrived with paperwork.

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