Page 36 of The Seal's Promise

He was covered in sweat and dirt and his eyes were closed.

“Hey, Max, where’s it hurt, buddy?” He started to run his hands over Max’s shoulders and looked him over to see if any bones seemed out of place. But then a big smile spread on Max’s face and he held up the ball he’d caught.

“He was out,” Max said as his eyes fluttered open.

Dalton laughed as the ump and the coach joined them.

“That’s right, he was out, we just need to work on your technique. Never put yourself in the line of a player on their path to the base. Too much momentum.”

Max nodded.

“Alright, if nothing hurts, let’s slowly sit up.”

“Sir, no dads on the field,” the ump said.

Max sat up and laughed. “He’s not my dad, but you could be the team doc,” Max said.

Dalton laughed. “Not a bad idea.”

“We could always use a doc out at the ballfield, these kids are kamikazes,” the coach said.

“Max, are you okay?” Brooke yelled from where she was standing next to Miles on the fence line.

Max popped up off the ground. “I’m great, Mom, I got that kid out.”

Brooke smiled. “Good job, baby.”

“Mom!”

“Yup, sorry. Great job, champ.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Moms are so girly.”

All three men laughed. Dalton helped shake off some of the dirt on Max’s white baseball uniform and watched the other kid who hit Max stomp off the field.

“Alright, let’s play ball!” the ump hollered. “Docs and coaches off the field,” he said, lower and for them to hear.

Dalton walked to the dugout with the coach and agreed to be on standby for the rest of the season’s games. He just kept committing to things without even thinking about how much longer he’d be staying in town. He didn’t like the fact that Brooke stood talking to Miles for the next inning, but when she finally made her way over to him, he felt like he’d won a hard-fought battle.

“Thanks for getting to Max so fast. These games are hours of no action mixed with random moments that put me into a full-on panic attack.”

“No problem. He just had the wind knocked out of him, but the coach asked me to sit on standby as the team doc just in case.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. I hope you’re ready for concussions and balls hitting faces.”

“After the SEAL team missions, I think I can handle it.” He was sitting in the shade of the dugout and waited to see what she’d do. Like a wounded animal, it was most likely she’d run, but then she surprised him and sat next to a stack of bats, just far enough away that they wouldn’t touch.

“I guess you probably saw the worst of the worst as a SEAL?” she asked.

“Our worst days weren’t pretty” was all he said. People were always impressed with someone’s service on a special military team, but the truth was they were brutal. Teammates died, missions were violent, and he didn’t like to talk about it like it was all some action movie.

“I heard a few years back that you were shot, but your brother didn’t seem to want to talk about it.” She fidgeted and brushed dirt off the bench. “I was worried you’d come back injured, but then your gran said you were fine and working in Virginia.”

“I didn’t realize you heard about that. I’m sorry I didn’t think to reach out.”

She shook her head. “Why would you? It’s fine. I just meant I’m sure you’ve been through a lot and can handle a few baseball injuries. So thanks for volunteering.” She looked around and leaned forward like she was ready to bolt.

He reached out and put his hand on her knee, then flipped his forearm over to show her one long scar. “There were a few injuries during my time on the team, and even though I was one of the lucky ones, I still don’t like to think about it. That last one was enough for me to decide it was time to get out of the Navy before I died on the battlefield.”

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