Page 27 of Big Pitch Energy

Mom and Ray were sitting on the couch, deep in quiet conversation, their eyes warm, bodies angled toward each other.

Ray jumped up when he saw me.

“All set?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But I’m gonna go pick up Hope and we’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

It might seem ridiculous to take two cars when Starlight Shores is the size of a postage stamp, but the last thing I want is to feel like a teenager being chauffeured on a date by his parents.

“Okay, we’ll see you there,” Ray said while Mom flashed a hopeful smile.

They look like an old married couple sending their son off to prom.

I walked out to my truck and slid behind the wheel. I’d just buckled my seatbelt when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Leo Marakis, my catcher.

Just checking in—how’s the arm?

I smiled and replied

Doing well. Fastball is almost where it needs to be.

That’s awesome! If I don’t talk to you, have a great holiday. See you at the wedding.

Leo and his longtime girlfriend, Anjannette, are getting married on New Year’s Eve in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Yep, the Scranton fromThe Office.I pocketed my phone and made a mental note to ask Hope if she’d be my plus-one.

As I shifted into park, I saw Mom and Ray stepping onto the front porch. He held the door open for her, then placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked to his car. She was smiling in a way I’ve never seen before.

I headed to Hope’s house, trying to pinpoint the moment things shifted between them, but I couldn’t. Maybe it wasn’ta moment. Maybe it was something that had been slowly unfolding for years.

As far as I know, Mom hasn’t dated anyone since my dad left. When I was younger, I never really thought about it. It was just the way things were. But now I wonder if she ever gets lonely. She’s got her friends, her business, and she keeps busy, but that’s different from having someone to share it all with at the end of the day.

If she and Ray are interested in each other, I’m all for it.

Hope

The doorbell rang,and my heart did that now-familiar little skip it seemed to save just for Sam. I opened the door to find him in dark jeans and a burgundy sweater that made his eyes look warmer and brighter, like they held secrets only I’d be lucky enough to learn.

“You look beautiful,” he said, his eyes taking me in.

“Thank you.”

He grinned and stepped back, giving me space to lock the door behind me. The air was crisp, hinting at winter without fully committing. We made our way to his truck, and he opened the passenger door for me. I climbed in, my heart still fluttering in the best way. Just before closing the door, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss on my lips.

I watched him walk around the front of the truck, and once he was inside, we pulled onto the road. The quiet hum of the engine filled the space between us as we headed toward the restaurant.

“Ray's excited to meet you,” he said as we pulled into the parking lot a couple minutes later. “I may have talked about you a bit.”

“Oh? What exactly have you been saying?”

“Only good things,” he promised with a wink.

The restaurant was warm and inviting with soft lighting, wood beams, and the kind of atmosphere that made you want to linger over dinner. Ray and Liz were already seated at a corner table. Liz looked elegant and warm, and Ray stood to greet us with a smile that lit up his whole face. He was almost as tall as Sam but with a broader build, radiating a kind of easy confidence.

“So this is Hope,” he said, shaking my hand with a kind of sincere warmth that made me instantly like him. “It’s really great to finally meet the person behind Sam’s full recovery.”

I turned to Sam, eyebrows raised.

“Full recovery?”

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