Page 49 of Once Upon a Summer Night

Ah, so that’s why she’d seemed so melancholy today.

“I know you do.” He kissed the top of her head. “But she’s still here in spirit, watching over you and Noah.”

“Yeah. And she’d be thrilled to see him meeting all these new kids and trying new things. She never wanted her illness to hold him back.”

“Well, if he’s any good at batting, maybe he could come out and practice with our T-ball team. Meet some more kids his age while he learns about the sport.”

Hannah shook her head on a smirk. “You’ve only got two speeds, don’t you? Dead stop and full steam ahead.”

“Hey, it comes in handy in our line of work,” he said.

“True.” She laughed. “How about we see how he does batting and then revisit this conversation. Deal?”

Chase felt the swell of victory in his chest. Not because she hadn’t told him no, but because for the first time since returning, she hadn’t hesitated before she’d answered. In his mind, that meant she was becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of staying in Bourbon Falls. His plan to help her see that this town was exactly what they needed seemed to be working. And he was far from finished yet.

“Deal.”

Chapter Fourteen

Hannah wasn’t surewho was more excited to give batting a try—Noah or Chase. She’d barely gotten Noah tucked into bed that night before Chase was texting, asking if they could come over for dinner Tuesday and walk over to the ball diamond afterward. And because the evening would include spending time with her two favorite guys, she, of course, agreed.

It would also keep her from sitting around moping about not getting selected for an interview for the safety inspection and training manager. She’d struggled with the news Mick had shared all day, but there was nothing she could really do about it. Who knew? Maybe this was the universe telling her it wasn’t meant to be.

Maybe I am supposed to be here instead.

She wasn’t quite ready to buy into that idea, but it did help ease the sting a bit. Hannah woke Tuesday, determined not to sulk. Things were going well in Bourbon Falls, and that’s where she would dedicate her current energy.

So, after another amazing grilled dinner had been consumed at Chase’s that night—chicken, this time, which Noah again devoured—the trio walked over to the ball diamond around the corner from his place. Apparently, he spent each summer volunteering to maintain the lot, due to a combination of his love for the game and him feeling the need to repay the town that had supported him in his younger days in the infield. It may not have been the most glamorous ball diamond in the world, but Noah was full of awe when he stepped into the batter’s box for the first time.

Chase, of course, beamed with pride.

While he spent some time coaching Noah on the proper way to hold and swing a bat, Hannah grabbed her old mitt and headed for the outfield. Though she’d enjoyed batting long ago, tonight she was here in a support role, happy to retrieve hit balls and cheer her little man on. As Chase had suspected, Noah caught on to the basic swing mechanics fairly quickly. Yes, he topped plenty, resulting in grounders that barely made it to the pitching mound, and he completely whiffed a handful, too. But once he got his first, solid connection between bat and ball, Hannah could practically see the lightbulb in his mind click on.

After that, Hannah had her work cut out for her.

They stopped when the sun began to set, Noah starting to fizzle out and the adults needing to get home and get some sleep before working in the morning.

“Great job tonight, champ.” Chase gave Noah a final high five when they made it back to his place. “If you ask me, you’re ready to come and practice with our team.”

“Really?” The boy’s bright eyes shifted to Hannah. “Can I?”

“We’ll see,” she said as she helped him into her Jeep. “Get buckled, I’m going to talk to Coach Chase for a minute.”

Chase grimaced as she shut the door. “I feel a scolding coming on.”

Unfortunately, she had the Jeep’s top off today, which meant there wasn’t much she could say that Noah wouldn’t likely hear. She led him around the front of the engine to put a little more space between them and Slugger.

“I thought we were going to talk about it after batting practice,” she whispered.

“Itisafter batting practice.”

At her narrowed gaze, he hung his head. “Sorry, Han, guess in my excitement I put the cart before the horse. You guys think on it and let me know. I’ll give you the practice schedule at work tomorrow.”

Hannah looked back to Noah, who was tossing a baseball up and catching it while in his seat. Yeah, like there was any thinking on it to be done. “Okay. We can talk more then.”

They shared a quick good-night kiss before parting ways, then Hannah and Noah were headed back to Brooks Farm. The topic of T-ball practice came up before they left Chase’s street, and Hannah had to remind Noah that their stay in Bourbon Falls was temporary.

“I don’t want to go back. I like it here.”

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