Page 16 of Accidentally Sliding Into A Second Chance

He stares at me, processing what I just said, before throwing his head back and laughing so hard I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself. Heat crawls up my neck, and a quick glance out the office door shows my teammates looking on in curiosity.

I immediately regret not closing the door.

“I’m sorry,” he says through chuckles, wiping a tear from his eye. “I did that once. The kids were still young, and it was chaos. Good thing my wife—” Coach stops and whips his gaze to mine, regret hovering there.

“It’s okay, Coach.” I force my lips to pull up, while dropping my hand from my chest. “Having Fiona here would make it all so much easier.”

The picture behind his desk catches my attention. It’s of his family and their dog. “Luckily, Duncan and Ava are around to help for the time being.”

“Support systems are so important,” he says as he picks up a pen from his desk and starts rolling it through his fingers. “Remember that the Smokies are here to help you, too.”

This time, when I look at him, a real smirk slides across my lips. “You mean with my social media account.”

His mouth drops open before snapping shut, and one of my brows raises. Clearing his throat, he says. “With that, too. But I meant the dog. You don’t have to do this all alone, David.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I recall saying almost the exact same words to my brother about this recently. I also remember how I stubbornly told everyone I could do it all myself right after Fi died. Good thing my mother didn’t listen to me because I desperately needed help. I wouldn’t have been able to get back on the field as quickly as I did without her support.

Taking care of Scarlett was, and is, my number one priority, but baseball is what helped me to live again.

The sport saved my life, and the team kept me afloat, helping me to be the father my daughter needed.

“I’ll try to remember that, Coach. It’s easy for me to get stuck in the ‘needing to do it all myself’.” I shrug. “My dad did.”

Coach’s mouth twitches. “How old are you now, David? Thirty-five?”

“Almost.” I narrow my eyes at him and tilt my head, trying to figure out where he’s going with this line of questioning.

“Then I think it’s safe to fill you in on a secret.” He leans over and motions for me to come closer before saying softly. “Your dad couldn’t have ‘done it all’ without your mom. That’s why you have couples. Neither one of you can do what is needed to support a family alone.”

I take a moment to think about what he just said, and my gut twists. For the first time, it hits me why I feel like a failure when it comes to balancing my work life and Scarlett. I’ve been trying to do something that is nearly impossible by myself.

My dad was always larger than life, but I forgot about the steady presence behind him. My mom.

There is no shame in asking for help. In letting others see your vulnerabilities. “Okay.”

“Okay, what, exactly?” Coach asks, a confused look on his face.

“Not having to do it alone.” A slow grin rides up my face. “I’ll drop Emmy off tonight. I just need your address.”

“Woah, David.” Coach holds out his arms, panic in his eyes. “I didn’t mean I want your dog.”

Letting the laughter I’ve been holding back free. His panicked expression turns to a scowl, and I laugh a bit harder and hold my hands up, a smile still on my face. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. I was talking about social media. I’ll take the help with my profile.”

His brows shoot up. “But I didn’t bring that up yet—”

“I’ve bumped into Cat a few times, and Logan happened to witness it.” I throw my thumb over my shoulder. “The second time he mentioned she was our new director of fan experience, and I assumed she would be the one watching over my shoulder.”

“He was flirting,” Logan yells from behind me. I turn to find him with both hands on the side of the door frame, leaning forward with a huge grin on his face.

Heat works its way up my face. “I wasn’t—”

“He was flirting,” he repeats, nodding his head. “And so was she.”

“Cat, huh?” I flip my gaze back to Coach. The corner of his mouth lifted and a brow quirked. “Interesting.”

“Are we done here, Coach?” I push up from my chair and start backing up toward his door. When he nods, I turn to make a quick getaway.

“See? Flirting,” Logan stage whispers, and the entire locker room bursts out laughing. Making sure not to catch anyone’s gaze, I grab my stuff and all but run out the door. But not before I hear Logan yell, “Make sure you look both ways first!”

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