Page 61 of Always a Bridesmaid
And he found that instead of avoiding Violet, all he wanted was to see her face. Hear her laugh.
Ask herwhat the helland relay how glad he was that she was taking pictures again.
On second thought, maybe he should reverse those two.
On third thought, he should leave it alone. The bakery remodel was coming along, and since Violet had found her muse, that meant she’d most likely be moving on soon.
No point in struggling to buck his nature and form attachments right in time for her to leave.
Ford parked at the baseball field and climbed out of his truck. There was a long rivalry between cops and firefighters, and he and Easton kept that alive and well here in Uncertainty by coaching the two minor league boys’ baseball teams.
Dylan, the scrawniest of his players, came running over. “Ford, Ford, guess what, guess what!” He pointed at the gap in his teeth. “Look.”
“Uh-oh. Were you not wearing your catcher’s mask?” The kid couldn’t get over the fear of the ball flying at his face, so his mom bought him a catcher’s mask. That he wore in theoutfield.
Thanks to his protective instinct, Ford almost tried to convince Dylan not to wear it so he wouldn’t get made fun of. But the other kids on the team had surprised him in the best possible way. They didn’t mock Dylan. They were simply glad he could play.
“Nope. It came out the natural way. And my other front tooth is loose, too.” Dylan demonstrated with his tongue. The tooth wobbled, barely hanging on by a thread.
Ford ruffled Dylan’s blond hair. “Why don’t you use that move to intimidate our opponents?”
“You got it, Coach.” Dylan ran to join the rest of the kids for warm-up exercises.
At first, Ford had balked at the idea of being a coach—he didn’t think he had the patience. But now he eagerly awaited talking trash with Easton as they encouraged the boys.
The parents always got super into the games, too. Every spring, there’d be a few times when Easton would have to take off his coach hat and put on his officer hat. Then he’d warn the rambunctious crowd members that if they didn’t settle down, they’d miss the game due to being hauled down to the station.
A tug on the leg of his jeans snagged his attention. “I don’t have anyone to catch with. None of the boys wants to throw with a girl.”
Ford squatted so he was eye level with Makayla. “That’s their loss. One of my best friends is a girl, and she’s got an arm any boy would be jealous of.”
Makayla was a new addition. She wanted to play, but not enough of the girls her age did, so she’d joined his team. After growing up with Addie, he recognized how much girls could do on the field.
“I got you.” Ford grabbed a mitt and helped Makayla warm up.
As they tossed the ball back and forth, Ford glanced at the stands. Families wore supporting team colors and passed around snacks, preparing to cheer for their kiddos.
“Make sure to follow through,” Ford said. “Like this…”
Makayla caught his pass and then launched it back, extra heat on the ball.
“Nice.” Ford was fairly certain most men dreamed about playing catch with their son, and as he watched his team, longing he hadn’t realized he possessed bobbed its head.
In order to have a kid, he would have to settle down, and that’d never been in his plans. Not after Ma left and he’d watched his dad and his brothers go through too many tempestuous relationships and cutting off a few of those himself.
Do you have a sweetheart? Someone who makes your life worth that much more?
Doris had asked him that question after he’d pulled her out of her flooded car, into a boat, and had performed CPR to get her breathing again.
“I don’t,” he’d told her, “but if you’re offering, I might reconsider.”
The click of her tongue echoed in his ear. “Oh, you charmer. My Harold is up in heaven already. He and I had a full life, complete with love and happiness and lots of kids and grandbabies.” Doris coughed again, the sound thicker than he would’ve liked, but his main goal was to get her somewhere safe and dry. “I was hoping to make it to my granddaughter’s wedding next month, but since she’s also found her soul mate, she’ll be okay.”
Ford had promised Doris that she’d make it, so she couldn’t give up just yet. They’d get her warm and dry and she’d be on her way to her daughter and granddaughter’s house in no time.
The feisty woman agreed to fight on one condition—that he would commit to living his own life to the fullest.
There’s peace in being fulfilled. In living without regret. And if it’s my time to go, I know my Harold will be waiting for me on the other side.
