Page 77 of Despite It All
“Come on, Stevie, give Mommy a break.” I feel like my arm is about to fall out of socket. When did my little girl get so big? “I’m not as strong as your Dad.”
Stevie drags her feet and grumbles, “But I was having fun.”
“Hey, I need a break too, Little Bee.” Jett smiles down at her. “Besides, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
We follow Jett’s lead out the door and to the left is a guy standing around Jett’s height but has black hair and a littlebulkier. He’s wearing a red Maverick’s baseball hat and is holding a sign that says ‘Ellison family’ written sloppily in black sharpie.
“Really? A sign?” Jett laughs.
The man looks down at the paper. “Yeah, a sign. You always have to have a sign.”
“Not when the person knows you,” Jett says, and I’ve been around Owen and Graham enough to guess what the next word is going to be. I place my hands over Stevie’s ears as Jett finishes with the classic. “Dumbass.”
And Stevie’s had her ears covered enough to know what it means, so as my hands move, she says, “Language, Daddy.”
Jett smiles down and scoops her up. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Stevie, this is my friend Adam. Adam, this is my daughter, Stevie.” Jett turns toward me, and I have this need to hold my breath while he introduces me.
This is my child’s mother? My one-night stand? Girlfriend? What am I?
“This is my Wyla.”
His Wyla.
“Hi, nice to meet you.” I smile. I’d shake his hand but I’m pretty positive I’m a puddle on the sidewalk now.
“Nice to meet you guys.” Adam folds his sign up and hands it to Jett who shakes his head but puts it in hispocket instead of throwing it away. “Jett has talked about you non-stop since he got back, Stevie.” Adam turns to me. “He talks about you too, but he’s been doing that for years.”
I look at Jett and have to bite back a cheesy grin.
He winks back, which only makes my blushing worse. “Okay, let’s get going. Did you get that car seat?”
“It’s in your car, yes.” Adam rocks on his feet a bit.
I chuckle. “You didn’t know how to put it in, did you?”
“Not a fucking clue.”
Stevie smacks her hands to her ears. “Language, Daddy’s friend.”
After getting Stevie’s car seat situated, we load up in Jett’s Telluride. “Wy, I’ve got to be at the complex in about an hour. Do you want me to take you and Stevie to my place or do you want to come with me?”
“Is today a game?”
“Nah, we’ll practice for about an hour. Probably have to do some physical therapy too.”
“When you go tell, that di—” Adam struggles with the curse word for a moment then blurts, “difficult?”
Stevie snickers in her car seat next to him.
“Nice recovery,” Jett mocks.
“Hey, I’m trying.” Adam sighs. “Anyway, you need to tell Nick and Coach that you’re good to start pitching some.”
There’s a small knot forming in my stomach. Jett starting to play again likely will mean no more surprise visits for the rest of the season. If we want to actually spend quality time together, I’ll have to come up here, and I don’t know how well that’s going to go over with my job. Especially since I’m using the remainder of my vacation time this week already.
Jett reaches for my hand and intertwines it with his. “They’ll let me play when they let me play. Wyla, do you want to take Stevie to the apartment?”
“I wanna go to baseball!” Stevie chants.
