Page 1 of Coach Me
Chapter 1
Dex
“A hundred and two miles per hour.” Will whistles, reading off the speed of the pitch I just threw. “Damn, Larsen, I knew you still had it in you.”
“I’m your coach; there shouldn’t have even been a doubt.” I roll my shoulders back. I can already feel the muscles aching. Not warming up before throwing a pitch like that will definitely call for some ice tonight, but my kid was taunting me and my best pitcher wasn’t helping.
“Dad, that was so totally awesome!” Miles yells as he races to me. “You threw faster than Will did!”
“By one mile per hour!” Will tosses a ball in the bucket. “Give me another chance, kid.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I could throw a lot faster and you know it, Anderson. Remember, you’re here because I retired.”
Will gives me a cocky grin. He’s holding back a jab—whether it’s a glory days or old man joke, I’m not sure. Despite the shift in our teammate dynamic, I like Will. Aplayer had to take my slot on the roster, and I can’t say I hate it’s been filled by someone who can throw as well as he can.
Miles pulls on my arm. “Dad, does this mean I could learn to throw as fast as you?”
Kneeling down so I can be eye level with my son, I say my next words with so much confidence. “I know you can, and I can’t wait to see it happen.”
Miles’s eyes light up. “Good, because if I could throw as fast as you, maybe Callie will marry me.”
I snort out a laugh as Will yells, “Hey!” then scoops Miles up and flips him upside down. “Little man, I thought we talked about this. Callie ismygirlfriend.”
“Not for long,” Miles sputters out between giggles as Will starts to spin him around.
Leave it to my son to tell our new star pitcher that he’s going to steal his girlfriend. It isn’t exactly what I expected to happen when my boss said I could bring Miles to work every day.
I thought maybe he’d latch on to me or one of the players. He’s been around the team enough growing up that most of the guys aren’t exactly strangers, but Miles is only five, so, honestly, I expected him to get bored with all this pretty quickly. However, being around the team this much has done nothing but bring my boy to life.
Not to mention, gaining more than enough confidence to bat out of his league, considering Callie is our twenty-something team photographer.
I watch as Will flips Miles back around onto his feet. Will’s hands land on Miles’s shoulders as he tries to steady him. The moment Miles finds his footing he lunges at Will and tackles him to the ground.
Invisible strings tug at my heart with the sound ofMiles’s laughter. Despite his world being completely turned upside down this year, he’s here laughing.
“Oh my, what’s going on here?” Callie chuckles as she appears beside me.
“I believe it’s a fight for your honor.” I tilt my head as Miles continues to wrestle Will. It doesn’t last long, though. The moment Miles registers that Callie’s here, he’s off Will in a flash.
“Callie!” He beams, bouncing in front of her. “I kicked Will’s ass!”
For all that’s holy, did he really just say that?
“Miles! Where did you learn that word?”
Miles digs his little foot into the turf. “I don’t know.”
Yeah, right. Hell, feeling a little less grateful for this new arrangement now.
“Well, at least you know he’s not a snitch.” Will rests his hands on Miles’s slouched shoulders. “Oh, come on, Dex. What’d you expect the kid to hear being around a bunch of baseball players? Let’s be honest, he could have said a lot worse. Hedoesspend a lot of time with Callie.”
Callie swats at Will’s arm. “Now who’s the snitch.”
“Jesus,” I mutter. I suppose he’s right, everyone here doesn’t know how to keep their mouths free of curses, no matter how hard I try. Kneeling down to eye level again, I look at my son. “Miles, ‘ass’ is an adult word. You’re not in trouble, but now you know that you don’t need to say it anymore. Next time there will be a consequence.”
Miles scrunches his nose as he digs his foot deeper into the turf. “Okay, Daddy. I won’t say it again.”
“There, all is well!” Callie claps her hands. “What were you guys doing anyway? I was editing away when I caught aglimpse of the time and realized practice ended nearly half an hour ago.”
