Page 100 of Catch Me
“It’s okay.”
I looked at the kid again, noticing that he was wearing a baseball mitt. With a soft smile, I tapped on the tablet and pulled up one of the drawings I had of Travis on the field. When I flipped it around, his mouth dropped open.
“Did you make that?”
“I sure did,” I replied. “He’s a friend of mine.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Do you want me to introduce you?”
He looked at the ground, then at the glove. “This is his.”
“Oh. You met already.” Suddenly, I remembered a picture he’d posted on Instagram for a fundraiser. Now, I realized it was for this place. “Yeah, I remember seeing you on his page. He gave you that, huh?”
The kid nodded. When I held my hand out, he shakily passed me the ball. I tossed it in the air a few times, then motioned for him to be ready for it. He caught it, which made him loosen up and smile.
“Could you draw me too?” he asked.
My brows rose, and I looked at his dad. “Sure, if you want.”
“With Travis.”
With a laugh, I shrugged. “I bet he’d be cool with it.”
“Carl!” I heard Travis bellow. The kid shrunk a little, but his eyes had lit up.
I looked to the side when I saw Travis. He was holding the silver bat, which rested against his shoulder. He looked contemplative as he stared at Carl, and I was able to detect the mischief on his face.
“I was thinking.” He crouched and tapped the boy’s shoulder gently with the bat. “You can’t have a baseball player that only knows how to catch. That’s just a glorified Labrador. You know when I first felt like a real baseball player?”
“When?” Carl asked excitedly.
“When I hit my first home run.” He demonstrated swinging the bat in slow motion, then put his hand above his forehead like a visor as he watched the imaginary ball soar into the distance. “And the crowd goes wild.”
Carl’s eyes were locked on the bat. “Is it for me?”
“You betcha. I picked it out myself. I dare say it’ll make you better than me, but I’ve got a good decade before I have to worry about you leaving me in the dust.”
As I watched him show Carl how to hold it, I started to sketch them together. I’d never really understood how some women acted all weird and swooned over a guy who was good with kids. Now, I thought I did. There was something about the person he’d morphed into right before my eyes. It made me see him in a whole different light.
He peered over the screen, unashamedly taking in what I was drawing. “I’m telling you, Carl, it’s your lucky day. You’re being drawn by a guy whose name is going to be all over the world pretty soon. This is going to be worth millions someday.”
I snorted. “Yeah, because you’re in it.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work, buddy.” He draped his arm over my shoulders casually, continuing to watch as I formed seemingly senseless lines into a memory.
I found myself relaxing as I stood there, listening to him talk to Carl’s dad while the weight of his arm remained perfectly settled.
Chapter 31
Roman
I was leaving tonight, and I hadn’t expected to feel so disappointed about it. I’d get back to Chicago, then I’d get on a plane heading to Washington tomorrow. It would be nice to spend Christmas with my mom. There might be some awkwardness with Til and Brooks, but that was better than hostility, I guess.
Things here didn’t feel finished, and I knew that was stupid.I was going home. It was literally finished. The project was complete on this end, and I just had to work my magic back in my apartment. There was no view of the sunset or a claw foot tub, but that couldn’t be helped.
It was late morning, and if I was being honest, I didn’t want to spend my last moments here alone. Travis and I had formed a friendship, and it didn’t feel wrong to be with him today. I knew what I wanted to do one more time before I left.
