Page 115 of Spotlight
“I’m nervous.” My legs bounce rapidly, and I take a deep breath.
“You’re makingmenervous,” Sabrina notes beside me as she takes another handful of popcorn.
“He’s got this,” Brogan says on the other side of me.
I nod, letting his words soothe me. The whole crew is here. All Flynn’s brothers and their partners. Hendrick and Jane, who I immediately recognized as a former actress from one of my favorite childhood TV shows, Knox and Avery, who look like complete opposites, her in pink and all smiles and him in black with a scowl (except when he looks at her), London came with Brogan, and of course Sabrina with Archer. And me. Flynn doesn’t know I’m here. It was a last-minute thing, and I wanted to surprise him.
Flynn nods at JT and then stands tall, winds up, and throws another pitch. I hold my breath in those short seconds before the umpire yells, “Striiiike!”
“Yes,” I say quietly, clenching one hand into a fist. The entire row of brothers stands to give Flynn a standing ovation as he jogs off the field.
It’s been a tense game. Every inning feels long. Flynn is pitching well. He’s only let three batters on base through eight innings. Despite that, the Twins are up 1-0.
“All right. They need to make something happen here,” Knox says. He’s the last one standing, watching Flynn all the way into the dugout.
I can see the pride in his face. All the brothers wear their support for him proudly, but none more than Knox.
After he accepts high fives and butt pats from his teammates and coaches, Flynn takes a seat to wait through the bottom of the inning.
JT steps up to the plate first. He’s been hot on the bat tonight. He was robbed of a home run in the fourth inning when an outfielder made a phenomenal catch, jumping higher than anyone should be able and snatching it before it went out of the park.
He takes a big swing on the first pitch and sends a line drive down the third base line. He takes off for first as the crowd cheers loudly. Everyone is amped up. It’s surreal to see this stadium so alive. True, I haven’t been to a lot of games over the years, but enough that I can say this season the fans are showing up. I’d bet anything that Flynn is the catalyst for that.
JT is safe at first. The next batter walks out to heavy rock music.
“Let’s go, G-Cruise.” Two guys in front of us stand and yell down to the field. One of them is wearing a Holland jersey and it makes my lips pull into a smile.
Gunnar Cruise is broad and muscular. His biceps fill out the sleeves of his jersey in a way that looks like he might Hulk out at any moment. He digs in his back foot as he moves into position at the plate.
Again, the first pitch is magic. Gunnar sends the ball soaring out to center field.
Everyone stands to see if it’s going to go. My pulse races. The second the ball clears the fence, the stadium roars. The Mustangs have taken the first lead of the night.
I glance back at Flynn amidst the chaos. His body language is relaxed. He leans back against the bench and his head falls back slightly, but he’s grinning. I bet he’s tired. Eight innings, throwing harder than he has all season, according to the announcement on the jumbotron. The coach could pull him and let someone else finish out the game, but I know Flynn wouldn’t want that. Not with the game this close. It’s going to be up to him to hold off the Twins and win the game.
The next batter hits a grounder and is thrown out, then Bo hits a pop-up that is caught by the short stop. The inning ends with a strikeout.
Again, I look to Flynn. He stands quickly. His expression is all business as he grabs his glove. The coach moves to him, and they have a short exchange. Flynn nods and then steps out of the dugout.
I sit back in my seat and immediately feel like I want to throw up. Sabrina pats my leg and holds back an amused smirk.
“You look more nervous than he does,” she says.
“That’s his superpower, but sadly not mine.” It’s true. He’s so effortlessly chill and I like the illusion of control.
She gives me her hand and I take it and squeeze out some of my anxiety.
“Okay. Ouch. Ouch.”
“Sorry.” I loosen my grip and a nervous laugh escapes. “I want this for him so badly.”
“He’s got this,” Brogan says again, putting an arm around me and shaking my shoulders lightly.
I nod. “You’re right. He’s unstoppable.”
“Exactly.” Brogan gives me one last shake before releasing me.
“The best Holland brother,” I say and glance sideways to see his reaction.
