Page 41 of Spotlight
“We barely did anything,” Brogan says. “It was all Flynn.”
“He would have loved to drop it off himself, but he had to be at the field early,” Archer adds.
Which begs the question, when did he find time to fix my car?
While I’m spiraling, Brogan picks up Greer and spins her around until she squeals with delight. It sometimes takes her a beat to be comfortable with men, but Archer and Brogan won her over with their fun, goofy personalities and being so consistently interested in her. It’s a rare thing, honestly, that adults, especially my peers, treat Greer and other kids like they’re worth getting to know.
Sabrina steps closer and her arm brushes against mine, pulling me from my thoughts. She has this knowing smirk that tells me she is acutely aware that I’m spinning out and why.
“Baby Holland has a crush,” she says in a singsong voice.
“Don’t tell me you’re in favor of this.” I wave a hand toward my vehicle, but what I really mean is, there’s no way she can want me and Flynn together or dating or whatever it is that he wants.
“I’m in favor of people doing nice things for you,” she says in a very matter-of-fact tone. “No matter who they are.”
9
FLYNN
“Nice pitching today,” JT says as he slumps down on the bench next to me.
“Thanks.” I rub at my upper arm. “It felt good.”
Freddie drops to the other side of me. “That makes one of us. I feel like hell.”
“Late night?” JT asks as he starts pulling off his gear. “I swear I don’t know how you guys do it. I was out by ten o’clock and it was still painful to get out of bed this morning.”
“I’m too amped up this week to sleep even if I’d gone home early.” Freddie’s right leg bounces as if to emphasize that even now after a full day of workouts he’s got this underlying energy coursing through him.
“Wait until you have a couple of kids. You’ll be stealing a few minutes of sleep any chance you get too.”
“That why you were sleeping in your car this morning?” I ask him. When I pulled up to the stadium, JT was sitting in his parked truck. The engine was off, driver’s side window down, and one arm resting on the sill. At first, I thought he was on the phone or pumping himself up for the day, but upon closer investigation, his eyes were closed and his mouth gaping wide. The fucker was asleep.
“Bella woke me up at four to have a tea party.” He grimaces as he says it but then a soft smile lifts the corners of his mouth. “I couldn’t say no to that adorable little face. Then her brother woke up screaming an hour later. He’s teething.”
The mention of his kids makes me think of Olivia. She hasn’t said much about her daughter, but when I was fixing her car this morning, the evidence of her was everywhere. Car seat in the back, an abandoned stuffed animal on the floorboard, and a sparkly beaded necklace looped around the gear shifter.
I bet Olivia was pissed when she realized I fixed her vehicle. I wish I could have been there. She would have insisted it wasn’t necessary and that I didn’t need to do it, maybe even told me all about how she can take care of things on her own. But honestly, it wasn’t that much work. The alternator was good. It just needed a new cable. Easy fix. I liked doing it for her. And fine, I still want to impress her.
Once JT is gone, Freddie steps closer to me with a shy smile. “I’m going out with Sadie again this weekend.”
“Yeah?” A smile stretches across my face. “That’s awesome. Congrats, man.”
“Thanks, and, uh, thanks for last night. That was really decent of you.”
“It was nothing.”
The excitement radiating off him is thanks enough.
After Freddie leaves, I sit for another twenty minutes, icing my arm and watching the locker room clear out. Some of the guys are making plans to hang out at Gunnar’s place but no one has invited me. It’s fine. I should really rest tonight. We have our first spring training game tomorrow against Chicago, and it’ll be my first chance to show everyone that I deserve to be here, playing with the best of the best.
Despite my misgivings about the team, I’ve had a decent week here. And JT’s wife’s coffee cake muffins were as good as he promised. My stomach growls, finally pushing me to action. I shower and put on fresh clothes.
As I’m leaving, I run into Earl. He holds up a rectangular name placard like the other guys have above their lockers. This one has my name on it.
“Finally came in,” he says with a smile. “I’ll have it up for you this evening. It’s official. You’re a Mustang.”
“Thanks.”
