Page 24 of Home Sweet Home

He walked to the next pair in line, Oliver and Josh. Josh threw the ball, and it landed a few feet in front of Oliver. Josh had never played an organized sport before, but he’d honed his hand-eye coordination with plenty of shooting games.

“Not too shabby.” West grabbed the ball and came up next to Josh. “You’re stepping before you throw. Step with the throw. Gives it more power. Like this.” West wound up his arm and stepped his right foot forward at the same time as he brought his arm forward. “Give it a try.”

Josh stared at West.Planning his revolt, Evie thought, her stomach turning over. He didn’t want to be here, and she hadn’t exactly given him a choice.

But then Josh wound up his arm and took a step as the ball flew from his hand. It landed in front of Oliver, who hopped to the side like a bunny to avoid it.

West clapped Josh on the back. “Nice work. You want to catch those, Oliver. Glove out, like this.” West held out his mitt, palm facing the sky, and Oliver turned his to the same position. “Perfect. Now let’s see your throw.”

Oliver glanced around, like he was making sure no one was watching him. He pushed his glasses up his nose before raising his arm and letting the ball fly. It landed halfway between him and Josh. West retrieved the ball and brought it back to Oliver, who was hunched over, kicking at something in the grass.

“You see what I showed Josh with the step?”

Oliver shook his head. “I can’t do this. I’m not good at sports.”

“Who’s that on your shirt?” West pointed to the front of Oliver’s T-shirt. It was the same one he’d worn to sign-ups.

“Korai. He’s from this volleyball anime.”

“No shit? They make anime about sports? Thought it was all dragons and magic.”

Oliver perked up. “There’s anime about everything.”

“And Korai. Is he a good player?”

“One of the best.”

“Does he start out that way? In the show?”

“Not really. Lots of people think he’s too short to play volleyball.”

“How does he become the best?”

“He works hard,” Oliver said.

West placed the ball in Oliver’s glove. “That’s all it is. Hard work. Every ball I’ve hit, I’ve swung and missed five hundred times. Why don’t you give it another shot?”

Oliver looked toward Josh. West stood on the side, arms crossed over his chest, eyes fixed, and after a few seconds, Oliver wound up, and taking a feeble step forward, he let go of the ball. It arced through the air before landing in Josh’s mitt with a thud.

“Nice work. Now do that about fifty more times.”

As West walked back to the dugout, Evie bit her lip. She’d been sure West would half-ass it, but seeing how patient he was with Oliver had unsettled her.

West stopped at the watercooler. He filled one paper cup, then another, before settling on the bench next to Evie and handing her one of the cups.

“Thanks.” She took a drink, quelling the instinct to guzzle the whole thing. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. “Freddy seems very interested in your love life.”

“All I could think about when I was his age,” West said with a grin, his attention turned out toward the field as he surveyed the boys. “Josh is a natural.”

“I’m just glad he’s out of his room.” Evie opened her mouth, and before she could wonder if she should say it, the words escaped. “You were really good with Oliver out there.”

A shadow crossed West’s face, gone so fast she wondered if it was real, but then he took another sip of water and shrugged. “Sometimes people just need a little encouragement.”

The cacophony of baseballs slapping into gloves continued.

“Does it get this hot in LA?” Evie asked. The fabric of her T-shirt clung to her stomach, her hair frizzing out of her ponytail.

“A balmy seventy-five year-round. The humidity, though. Forgot all about it. You been to LA?”

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