Spotlight: Chapter 24

We get back to Lake City Wednesday afternoon after our games in Chicago. I go straight to the stadium for a pitchers’ meeting and then treatment. By the time I’m free, I’m so amped up to see Olivia and Greer that I’m waiting on their doorstep when they get home.

“Hi!” Olivia’s face lights up when she spots me, and she comes forward to hug me. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t wait to see you.” I tear my gaze from her to Greer. “How’s my favorite munchkin?”

She stares down at her feet, which shuffle almost nervously.

Olivia nudges her. Something is up, but I can’t guess what.

Greer finally glances at me but doesn’t meet my eyes. “Hi, Hotshot.”

Olivia unlocks the door, and her daughter slips by her into the apartment without another word.

“Is she alright?” I ask of the usually bubbly six-year-old.

“She’s been like this for two days.” Olivia’s mouth pulls into an unconvincing half smile. “Come in. I’m so glad you’re here.”

I follow her into the apartment.

Greer is in her bedroom. The light streams out into the hallway from her open door, but unlike the other times I’ve been here, she’s quiet. I follow Olivia to the kitchen, where she drops her purse on the counter and sighs.

“How was Chicago?” she asks. “I caught part of the game, but I fell asleep once I was certain you were going to win.”

I love that she watches the games. “Terrible.”

She smirks and lets out a small laugh.

“It was cold and windy, and you weren’t there.”

“I missed you too,” she says as I step into her space.

I drop my mouth to hers, savoring her soft, slow kisses.

“What’s for dinner?” At the question from Greer, I pull back and Olivia turns to face her daughter.

“I don’t know yet. What do you want?”

“Pizza.”

“We don’t have time for pizza. I need to be at work in an hour.”

“Fine! Whatever.” The words come out in a haughty tone I didn’t think Greer was capable of.

Before Olivia can respond, her daughter stomps back to her room and closes the door.

The shock pulsing through me must be written all over my face because Olivia nods and says, “I know. It’s awful.”

“And you don’t know why?”

“She won’t tell me. I’ve tried a dozen times. I asked if something happened with a friend at school or if someone hurt her and she says no, but she won’t say much else. I called her teacher, but she didn’t know either. She said Greer had been playing by herself more the last couple days, but she hadn’t witnessed anyone treating her poorly.”

I’m surprised at the rage I feel, thinking someone might have hurt Greer, and the immediate need to figure out who, what, and when.

Olivia’s phone pings, and she digs it out of her purse. A crease forms between her brows.

“What?” I ask, thinking it’s something to do with Greer. My mind is stuck there. Somewhere along the line while I was falling for Olivia, I fell just as hard for Greer.

“Sabrina is sick. She was going to watch Greer for me tonight while I work.”

“Yeah, everyone at their apartment has it,” I confirm. I texted with Archer and Brogan this morning and they were talking about painting a red X on their front door.

“I’ll have to call my grandparents and see if they can watch her,” she says, not sounding happy about the prospect.

“What about Ruby?”

“She’s deep in the writing cave.”

I don’t know what that means exactly, but that only leaves one option. “I can watch her.”

Olivia’s brows lift.

“Don’t look so appalled by the idea. I’m great with kids. Or at least with Greer.”

“Of course you are.” She shakes her head and smiles. “But hanging out with her for a couple hours while we go to the trampoline park or somewhere fun is different than getting her to bed. Especially in her current mood.”

“I grew up with four brothers. Someone was always in a bad mood. I know how to handle it.”

“The peacekeeper,” she says, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around my middle. She places her head on my chest. “I’m worried about her.”

“Me too.” I cup the back of her head and then let my fingers flow down her hair. “But we’ll figure it out.”

I pull back and stare down into her eyes. “Now tell me all the rules, Momma.”

“You really want to watch her only hours after getting back into town? Have you even been to your apartment yet? I don’t get off until two.”

“Yes and no. I like your place better anyway. It has my two favorite people. And I’ll crash on the couch once she’s in bed. That’s allowed, right? Wait, do you sleep or do you stay up and watch her breathe all night?”

She smacks at my chest playfully.

“I got this.”

She bites on the corner of her lip, then nods slowly. “Okay. But only if you’re absolutely sure. It’s fine to say no. My grandparents won’t mind if I drop her off there.”

“If Greer’s cool with it, then I’d love to hang with her tonight. I missed her too.”

She chuckles, grinning in a way that tells me she doesn’t quite believe me. That’s okay. I’m still a little taken back by it too.

“Let me talk to her.” Olivia leaves me in the kitchen, disappears into Greer’s room, and comes back only a couple minutes later.

I don’t know why, but I feel a little nervous. It’s possible Greer would rather go to her grandparents’ house than have me watch her. And I guess I want her to like and trust me.

“She wants to stay with you,” Olivia says, a small grin lifting one side of her mouth. “She nearly cracked a smile when I asked her.”

“See? I’ve totally got this.”

“Keep her alive, make sure she brushes her teeth, and is in bed by eight.”

“That’s it?” I ask with a huff. “Easy.”

She laughs again.

While Olivia gets ready for work, I order takeout for the three of us. Olivia barely gets to eat before she rushes off to work.

“I love you.” She kisses Greer’s head. “Be good for Flynn.”

Then she walks to me.

“I promise I’ll be good too.” I wink.

“Thank you. Text me if you need anything. I’ll check my phone when I can.”

“We’ll be fine,” I assure her and myself. Greer still isn’t her usual self, so my confidence is already wavering a little.

When she’s gone, I look to Greer.

“What do you want to do?”

I get a shrug in response. Okay, not killing it right out of the gate.

“Wanna know a secret?”

“What?”

“I’ve never babysat before. It’s my first time. I don’t know what to do.”

A tentative smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, but she shuts it down quickly. Whatever has her upset isn’t going to be pushed aside so easily.

“Anything you want to do?” I ask her.

Another shrug.

“We could watch a movie,” I suggest. “Have any favorites?”

“A new movie came out yesterday.”

“There’s a new one?” I ask, wide-eyed. “I had no idea. We must watch it!”

Her expression softens the tiniest bit, and we move to the couch. Once I find the movie and hit play, Greer inches closer to me. We watch the first twenty minutes or so in silence.

I love a good cartoon as much as the next person, but I find myself too worried about Greer and what’s bugging her to get invested in the movie.

Reaching over, I tug on a curl.

“Hey, munchkin. Want some ice cream?”

Her head nods quickly and I get the first real smile out of her all night. After I pause the movie, I head into the kitchen and pull out the ice cream cartons. “Chocolate or Neapolitan?”

“Chocolate!” She sits on a stool at the counter.

“Great choice.” I find two small bowls and give us each two big scoops. I slide her bowl in front of her and then walk around to sit next to her with mine.

I wait until she’s had a couple of bites before I ask, “How’s school?”

Her demeanor changes immediately. Her shoulders slump forward, and the corners of her mouth turn into a frown. Is there anything sadder than a kid eating ice cream with a frown? If there is, I haven’t seen it.

“It’s fine.”

I guess it was naïve to think she’d tell me so easily, but I’m disappointed all the same.

“That’s good,” I say, focusing on my bowl. “Baseball is too.”

She peeks over at me. “Grandpa said you’re the best pitcher he’s ever seen.”

“He did?” Genuine surprise lifts my brows. The old man and I chat whenever we see each other and occasionally he gives me his opinion on what’s working or what isn’t. As soon as I mentioned to Wayne that I thought my front foot might be landing a little inside, he watched and agreed. It was a small tweak, an inch or less, but it’s made a big difference.

I told Earl as much, but he’s slow to give guidance. I imagine he doesn’t want to step on the toes of my coaches, but I’m not opposed to feedback, no matter where it comes from. And I think he’s got plenty of it that could help me.

She nods and we fall quiet while we finish our ice cream. When we’re both done, I rinse the bowls and spoons and put them in the dishwasher and then we head back to the living room to continue the movie.

I get lost in the story, and so does she—evidenced by the way she unconsciously inches closer to me while watching. I rest my right arm along the back of the couch, and she nuzzles against my side. Apparently, I was stressed because by the time the movie is over, I’m more relaxed than I’ve felt in days.

“Can we play a game?” Greer asks as the credits roll. “My dad sent me the Disney Princess edition of Monopoly, but my mom doesn’t like to play it.”

I hold back a laugh as I remember Olivia telling me how much she didn’t like the game and then what happened after. “Sorry, munchkin. Time for bed.”

“Fine. I’ll just wait until I see my dad again to play it.”

Man, the kid really knows how to lay on the guilt.

“Are you going to see him soon?”

The nonchalant shrug she gives me makes my heart squeeze. I remember that feeling of not knowing when you’d see your dad again and not wanting to answer questions about it for fear of people judging you.

“You miss him, huh?”

She nods.

“Can I tell you another secret?”

“Sure,” she says, looking the tiniest bit excited but like she doesn’t want it to show.

“I didn’t live with my dad when I was growing up either.”

“You didn’t?” Her eyes widen a fraction.

“Nope. My brothers raised me.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.” I want her to know that she’s not alone, but I don’t want to dismiss her feelings either, so I add, “It was tough. I used to sit around and wish that he’d call or stop by, that I could tell him about my day or show him something I did in school.”

Shit, I still feel that way sometimes.

“I video chat with my dad every Sunday,” Greer offers.

“That’s cool.”

She nods, finally smiling. “Where’s your dad now? Does he come see you play baseball?”

It feels like a punch to the gut. “Sometimes he does, yeah.”

I’m lost in my own emotions until Greer yawns so big her eyes water.

“Time for bed, munchkin. You don’t want to be tired for school in the morning.” I stand and so does she.

“I hate school. I don’t want to go anymore.”

My pulse kicks up and I consider my words carefully as I follow her to her room.

“Why not? Don’t you basically just play with your friends all day?” I ask, keeping my tone playful in hopes she’ll keep answering my questions.

She turns and gives me a very serious stare that reminds me of her mother. “We get three recesses.”

“My mistake.” I fight a smile.

She picks out pajamas and then heads to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. I wait for her in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed. It’s pink and covered in stuffed animals, including the stuffed Mischief Mustang I gave her. She comes back and moves her stuffed animals, one by one, to the floor in a line next to her bed.

“So, what’s up with school? Why don’t you want to go?”

She keeps focused on her task as she answers, “Sara Stites is telling everyone I’m a liar because I said I knew you.”

My brows pinch together. “Me?”

She moves the last few stuffed animals off her bed and then goes over to her bookshelf and picks up a piece of paper. She brings it to me.

“No way. You drew this?” I ask as I stare down at the picture of Olivia, Greer, and me. The three of us together, adorable little stick people. I’m towering over them, a baseball glove on my left hand. She stands between me and her mom, holding both our hands. My stomach swirls with some unnamed emotion.

“The teacher told us to draw a picture of our family doing something fun. It’s me and mom at your game, when we walked down to the field.”

“Yeah, I remember.” I smile at her, then frown. “What does this have to do with Sara whatever her name is?”

“She called me a liar in front of the entire class and said I was making it up. Even after Ben stood up for me and said he knew you too. Although I’m not sure if that was a lie or not since he only saw you at the birthday party. Does that count as knowing you?”

“Yeah, I think that counts.”

She nods like that makes it final.

“Is that all? Anything else?”

She shrugs one little shoulder.

“It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“That’s pretty much it. Sara keeps calling me a liar and now no one will play with me. Even Ben is avoiding me.”

“I’m sorry.” My heart cracks right down the middle.

“It isn’t fair.” Her temper flares in the most adorable way. “I know you.”

“Of course you do. You’re my favorite kid in the whole world.”

The corners of her mouth pull into a smile, and she wraps her arms around my neck.

Fuck. My entire body hurts at the idea of this sweet little girl being picked on. I don’t have a lot of experience with kids, but there have been plenty of times I’ve had to ignore the naysayers, haters and trolls. Plus, I had four big brothers ready to fuck shit up if I needed it.

“You can’t worry about what people say. The important thing is knowing that you’re being honest. I know that doesn’t make it easier, but it’s true.”

She nods, but I can tell she doesn’t love that answer. No one does. It’s life. Fighting the bullies never gets easier, but sometimes you’re better off just not playing their game.

“But if they bring it up or pick on you again, then you tell your teacher.”

“That’s what my mom would say.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was screwing up this whole babysitting thing.”

She giggles and plops her entire body into my lap, then yawns.

I try to hand her the picture back, but she shakes her head. “You can keep it.”

“Have you told your mom about Sara?”

“No,” she says, sounding guilty.

“I bet she’d have some good advice. Your mom is super smart.”

“She’ll be mad and make a big deal about it,” Greer whines.

A small laugh breaks free. “It a big deal. She loves you and when someone hurts the people we care about, we can’t help but get mad and want to fix it.”

She’s quiet, considering. “Can we watch again?”

All right. Guess that conversation is over.

I glance at the time on my watch. “Sorry, munchkin. It’s already past your bedtime. If your mom comes home and you’re bouncing off the walls, she’ll never trust me again.”

“Yes, she will. She likes you.”

“Yeah? How can you tell?” I’m fishing for information and have zero shame about it.

“She smiles a lot when you’re around and she wears her favorite perfume any time you come over.”

My chest squeezes. “I like her a lot too.”

“I can tell that too.”

“Because I smile a lot?”

“And smell nice. Except after games.” She wrinkles up her nose.

A laugh rumbles from my chest. God, I love this kid.

“I do like her, and I like you too.”

“I’m your favorite kid in the whole world,” she says proudly.

“That’s right.” I hug her to my chest and breathe in the top of her head.

She climbs into bed, and I read her a book until her eyes look heavy, and she can’t stop yawning.

“Night, munchkin. Thanks for letting me hang with you tonight.”

Sitting up, she holds her arms up and drapes them as high as she can get on my shoulders to hug me. “Night, Hotshot.”