Page 100 of The Curveball
“You shush.”
I can’t wait until I’m living in the same city as these two. Coach Stirling and Mike Cartwright, the owner of the Tridents, told me they were gonna send me to the city of Abbotsford, home of the Triple-A team that feeds the Vancouver Tridents. It’s about an hour outside of the city, and Sage and I have already begun looking at places to live between the two, in hopes of not needing to move again if, or when, I get called up.
We reach the diner, and Blair immediately unbuckles Ivy and takes her. I grab the car seat, then get Sage’s door and take her hand in my free one as we follow the twins inside.
“It’ll be nice having them close enough to babysit,” I murmur quietly.
But apparently I’m not quiet enough, because Barrett turns and tilts his head at us with a quizzical expression. “What does that mean?”
Sage bites her lip, trying not to smile.
“Let’s sit down,” I say gruffly.
Dottie’s busy with another customer, but we’ve been here enough now to know we can just grab a booth wherever. Sliding into the closest one, I look at Sage, and then at the twins, who are seated across from us.
“I’ve got some news,” I say, only for Blair to point a finger at me and interrupt.
“If you got Sage pregnant again, we are gonna have some serious words about safe sex, bro-dad.”
I hold my hands up in defense, shaking my head wildly. Beside me, Sage is no longer bothering to try and muffle her laughter.
“God, no! That’s not it at all.”
Mollified, Blair relaxes into her seat and looks down at Ivy. “Not that I don’t love being an auntie to this little nugget of precious cuteness, but you’re meant to be the grown-up. Set good examples and all that. So, I’m relieved to hear it.”
I let out a long-suffering sigh and look at Barrett. “Dude. Can you control her, please?”
He snorts. “Nope. Never have and probably never will. So, what’s the news?”
Sage takes my hand, and I glance over at her, then back to the twins. “How would you feel if we were living on the mainland? Closer to you?”
“Why would you do that?” Blair asks. “What about baseball?”
“I’d still be playing,” I reply, being intentionally evasive. But there’s no hiding my grin.
Barrett catches on faster than I thought he would. “Holy shit. No way.” His mouth falls open.
“What? What am I missing?” Blair says, her tone demanding an explanation.
“For real, bro?” Barrett whispers, and I nod. Then I turn to Sage, who hands me the items we brought withus. When I hand over two Vancouver Tridents ball caps, Blair figures it out.
“Oh my God!” she shrieks, just as loudly as I thought she would. Unfortunately, Ivy’s not a fan of her aunt’s loud reaction, and starts to cry. We all get out of the booth, and Sage takes her from Blair, as my siblings pull me in for a hug.
“This is amazing,” Blair says. “Our brother, the professional baseball player.”
“Congrats, Brady, you deserve this,” Barrett says quietly.
Our moment of celebration is interrupted by the arrival of Dottie, carrying a tray of glasses full of thick, delicious-looking milkshakes.
“Not sure what exactly the big news is, but everyone seems happy, and I figured a round of celebratory milkshakes would be a good idea.”
I grin at her. “The best idea, thanks, Dottie. I’m gonna miss these.”
“You’re leaving?” she asks as she sets the glasses down in front of us.
I quickly fill her in on the news.
“Well, that’s pretty wonderful. But I wouldn’t worry about missing anything here. You’ll be back. To visit, that is. Cedar Creek has a way of getting a hold of you.”
