Page 27 (2/2)

He shrugged “My arm is shot, I’m tired, and I feel like I did what I wanted to do I’m sort of ready for the next phase of my life We’d like a family”

I focused on ain “Will it be hard to walk away?”

“If you’d have asked me that last year, I’d have said yes But today, I can honestly say no” He put an arm around Mariah and kissed her head “There’s more to life than baseball”

I laughed “That’s soht I’d hear Chip Carswell say”

He chuckled too “Tied, haven’t they? But after a while, you start to realize what really matters, and it’s not the money or the fame or the speed of your fastball”

“I don’t know, those things sound pretty nice to me”

“They are,” he said, “but I look at you and your girls and think it’s so fucking cool what you have I’d easily walk away for that”

“Can atch ouraround at all the families at the pool

“I do love being their dad,” I said “But I worry that the divorce is gonna ive theh time with them”

Mariah leaned over and touched my shoulder “My dad raised me on his own until I was nine, and I know it’s not easy He was a cop and worked long hours, and he used to worry about the sas But the time he did have with me—he made it count You do too, I can tell”

“Can you find a job with more traditional hours?” asked Chip “Would that help?”

“Maybe But I can’t fucking sit behind a desk And I like what I do and who I ith I have decent benefits I like having three days in a row off” I shrugged “I so on the side for a little extra, but I’m not sure what”

“You should talk to Tyler,” Chip said “He’s got that sports coood at that You knoNavy SEAL?”

“The problem is my schedule It’s never the same week to week”

“He’d ith you” Chip was confident “You should get in touch”

“You guys should do soested Mariah

“You’reback?” I asked in surprise

“We’re thinking about it” He looked at his fiancée “With her family and o”