Page 32 of Beautiful Crazy
“Sure do.”
“Cool!”
As I turn into the parking lot, I ask Gemma, “So, is Grace putting out literal fires this morning or metaphorical?”
She breathes out a laugh as she takes off her seat belt. “Metaphorical. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but there was an issue with an order that she needed to handleherself. She has staff that works the weekends so she doesn’t have to, but I guess this was unavoidable.”
“Who’s going to be here today, then?”
Turning her head, she meets my gaze, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “Oh, everybody,” she says with mirth. “You’re meeting the whole Astor clan today. Good luck!”
I chuckle, climbing out of the car. “Am I going to need luck?”
Laughing, she shakes her head. “No, I’m just kidding. My family is actually pretty fun to be around.”
Gemma and I grab the equipment out of the back as Beau and Sutton rush toward the field. Blakely stays by Gemma’s side, carrying a little backpack over her shoulder that she informed me has snacks in it. Smart girl. Can’t watch a baseball game without snacks.
As soon as we reach the field, Sutton runs over to us. “Everett! I want you to meet my coach.”
“Okay, buddy. Let’s go meet him.”
“I’m going to sit on the bleachers with Blakely,” Gemma calls out. “Just come find us when you’re done.”
Sutton walks us over to a man who is clearly the coach. He’s surrounded by the kids, and he smiles when he glances up and sees Sutton.
“This is Coach Rinker,” Sutton introduces, before adding matter-of-factly, “he’s also my uncle.”
Shaking my hand, Coach Rinker says, “Ethan. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Everett. It’s nice to meet you too.”
Ethan’s eyes slide over my shoulder toward the bleachers. “Are you here with Gemma, then?” he asks in a friendly but curious tone.
“Yup.” I nod. “I’m the neighbor. And Sutton’s teacher, actually.” Chuckling, I say, “Sutton invited me, and I couldn’t pass up a good old-fashioned baseball game.”
Chuckling, Ethan says, “Right on. Glad you could make it. I’m Beau and Blakely’s dad.”
“Oh, cool. That’s fun that you get to coach them. You’ve got a couple of incredible kids. So, does that make you Grace’s… husband?”
“Ex-husband,” he corrects with a smile.
One of the parents walks up, needing Ethan’s attention after that, so I waltz over to the bleachers, finding Gemma and Blakely sitting in the middle, surrounded by a group of people I’m assuming are her family. My stomach twists as I approach them, their eyes lifting to meet mine, and I realize right at this moment how much I want them to like me.
“Guys, this is Everett,” Gemma announces, gesturing a hand toward me. “He’s our new neighbor and Sutton and Beau’s teacher.” Pointing to everybody one by one, she introduces them all, but it’s a fat chance I’ll remember anybody’s name. You’d think after my years of experience being a teacher, I’d get better at remembering names, but I swear, the older I get, the worse it becomes.
She wasn’t joking when she said the whole family was here. Both of her parents and their spouses, her brother, his wife, and her other sister, Georgia, are all here. Everybody seems friendly enough as I move to take a seat.
“Here.” Blakely pats the spot beside her. “Saved you a seat!”
“Well, thank you.” Gemma is on the other side of her, and she smiles down at her niece as she scoots a little closerto her, making sure I have room. “Pretty cool that the coach is your dad, huh?”
“Yeah, he really likes baseball,” she says, unzipping her backpack and pulling out a baggie of pretzel sticks. “Football too. But I don’t like football.”
“Do you like baseball?”
She shrugs. “It’s all right.”
“Ethan used to play college baseball over at Clemson,” Gemma adds, meeting my gaze over Blakely’s head. “He was really good, and he almost went pro.”