Unknown: This is Sanderson . . . again. Ace wants to know how Max is doing.
I can’t help but roll my eyes at the unknown number accompanying the exact question I received during all seven of the previous innings. Kai is ridiculous, pulling these poor employees into his overprotective insanity.
Me: Good. He’s sleeping really well after the whiskey I slipped into his bottle.
Unknown: Oh okay. Well, um . . . Ace wants me to tell you that you’re fired.
Me: Weird. I was fired three times already tonight, yet I’m still at the hotel with his son.
Unknown: I’m sure he’ll reach out again in the ninth.
Me: I’m sure he will.
When I agreed to this gig, I wasn’t fully convinced I was ready to spend my summer taking care of anyone other than myself, but I said yes because my dad is almost impossible to say no to. Whatever convincing I needed was solidified by Max and how easy he is to be with, but his dad’s overly concerned parenting style is causing me to question my decision.
My attention falls back to the little boy who is an absolute mess covered in avocado.
“Max, is your dad the most overbearing parent of all time?”
He squeals and from now on, I’m taking that as a definitive yes.
“That’s what I thought.”
Chapter 6
Kai
Still in most of my uniform, I jog down the hall to my hotel room. As quietly as possible, I enter the darkened space, Max’s noise machine covering up whatever sounds I do make as I hurry to his crib.
He’s okay. In fact, I’d say he’s better than okay, sleeping soundly in a cozy pair of pajamas with his favorite lovey in his fist that I didn’t even tell Miller about.
I don’t know why I didn’t tell her about the tiny fox-shaped comfort he’s obsessed with. Max doesn’t sleep without the thing, but even though I’m glad he’s getting some rest, I can’t lie and say I’m completely stoked that she seemingly did fine without my guidance.
Following the light filtering through the crack under the adjoining door, I tap my knuckles against the barrier between Miller’s room and mine.
“Come in,” she says just loud enough for me to hear.
Opening the door, I find her sitting on the mattress, legs crossed, attention on the TV. Max’s baby monitor sits on the nightstand where she can check on him while she watches the Food Network without any sound.
“Does this make sense to you if you can’t hear it?” I gesture towards the TV, but Miller doesn’t look in my direction, keeping her eyes on the screen.
“It makes way more sense with the sound off. I only wanted to see how they made their frittata. I don’t need the backstory about how their great grandmother had a chicken farm, so it inspired them to create this dish for their children on the first day of school, ya know?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Mesmerized by the woman on the television, she barely glances my way to wave me off before doing a double take, her eyes falling right back to my body.
“Are you still in your uniform?”
“Had to rush over here and make sure my kid was still breathing.”
“You texted all night. Lighten up a little, Baseball Daddy.” She refocuses on the screen, but then her brows furrow and her attention finds mine again. “You know, this uptight control freak thing is making it really hard to imagine myself watching Max all summer long.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Is that supposed to deter me?”
Her eyes narrow. “For someone who says they like my dad so much, you’re hell-bent on making his job hard, huh? You act like this towards any person who comes within a ten-foot radius of your son, they quit, or you fire them, only for him to bend over backwards to do it all over again for you.”
Well . . . shit. That’s annoyingly perceptive.
And because I hate that she’s calling me out on day one, I deflect. “If he’s so important to you, where have you been? I’ve been playing for him for a year and a half and assumed you were a kid, not a full-grown woman, because you’ve never come around before.”
“I’m not around because he’s important to me.”
I nod my head as if I understand. “That makes no fucking sense.”
“Emmett Montgomery would give up his apartment, his dreams, and his career if it meant he could live near me. Work keeps me busy, keeps me from staying in one place for long, so we see each other on the road a few times a year. This is the first time in my adult life I have some free time and he wants me around. I owe him, so could you stop making it so difficult to pay him back?”