Reasons that Julia seemed to have completely eviscerated last night with her unequivocal acceptance of my truth.
“Daniel Cooper,” I said with a smile, “I’d like to introduce you to Julia Prescott.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand.
Julia grasped it. “You, as well, Daniel.”
“Just call me Coop. That’s what everyone does.”
“Coop runs this league for me,” I explained. “But before that he was my high school baseball coach. Encouraged me to sign with the Hawks senior year when they sent a recruiter out to watch me pitch. Hell, he was the one who insisted their recruiters make the trip all the way out here in the first place.”
“Because coming to Hawaii is such a burden,” Julia shot back playfully, eliciting a chuckle from Coop.
“Still, I owe it all to him. I wouldn’t be where I am if he weren’t a stubborn son of a bitch who doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Believe me.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing. “Your debt is more than repaid.” He nodded toward the fields, which caused Julia to look at me quizzically.
“When I was in high school,” I began, “Coop would raise funds so our team could sponsor a few kids who showed talent, yet couldn’t afford to play.”
“It wasn’t much.” Coop shrugged. “But baseball definitely changed my life. I wanted to repay the favor.”
“That’s a beautiful gesture,” Julia offered.
“Once this guy hit it big…,” Coop slapped my back, “he took my idea and expanded on it. Because of him, we’ve helped hundreds of kids. Even got a couple dozen of them full scholarships to play baseball in college, something they never would have been able to do otherwise. For those who aren’t lucky enough to score a full ride through baseball, we award a full undergraduate scholarship every year to two of our players who exhibit exceptional educational achievement.” He hitched a thumb in my direction. “All thanks to Lachlan.”
Blinking, Julia darted her gaze to mine. “You pay their college tuition?”
I opened my mouth, about to tell her it wasn’t that big a deal, when Coop interjected.
“And books. And board. And a stipend for living expenses. One female and one male every year.”
“Wow. I’m…” Julia stared at me in amazement, as if seeing a completely different side of me. In a way, I suppose she was. “Well, I don’t know what to say. That’s…incredible.”
“Lachlan’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Coop said proudly. “You snagged yourself a real catch.”
I was about to tell Coop it wasn’t like that, that we weren’t together, when Julia sent a smile my way.
“I’m starting to realize that.” She held her hand toward mine.
Something passed between us as I linked my fingers with hers. An understanding of sorts. An awareness. An acceptance.
“Come on. Let’s go watch some baseball.” Coop patted my back, walking with us toward one of the fields.
“Now, tell me, Julia. What’s your favorite team?”
Stealing a sly glance at me, her mouth curved up in the corners. “I’m slowly becoming a big fan of the Hawks.”
He chuckled, giving me a knowing look. “I thought so.”