“Go ahead. When you come back, we can go out to dinner.”
She pushes herself off the side of the house and heads around the house. I’m not sure where she’s going, but the neighborhood is safe. The same can’t be said for where her apartment is located.
“Are you having fun?” I ask Ashton.
His eyes tighten before he throws me a fast pitch. It has a little bite and isn’t nearly as wild as the last throw.
He’s a quick study.
“Can I get a baseball bat?” he asks. “I’ve always wanted to play like they do on television!”
It’s amazing how the kid can brighten my day. Chuckling, I toss the ball lightly back to him to catch before he throws another sharp pitch right into my glove.
Alessandro will have a fit if one of the balls hits the mansion, let alone busts a window.
But how can I tell the kid no?
“You sure can. Now I know what to get you for your birthday.”
Ashton whines. “My birthday is forever away. It’ll be winter and cold.”
“I bet there’s a baseball bat somewhere around the house that we can find.”
“Here?” Ashton asks and drops the ball at his feet, glancing back at the cottage.
I meant the mansion where we live, but that bat would probably have blood and other excrements from being used as a weapon. “No. How about you give me one last good throw, and then we find your mom?”
Ashton bends down and lifts the baseball from the ground. He throws me the ball, this time with a spin and a curve.
He giggles and laughs as I leap to catch the ball, nearly missing it.
The roar of an engine brings me rushing toward Ashton and lifting him in my arms, over my shoulder as the impending vehicle approaches the cottage.
He’s laughing, oblivious to my concern.
“What are you doing?” he squeals.
Slowly, I put him down, keeping him hidden behind me against the side of the house. “Shh,” I warn him, a finger against my lips.
“We have to be quiet.”