Obviously Sammy, who’d had an incredibly difficult time settling down and going to sleep the night before, was wide awake, and McGraw’s song was the perfect one to be playing when his radio alarm went off. Even though Megan had assured him she wouldn’t oversleep for All-Stars Sports Day, she had to smile when he insisted she set his clock for the special day anyway.
Honestly, she hadn’t had such an easy time going to sleep herself. But it wasn’t only because of Sports Day and hoping after all the months of planning everything would roll out well for their first annual event.
It was also because of Mac. She lay there in the dark for hours, only glimpses of the street lamp lighting her room, thinking about seeing him again. Thinking about all she and her mom had talked about. Thinking about her feelings for him. Feelings that just wouldn’t go away. And sometime before finally falling asleep with a prayer on her lips and her own alarm going off, she’d made a decision. She wanted to talk to Mac, to explain herself, to ask for his forgiveness.
Yes, she really did want to look him in the eye and profess her love, to say it all.
She wanted to take a chance at love. At loving Mac. If only he still cared about her, too.
Flipping off the bedsheet with more fervor than usual, she bounded out of bed. The clock might’ve said she was on time, but she felt like she was running late for something. Every part of her finally ready and hoping so much to talk to Mac, to explain herself.
However, an hour later, when she and Sammy arrived at Mac’s farm after eating breakfast and donning their red All-Stars Sports Day T-shirts, she spotted him standing by the roped-off entrance talking to a volunteer and could feel her nerve waning. Seeing him again, looking so ruggedly awesome in his usual T-shirt and jeans. Knowing inside and out that he was too good to be true. Could she really expect he’d want to listen to her?
She pulled the SUV up into her pre-designated parking spot by the barn, turned off the ignition, and took a deep breath. For one anxiety-filled moment, she wished there was only a bull named Fu Manchu to face instead of Mac.
As far as she could tell, he hadn’t noticed they’d arrived. But by the time she unloaded Sammy’s wheelchair and got him out of the car and into it, all of that changed.
“Mac, we here!” Sammy called out to him, as if Mac had been waiting for them, and only them, to arrive all morning.
Mac ended his conversation and graciously walked toward them, his eyes glancing everywhere but at her.
“Sammy! How’s it going, buddy?” he greeted her son. “You ready for this day?”
“I ready!”
Megan dared to look up at Mac but then instantly wished she hadn’t. It weakened her resolve even more. Because she missed seeing the way he cared for her reflected in his eyes.
Missed the way he would’ve usually greeted her with a kiss. And how normally she would’ve had a breakfast sandwich or a coffee for him that she’d picked up on her way out to his place.
But there was little “normal” between them at this point. Now there was only an awkwardness and stilted conversation, mostly revolving around Sammy.
“He’s more than ready,” she said for want of anything better to say.
“I’m sure he is.” Mac ruffled Sammy’s hair.
“I ready to bowl!” Sammy exclaimed.
Mac chuckled at his enthusiasm while Megan reminded, “We got here early to work on some last-minute things though, remember, Sam?”
“Like what?”
“Like the booths and games and …” she rambled to her son, but even as she did, her face burned hot. She knew what she wanted to ask Mac. Knew what she had to ask him. “Mac, can we talk?” she said in a rush, not even qualifying the question with a time or place the way she’d meant to.
He finally looked at her, but didn’t seem the least bit comfortable about making eye contact. Scratching at his temple, he glanced away hurriedly, out over the fields. “If it’s about the gate on the fence around the pond, I already know what you’re going to say. But you don’t have to worry. I sent Jason out to the hardware for a lock. It’ll be fine, trust me.”
“Oh?” She blinked. “Good thinking, thanks. But actually there was something else. If you have a few minutes later when all of this—”
“Hey Mac!” One of the red T-shirted male volunteers sprinted up alongside of them. “Rick Hall, your buddy from the radio station, is on my phone. He has a question about the opening ceremonies that I can’t answer. You mind?” The volunteer handed Mac his cell.
“Megan! I’m so glad you’re here.” Another red T-shirt emerged by her side, this time a lady about Megan’s mother’s age. “Can you come over to the merchandise booth? We need your help deciding on which totes to put where.”
“When do I bowl?” Sammy wanted to know in the midst of the conversations.
“At one-thirty.” Both Megan and Mac paused from what they were doing, answering him in unison.
For a brief moment their eyes met above Sammy’s head. But just as quickly, Mac turned away.
Megan couldn’t guess how many parents from Loveland and other Cincinnati suburbs had brought their kids for All-Stars Sports Day. She had tried to count cars at one point, but lost track once she got close to two hundred.
It had been a major scheduling feat, but all the volunteers got a chance to rotate shifts so they could have the opportunity to watch their own kids participate in the activities. Sammy had already tried a game of wheelchair basketball for his age division and had cheered on some of the older kids in a baseball game when it came time for bowling for his age group.
“I like basketball, Maw-mee. And baseball. But I love bowling,” he kept telling her, over and over.
She wasn’t sure why he’d say that. She could only figure it was probably because he remembered the first time they’d ever visited Mac’s farm and Mac had the special bowling ramp built for him.
She couldn’t blame him. That day had made an unforgettable impression on her as well. Even as she pushed Sammy’s wheelchair over the rubber waffled sidewalk from the baseball field, past park benches a volunteer had donated for the event from their Loveland landscaping company, it lingered in her mind. It was the first time she and Mac had almost kissed.
“There Nana an’ Pappy!” Sammy exclaimed. “Mac, too!”
Her parents had signed up to help with the bowling event, to set up and retrieve pins at one of the four ramps. And true to his word, Mac was already at the area. Standing next to her parents, he watched the older girls finish up their round of bowling. And, of course, reached out to help when one of the girls was having a hard time of it.
He was always so good with Sammy and the other kids. He believed in them. Actually, he believed period, didn’t he? And just because she’d had trouble believing, she’d removed him from Sammy’s life.
Oh, how she wanted to talk to him.
But it wasn’t going to be easy. Not when he’d barely glance at her. Yet with Sammy, she could see Mac had no love lost there. His eyes practically shone when she pulled Sammy’s wheelchair to a stop near the bowling ramp.
“Hey champ!” he greeted her son.
Sammy grinned widely. “Ima do good bowling, Mac.”
“It’ll be fun, buddy.” Mac held out his hand, and Megan didn’t know how Sammy knew, but the two of them went through the ritual of a secret handshake she’d never seen them do before.
Then it was time for the four boys to line up their wheelchairs at their respective ramps, nets surrounding each area in case of a wild bowling ball or flying pin getting loose. Each of the boys’ families was obligated to keep score, as if they were bowling at a real alley.
Sammy was the youngest in the group, so Megan thought it was nothing but a fluke when the first ball he sent rolling down the ramp caused more than a handful of pins to topple.
But then when it happened again … and again … and even again, and she jotted down the high scores, she didn’t know what to think.
She looked
at Mac and her parents for an explanation. But they didn’t seem as surprised as she was as they cheered him on. Twenty minutes later when Sammy won, and Mac was wheeling him over to shake the hands of his competitors, she couldn’t do much of anything but stand and feel happily shocked for him.
“I bowl good,” Sammy said proudly after being presented a blue ribbon for the event. “Didn’t I bowl good, Maw-mee?”
“Better than good, Samster.” She bent down to hug him. “I didn’t know you could bowl so well.”
“You surprised?”
“Well, you might say … yes, I’m surprised.”
“I practice.” He beamed.
“You practiced, huh?”
She wasn’t sure what he was talking about. She’d never seen him bowl except for the day they’d been out at Mac’s farm months before. But she hated to tell him his winning had probably been little more than beginner’s luck, so she smiled and said, “Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “I glad you surprised. We want to surprise you.”
“We?”
Sammy nodded, uttering another, “Uh-huh.”
She looked up at her parents who were standing next to Sammy’s chair. Mac was still busy talking to the volunteer who had presented the ribbons. Or maybe he didn’t feel right being part of the family’s mini celebration, she wasn’t sure.
“We who?” she asked.
Sammy’s grin was extreme, as if he’d won the competition all over again. “We sneaky.”
That still didn’t answer the question of “we who?” She glanced up at her parents, who also wore dazzling smiles.
“I can’t believe you never figured it out,” her mom chirped.
“Never figured what out?”
“Well, all those times you came to pick up Sammy when I was babysitting and he was off with your dad.”
“You taught him to bowl?” She gaped at her father. She’d never known him to be a bowler.
“Me, bowling? Of course I didn’t. Your mom’s been working me over for years, trying to get me to play in a league.”
“Well, then …” If it hadn’t been her dad, and her mom was always at the house when she arrived, that only left— “Was it Mac?”
Her mom answered with a clap of her hands. Sammy giggled, and her dad let out a chuckle.
“And you were all in on it?” she asked.
“Oh yes, Meg. I’ve been dying to tell you,” her mom answered all in rush, clearly eager to spill all she’d kept pent up inside. “Mac came to me months ago with a plan he’d come up with. A surprise for you. He’d asked if he could take Sammy to practice bowling on the nights your dad and I were babysitting.”
“I not a baby,” Sammy chimed in. “I almost seven.”
“We know that, honey.” Her mom grinned widely.
“So I’d run Sammy over to Ted’s warehouse where Mac had everything set up,” her dad explained with a lopsided grin, “and then bring him home when the two of them finished practicing.”
“Oh my—” Tears pricked the sides of her eyes. She blinked, trying to hold them back. “Mac? Mac did all of that?”
“Maw-mee, why you cryin’?” Sammy frowned. “You not happy I won?”
“No, I’m very happy about that. Really I am, Samster.”
“Mac, Maw-mee surprised and she crying,” Sammy shouted.
Megan could see Mac’s ear tilt in Sammy’s direction at the sound of her son’s voice. Clasping the volunteer on the shoulder, he finished their conversation then sauntered over.
“Did you call me, Sammy?” he asked.
“Maw-mee surprised an’—”
Megan butted in. “Mac, you taught Sammy to bowl? They just told me all about it,” she blurted, sniffling back her tears, embarrassed for him to see her emotions running so high. “I—I don’t know how to thank you.”
“It’s not a problem.” He shrugged off her gratitude, barely looking at her. “I did it for Sammy,” he said emphatically. “We’re buddies, aren’t we, Sammy? He’s helped me immensely. I wanted to help him, too.”
Her mom looked misty-eyed. Megan could only imagine all the thoughts going through her mind at that moment. “Your dad and I have to get over to relieve the Slaters,” she said with a shaky voice. “Congratulations, sweetie.” Her mom kissed the top of Sammy’s head while her dad patted Sammy’s hand. Then they headed toward their duties at the concession stand, but not before her mother had a chance to mouth, “Say something!” from behind Mac’s back.
As if Megan didn’t want to. But it wasn’t easy when his words echoed in her mind, about how he’d done what he had for Sammy.
He may not even have feelings for her anymore.
The thought caused her words to falter as she asked, “Mac, can we—um, talk? Even if it’s later, after we’re through? I’d really like to talk to you.”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, looking more somber than excited about it. “There’s uh”—he glanced down at his feet—”there’s something I need to talk to you about anyway.”
“Hey guys,” a familiar voice chimed from behind them. “Guess who? It’s your favorite photographer.” Janey came around to face them.
Sammy the chatterbox spoke first. “You come to take picture of my ribbon?”
“Better yet, how about I take a picture of you, Sammy O’Donnell, the number one bowler, holding your ribbon?” Janey smiled.
“Okay. And Maw-mee and Mac, too,” Sammy insisted.
“Hey, it’s your picture. You can have whoever you want in it.” Janey adjusted the lens on her camera. “How about it, you two?” She looked up. “You in?”
Megan felt like it was taking Mac all the time in the world to get situated behind Sammy’s wheelchair. And it wasn’t lost on her how he finally claimed the opposite side of the chair, at the farthest point the two of them could stand from one another. Not so long ago he would’ve reached out for her hand. Or had his arm wrapped around her waist or shoulder as they leaned in toward Sammy for a picture. Now it was as if he was literally repelled by her. In the midst of what was supposed to be a celebratory moment, her head dropped at the sad thought.
“Um, could you look up, Meg? And could you all get a little closer? Like the three of you know each other?” Janey peered from behind the camera again.
Megan’s heart pounded wildly as she and Mac stepped nearer to one another. Especially when Mac’s shoulder brushed against hers. Instantly without a conscious thought, she felt a surge of warmth rise up within her. No matter what, he would always be able to do that to her.
Standing there, cheeks on fire, trying to smile at the camera, she couldn’t help but think how far they’d come since Janey had taken the first picture of the two of them together. And sadly, how far she’d managed to push them apart.
Maybe it had only been twelve hours total. But in Mac’s mind, it had been a crazy-long day of trying his hardest not to look at Megan.
Especially since for the past few months, looking at her had topped his list as one of his favorite things to do.
He’d spent the day turned away from her smile, not wanting to remember how it used to lift him up. Kept his eyes plastered on Sammy, or the ground, or whatever else he could find, so he wouldn’t have to look into her eyes, knowing there wasn’t a place for him there anymore.
Even with everything else going on around him, with the competitions and kids and all, it’d been tough not to notice how she was prettier to him than every other girl out there in her red T-shirt, dark hair tucked behind her ears.
So it had been better not to look as much as he could. Not to notice at all.
Until now. Now he had no choice.
Because after Rick Hall emceed the closing ceremonies, giving praise and thanks for the day, and everyone had cheered about the idea of a second annual All-Stars Sports Day …
After carloads of participants took over an hour to pack up and wait patiently to exit the event …
After L
aura and Kurt had driven off to take Sammy for celebration ice cream …
And every last one of the volunteers’ cars had disappeared one by one from his farm …
After all that, it was only Megan and him and a setting sun, languidly spreading its pink-orange glow across the sky as if taking a long, slow bow at the end of its performance for the day. As if it, too, was about to depart.
Leaving them completely alone.
“What a day!” Megan let go of a happy sigh and sat on one of the loaner park benches. He noticed she’d positioned herself to the far right side, leaving plenty of room for him.
He felt a reckless surge, almost like he was giving in to a dare, when he decided to sit beside her. “A great day.”
“Can you believe it? We did it. Well, us and dozens of huge-hearted volunteers.”
He still wasn’t keen on looking into her face. But he didn’t have to. He could hear the pure joy in her voice when she exclaimed, “The first All-Stars Sports Day! Unbelievable.”
“You’ve been dreaming about this day for a while, haven’t you?”
“For years,” she admitted. Sounding wistful, she continued, “See, somehow I thought I’d have to do it all alone. Somehow I thought I should do it all on my own. But that just wasn’t true, was it? If I had worked alone, it wouldn’t have turned out near as well.” Her hair fell across her face when she leaned forward and turned her gaze toward him. “Mac, this entire day wouldn’t have been possible without you. Without your help.”
“Yeah, well.” He sloughed off the compliment. “I really doubt that’s true. With all your passion for the kids, I imagine you could do anything you wanted to.”
And all very well without me, he wanted to add since she was the one who didn’t need him in her life anymore. But he didn’t say that. Why sound like a sore sport?
“Well … I wouldn’t have wanted to do it without you, Mac.”
So she wanted to do the event with him. Just not life. He ground his jaw. Whatever. He was trying not to hold it against her that she didn’t feel the same way he did. But pride or no pride, it was still hard to believe. Hard to come to terms with.
Wedding Homerun in Loveland, Ohio Page 22