Chapter 5 - Tyler

The next morning, I woke up to my alarm and didn’t want to leave my wife in the nice, warm bed. Molly fit perfectly in my arms, and even with a little drool coming out of her mouth and her hair going in all different directions, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to me. I slowly got out of bed and admired her with the comforter down around her waist. I winced a little as I saw the bite marks on her tits and the hickey on her neck. I had definitely marked my woman. I knew that if I pulled the covers down a little I would see the bite marks I left on her perfect ass, too. I had been really rough and scared with how she would react, but she had taken me like a queen and didn’t seem to mind. I had never been that rough with a woman before, but it had been exactly what we both had needed.

I looked down at my phone and saw a ton of missed calls and texts. One text stood out to me, so I clicked on the message from Coach Henderson.

Coach Henderson: If you can, try to come a little early. I need to see you in the Bobcats” head coach’s office when you get to the stadium. Let me know when you get here, and I’ll meet you there.

I went into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. All I could think about while I washed myself off was that I was going to be fined or something worse for leaving the game in the middle of an at-bat. Would they send me down to play for the Bears in High-A or even back to the Raptors in Single-A? I didn’t think going back to Single-A would be horrible since I would see my guys again. I would miss Montgomery but not too many of the other guys on the Lightning. The more I thought about it, the more I hoped they were sending me back to the Raptors. Then, I could be around Molly and help with the rebuild process. She could even stay with me and the guys. I know they wouldn’t mind. Cooper would probably bitch about sleeping on the couch, but I know he would do it for my girl. I got dressed in my workout gear since I knew after my meeting we would have practice.

I went back out to the bedroom and smiled at the fact that Molly hadn’t moved an inch. I left her a note on the pillow I had slept on.

I gently kissed her on the forehead and quietly left our room. I saw Penelope and her kids eating the continental breakfast and stopped by to say good morning.

“Hi, Molly’s boyfriend!” Penelope’s adorable little girl called out.

“Hi, Penelope’s daughter,” I responded with a chuckle. I ruffled her brown hair and then gave her mom a hug.

“I have a name, you know,” the sassy little girl said.

“And so do I, Peyton,” I said as I grabbed a banana off the fruit basket.

“His name is Tyler Stone,” Penelope’s little boy told his sister. “Are you going to the stadium, Mr. Stone?”

“Just call me Tyler, Camden,” I told him. “And, yes, I’m heading to the stadium.”

“Is Molly still sleeping?” Penelope asked as she gave me a hug.

“Yeah,” I said with a smirk and whispered to Pen. “I may have worn her out. I’d let her sleep but make sure she’s awake around 11. My game starts at 2:30, but I’m hoping there will be time to grab lunch with you guys.”

“Oh, check out is at 11. I’ll have to get her up before then.”

“Don’t worry about that. I paid for both rooms to have a late check out. I hope you guys are okay coming to my game today.”

“Thanks, Ty,” Pen said with a genuine smile. “We’d love to come to your game.”

“I’m so excited!” Camden called out, with his mouth full of waffle.

“Can I come, too?” Peyton asked.

“You better!”

“Will Cooper be there?”

I had to laugh. I had heard all about how awesome Cooper was with kids. Who knew? “No, he’s still in Ohio. But I know he’d be here if he could.”

Peyton scrunched up her nose, “I liked it better when you played on Cooper’s team.”

“Me too, kiddo,” I told her. “Well, I gotta get going. See you guys later.”

As I crossed the street to the stadium, I texted my coach to let him know I was on my way. I went to the players’ entrance and was led to the home team locker room. Manager Seth Enlow’s name was on the plaque of the closed door. I knocked, and the Lightning’s batting coach, Randy Downey, answered the door.

“Come on in, Stone, and have a seat,” Coach Downey said, and I noticed that the pitching coach, Connor Collins, was also in the small room. Head Coach Steve Henderson sat behind the Bobcat’s manager’s desk.

“Hi, coaches. Am I in trouble? I am so sorry about leaving the plate mid at-bat, but I had to. I had been scared to death that my girl died in the tornado, and I was so happy to see her,” I said in a fast ramble. “I just had to run to her. I’ll take any fine you give me, or if you’re sending me back down, could I at least go back to the Raptors?”

“Son, calm down and take a breath,” Coach Henderson said as Coach Collins put a hand on my shoulder. “First off, I wouldn’t let you go back down. You’re too good of a player. If anything, you’d be moving up, but I’m not ready to let you go just yet. Second, we are all family men here and know how stressed you were yesterday after not being able to communicate with your girlfriend. We understand, and we’re not going to fine you.”

I gave a huge sigh of relief and wanted to be honest with them. “She’s actually my wife.”

“Good to know,” Coach Collins said. “That information may come in handy.”

I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and I was still confused as to why they had called a meeting in the opponent”s offices.

“Have you talked to any of your teammates from the Raptors today?” Coach Downey asked.

I shook my head. “Not today. I talked to a few of them yesterday.”

Coach Henderson nodded and blew out a long breath. “There is no easy way for me to tell you this. I know from scouting reports and watching you play that you and Adam McAlister were very close.” I nodded and a sinking feeling came into my stomach. I didn’t say anything else, and Coach Henderson continued talking. “Late last night, his wife and son were found in the rubble of the tornado. His wife was covering up their young son with her body, and unfortunately, she did not make it. Adam’s son -”

“Fuck, sir. Please tell me Nico is okay,” I said with watery eyes.

Coach Henderson nodded, “Nico is alive but in critical condition. He was airlifted to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.”

I placed my hands over my head with my elbows on my legs as my body shook. That could have easily been Molly. I felt so horrible for Mack.

“Can I call him?” I asked, basically letting them know that I would be late for practice.

“I think he would like that,” Coach Collins said. “He was very relieved to hear that your girlfriend, I mean wife, was okay. He called last night wanting to talk to you, but his phone was damaged by the tornado, so he didn’t have your personal number. He left this number for you to his son’s hospital room.”

“He called from his son’s hospital room looking for me?” I asked, still reeling that his wife had died. I had just been over to their house for dinner before I got called up.

“Here is the number, Stone. And if you’re late for practice, we understand. Please, give Adam our condolences and let him know we are thinking about him and his young son.”

“You can use this office to make the call. Seth said it would be available as long as you needed it.”

I told them thank you and waited until they left the office to dial the number in my hand. I was glad that Ohio was an hour ahead of Illinois, so it wouldn’t be too early to call. I took a deep breath and hit the call button.

“Hello?” A deep, groggy voice answered.

“Mack?” I asked, making sure someone else wasn’t answering. “It’s Tyler Stone.”

“Tyler! It’s good to hear from you, son.”

“Mack, I am so sorry to hear about Ashleigh. I know it’s the wrong thing to ask, but are you doing okay?”

“I’m just in shock, to be honest. It’s not real yet.”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “How is Nico?”

“Still unconscious, but the doctor’s are optimistic, whatever that means. He has a concussion for sure and a broken leg from a wall falling down on them. Ash saved his life. She was his hero.”

I wasn’t sure what to say and felt tears in my eyes, “I really am so sorry, Mack.”

“I know,” Mack said. “It fucking sucks, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. But, man, I am so happy to hear Molly and her co-worker were fine. What happened?”

I felt horrible telling him my good news about my wife being okay when his own wife wasn’t. But he had brought it up, so I told him how they found out we were having twins and wanted to surprise me. He couldn’t believe they didn’t even know about the tornado.

“Twins, man? Holy shit. That’s awesome. Congrats to your super sperm.”

I had to give a humorless laugh at that comment. “My parents had triplets, and I don’t want to think about my dad’s super sperm.”

Mack actually laughed. “Damn, Ty. I needed a laugh. Thank you.”

“Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Well,” Mack began. “I do have a proposition for you, and you can say no if you want. No pressure. The media has been all over because of the tornado, how it hit the stadium, Ash’s passing, and everything else. I talked to the Raptor’s owner, Sebastian Campbell, and we want to try to put a good spin on all the bad shit that has happened.”

“What can I do?” I asked.

“We want to get word out about the MiLB supporting the Red Cross and, how for every minor league game played today in the Midwest Conference, they will donate 20% of the ticket sales to the Tornado Relief Fund. It will help those in Riverbend who lost their homes, loved ones, or jobs. I would be the face of the support if I were still in Riverbend but -”

“You’re needed with Nico, Mack,” I interrupted him. “I can make a speech, talk to the media, whatever you need. I think it’s an awesome cause, and it hits home with me, literally.”

“I figured you’d say that,” Mack said. “Thanks, Tyler. It will take a load off my shoulders because I know you’ll do a great job. There is a local reporter waiting to video call with you to talk about what to say and everything. Is it okay to give him your number?”

“Of course,” I agreed. “You stay with Nico. He is your number one priority. Let me know how he’s doing, okay?”

“You know I will,” Mack said. “Thanks, again, Stone. Tell your girl that I’m really happy that she’s okay.”

“I will. And please let me know when you’ve made arrangements for your wife for her celebration of life. I hope they’ll let me off to be there.”

“We’ll figure out a way to get you there. Hey, Stone, the nurse just walked in, so I’m going to talk to her about Nico. We’ll talk later.”

He hung up, and I saw a new text from Molly:

My everything: Please call me after your meeting, if you can. Hopefully everything is ok. Let me know what time you could meet for lunch. I don’t think I’ll be able to sit down, though. Who knew my man was a vampire? ??

Me: I think vampires prefer to bite necks and not perfect asses, baby. ??

My everything: You’re too much. My whole body hurts, but in the best way possible.

Me: Take a bath, sweetheart. That will help. I wish I was there to take one with you.

My everything: This bathtub is hardly going to be big enough for me alone.

My everything: What was your meeting about, Ty? I’m worried my coming will get you in trouble. I’ve never seen anyone leave a game mid at-bat before. And I’ve watched a lot of baseball.

Me: Fuck, baby. I love you so much. Don’t worry. I’m not in trouble. But it’s not a conversation to have over text.

My everything: Ok, I trust you. I love you, too, Ty. I’m going to get in the bath and then see what Pen and the kids are up to.

Me: That sounds good. Take a long bath, Molly, and just relax. Love you.

I put my phone in my pocket and almost jumped when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a man several inches shorter than me wearing a dark blue suit with a bright blue shirt underneath and a tie that matched the suit color. He has short brown hair that was gelled a little in the front and wore round glasses over his brown eyes. He had a kind, genuine smile. “Hi, sorry to bother you. I was told to give you a few minutes, and hopefully, I’m not interrupting. Are you Tyler Stone?”

“I am,” I responded and then shook his outstretched hand. He looked vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I knew him from.

“I’m Erick Carlile. I work for Sports Network Corp. The MiLB has hired me to be with you every step of the way as you are the new face of Baseball giving back to Riverbend.”

“Holy shit,” I said and then covered my mouth in embarrassment. SNC was the station that played all the major league baseball games. I had been watching it forever. No wonder he looked familiar. “I mean, wow. Nice to meet you. My old coach said I’d get a video call.”

Erick smiled, “Nope, you get the real deal. I take it you’ve heard of SNC.”

“Of course,” I said with a chuckle.

“Good, good. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I need to get to practice,” I said as I looked down at my watch.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. You’ve been put on the Development List for the next seven days.”

“The Development List? But I thought that was only for players who needed help watching the game or taking extra batting practice. They don’t play but are still part of their team and all.”

“It usually is used for that, but since you aren’t injured or being punished, this was the best way the league could get you time off. They were able to call up the catcher from another High A team in your absence.”

“Time off for a week? For real?”

“Well, not really time off, but you will be away from the Lightning. At 2:45 you and I will be leaving for Riverbend, my friend.”

“But the game starts at 2:30.”

“We have a lot to discuss,” Erick said and motioned me to sit back at the desk as he opened up his briefcase and took out a folder.

“Well, my wife is here with her friend and her friend’s kids. We were planning to meet for lunch between practice and the game.”

“Tell her you won’t be able to go to lunch but to pack her bags and have her friend be ready to go, too. Have her come to the game, and then they can leave with us.”

I nodded and sent Molly a quick text.

Me: Some plans have changed. I’m not sure what all is going on, but I’ll explain when I know more. Pack your bags and have Pen pack her stuff, too. Come to the game like originally planned, but I won’t be able to make it to lunch before. But, Molly, don’t worry. This is all good stuff. There will be tickets for you guys at Will Call.

My everything: That’s a little vague, but I trust you. See you at the game. ??