Page 66 of Playing With The Mountain Man

“It was awesome, Mom,” River started. “I stole second base.”

River was obsessed with baseball. If he wasn’t playing, he was watching or talking about it. His latest endeavor was stealing bases. I couldn’t count the number of hours I spent scrubbing stains from the knees of his pants while he tried to perfect his craft.

I looked over at his coach. “He stole second base, but as he slid in, his head collided with the knee of the player standing on the base.”

“Oh.”

“It was awesome,” River repeated.

Behind me, I heard a cough and turned to find Cody hiding his smile behind his fist.

“Cody Lucas!” River yelled loudly as he tried to scramble up off his knees.

My gaze bounced from River to Cody and back again. Did they know each other? And if they did, how?

The low murmurs turned into squeals and chatter, and within a minute, Cody was swarmed by kids from River’s team and the opposing team, too. Over their heads, Cody caught my eye and offered a shrug.

I shook off the scene in front of me. I’d get to the bottom of that later, but first, I needed to make sure River was going to be okay.

I left the group and walked over to where Miss Apathy was talking to parents. Thankfully, she was able to explain what happened. River may have a slight concussion, but he’d live, thankfully. Just another knock, another scar, another bruise, another badge of honor a young boy growing up would wear with pride.

“River will be fine. Just keep an eye on him. He’ll probably have a headache, but I get the feeling right now he can’t feel a thing. Cody Lucas seems to be the perfect distraction for all of them,” Miss Apathy suggested.

“Cody’s a distraction?” I repeated, not understanding what was going on.

“How could he not be? It’s not every day that an MLB player shows up at their game,” Miss Apathy offered.

“MLB Player?” I stuttered.

“Of course. You did know, didn’t you?” she asked, looking at me like I was missing a critical piece of information.

“I … uh … um.” I shook my head and looked over at Cody.

He was surrounded by young boys, all looking up at him with admiration, and talking a million miles an hour. He didn’t look overwhelmed or intimidated at all. In fact, if anything, he looked like a complete natural. He was smiling and laughing, and when someone handed him a pen and a ball, he signed it automatically.

“He’s Dallas’s shining star. Short stop for the Dallas Bluebonnets,” Miss Apathy filled in the blanks.

“Dallas Bluebonnets,” I murmured. I’d heard of them. I’d even watched some of their games, but I’d never paid that much attention. Obviously an oversight.

“Cody Lucas is one of the league’s favorite players. He’s often spotted with models or actresses on his arm at movie premieres or award ceremonies. He’s a player, on and off the field,” she gossiped happily.

But it was the last thing I wanted to hear. If what she was telling me was true, it would be plastered all over the internet.

“I should get River home. Make sure he doesn’t have a concussion,” I diverted, turning and heading over to where River was shooting a million and one questions at Cody.

Cody caught my eye as I approached.

“River?” I interrupted only for him to spin and look at me.

I gasped. There was a lump on his head.

“I need to get you home,” I told him.

“But, Mom,” River whined, glancing over his shoulder at Cody, who was weaving his way through the crowd toward us.

“No, River. We need to get home and cleaned up. You’ve had a nasty bump to the head,” I reasoned.

“It’s not as bad as yours,” River protested.