Hales, get up,” Dad said as he pulled the covers off me.

I groaned and pulled the covers back up. Dad yanked them back down again.

“Daaaaad, it’s Saturday!”

“And you need to get up, work out, and come with me to the batting cages. Coach Elliot is coming, too.”

I opened my eyes. “Why is he coming?”

“Because he wants to help teach you and go over how his team plays. You must remember, these boys have been playing together for years. You need to learn to—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Fine.” I pulled the covers off and sat up, “I’m up.”

He pinched his nose. “Do something about that morning breath!” He burst into laughter when I shoved his shoulder.

After I got ready, I met Dad downstairs in the kitchen where Mom was sitting on the counter drinking coffee.

“Morning, Hales!” Mom hopped off the counter to hug me.

“Do I smell cinnamon rolls?” I asked as I looked toward the oven.

Mom nodded. “You sure do, but you know you can’t have that, honey.” She pointed to the counter where she had set out yogurt and granola.

Here we go... I begrudgingly walked over to get a spoon.

Mom was great until baseball season started. Then she became food police and made me work my ass off. While I appreciated her keeping me accountable and on track, I wished she would slack off just a bit. Each year she and Dad got worse. They were health nuts but didn’t follow the rules they set themselves. But dammit, I sure had to, and the closer I got to playing college ball, the stricter they got.

After eating, Dad and I got into my car and went to the batting cages.

I smiled when I saw Coach Elliot but was majorly confused when I saw his older brother, Zach, there. I did my best not to stare as I put on batting gloves, but he was hard not to look at. I tried to find at least one flaw. Nothing.

“I’m going to go do a few things around town while you practice. Can I have your keys?” Dad asked as he handed me a bat.

“Yeah.” I gave him the keys and then pulled my hair through the back of my hat.After he left, I stood next to Zach and watched Coach Elliot hit a few balls.

“Some of the guys on the team told me he was awesome,” I said, stretching my arms.

“He is. He could have gone pro.”

“So, why didn’t he?”

Zach didn’t look that old. Maybe in his mid-20’s. Definitely not old enough to own a pizza place.

Why the hell was I analyzing his age? It didn’t matter. Or rather, it shouldn’t matter. Not to me anyway.

“A guy he played with in high school caused some issues; then his wife died, and he had to be a single dad. A lot of shit stood in his way.”

“Oh.” I stretched my arms again as Coach Elliot finished up. “So, no offense, but why are you here?”

“I’m the assistant coach. I help out, especially when he’s having a bad day.”

A bad day? I furrowed my brow as I thought about what that meant exactly, but reminded myself that not everything was my business.

I don’t know why, but knowing he’d be at practices made me extremely happy. I smiled. “Cool.” I picked up a bat and rested it on my shoulder.

Coach Elliot came out of the batting cage and walked over to us.

“Nice job, Coach, but watch this,” I teased as I headed into the cage. Zach got the pitching machine ready.

“Give me a few slow ones to warm up and then speed it up, okay?”

Zach smirked. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I SET THE bat down and lifted my hat to wipe the sweat from my forehead. I put it back on and looked at the bat leaning against the bench. I only missed two out of thirty. Not bad, but if Dad were here, he’d make me run laps for each one missed and then hit until I didn’t miss any.

I waited for Coach to yell or tell me I could do better, but he never did.

“This season is going to be amazing,” Zach said with a proud smile.

My forehead creased with confusion. I couldn’t understand why no one was yelling at me. They both looked at me oddly when I stayed in the cage. Coach Ray was always hard on me and expected perfection, just like Dad.

“Let’s go again. That wasn’t good enough.” I held the bat up and got in position.

“You did great! Why do you want to go again?” Zach asked with a puzzled look.

“I missed two.” I motioned my head toward the pitching machine. “Make them faster.”

“O-kay,” Zach said hesitantly, then turned the machine up. “You’re an odd one.”

I missed four out of six that time. I threw the bat down and cursed.

“Easy, Tiger,” Zach chuckled a little.

His phone started ringing as Coach Elliot came over to me. “You’re a great player. Take a deep breath. You’ve been working out here for over two hours.”

My arms felt like jello. I took off my hat and batting gloves.

“I’ll get them later. When my dad finds out I missed, he’ll have me out here until I get them all.”

He cupped my shoulder. “Listen, you’re doing great.”

“A lot of people do great, Coach. I strive to be the best.”

He chuckled. “Then meet me here tomorrow, and we’ll do this again. Deal?”

I shook my head. “If you need to go, that’s fine. I’ll stay here and work until I get it right.”

Coach Elliot looked at Zach, and he nodded.

“I’ll stay and help her. You go take Millie to get something to eat,” Zach said, looking at me and then at Elliot again.

“You don’t have to stay,” I said as I came out of the cage to get something to drink.

“I’m avoiding going back to my restaurant.”

I sat down on the bench and fixed my batting gloves. “Did you notice what I was doing wrong?”

“Yup.” He leaned back against the fence.

“Well?”

He laughed. “Grab the bat, and I’ll show you.”

I got up and grabbed it.

He walked behind me and then bent down. He placed each of his hands on my feet and positioned them so my legs were spread apart a little more. He then stood and moved to my front. He maneuvered my hands until my right was slightly higher and my left was twisted toward him.

“This seems really basic. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He smiled and then walked behind me. His arms moved around me until his hands were on mine and my back was to his chest. He moved the bat in slow motion. “You need to follow through more. Do you feel how I moved the bat?” When I nodded, he continued. “The way you are standing now, and how I have your hands positioned, will help a lot, too. You’re getting too frustrated and swinging too quickly.”

I nodded, hoping he didn’t notice that my breathing had picked up to a ridiculous pant. You see this kind of thing in movies, and as cliché as it was, dammit did it feel amazing. “Yeah, I do get ahead of myself sometimes.” I went back out to the cage quickly before he noticed how hard I was swooning.

He turned the machine on. “Ready?”

I nodded, and he started the machine. He jogged over to me after I hit the first ball and stood behind me again, gripping the bat just above my hands.

“Follow through,” he said next to my ear as he swung the bat with me.

Dear God ... If he didn’t get away from me, I was going to lose my damn cool. I let out the breath I was holding when he headed back to the pitching machine.

I worked for a while longer, hitting twenty-seven in a row at a record speed.

I dropped the bat and jumped up and down. “Boo ya!” I did the Running Man dance to celebrate my victory. I stopped when I noticed there were now people in the cages beside us, staring at me. I burst into laughter and came out, giving Zach a high five.

“See? I know what I’m doing,” he laughed. “Now your dancing skills… they need some work.”

I took a drink and laughed.

“Hey, kiddo.” I turned and saw Dad walking over. “I texted you to let you know I’d be running later than expected. How’d it go?”

“She did great! I’m really looking forward to the season now.” Zach grabbed up Coach Elliot’s stuff. “I should head out. That damn restaurant needs me.”

He put one of the bags on his shoulder. “When do I need to sign that new contract with Coke?”

“I can bring it by Monday morning,” Dad said as I gathered my things. “So, did Hales miss any today?”

“A couple, but I made her hit until she didn’t miss any. We run a tight ship here.” He winked at me when Dad wasn’t looking. “And Monday sounds good.”

Dad nodded. “Good.” He looked at me, and I knew that look. I’d be running tonight, regardless.

“Elliot wants to have an early practice with her tomorrow so make sure she goes home and rests. We don’t want her too worn out before Elliot works with her. All the guys are going to be resting tonight. Tomorrow starts hell.”

“Will do.” Dad’s expression softened some.

“You guys should come by the restaurant tonight. We have one hell of a salad bar.” He nodded toward us. “Have a good night.” He picked up two more bags and headed toward his truck.

I could see his muscles flexing as he carried all the equipment. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying hard to stop staring. I looked away from him and followed Dad to my car.

When we got home, I thought I was free and clear of a night run, but Dad wasn’t forgetting about it.

“How many did you miss?” Dad asked while I laced up my shoes on the front step.

“2,” I lied.

“Two miles then.”

“Dad, I’m exhausted from practice today. Can’t I just have one night off?”

“You think they’ll be easy on you when you get to college? Hales, you’re a girl. You have to prove yourself, especially, if you plan on going pro.”

If going pro meant this crap for the rest of my life, maybe I needed to change my goals. But my parents had invested so much time and money into me playing ball, I couldn’t disappoint them. This was not only my dream, it was theirs, too.

I nodded instead of arguing. I put earbuds in and started a workout playlist.

Hailey Grayson, the first female baseball player to go pro. I could do it. I would do it.