50

They needed five runs. It would take a miracle. Stranger things had happened.

Sydney stood on first base.

MacKenzie looked at Emily, her eyes begging for the bunt. Emily shook her head. “Hit the ball, kiddo. You are long overdue.”

MacKenzie looked skeptical. She tried to work the pitcher, even faking a bunt once, but all she did was work herself into a full count.

“Got to protect now,” Emily said.

Emily would never know if what happened next was intentional on MacKenzie’s part. MacKenzie would deny it adamantly, but it was just a little too poetic to have been coincidence. MacKenzie swung at the next pitch, and as she did so, the pitch caught her in the left shoulder. She cried out. It was believable that a girl would cry out when hit by a pitch traveling that fast. It was less believable that MacKenzie would. The umpire sent her to first base, which she took, holding her left shoulder. It was the last time she would exhibit any pain from that injury.

Juniper was up to bat, and Emily’s heart swelled with affection for her. It was hard to believe what a row they’d had less than two months before. Juniper belted the ball right to the pitcher, who managed to slow it down with her glove, but all that accomplished was making it harder for the shortstop to get to it. The third baseman charged the ball as well, leaving third base uncovered. The left fielder came to cover, but Sydney beat her there.

Emily thought she might be having a heart attack.

Ava missed the first two strikes, fouled off a change-up, and then singled the next pitch up the middle.

The scoreboard changed to 7 to 3. They were playing in the weeds, but they were still playing.

Hannah stepped up to bat smiling.

Lord, please don’t let her get cocky.

She grounded into centerfield. Everyone advanced one base. 7 to 4.

Hailey stepped up to the plate. She too gave Emily a few gray hairs waiting till the third strike before swinging the bat, but she finally did swing, and sent the ball between first and second, sending Juniper home: 7 to 5.

The Richmond coach was pulling his hair out. The Richmond pitcher looked worried. The fans were on their feet.

It was Sara’s turn. She swung at the first pitch—and missed. She swung at the second—and fouled it off. The third pitch was a change-up and threw Sara off balance. Still, she swung—and completely missed the ball. And that was it. The inning was over. The game was over. The season was over. Sara collapsed. She fell to her knees in the batter’s box and bent over home plate as if praying. Her shoulders shook with sobs—sobs no one could hear over Richmond’s celebration.

Emily started toward Sara but then stopped. Because Juniper was already there. Juniper reached down and took one of Sara’s hands and gently pulled her to her feet. Then she undid Sara’s chinstrap and lifted the batting helmet off Sara’s head. She tossed the helmet toward the dugout and then wrapped her arms around Sara’s small frame; Sara rested her head on Juniper’s shoulder as the team gathered around them both. Hailey put her arms around them from one side, MacKenzie from the other. Hannah joined the embrace, then Chloe, then the rest. DeAnna came too. And though she didn’t touch anyone, she did stand close enough to be a part of the large, silent huddle—a huddle that centered on the girl whose brother had threatened to blow up the windmills and the girl whose dad was building them.

Emily, tears rolling down her cheeks, thought, This couldn’t get any more beautiful. But she was wrong. Because MacKenzie’s mom joined the hug. Then Chloe’s mom. Chloe left the pack then, ran to the dugout, grabbed Thomas’s hand, and led him back to the team. By then, Hannah’s mom had joined the group. Then Ava’s grandmother put one arm around DeAnna and drew her into the fold. Then the entire Greem family joined in. Then Jane Crockett, her dreads held up with a bright red scarf and her cheeks shiny with tears. Most of the fans had left their folding chairs and were joining in the embrace. Even PeeWee Hopkins stood uncomfortably on the outside, with one hand on Hailey’s dad’s shoulder.

As the Richmond crowd dispersed, Jake Jasper approached Emily from behind. “That’s quite an island you’ve got there,” he said.

Emily took a deep breath of spring air. “Yeah. We have our moments.”