Chapter Thirty-Seven
Alyssa
Alyssa and Faith shoved their way through the crowd down by the dugout wall. The team dogpiled Tristan as soon as he made it across the field, but Alyssa didn’t miss the quick smile thrown her way before he disappeared under a sea of gray jerseys.
She couldn’t believe it… No, wait, she could. Tristan was a fighter, just like she was.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out, her eyes never leaving the field. When the team started moving into the dugout, she finally looked at the message.
It was her dad.
That Tristan of hers… Alyssa couldn’t help it. She started grinning and couldn’t stop. So what if people thought she was crazy? She was going to smile for weeks, no matter what.
Alyssa agreed and put the phone back in her pocket. “They’ll come back out for the awards ceremony, right?”
“They should.” Faith pointed at the infield, where a small platform was being set up between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. “They’ll give our guys their trophy there.”
“Excuse me.”
Alyssa turned to find a guy, college-aged, standing behind her. He looked a lot like Tristan. Shorter and stockier, but the eyes and hair and nose were exactly the same. “Yes?”
He smiled, and she was convinced the guy was related—it was Tristan’s exact smile. “I’m Keller, Tristan’s brother. You must be Alyssa.”
“I am.” She glanced at Faith, surprised. “How…”
“Oh, he mentioned you when I came home last weekend.” Keller winked. “And when I saw him jump the wall to kiss you, I was pretty sure you were the Alyssa he talked about.”
Alyssa’s face grew warm, and her heart fluttered. “He talked about me?”
“Definitely. Thanks for coming. He needs a cheering section.” Keller glanced back at a couple a few rows up. The woman had Tristan’s eyes, and the man was built almost exactly like him, except lankier. “Our parents don’t really understand baseball. They’re proud of him, but he needs more people who enjoy the game backing him up. I can tell you know your way around a ballpark.”
“She does,” Faith burst in. “She used to play softball. She was really good. And her dad owns a batting cage.”
“Really?” Keller’s face lit up. “That’s awesome. I better go back, but I wanted to introduce myself.”
He nodded to both of them and went up the stairs to his parents. When he arrived, he jerked his head in Alyssa’s direction, and his mom clasped her hands to her chest and gave Alyssa a thorough looking over. She must’ve approved of what she saw, because she smiled and waved.
Alyssa smiled and waved back. “Should I go up there and say hi?”
“Nope.” Faith tapped her arm. “Because here they come.”
The team filed out of the dugout, heads held high. Alyssa whistled, and half their heads whirled in her direction. Kyle, laughing, moved over so Tristan could see her better.
Tristan pointed at her and patted a hand against his chest. She blew him a kiss.
And hoped she’d be able to give him a real one—or several—very soon.