3

HE WISHED HE’D BROUGHT his shades. The sun was in his eyes as he tried shielding them with his left hand. Kevin, dressed in his new uniform, was walking toward the plate, and Jack felt a lump in his stomach.

Jesus, he was so overprotective, worried all the time. He hadn’t really been all that freaked when he was undercover with Stein- bach, where one false move could have put a bullet through his head, but out here, in the sunlight with all the other moms and dads, he was supernervous for Kevin.

He looked down at third base, at Charlie, who was flashing Kevin the signs now. Jack watched as the pitcher threw in the last of his warm-up pitches. He was a big guy, with a Cardinals uniform. A lot bigger than Kevin, and Jack had seen on the radar gun that he was throwing about 73 miles an hour. But Kevin was fine . . . knocking the dirt out of his cleats, waving his bat slowly back and forth.

Jack sucked in his breath.

Looked across the field at the old Pacific Park and thought for a second that he wouldn’t watch the first pitch; he would just pretend to watch, and instead keep his eyes on the old gym . . . The new one was over the other side of the hill, it was going to be something . . . he’d think about that, and . . .

But who was he kidding? He was going to watch. And his kid was going to be just fine.

He looked down at Charlie, who was keeping up a steady stream of chatter.

“Come on, Kev. You can do it, boy. Get a hold of one, Kev.” The big pitcher went into his windup, lifted his front foot, and

fired the ball toward Kevin.

A fastball, and right away . . . the split second it left his hand, Jack could see that it was going right toward Kevin’s head.

And worse, Kevin was slow to react . . . frozen in fear.

And now Jack was up off his seat as the ball hit Kevin’s batting helmet with a sickening thud, and his son went down as though he’d been hit by a sniper’s bullet.

And Jack was up, his mouth opening but no noise coming out and he was leaping down off the stands, and running toward home plate, and Charlie was running alongside them and Charlie was saying, “Oh, Jesus!”

Jack was running but the plate seemed to be receding into a kind of sickening yellow mist . . . and no matter how much faster he ran he couldn’t seem to get any closer. And his son lay there, blood gushing from his nose and ears.

Jack woke up, screaming.

“Kevin . . . Kevin!”

He sat bolt upright in bed, and Julie was up with him, saying, “What . . . what is it?”

And Jack heard his heart beating in his ears, his breath coming hard, as he fell back on his pillow.

“Nothing,” he said, still gasping for breath. “Just a bad dream. It was nothing at all. Go back to sleep.”

“Nothing at all? Going undercover for months at a time trying to catch that scum Steinbach? By, the way, baby, I heard you got him. It was on the news.”

“Yeah, we got him,” Jack said.

Julie rubbed his back.

“I wish you’d have called me, Jack,” she said.

Jack shook his head, then hugged her. “Sorry, we had to do the paperwork, then hustled down to Charlie’s for a couple of drinks.”

“I understand,” she said. “But I was worried about you.”

“I know,” Jack said. “I’m sorry . . . I should have called you right away. Guess I’m still not quite used to having to think of anyone else.”

Julie smiled and kissed Jack’s neck. “It’s okay, baby. Just try and remember next time. I want to be in on every part of your life.”

Jack managed a smile.

“You will be,” he said. “From now on. I promise.”

She smiled and slid back down under the quilt.

“You need a serious vacation,” she said.

“Vacation?” Jack said. “Never heard that word before. What’s it mean?”

Julie squeezed his bicep.

“It’s when you go to a beach and you relax, and the water comes rolling in and the sand is warm . . . and there’s no cell phones at all.”

“Really?” Jack said. “Tell me more.”

“Tomorrow,” Julie said. “I’ll tell you all about it. And then you’ll go in and request one of your vacation days, and we’ll take a long weekend down in Todos Santos.”

Jack smiled.

“Now you’re talking, professor,” he said.

He kissed her cheek softly and fell back in bed.

Soon he heard Julie’s soft regular breathing. She was back asleep. But Jack lay there, tense, until dawn.