Behind in the Count: A Portland Pioneers Novel

by Micah K. Chaplin

  Zella couldn’t hold back any more. She crossed to her father and embraced him.

  “Dad, you have no idea what that means to me,” she said.

  Arnold patted her back and kissed her cheek, another uncharacteristic gesture for him. At least as of late. He used to be more affectionate. Before Aric died. Then he kind of closed off. This was nice. And Zella didn’t really care to analyze why there was a sudden change in him.

  “Do you think we could see Derek?” Cheryl asked. “We’d like to apologize to him.”

  “I think that could be arranged,” Zella said. “Do you want to go to the game tonight?”

  “You know we never turn down a baseball game,” Arnold said.

  Zella nodded and pulled out her phone to text Derek. She asked him if he could find two additional tickets with the group.

  Moments later, he texted back.

  “Who are they for?” he asked.

  “My parents,” she responded.

  “Your parents? Seriously?” he asked.

  She could only imagine what he was thinking.

  “Yes. We can explain later,” she said.

  “OK. The tickets and my family will wait for you at Gate 5,” he sent back.

  “Thanks. I love you,” she sent back.

  “I love you too,” he replied.

  She smiled at his words and looked up at her parents. “Tickets will be waiting for us.”

  The three of them talked a while longer. The tension between them was noticeably and mercifully absent. It felt good to be like this again.

  The ride to the ballpark was enjoyable as well. They went in her parents’ car and Arnold was tickled when they got to park in the employee garage using Zella’s badge. By the time they reached Gate 5, the Beaman clan was already there. They greeted Zella warmly and she introduced her parents. There was a little hesitation from Derek’s family as they shook hands with the Hansens. The Beamans were polite but Zella sensed a coolness that didn’t seem characteristic of them.

  “You must be so proud of Derek,” Cheryl said after a few awkward beats.

  “We are,” Ken said, nodding. “Very proud.”

  “He was so polite and kind to us when we first met him,” Cheryl said.

  “That’s our boy. He was raised with manners,” Linda said.

  “You did a wonderful job with him,” Cheryl said.

  Zella could see the efforts from both sides, but they hadn’t quite found the middle ground yet. Arnold and Cheryl must have noticed it too.

  “I’m sure you heard I had reservations about him and Zella together,” Arnold said.

  The Beamans all nodded.

  “I will always worry about her. That’s a parent’s job, as I’m sure you know,” Arnold said. “But I see how much that boy loves my little girl and I’m willing to let him do that.”

  Mike smirked. “I’m not sure even you could have stopped him from loving her. But I get what you’re saying. I’m glad you’re giving him a chance. He won’t let you down.”

  Zella felt a bit of relief at Mike’s friendly remark and expression. And she could see the wall start to come down between the two families.

  “After the game, I plan to make things right with Derek,” Arnold said.

  “We don’t have to wait until after the game,” Zella said. “We could probably still catch him before he goes to the dugout.”

  She held up her phone. “He said he’d see you now, Dad. If you’re ready.”

  Arnold nodded. “Sure. That would be OK.”

  “We’ll meet you at the seats,” Ken said. “See you inside.”

  The group entered the ballpark and split up at the security elevator, which she boarded with her parents and rode down to the lower level. Derek was standing there, waiting for them when the doors opened. He looked nervous and Zella couldn’t blame him. His last interaction with her parents hadn’t been the best and she had put him through a lot since then. To his credit, he stuck out his hand to greet them.

  “Real fine job last night,” Arnold said. “That game was the best one I’ve watched in ages.”

  Derek smiled proudly. “Thank you, sir. It’s still kind of a blur to me.”

  “We were thrilled for you,” Cheryl said. “I hope you celebrated.”

  “I sure did,” he said.

  Zella felt herself flush with heat. Thankfully he didn’t look at her or she wasn’t sure she could have kept her composure.

  Somehow her parents didn’t notice. Or at least they acted like they didn’t. At the very least, they didn’t ask for more details about his celebration, which was a relief for Zella.

  “Look, I know you need to get going, but I wanted to make things right with you, Derek,” Arnold said. “Face-to-face.”

  Derek nodded, looking directly at Arnold as he spoke.

  “I won’t lie. I still have reservations about you and Zella. But I’d probably have reservations about any guy she dated. You have a little girl. You’ll understand someday,” Arnold said.

  “I already understand,” Derek said. “Brynn is my world. I get it.”

  “Then you know why I worry about Zella,” Arnold said. “And I’ll never stop.”

  “No, sir,” Derek said.

  “But I saw that interview last night. The part about your glove,” Arnold said. “You really do love my girl.”

  Derek smiled and glanced at Zella, who was at his side now. “I really do.”

  “So I’m not going to stand in your way anymore,” Arnold said. “I told Zella if you’re the guy, I’ll step aside and let it be.”

  “I promise I’ll take good care of her,” Derek said. “And if I don’t, you have full permission to punish me at that time. Although you’ll probably have to get in line behind my brother, Reid, and a few other guys.”

  Zella laughed. It was a nice statement, but she had no doubts Mike and Reid would have Derek’s back in any breakup.

  Cheryl took her husband’s arm and looked up at Derek.

  “I know she told you about our son,” Cheryl said.

  Derek’s smile faltered a little and he nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry to hear about Aric. I can’t imagine what it was like to lose him like that.”

  “He was the big reason we were nervous about you and Zella. We saw Aric get better and then fail again. I don’t want her to have to see that with you,” Cheryl said.

  “She told me a lot about him, and I promise I won’t put her through that,” Derek said. “She’s just one of many people counting on me to stay straight.”

  “Also,” Cheryl said, a bit hesitantly. “I know you’re not Aric, but sometimes I think maybe you might help us understand him better in some ways.”

  “That’s a tall order to fill,” Derek said. “But I’ll gladly be honest with you about the things I went through. I don’t know if it’ll help, but I don’t mind sharing my story with you.”

  Cheryl simply nodded in acceptance.

  Derek looked between her and Arnold. “I’m really glad you’re giving me a chance to show you I can be good for Zella. I promise I won’t make you regret it.”

  Arnold held out his hand to Derek. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  The men shook hands but Cheryl insisted on a hug. Derek obliged with a bit of a laugh.

  “Enjoy the game with my family,” Derek said. “I’ll apologize in advance for Mike. He can be obnoxious.”

  “Oh, they’ve already met him,” Zella said. “I think they’ll be fine.”

  “Just making sure,” Derek said. “I’ll see you guys after the game though, OK?”

  He gave Zella a quick kiss and then turned to head down the tunnel to the clubhouse.

  Zella and her parents rode back up to the main concourse and made their way to their seats. Derek had not only found them seats together, but he’d upgraded them significantly. They were just a few rows behind and to the right of the Pioneers’ dugout. She wondered how he managed this one. But she didn’t dwell on that too long. Not when she looke
d at the row in front of her and saw Arnold and Linda switch places, so the men and women could each chat. She was sitting behind them with Bruna and Mike, and the sight of her parents mingling so easily with Derek’s was unbelievably touching.

  “So tell me,” Bruna said softly. “How was the celebration last night?”

  Zella smiled. But it wasn’t any ordinary smile. This grin was so wide, her cheeks hurt almost immediately from the strain.

  “That good, huh?” Bruna asked

  “Yep. But not nearly as good as the two celebrations this morning,” Zella said softly.

  Bruna held up her hand and Zella gave her the requested high five.

  “Thatta girl,” Bruna said. “Those Beaman men know how to take care of their women, huh?”

  “Apparently so,” Zella replied. “I enjoyed taking care of him too.”

  “Oh, I have no doubt about that,” Bruna said. “Good for you. Both of you.”

  “Thanks,” Zella said, laughing a little.

  “Oh no,” Mike said from the other side of Bruna. “Derek and I are in trouble if you two are going to be like this.”

  “You were already in trouble,” Bruna said. “You ARE trouble, Michael Beaman.”

  “I can’t really argue with that,” Mike said, shrugging.

  As Zella watched the game, it was impossible not to think about how much had changed in the last twenty-four hours. She’d gone from missing Derek to spending the night with him. And that was after he’d pitched a perfect game. And then her parents showed up today to make amends. It all felt surreal. She wondered if she should pinch herself. But if it was a dream, she was in no rush to wake up.

  During one of the inning breaks, Derek stepped to the edge of the dugout and looked to the section where his family was seated. His family and Zella’s family. Ken and Arnold were deep in conversation, presumably about baseball given their gestures. It was harder to tell what Linda and Cheryl were discussing, but they were both smiling, so he guessed it was good. Behind them, Mike had his arm around Bruna who was chatting with Zella. The only thing that would have made the scene better would be the addition of Brynn. Otherwise, it was as close to picture perfect as Derek could imagine.

  As he was watching them, Zella looked in his direction and their eyes met. He waved, and when she smiled, it was the same one she’d given him late last night and early this morning. A smile that was clearly only for him. He grinned back at her until Reid put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I know you’re in that whole post-sex happiness phase right now, but you should probably come back and pay attention to the game,” Reid said.

  “OK,” Derek said, chuckling.

  “Good thing you didn’t deny the post-sex thing because I was going to call BS on that,” Reid said.

  “You can stop worrying about my dick now,” Derek said.

  “Yeah, now I’m just worried about you getting hit in the head with a foul ball because you’re distracted by Zella,” Reid said. “So come sit down. You can stare at your girl later, OK?”

  Derek nodded and followed Reid back to the bench. While he was safer from a foul ball in his new spot, he was no more engaged in the game.

  “You going to give me any details about last night?”

  “Nope,” Derek said. “And none about this morning either.”

  Reid grinned. “That’s all I need to know then.”

  Derek stared out at the field, but he didn’t really see any of it. His mind was too busy replaying the events of the last month – a first date, explosive kisses, returning to pitching, a visitation hearing, a perfect game, an appropriate post-game celebration, and waking up with his arms around an amazing girl. There had been plenty of moments of doubt and disappointment, but they didn’t seem to matter in the end.

  It was just like when he was on the mound the previous night, trying to get that second to last out. The batter made him throw a lot of pitches, trying to get him to miss just once. But he didn’t. Even after a long night of pitching, Derek hadn’t given up. He zeroed in on what he knew he needed to do and kept at it until he won the at bat.

  There would always be another batter.

  The temptation to drink or use would never leave him completely.

  There were still many battles to fight when it came to Brynn.

  He and Zella would face challenges in their relationship.

  Derek had been behind in the count more times than he could list, but in pitching and in life, he believed he could come out on top. Every obstacle was just another opportunity to rise and be better than he was before.

  Glossary

  Here are some of the baseball terms and phrases used in this book.

  Command - The ability of the pitcher to make the ball move the way it is intended to move.

  Complete game shutout - Refers to the act by which a single pitcher pitches the entire game and does not allow the opposing team to score a run.

  DH – Stands for designated hitter. In 1973, the American League adopted the designated hitter rule, which allows teams to have a nonfielding player bat in place of the pitcher. The National League does not use a designated hitter except during interleague play in an American League park. (Likewise, American League pitchers hit when playing in a National League park.)

  Earned runs – Runs scored without the aid of errors by the team in the field.

  ERA – Stands for earned run average. The mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and then multiplying by nine.

  No-hitter – A game in which a team is unable to record a single hit. It is sometimes referred to as a no-no.

  Perfect game – A game in which a pitcher (or a combination of pitchers) pitches a victory that lasts at least nine innings and in which no opposing batter reaches base. In other words, the pitcher (or pitchers) cannot allow a single hit, walk, hit by pitch, or any other action which allows a runner to reach base safely. As of July 2016, this feat has only been achieved 21 times since 1900.

  Quality start – A statistic for a starting pitcher defined as a game in which the pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs.

  WHIP – A baseball statistic which calculates walks plus hits per inning pitched. It reflects a pitcher’s propensity for allowing runners to reach base, therefore a lower WHIP indicates better performance.

  Coming soon

  Crossed Up

  A Portland Pioneers Novel

  By Micah K. Chaplin

  After a brief stint serving his country, Carson Slater was granted a second chance at living his childhood dream as a major league catcher. In his short tenure with the Portland Pioneers, he has developed a tight working relationship with hurler Derek Beaman, who is struggling with the idea of his best friend and strongest support system being traded to another team.

  When Erika Slater married her high school sweetheart, she supported him during military service and then moved across the country so he could advance his baseball career. She loves Carson and their son, but discontent has begun to sneak into her mind. She wonders if she sacrificed too many of her own dreams for someone else’s.

  About the Author

  Micah K. Chaplin lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where she works in the exciting world of insurance and spends many weekends running 5Ks, making fast runners look good. She’s also a lifestyle blogger who occasionally gets caught dancing by herself to good music, drinks locally-brewed beer, and has strong feelings for the Texas Rangers. Her other published works include You’ll Never Know, A Promise Worth Breaking, Riffs of Regret, and Dropped Third Strike.

 

 

 
friends