Anything but Minor - Kate Stewart Page 0,89

capable of, was embedded in him and was one of the most amazing things about him. Though we had no abundance of free time aside from the winter months in the off season, we still managed to get to Charleston whenever our schedule allowed. For Rafe, Charleston would always be home, and it would always be where I’d found mine. And my husband never let any good amount of time pass without a visit.

We’d take Clover to the beach and fall asleep on the sand. We would stop by Peggy’s Fish Camp and have dinner with Sue, or get our hands dirty in Dutch’s yard. Our little girl would have roots and wings, and to us, that meant everything. We were completely focused on giving her the parents we so desperately wanted for ourselves. Though my mother and I had completely reshaped our relationship for the better, Rafe’s relationship with his father remained non-existent, as did mine.

Though our new life together in Denver was different from where we began, Rafe remained the same man I fell in love with. He was grounded, faithful, loving, admirable, insatiable...and cocky.

When my husband was eighteen years old, though he hadn’t known it then, he chose loyalty and love over fame and quick money. And as I think over our life now and his level of devotion, I’m convinced he saved those gifts for us, his family.

As we exited the truck and Andy, Dutch, Clover, and I gripped hands with each other to make our way toward the stadium, I felt nothing but elation that we were together for him on a day where I knew he wanted us with him the most.

It never ceased to amaze me just how different league games were from the minors to the majors. The stadium was filled to the brim with fans and the crowd was deafening as the players were announced. I spotted Rafe in the dugout as we took our seats to the left and gave us all the perfect view of him. I pulled Clover into my lap as my husband, clueless to our whereabouts, pulled his hat off, peeked inside the inseam, and gripped the small piece of paper. It was a note I’d written to him, a new ritual we’d started when we married. Sometimes I wrote random facts about movies, sometimes I got a little romantic, and others a little dirty. Today’s note read:

Look to your left, Daddy

– Love, Clover

Clover had already spotted him as she frantically waved and called out “Daddy!” into the roaring crowd.

I saw Rafe’s slow smile as he turned and saw the four of us. His twisted lips and face turned incredulous as he heard the announcement of his man crush throwing the first pitch. He zeroed in on the mound and then back to me with an awestruck expression. When his idol walked up to him minutes later, I watched the exchange with a happy sigh. I was sure Nolan was telling him just how persuasive his wife had been to get him there. I saw Rafe throw his head back with a hard laugh as he shot a glance in my direction and shook his head. After they exchanged a handshake, Rafe looked over our way until I was sure he met my eyes and mouthed “Best day of my life” and I returned it with an “Every day.”

Andy, Clover, Dutch, and I sat in the stands as Rafe fired pitch after solid pitch, fulfilling his dream in the majors with a family behind him who adored him with a love that was anything but minor.

Listen to the Anything but Minor Playlist

on Spotify (play.spotify/user/authorkatestewart/playlist/2mkzgEAwaFcfs04sqtFr40)

ALSO BY KATE STEWART

Room 212

Never Me

Loving The White Liar

The Reluctant Romantics Series

The Fall

The Mind

The Heart

❖ ❖ ❖

KATE STEWART WRITING AS

EROTIC SUSPENSE AUTHOR ANGELICA CHASE

Sexual Awakenings Series

The Waltz

The Tango

The Last Dance

Curtains

❖ ❖ ❖

Excess Series

Opulence

Reverence

Hindrance

❖ ❖ ❖

Predator and Prey Series

Camouflage

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Beth aka Dutch and Jon Rustenhaven for your ball expertise and for answering my hours of questions. You two ROCK!

Thank you Benley Ramos for schooling me on all things MiLB at the game while you cheered for your brother and I cheered for his opponent.

Thank you Adrian West for being my kick ass cover model. I can’t believe you won your second Emmy a week later!!

Thank you to LeRoy from Pixel Studios for your patience and guidance. The shoot was a blast and you made it even more so.

I have to thank my street team, Kate’s Asphalt Asskickers:Stacy, Tabatha, Cindy, Akeisha, Sophie, Julie,